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June 2009

IELTS exam in Italy and Kuwait – May 2009 (Academic Module)

It looks like IELTS exams was the same in Italy and Kuwait, according to what A and S are saying in their emails. Thanks a lot, guys, and here are the topics (make sure you read about the 2 different versions of the Speaking test).

Listening test

Section 1: a questioner for a residence association.
Section 2: a talk about wreck diving.
Section 3: two students talking about their research protect.
Section 4: a lecture about marine animals.

Note: This listening test looks to me the same as this one in Namibia.

Reading test

Passage 1: about Olympic Torch.
Passage 2: about socializing in children.
Passage 3: about violin and how it is made.

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (report)
We had 2 line graphs about the number of men & women voters in a European country. The two graphs were comparing data about local and international elections. Data was also compared by gender.

Writing Task 2 (essay)
We should invent a new language to communicate with people all over the world. Discuss whether the benefits outweigh the problems. Give your opinion.

Speaking test

Option 1 (Kuwait)

Interview
– What is your name?
– Where do you work?
– Is your job interesting?
– Do you go to parties?
– Do you go with family or friends?
– What is the difference in young people’s & old people’s party?

Cue card
Talk about a dress which you wore on a special occasion, you should say
– What dress was it?
– When did you wear it?
– Why you did you like the dress?

Then I was asked some follow up questions about fashion, uniforms, etc.

Option 2 (Italy)

Interview
– What is your full name?
– Are you a student or a worker?
– Do you like travel? Why?
– Where did you travel recently?
– Do you like going out with some friends?
– Where do you usually go?
– Do you prefer going out with a group or with only one or two people?

Cue card
Describe a speech you heard recently, you should say:
– Where was it?
– Who was the speaker?
– What was the main purpose of this speech?

Discussion
– What do you think are the most important qualities for a good speaker?
– Do you prefer a speech or a one on one discussion?

IELTS exam in Canada – May 2009 (Academic Module)

Today we’ve got D from Canada telling about his recent IELTS exam. Here’s what he remembers:

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (report)
Two graphs were given to compare the performance of trains in October and November 2008. The categories were “delayed trains” and and “train cancellations”.

Writing Task 2 (essay)
Some people say that teaching foreign language to children in primary school is good and that advantages of teaching foreign language early outweigh the disadvantages. What is your opinion?

Speaking test

Interview

We started by discussing my work.
– Do you find any difficulty in doing that work?
– Through which medium do you get the news?
– What is the importance of reading newspapers?
– How often do visitors visit your county?

Cue card
What famous person you would like to meet?
– Who is this person?
– Where did you hear about that person?
– Why is he/she that famous?
– Explain why you want to meet that person.

Discussion
– Why do you think people want to be famous?
– Do famous person have privacy? How much of it?
– What do you think, are famous persons role models?
– What are the disadvantages of them not being role models?
– People say that adults are responsible for being role models for the young. What do you think?