Skip to content

October 2009

IELTS in Melbourne, Australia – October 2009 (General Training)

IELTS test in Melbourne was described by S. (thank you so much!), who remembered it well. Later on I found out from D. that the exam in the Philippines was the same. Here is what they had:

Listening test
Section 1: A conversation about lost property.
Section 2: About orangutan’s project (calling for volunteers).
Section 3: A lecturer was giving presentation about Persistent Learning
Section 4: Can’t remember.

Reading test
Passage 1: About accommodation.
Passage 2: Some company program promotion.
Passage 3: ‘Real tennis’ and ‘ordinary tennis’.

Writing test

Writing task 1 (a letter)
An English speaking friend is working at your hometown. He/she is planning to visit another town in your home country. Write a letter to him and make suggestions for his / her trip.

Writing task 2 (an essay)
As long as professional sportsmen and sportswomen are good players, their behavior on and off the playing field is not important. Do you disagree or agree?

Speaking test

Interview
– What city are you currently living in?
– Why did you move here?

– Lets talk about weekends. How do you normally spend your weekends at home?
– What do you plan to do for the next coming weekend?

– Lets talk about clothes. Do you think men and women have the same thoughts about clothes?
– When was the last time you shopped for clothes?

– Lets talk about time management. What method do you think is the most efficient for time management?
– Do you think punctuality is important?
– How would you feel if the person you are meeting with was not punctual?
– Do you think older people consider punctuality more important than younger people?

Cue card
Discuss about the project that you had worked on in your job/studies, you should say
– What was the project about?
– Who gave you the project?

Discussion
– Lets talk about technology. What are the advantages of the Internet?
– Do you think people are getting stressed due to the fast pace of modern technology?

IELTS Speaking questions from the US, Canada and Turkey – October 2009

IELTS Speaking questions from 3 exams in USA, Canada and Turkey were remembered and shared by 3 very kind students. You will see that some questions repeat – I intentionally left them in to show what questions get asked often. Enjoy:

Speaking test 1

Interview
– What is your name?
– Where do you come from?
– Describe the apartment/house you live in.
– What is your favorite room in the house? Why?
– Why did you choose that city to live in?
– What are the advantages and disadvantages of life in towns or countryside?

Cue card
Talk about a traffic jam you got in, you should say
– How and where it happened?
– How long did you stay in it?
– How did it make you feel?

Discussion
I was asked some general questions regarding problems with traffic jams.

Speaking test 2

Interview
– Tell me your name, please.
– Tell me about the place where you live.
– How is the transport there, is it good?
– Do you drive?
– Is your highschool offering driving lessons?
– Let’s talk about advertisements, what kind of advertisements do you have in your country?
– Have you bought something you learned about from any advertisement you’ve seen or heard?

Cue card
Talk about a party you are going to arrange, you should say:
– What kind of party will it be?
– When and where will it happen?
– What kind of activities will be there?

Discussion
Don’t remember.

Speaking test 3

Interview
– What is your full name?
– What city do you live in?
– Why did you decide to live in this city?

Cue card
Tell me about a person whom you think is intelligent, you should say
– Who that person is,
– Where and when you met him,
– Why you think he is intelligent.

Discussion
– Do you think intelligence is important for people?
– Is it the only thing that is important?
– Do you thing nowadays people need more intelligence than people in the past?
– What is the difference between the intelligence of a computer and that of a human?
– Do you think that computers will outsmart humans in the future?