IELTS Speaking Topic # 1- Work

IELTS Speaking Topic # 1- Work

1. Do you work or study?

· I graduated a few years ago and I’m now in full time employment.

2. What is your job?

· I’m currently an English teacher working for the British Council in Ho Chi Minh City.

3. Why did you choose that job?

· I was previously a lawyer and found it to be really stressful and never had any free time, so after quitting that job I thought teaching might be the complete opposite of being a lawyer, you know not as stressful and more time off.

4. Are there lots of English teachers in Ho Chi Minh City?

· Oh yes! There is a such a big demand for English as a second language here and it’s also quite a cheap place to live compared to many other big cities in Asia.

5. Do you enjoy your job?

· Most of the time. It’s very rewarding to be able to help people every day and the students here are very hardworking and fun to teach, but you sometimes have lessons that do go so well and the money could always be better.

6. Do you get on well with your co-workers?

· Yes, fine. I don’t really see work as part of my social life, so I don’t socialise with them, so I suppose I could be more friendly, but it’s just my nature to be a bit colder with colleagues. I think it’s more professional to be that way.

7. What was your first day at work like?

· There were lots of teachers starting at the same time as me, 10 I think, so we all had a big induction day. The more senior teachers ran workshops with us to familarise us with the different systems they had and then we went for a team dinner in the evening.

8. What responsibilities do you have at work?

· All of the teachers main responsibility is to plan good lessons and then teach them to the best of our ability. On top of that we have several admin. tasks to carry out like mark homework, fill out attendance sheets and write reports.

9. Would you like to change your job in the future?

· Yes, as I said before, I like working by myself, so I would like to be my own boss. I’m currently developing my own website, so if it’s successful I will leave teaching and work on it full time. This will also give me more time to work on other projects.

10. What is your typical day like in work?

· I normally have 2 or 3 classes in the evening and I start the day by doing all the planning at home. This normally takes between an hour or two depending on the lessons. I then take the rest of the day to spend with my family, before going to work around 3 to print off my materials and then I teach all evening.

11. What would you change about your job?

· As with most English teachers, we have to teach what is on the curriculum and this can mean that you are teaching some things that are quite boring or not very useful for your students, so I would like to have more freedom to teach outside the syllabus.

IELTS Speaking Topic # 2- Study

1. Do you work or study?

· I’m currently a student at Queen’s University, Belfast.

2. What do you study?

· I study law because it’s a really well thought of degree and I’m hoping to pursue it as a career in the future.

3. Is it a popular subject at your university?

· Very popular, in fact it’s one of the most sought after courses. I think there are about 350 people reading law at Queen’s. I think lots of student’s parents want them to study law so they can get a good job after they graduate.

4. Do you enjoy studying it?

· It’s such a huge subject that there will always be parts you like and parts you don’t like. I find Human Rights fascinating because it can really make a difference to peoples’ lives. On the other hand, modules like Land Law and Equity are really boring.

5. Do you get along with your classmates?

· Yes, they are all really great. Most people like to socialise together in the evenings and this makes us a very tight group. If you know someone socially, it is much easier to work together in class.

6. If you could change to another subject, what would it be?

· I planned to study medicine, but then when I went on work experience I fainted at the first sight of blood, so definitely not that. I’m a real history buff and read books about World War 2 all the time, so I suppose it would have to be Modern History.

7. Do you plan to use the subject you are studying in the future?

· Yes, I’ve already started to apply for jobs as a lawyer. We normally have to secure a job a year before we graduate and then work very hard to get a high overall mark. After that, I will probably do a Masters in law to become a specialist in one particular area.

8. What is the most difficult part of your subject?

· You have to remember lots of legislation and cases and not only remember their names, but also how the affect each part of the law and how they interact with each other. Physically it can also be exhausting because we have to read very dense texts for a few hours every day.

9. What would like to study in the future?

· As I said before, my favourite type of law is Human Rights, so I would like to do a masters in International Human Rights Law. it’s right at the cutting edge of my field and there are also lots of very high profile cases in the media, so it’s really exciting and something I would like to become an expert in.

10. Why did you choose your university?

· Mostly because it is close to my hometown and most of my friends were going there. I kind of regret it now. It’s a great university, but because it’s so close to home it doesn’t give you much of a chance to experience new things and meet new people. If I were to choose again, I’d study abroad.

IELTS Speaking Topic # 4- Your Home

1. Where do you live?

· I live on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, in a district called Tan Phu, about 15 km from the city centre.

2. Do you live in a house or a flat?

· I live in a 3 bedroom flat on the 11th floor of a big apartment building.

3. Who do you live with?

· I live there with my wife and little baby son.

4. Is it a big place?

· It’s pretty big for a flat. It has 3 large bedrooms, one for my wife and I and one for my son when he gets older. It also has a smaller bedroom that I use as a study and to store things in. The kitchen is small but it is part of a big open plan living room, so there is lots of space for the family.

5. What is your favourite room?

· That would have to be my study because it’s the only room that I can get peace and quiet in. When I’m in there my wife knows I’m working, so she leaves me alone and I can concentrate on my work.

6. How is your apartment decorated?

· I don’t like lots of over the top decoration, so I guess you would describe it as minimalist. The walls are all white and the furniture is also either white or black. There are very few ornaments or pictures because again, I like to keep things quite minimal and I hate clutter.

7. Is there anything you would like to change about your flat?

· I would like to have a big balcony. We have a sort of balcony at the moment, but we mainly use it for washing and drying clothes. It would be really nice to have some tables and chairs on a proper balcony, with maybe a few plants, so we could sit there in the evenings and relax.

8. Do you plan to live there for a long time?

· I really like where I live but it is really far from where I work in the centre of town. It takes around 45 minutes to drive there by motorbike and in the hot season and wet season it can be really uncomfortable, so we will consider moving closer to the centre in a year or so.

9. Do you have a garden?

· That’s the best part of where we live, we have a huge garden. It takes around 40 minutes to walk around it. It has a few play parks for the kids, a number of gyms and four small lakes. We are really lucky to have it and I try to go for a walk around it every day, if I have time.

10. Are there many amenities?

· Not really, because it is on the edge of town. If you want to go for a nice meal, use a swimming pool, go shopping or head out for a drink, you really have to drive for about 30 minutes. That’s the major drawback, but if you are organised and buy everything when you are in the centre of town, it’s not so bad.

IELTS Speaking Topic # 1- Work

1. Do you work or study?

· I graduated a few years ago and I’m now in full time employment.

2. What is your job?

· I’m currently an English teacher working for the British Council in Ho Chi Minh City.

3. Why did you choose that job?

· I was previously a lawyer and found it to be really stressful and never had any free time, so after quitting that job I thought teaching might be the complete opposite of being a lawyer, you know not as stressful and more time off.

4. Are there lots of English teachers in Ho Chi Minh City?

· Oh yes! There is a such a big demand for English as a second language here and it’s also quite a cheap place to live compared to many other big cities in Asia.

5. Do you enjoy your job?

· Most of the time. It’s very rewarding to be able to help people every day and the students here are very hardworking and fun to teach, but you sometimes have lessons that do go so well and the money could always be better.

6. Do you get on well with your co-workers?

· Yes, fine. I don’t really see work as part of my social life, so I don’t socialise with them, so I suppose I could be more friendly, but it’s just my nature to be a bit colder with colleagues. I think it’s more professional to be that way.

7. What was your first day at work like?

· There were lots of teachers starting at the same time as me, 10 I think, so we all had a big induction day. The more senior teachers ran workshops with us to familarise us with the different systems they had and then we went for a team dinner in the evening.

8. What responsibilities do you have at work?

· All of the teachers main responsibility is to plan good lessons and then teach them to the best of our ability. On top of that we have several admin. tasks to carry out like mark homework, fill out attendance sheets and write reports.

9. Would you like to change your job in the future?

· Yes, as I said before, I like working by myself, so I would like to be my own boss. I’m currently developing my own website, so if it’s successful I will leave teaching and work on it full time. This will also give me more time to work on other projects.

10. What is your typical day like in work?

· I normally have 2 or 3 classes in the evening and I start the day by doing all the planning at home. This normally takes between an hour or two depending on the lessons. I then take the rest of the day to spend with my family, before going to work around 3 to print off my materials and then I teach all evening.

11. What would you change about your job?

· As with most English teachers, we have to teach what is on the curriculum and this can mean that you are teaching some things that are quite boring or not very useful for your students, so I would like to have more freedom to teach outside the syllabus.