How to start your IELTS SPEAKING answers

- Do you get nervous with your IELTS speaking

and sometimes you just don't know what to say

and that can affect your whole performance negatively?

Let me show you how to fix this.

Hi, it's Keith.

Now, the secret to a good performance

in your IELTS speaking is confidence,

and you can build your confidence with three things.

First, improve your overall speaking skills

by practicing speaking lots.

Second, prepare the topics well.

Third, have some key phrases

to help you start speaking confidently in the test.

In this video, I'm gonna focus on number three.

I'm gonna show you how to start your answers

in IELTS speaking Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

I'll give you some key phrases and templates

for all kinds of questions

so that you are totally ready

and on your way

to being able to face the examiner with confidence.

Let's begin.

So let's have a look at what happens

at the beginning of the IELTS speaking test.

At the start, you enter the test center.

You have to leave your phone outside.

You're asked to sit and wait outside the test room.

So you sit and you wait

and maybe you're hot and nervous.

Suddenly, the examiner opens the door

and you desperately look around

for some clues on what to do, right?

I mean, should I say something?

Should I wait? Should I stand?

Should I shake hands? Should I smile?

You don't know, and maybe you blush,

you go red, right?

And then the examiner says, "Come in."

You go in, you sit down, the examiner starts talking,

and you're not really listening.

You're kind of looking around.

And then the examiner stops

and you realize it's your turn to speak,

but the cat has got your tongue.

Okay, no, no, no, no. Let's rewind this.

Okay, let's look at this in a more positive way.

Let's make it better.

So you sit outside the exam room, the interview room, right?

You breathe and you say to yourself,

"I'm going to enjoy this.

I'm going to enjoy this."

And you wait.

The examiner will open the door and will call you

and you stand and smile

and you can just say hi or hello

or even nice to meet you.

Short and simple, right?

And then the examiner will invite you into the room,

tell you where to sit, and you sit down,

and maybe say thank you.

Always nice to be polite, right?

And then just stay focused.

Take a deep breath and stay focused on the examiner.

They will have a clock probably and a recording device,

they're gonna record the interview,

and then they're gonna ask you for your ID.

So make sure you have your ID,

whether it's a identity card or a passport.

Have that ready. Okay?

And then they will ask for your full name. You give it.

And they might say, "And what can I call you?"

And just say, "You can call me...

You can call me Keith."

Don't say Keith, I'm Keith.

Use your name, right?

And then that's it,

and then the examiner is going to choose a topic.

Probably either work, study, your home, or your hometown.

And just ask one or two questions.

And this is just the warmup. Okay?

Let's have a look at what some of those questions might be.

So you might be asked, do you work or study?

And here, you can just be direct and say which it is,

work or study, what you do, maybe where,

and possibly how long.

Okay, so you might say, "Well, I'm a blank.

I work as a blank.

I'm a teacher."

Just notice that I am is I'm a, I'm a teacher.

"I work as a..."

Can you say that?

"I work as a...

I work as a nurse."

Great. Then the place, you could say,

"I work in a blank not far from where I live.

I work in a school not far from where I live.

I work in a hospital not far from where I live.

You could also say,

"I work in one of the main blanks in my hometown.

I work in one of the main schools in my hometown.

I work in one of the main hospitals in my hometown."

Notice the S, schools, hospitals,

'cause it's one of their main hospitals.

Finally, you could mention how long.

"I've been doing this for blank.

I've been doing this for two years.

I've been doing this..."

Can you say?

"I've been doing this for two years."

All together, "I've been doing this for two years,

or for a number of years,

or for two years or so."

Two years or so means more or less two years.

Great, so putting that all together, you might say,

"I'm a nurse.

I work in one of the main hospitals in my hometown.

I've been doing this job for five years or so."

Great.

Now, a tip is to keep your answers short, right?

Maybe one to three sentences.

But here's the really important thing.

When you're practicing, give a different answer each time.

Don't memorize the same answer.

Try different combinations of these phrases

and each time give a different answer.

Why? Because that builds your flexibility.

And with flexibility comes confidence.

Trust me.

Okay, now that's if you work.

What if you study?

So now if you study,

of course, you'll get the same question.

Do you work or study?

Again, you can say which, what you study obviously,

maybe where and how long you will study or you have studied.

For example, you could say,

"I'm a student at blank

and I study blank.

I'm a student at university and I study French."

Or I study blank at blank.

"I study Spanish at London University."

Maybe give the name there, right?

You may also say if it's university,

"I'm in my first year.

I'm in my second year.

I'm in my final year."

Okay, and talking about how long into the future,

you may say, "I will graduate in summer this year.

I will graduate in two years' time.

I will graduate next year."

You can say I will or I'll.

"I'll graduate next year."

Notice the phrasing, right?

You can say, "I'll graduate next year."

Kind of a short pause in the middle

just to help your fluency.

"I'll graduate in summer next year."

Sometimes we also say, "I hope to graduate next year,"

'cause it's a hope rather than something certain.

"I hope to graduate in two years' time."

So putting it all together, you might say something like,

"I'm a student actually.

I study French at Oxford University.

I'm in my first year there, so yes, it's quite exciting."

Okay, notice each time as I practice,

I'm giving a slightly different answer,

building my flexibility.

Now, this video is helping you to prepare

for IELTS speaking,

but if you want help with other sections of the IELTS test,

such as reading, writing, and listening,

then you should download the mobile app

called IELTS by IDP,

with the handle IELTS by IDP.

It's by IDP Education,

who are one of the three trusted partners of IELTS.

There's lots of information and resources in the app

to help you get ready for all of IELTS.

One of the most exciting

is the brand new vodcast they have.

It's called IELTS Prepare by IDP, and it's available now.

There are 10 episodes

covering all four sections of the test,

test evaluation, what to do on test day,

and much, much more.

I've just watched episode eight, which is on IELTS speaking,

and it is awesome.

It's clear guidance,

practical steps by the IELTS experts of IDP.

And you know, it's kind of, it's just delivered in a warm,

approachable, and friendly way.

And it's practical.

I mean, for example, they answer questions like,

what happens if the examiner interrupts me?

What should I do if I'm given a topic I know nothing about?

- Well, Rocco, they cannot change the topic,

but what they can do is they can touch on the topic,

but relate something else to it.

So for example, you may say,

"Well, you've asked me about a book I've read

that I would like to read again, but if I talk about this,

I won't be able to continue my test

because the reasons for this are very distressing.

So what I will tell you is that

I'll tell you about a movie I've seen

that I would like to see again that's been based on a book

and this movie's name is 'Harry Potter'.

So there's always a way around something.

- And what I really love about this app

is that they also give lots of advice

on how to improve your overall English,

right, not well as well as exam tips.

And that, if you know me, is very close to my heart, right?

So the vodcast IELTS Prepare by IDP,

you can watch and listen.

You can follow at your own pace

on the way to work or school.

Go and download it now.

Look for the app IELTS by IDP

and find all episodes of this IELTS video podcast.

Great.

Right now, let's get back to our questions for Part 1.

Now, if you're asked about where you live,

the question could be, do you live in a house or a flat?

So here again, short answers to the point.

You'd probably say, well, which, say probably where it is.

You could mention the size

and maybe who you live with.

So you might say, "I live in a house in the center of town.

I live in a flat on the outskirts of town.

I live in a house in the countryside."

Now, if you're a high level speaker,

Band 7 or 8, you might say quickly,

"I live in a house in the center of town."

But a high level speaker may also say,

"I live in a house

in the center of town."

And can you see how the phrasing

and pausing can help your fluency?

So you break the sentence down.

"I live in a house,

pause, in the center of town."

So that can really help your fluency.

"I live in a flat

on the outskirts of town.

I live in a house

in the countryside."

Okay, so remember that to help you.

You could talk about the size or the feeling.

You could say, "It's quite a blank place.

It's quite a big place."

Cozy, meaning small but comfortable.

Spacious, meaning lots of space.

Comfortable.

Nice word. You can say comfortable or comfortable.

Comfortable.

Comfortable.

It's quite a comfortable place.

Or you may say something negative, you could say,

"Well, to be honest, it's rather small."

Again, notice the phrasing.

"To be honest,

it's rather small.

It's rather cramped."

Cramped meaning not enough space.

"It's rather dingy."

Dingy meaning small, dark,

yeah, not enough light, not very nice.

"To be honest, it's rather dingy."

And you may go on to talk about the people you live with.

So you could say, "Well, I live there with my blank.

I live there with my husband,

wife,

spouse,

parents."

Or you might just say, "I live there on my own."

Putting that all together, I might say, for example,

"I live in a house in the countryside actually.

It's quite a big place,

and I live there with my wife and daughter."

Nice.

Let's carry on.

Now, if you're asked about your hometown,

you could be asked, do you like your hometown?

And you could say yes or no, and probably why.

Okay?

Some simple phrases, keep it simple.

"Yes, I love it.

Yes, very much so.

For sure, it's great."

Possible reasons.

"It's full of blank.

It's full of history.

It's full of amazing architecture."

Amazing architecture. What a fantastic word.

Architecture.

Notice the stress. Amazing architecture.

Lovely.

"It's full of amazing architecture."

Architecture, of course, is the style

or the way that a building is designed.

It's full of amazing arti...

It's full of ketchup.

"It's full of amazing architecture.

It's full of wonderful shops."

Okay.

Other phrases you could also say,

"Well, I would say it's a blank city."

And use different adjectives, right?

Let's practice together.

If I give you an adjective and you say,

"I would say it's a blank city."

Exciting.

Yeah, I would say it's an exciting city.

Vibrant.

Yeah, I would say it's a vibrant city.

Really interesting.

Yeah, I would say it's a really interesting city.

Great.

You may also say, "It's a great place to blank.

It's a great place to shop."

The two becomes tuh 'cause we're stressing the noun.

It's a great place to shop.

It's a great place to eat out.

To eat out.

It's a great place to visit.

So putting it all together for the question, I might say,

do you like your hometown?

Oh by the way, notice my phrasing and pausing.

Do you like your hometown?

"Yeah, very much so.

I like the architecture.

It's full of interesting sites for tourists.

So, it's a great place to visit,

especially in the spring as it's not too hot."

Great.

And remember, it's really important

not to memorize your answers.

Practice using different chunks, changing them around,

spicing it up, spice up your answer, right?

Because remember, with flexibility comes confidence.

Let's move on.

So these are some of the introduction

or introductory questions you might be asked

at the start of the IELTS speaking test in Part 1,

which is all about you.

You'll be just asked one or two questions about these,

work, study, home, hometown.

And then, of course, the examiner goes on

to ask you questions on a first topic

and a second topic in Part 1.

If you want more details and more tips and ideas,

go and check out this video

"Introducing Yourself Fluently,"

full of great ideas and tips.

Okay, just let me give you a few extra general tips

to help you on your way.

Number one, develop your answers a little in Part 1,

just a little, but keep it short.

Smile.

Thirdly, speak clearly.

It's really important.

And so I recommend when you're practicing at home,

practice speaking loudly.

It will really help when you actually come to do the test.

Number four, speak at a natural pace.

And again, when you're at home and practicing,

the thing to do is sometimes practice speaking slowly.

And I mean really slowly

because when you speak slowly,

it's gonna help you control the accuracy, the pronunciation,

the phrasing and pausing.

It really is a test of your control.

And then later, you can speak more quickly.

So when you're practicing, sometimes speak slowly.

Now, many students I know find IELTS speaking Part 2

the most difficult part of the test.

I mean, you have to speak for one to two minutes

on a new topic you've just been given.

I mean, that's probably even difficult

in your native language, right?

You may not know anything about the topic,

you may not know how to start speaking,

and you may think,

"I can't speak for two minutes about that."

Well, don't worry.

In this video, I will give you some ideas, phrases,

and strategies so you can navigate Part 2

and show your real level of spoken English and shine.

Now, at the beginning of Part 2, right,

you are given one minute to prepare your talk

and the examiner will give you the topic or the card.

Oh, thank you.

That was lucky.

There's an examiner in my office.

When you get the card, look at the question carefully,

pick out the keywords,

look at the bullet points, normally three,

and then find the example you're gonna talk about

as quickly as possible.

Doesn't have to be perfect.

Good enough.

Check the bullet points if you can talk about those.

You don't have to, but they can help.

And then prepare the first line

or the first sentence you're going to say.

Have that prepared

so you start confident with a bang.

Don't give this back to the examiner.

Use this, keep this when you start speaking.

Use your cue card or task card to help you talk.

Great, and then let's see what happens.

So at the end of your one-minute preparation,

the examiner will invite you to start talking.

Invite you.

You can start talking.

Oh, thank you.

And then you begin.

Now, to research this, right, I went back

and I watched all of the Part 2 model answers

that I've created for the Gold Course

and my Gold Live Lessons, there's over 50 of them,

to identify the most common patterns and phrases that I use.

So what I'm gonna show you now

are those most common phrases and patterns.

Now, I also noticed in addition to these phrases,

sometimes I just start talking

and I go with the flow

without any of these phrases.

That sometimes works.

So in this part, you have to speak for one to two minutes.

I advise you to keep speaking as much as you can.

Two minutes or even beyond.

It doesn't matter if the examiner cuts you off

after two minutes or before.

Just keep talking. Okay?

And another tip is be direct.

Get to the point.

Make it clear what you're going to talk about, right?

Remember I said have your first sentence prepared.

That is to help you get really focused.

Don't rabbit. Don't waffle.

Don't go around the houses. Be direct.

Let's have a look at some phrases and some examples.

Now, some typical questions are,

describe a place that ba, ba, ba.

Describe a thing that do, do, do,

or describe a person who do, do, do.

The place might be a city, a building, a country,

a thing, could be a book or a film or a photo.

A person might be a teacher, a colleague,

a famous person, right?

Describe a city that you have visited.

Describe a film that you have enjoyed.

Describe a famous person who you would like to meet.

All of these are possible.

Now, my favorite opening for these kinds of questions is,

"The blank I'd like to talk about is blank.

The city I'd like to talk about is Madrid.

The book I'd like to talk about is 'One Thing.'

The teacher I'd like to talk about

is my primary school teacher, Mr. Jones."

Good old Mr. Jones.

So you can say the blank I'd like to talk about is,

or the blank I'd like to tell you about is,

or the blank I'd like to describe is da, da da.

And the reason I like these

is because it shows that you can use emphasis in English.

You could just be more direct, right?

You could say, "I'd like to talk about blank.

I'm going to tell you about blank.

Let me tell you about blank."

Those are great, direct,

but the emphasis is even nicer.

"The blank I would like to describe is da, da, da."

Nice.

And here's what I've noticed that I like describing a person

and it's the person I'd like to talk about

is none other than my brother, my uncle.

None other than is used to reveal

a sometimes surprising identity of a person

or possibly a thing as well, right?

"The film I'd like to talk about

is none other than 'Mission Impossible,'"

for example, right?

Okay, good. Let's move on.

So I've mentioned people, places, and things.

You may also be asked to talk about events.

And typically the question is describe a time when,

describe a time when you got lost,

or describe a time when you were bored.

Now, you can use all of the previous phrases,

the starting phrases, absolutely fine, okay?

But so you could say,

"Well, let me tell you about a trip I took to Japan."

Let me tell you about...

But my most common starting phrases

for this kind of question are the following,

and they are about setting the scene.

"I remember once when I was living in France...

I recall once when I was living in France...

There was this one time when I was living in France..."

And all of these are used to set the scene

and then go and talk about how you got lost.

For this kind of event, really, really nice.

Now you may be thinking,

okay, what if I have never got lost?

What if I don't know what to say here?

The options are make it up, invent something, it's fine.

Examiner doesn't care. They want to hear your English.

You could say that you've never got lost

and then talk about someone you know who got lost.

"Oh, I remember once my little brother got lost."

You could explain that. It's fine.

And if you don't have any experience at all,

you could talk about what you think

it would be like to be lost.

It's not the best, but it's better than nothing.

Because what you can't do is say, "I've never been lost.

Can I have a different topic, please?"

'Cause the answer's no, you cannot change your topic.

So say something.

Use one of these three techniques to say something.

Oh, by the way, if you are enjoying this video,

do remember to subscribe so you can find out

about new and upcoming videos on this channel.

Let's move on.

Now, another technique in addition to the above

is to repeat the same verbs and tense as the question.

And you can do this for any question actually,

but it works particularly well for activities

like sports or hobbies or things.

For example, if you're asked,

"Describe a blank that you blank,"

you might get something like, well, these questions.

Describe a water sport you would like to do.

Describe a skill you have learned.

Describe a film you have watched.

Describe a book you would recommend.

There are different tenses there,

and the tense in the question is key to your answer.

So a really clever way is just to repeat the tense back.

And the phrase would be,

"Well, a blank I blank is blank."

Blankety blank.

For example, "Well, a water sport

I would like to do is surfing."

The "I would like to" we're just repeating it.

"Well, a skill I learned as a child was painting."

We're repeating learnt in the past tense.

"Well, a book I would recommend

is called 'Clara and the Sun.'"

Would recommend, we're repeating that conditional tense.

It's very, very simple, but it will help you focus

and it's really easy for the examiner to follow you.

And this is great 'cause it's so simple.

You don't have to think too much.

Just listen to the tense and repeat.

Wash and repeat, wash and repeat again.

Alternatively, another tip is to answer these questions,

you can set the scene.

You can say quite simply,

"A while back, I,"

plus the past tense.

For example, talking about a book, "A while back,

I read a book called 'Clara and the Sun.'"

And you go on to describe it.

"A while back,

I watched a film called 'Inside Out,'" and then describe it.

Another tip.

For items like films and books and photos

where there are so many you can choose from,

you could actually focus on the favorite one

and you can say,

"One of my favorite blanks is da, da, da."

And then talk about it.

One of my favorite books is...

One of my favorite films is...

Just notice the noun is always in the plural.

One of my favorite books, paintings, photographs, right?

Great.

Final tip.

If you get a topic that you don't like,

for example, books, right?

You just don't like reading, possibly,

you can use that to your advantage.

It's an opportunity to talk about that.

You can say, "To be honest,

I'm not a big fan of books or reading,

but if I have to choose one,

I would like to talk about..."

Right?

So even difficult situations

can be an opportunity to show your English.

Let's move on.

So how do you keep going for two minutes?

Well, there are two options I think.

One is you use the bullet points in the question

and that will help you develop your answer.

Typically they will be things like when, who, how, why,

that kind of question.

But remember to develop your answer.

So if you're talking about a person

and it says, who is the person?

Don't just say, "Oh, well, it's John, my teacher."

Give some more details.

Say what they do, what they look like, their appearance,

their personality, develop that a bit.

If it says, when did this happen?

Don't say last week.

Give a bit more the background or the setting.

"Oh, it was last week when I was on holiday in France.

I'd been there for about two days

and suddenly this strange thing happened."

Okay?

Also give examples because examples is where

it's gonna help you develop your answer more and more.

Describing people, use adjectives, use adverbs,

you know, embellish your answer.

So that's the first thing. Follow the bullet points.

The second option is to go with the flow

and you just start speaking.

There's no real structure

and you're just speaking and speaking.

That also works very well,

especially if you're a slightly higher level.

That focus on communication,

just being natural is also really, really good.

Now, a general tip is

the key to being able to speak for two minutes is practice.

It's not easy even in your mother tongue, right?

So when you get these topics and you're at home practicing,

just practice giving an answer for 20 seconds.

And then later, try speaking for 30 seconds.

And the later, 40 seconds.

And day after day, make it longer

on the same topic or different topics.

Just build up that habit or that skill,

that muscle of speaking for a longer time each day,

build it up slowly, you will be able to do it.

Another useful tip is to record yourself.

As you're giving your answers

and you're practicing speaking,

record yourself and listen back.

It's really gonna help you.

It'll give you great insights to your speed.

Are you too fast, too slow,

to hesitation, to the vocabulary, the grammar,

your ability to communicate,

it'll really help so try that as well.

All parts of the IELTS speaking test are challenging.

Well, and fun, right?

But Part 3 is critical

because that is where the examiner will decide

if you're a 5 or a 6, a 6 or a 7, and so on, right?

So it's really important you understand this.

The examiner really controls this part of the test

to make sure they push you to your limit,

so they are sure about your level.

So they will make up questions based on your answers.

They will cut you off

and move on to another question to test more things.

And all of this is fine, expected.

The biggest and most exciting part of Part 3

is that you can't really prepare your answers, right,

because you don't know

where the conversation is going to go.

So topic research is good,

but flexibility is much more important.

In this video, I will tell you

some of the most common types of questions

and how to answer them,

as well as ideas on how to develop your answers,

which is really important in Part 3.

Finally, I'll show you how to create time

for yourself to think.

Okay, sound good?

Right, now we're gonna look at three

very common question types for Part 3

and how to answer them.

Okay, the first one,

how has something changed in recent years?

Here, the examiner is testing your knowledge and ability

to talk about comparisons of the past and the present.

Okay, now you could just start talking.

I'm a big fan of going with the flow,

but you can also use some of these phrases

to help you structure your answer and begin confidently.

Don't just memorize these. Use them flexibly.

There's lots of combinations.

For example, we can say,

"In the past, we used to da, da, da, da.

This has changed a lot recently.

Now, we usually da, da, da, da."

Okay, three phrases, one after the other, simple structure.

Or something similar.

"Previously, we used to da, da, da, da.

This has changed a lot recently.

Nowadays, we tend to da, da, da, da."

Okay, so what you're doing here

is you're using a past tense,

present perfect, connecting past to the present,

and then the present tense.

So you're showing a wide range of tenses.

With the past, you could say, "Previously, we used to...

Previously, we would da, da, da.

Or previously, we did..."

Okay, so you can change,

chop and change and mix it up a little bit, right?

Remember, build your flexibility.

So for example, if the question were,

how has shopping changed in recent years?

I might say,

"Previously, we used to go into the town center

and buy things in real shops, brick and mortar shops,

but that has changed,

and nowadays we still go to the shops,

but we often buy things online because they are cheaper."

Okay?

Nice answer, but remember in Part 3,

you do need to develop your answers more.

So here, let me give you one of my secret methods,

the ORE method, the O-R-E method,

opinion-reason-example.

The example is the key bit.

That's where you can really give extra information

and show off your vocabulary, okay?

So you can see in my previous example,

I gave my opinion that we used to go to shops,

now we shop online and the reason because it's cheaper.

Now I can add an example to develop the answer,

but be careful because what you might think is,

oh, I can say something like, well, yeah, for example,

"When I buy clothes, I go to the shops and try them on

and then I go and buy that item online."

That's not great because that's a personal example.

You're kind of going back to Part 1, which is about you.

Here, try not to be personal.

It's okay if you give one or two examples that are personal,

but think generally,

think globally,

around the world, and try to get a more general

or global example.

For example,

"When many young people buy clothes,

they go to the shops like GAP to try them on,

and then they go to the GAP website

and buy that item online."

Think generally, think globally for your examples.

Also think about examples from the news,

something you've read or seen on the internet or the TV,

if you still watch TV, like,

"I read the other day actually that one shop,

GAP I think, reported that their online sales of clothes

had actually surpassed in-shop purchases."

Okay?

So your example doesn't have to be perfect,

doesn't have to be true,

I don't remember the details, but that's okay.

It's about it expressing your English language

and developing your answer.

So you've got ORE, opinion-reason-example.

For your example, think globally, generally,

or something in the news.

Let's move on.

Right.

Question type number two, very common,

how will something change in the future?

And here, the examiner is testing, testing what?

Yeah, examiner is testing

if you can compare things in the present to the future.

So thinking of the language of comparison,

present tenses, future tenses,

possibility, speculating, all of that.

Again, remember you can just start talking

or you could use some of these phrases

that might help you along.

For example, "At the moment,

the situation is da, da, da, da.

And I think in the future we will da, da, da, da."

Or, "Right now, the situation is...

I suspect in the future we might da, da, da, da.

So instead of will,

you could be using might as a possibility,

a possible future.

Or, "Today, it seems to me that da, da, da, da.

I guess in the future we may..."

Okay, I guess, I reckon, I suspect.

You can change might for may or could.

You can change will for going to.

All these possibilities, right,

chop it up, change it around.

Build your flexibility.

Here's an example on the same topic of shopping,

how will shopping change in the future?

"Well, at the moment, the situation is

we buy many clothes online as well as in the shops.

I suspect that in the future,

we might buy almost everything online."

Got it?

Now develop your answer. Can you think of an example here?

Remember, general, global, in the news.

Here's one, and I got from seeing a mobile app.

"So the other day, right, I saw a new app

where you can upload your image of yourself

and add clothes to it,

so you can see if the clothes match you

or if they suit you, right?

And I think this means that we will buy

more and more clothes online

because there will be no need

to go to the shops to try them on."

And there you have it.

Remember, the examiner might cut you off. Doesn't matter.

It means they've heard enough

and they want to push you in a different direction.

So relax about it.

Okay, let's move on.

Oh, before we do, if you are enjoying this, please remember,

do like the video and subscribe to the channel.

Let's go in to the third type of question.

Why do some people blank do something?

Here, really the examiner is testing

your expression of opinion, right?

Well, I agree, I disagree, I think, I suppose, and so on.

My advice with this kind of question

is to focus on a specific group of people.

Because when we say why do people,

I mean, it's impossible to answer.

That could be anybody.

But if you choose a group of people like teenagers,

adults,

working people,

mothers,

retired people,

it helps you focus,

it helps you develop the answer better.

And because you're being quite specific,

you'll be using a more specific, deeper range of vocabulary.

So you're making it better for yourself.

Okay, so here, I can just recommend one phrase, right?

Very simple

to answer.

It depends.

If we are talking about group of people,

then I think...

For example, well, it depends, right?

I mean if we're talking about teenagers,

then I think...

Well, it depends.

I mean, if we're talking about older people, then I think...

You see?

Let's look at an example,

again, sticking with the shopping theme in Part 3.

Why do some people never shop online?

Well, it depends.

I mean, if we're talking about older people,

then I think they may not know how to do it

and they might not trust it.

Okay, great way to start.

Can you think of an example now?

Remember,

don't be personal.

Don't say, for example, "My granddad doesn't like..."

No, don't talk about personal examples.

Remember, think generally, think globally,

or think about the news.

So maybe something like this,

"I've seen a lot of reports on the news lately

of older people being scammed.

You know, buying things online that don't exist.

They might purchase a car because it's super cheap,

but then they give the money to the scammers

and they never even see the car.

And I guess all of this means

they are reluctant then to buy online."

Got it?

Great.

let's move on.

Okay, so we've seen three very common question types

and how to develop your answer, right?

But to do that, you need to think fast.

You really do need to think on your feet, as we say.

Think on your feet, think quickly, right?

So you need time to think,

but in Part 3, there isn't much time, right?

The big thing about Part 3 is the pace.

It's fast and furious like the film.

How then do you create time to think?

There are three things you can do, right?

The first, listen carefully to the question.

Repeat the question aloud,

and then take a moment to breathe

and think and answer.

Okay?

So if the question is, for example,

why do some people never shop online?

Why do some people never shop online?

And then start speaking, okay?

Don't worry about the time.

Let the examiner worry about the time.

That is their job to control the time, not yours.

You take your time and answer.

Okay.

Second thing you can do is to use time fillers, right?

Very common things like, "Oh, that's a good question."

So once the examiner asks you the question, you go,

"Hmm, that's good question.

Oh, I haven't thought about that.

Let me see,

let me think,"

and take that breath,

in and out, just that time.

Get oxygen to your head, give you time to think

and relax your shoulders and your body.

Okay, tip number three,

ask the examiner to clarify or to repeat, right?

Maybe 'cause you don't understand,

but even just to get more time, right?

It's one thing you can do.

Don't overuse this, but you can.

If you don't understand a question

or you didn't hear it correctly

or it just wasn't clear, right, you can say,

"Could you repeat the question?"

And they will repeat it.

"Could you repeat the question?"

But my favorite is,

"What do you mean exactly?"

I love that

because you're showing that you've understood the question,

but you're not 100% clear.

You're not saying, "Oh, I don't understand."

You're saying, "Well, okay, I understand,

but what do you mean exactly?"

Clarify the question.

So the examiner might rephrase the question,

not only repeat it, but say it in a different way,

helping you understand, but giving you time to think.

What do you mean exactly?

Great question.

So there you have it.

Now you've got ideas, strategies,

and key phrases or templates

to start your answers more confidently

in your IETLS speaking test.

You are now on your way to becoming

a more confident speaker of English.

But do remember the start of the video

and I said the other things you need for confidence,

you need to prepare the topics well

and you need to practice speaking lots and lots.

Preparing the topics well,

well, you can do that on my website,

keithspeakingacademy.com.

Just go to the free live lessons.

There are lots of topics there

that you can get prepared for.

If you want speaking practice,

you could join my Gold Course, IELTS Speaking Gold Course,

where there are daily opportunities

to practice speaking online with other students

around the world.

Very small groups,

great opportunity, you can practice lots.

All of this, I hope, will build up your confidence

and get you ready for your IELTS speaking test.

In the meantime, do subscribe to the channel,

turn on notifications, and listen, thanks for watching

and I'll see you in the next video.

Bye-bye.

(upbeat music)