15 Useful Phrases for IELTS Speaking PART 1

- Hey, you are about to learn 15 useful phrases

that can impress the examiner

in your IELTS Speaking part one.

Let's do it.

(upbeat music)

Hello, this is Keith from English Speaking Success,

and also, if you don't know,

I run the website Keith Speaking Academy.

Go and check it out.

Helping you speak better English,

give better answers,

and getting a higher score on IELTS Speaking.

Now, IELTS Speaking part one is all about first impressions.

You want to make a good first impression,

especially with your English,

to pave the way for the rest of the test.

So you need to be calm,

in control,

and well prepared.

The great thing about the phrases we're looking at today

is that you can use them in all sorts of topics,

different topics.

We're going to be looking

at some very common question types,

to talk about things you like,

talk about things you're good at,

talk about how often you do things, different adverbs.

Connectors, and the question,

would you, da, da, da.

Would you like to be a scientist?

Hmm, maybe I would, I'm not sure.

I haven't really thought about it.

Those are the different kinds of questions

we're going to look at.

Now, a very important point.

I don't want you to try and take my phrases.

I don't want you to try and squeeze them

in to your answers

(hitting bottle)

at all costs.

No.

Doesn't work.

Learn them, practice them,

and try and use them naturally in your speaking,

that is so important.

How can you practice using them naturally?

Well, that's a very good question,

and I'm very glad you asked me.

Here are some ideas.

First, number one, you could get a list of questions,

get a list of my phrases,

and have a look where could you use

these phrases in which answers.

And then practice answering.

Number two, you could do the same activity,

but with a speaking partner.

Do it together.

Two heads are better than one, right?

Number three, is you could find a teacher

and just practice answering questions with your teacher.

The great thing about that is that you get feedback,

quality feedback,

that will guide you and help you give better answers.

Now, one place I strongly recommend

to find a teacher is Cambly.

Cambly is an online platform.

They've got native English-speaking teachers.

You can find out about Cambly in the description below,

there are links there to sign up.

I'm gonna tell you more about that later.

Right now, let's get into these useful phrases

for IELTS Speaking part one.

Okay, so the first area we're going to look at

is things you like.

Which is a common kind of question

in IELTS Speaking part one.

So the examiner may ask you questions like the following.

(graphic swooshing)

Do you like music?

(graphic swooshing)

Do you like art?

(graphic swooshing)

Do you like social media?

(graphic swooshing)

Do you like coffee?

(graphic swooshing)

Now, of course you could say Yes.

Yes, I like it.

Yes, I love it.

But you could also say, yes, I can't get enough of it.

I can't get enough of it.

Which means that you want more and more

because you like it so much.

It's a great phrase.

I can't get enough of it.

Repeat with me.

I can't get enough of it.

I can't get enough of it.

Lovely, great.

Do you like music?

Lovely.

Now do notice, we're talking about a thing in the singular.

If the question's in the plural,

then it changes.

So if the question is, do you like cakes?

Or do you like books?

Or do you like cars?

Yes, I can't get enough of them.

Them, you must change it to the plural.

Do you like books?

That's it.

Let's move on.

(graphic swooshing)

Okay, now we're still talking about things you like,

and the next phrase is, what I like most about it.

It's a lovely phrase.

Again, if the examiner is asking you,

do you like art?

Do you like social media?

Do you like coffee?

Or--

(graphic swooshing)

And, do you like science?

(graphic swooshing)

Now, of course you could say yes, I do.

It's great.

It's very interesting.

(Keith chuckling)

Not great, but what about the following?

Do you like science?

Yes, what I like most about it is it's so interesting.

For example, last week I read an article

about solar panels and how we can use them

to protect the planet.

So it's a lovely phrase, it's a complex chunk.

What I like most about it,

and it leads into a longer answer.

Very naturally, you're gonna say what you like most.

So there's adjectives.

And then an example,

it's a beautiful natural progression.

Lovely.

Do you like science?

Nice, let's move on.

(graphic swooshing)

Okay, the next phrase,

still talking about things you like is,

I love that it allows me to.

I love that it, the thing we're talking about,

science, or coffee,

allows me to do something.

Pronunciation, I love that it allows me.

That it allows me.

I love that it allows me to.

So the examiner may ask you the following.

(graphic swooshing)

And, do you like science?

(graphic swooshing)

Yes, I love that it allows me

to understand the world around us.

(graphic swooshing)

Do you like social media?

(graphic swooshing)

Yes, I love that it allows me to connect with my family

and friends at the press of a button.

(graphic swooshing)

Do you like coffee?

(graphic swooshing)

Yes, I love that it allows me to wake up quickly,

and be on the ball at work.

That's a nice expression, be on the ball.

Idiom, idiomatic,

to be on the ball is to be alert, clever, sharp,

in any situation.

To be on the ball at work.

Let's move on to the next group of phrases.

Okay, the next group we've got two phrases,

and we're talking about things that you are good at,

or not good at.

The examiner may ask questions like the following.

(graphic swooshing)

Do you cook?

(graphic swooshing)

Do you swim?

(graphic swooshing)

Do you play sports?

(graphic swooshing)

Or.

(graphic swooshing)

Are you good at cooking?

(graphic swooshing)

Are you good at swimming?

(graphic swooshing)

Are you good at playing sports?

I've said, are you good at playing sports?

(graphic swooshing)

So if the examiner asks you--

(graphic swooshing)

Do you cook?

(graphic swooshing)

Are you good at cooking?

(graphic swooshing)

You can say, yes, I do.

Yes, I'm good at it.

Good at, I'm good at it.

Or, yes, I have a knack for it.

I have a knack for something,

means I'm good at, I have a special talent for it.

Yes, I have a knack for it.

Or yes, I have a knack for cooking.

Yes, I have a knack for swimming.

Means you're good at it.

I wonder, what sport do you have a knack for?

If you like sport.

Now that's a positive thing.

The next phrase is when it's less positive.

So if the answer's no, you can say, no, I'm hopeless at it.

I'm hopeless at it.

Instead of I'm bad at it, I'm hopeless at it.

Pronounce with me.

I'm hopeless at it.

Exactly, good.

Are you good at cooking?

No, I'm hopeless at it.

Or no, I'm hopeless at cooking.

Great, good.

Are you good at singing?

Interesting, great.

Let's move on.

So moving on.

In the next section,

we're looking at five phrases

which are talking about how often you do things.

Now, there are very common questions

that the examiner may ask are like this.

(graphic swooshing)

And do you play football?

(graphic swooshing)

And do you sing at all?

(graphic swooshing)

And do you look at the sky?

(graphic swooshing)

And to give adverbs of frequency, how often you do it,

it's perfectly fine to say yes, sometimes,

or yes, usually, or no, never.

That's fine.

But you can also be a bit more colorful and creative

if you like, and if you're feeling confident.

So if the question is, for example, do you play football?

You could say, instead of sometimes,

how about the following?

Yes, from time to time.

Yes, now and again.

Yes, every once in a while.

That's a nice one, every once in a while.

Meaning sometimes.

Another way of saying usually is the following.

Do you play football?

Yes, I play football on Saturdays, more often than not.

More often than not, lovely.

More often than not.

Yes, I sing in the shower.

Do you sing?

Yes, I sing in the shower, more often than not.

Just means usually, lovely.

Finally, if you want to say never,

another way around that could be, for example, do you sing?

No, I'm not in the least bit interested in that.

I'm not in the least bit interested in that.

Great.

Do you cook?

No, I'm not in the least bit interested in that.

Lovely expression.

All of these ways to talk about how often you do things.

Let's move on.

(graphic swooshing)

Next up, ooh.

(Keith sipping drink)

(Keith exhaling)

How's it going?

Listen, if you're enjoying the video so far,

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I'd like to take a moment to tell you about Cambly

who have so kindly sponsored this video.

If you don't know, Cambly is an online platform

where you can learn and practice your English.

There are many platforms out there nowadays, but for me,

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And they've got packages to meet all kinds of students.

They've also got, actually, IELTS courses that are included.

Once you sign up for Cambly

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I think English learning,

preparing IELTS is a bit of a long-term investment,

but one that really, really pays off.

Now, as Cambly have sponsored the video,

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You can go and see, have a go, see if it works for you,

but it's a great way to practice your English

and get ready for your IELTS Speaking.

With that, let's sip up and move on.

In the next category I've got three phrases

which are all about connectors,

sometimes called discourse markers.

If they come at the beginning of a sentence,

I call them signposts, because they're kind of showing

the examiner what's coming next.

Now we're gonna look at three different ones

and they can be used quite flexibly.

And we're looking at situations where the examiner

is asking your opinion of something.

There are two common question types that come up here.

One of them is, do you prefer A or B?

For example.

(graphic swooshing)

Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?

(graphic swooshing)

Do you prefer TV series or films?

(graphic swooshing)

Another is what's your favorite?

For example.

(graphic swooshing)

What is your favorite kind of weather?

(graphic swooshing)

So the first expression, or the first connector,

signpost, if you like, is without a doubt.

Without a doubt.

Doubt.

I know it's got a B, but you don't pronounce it.

Without a doubt.

And this is where you're very sure about your answer.

So you may say--

(graphic swooshing)

Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?

(graphic swooshing)

Without a doubt, I prefer cold weather.

because in the hot weather, if it's sunny,

my skin burns so easily.

The next phrase is in all seriousness.

Which means you're taking a more serious tone.

It doesn't mean that you're deadly serious,

but it means you're a bit more serious.

But notice how we can use it in the same way.

Again, if I'm asked--

(graphic swooshing)

Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?

(graphic swooshing)

In all seriousness, I prefer cold weather

because in the hot weather, if it's sunny,

my skin burns so easily.

And the final phrase is, to be totally upfront.

To be totally upfront.

To be upfront means to be honest.

So this expression means, to be honest,

to be completely honest, to be totally upfront.

Can you say that?

To be totally upfront.

And again, we could use it similarly.

If I'm asked--

(graphic swooshing)

Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?

(graphic swooshing)

To be totally upfront, I prefer the cold weather

because if it's hot and sunny, my skin burns so easily.

Great.

You'll notice that these signposts or fillers

are a little bit idiomatic,

they don't have to mean exactly what it says.

If you say, well, to be honest,

it doesn't mean everything else you said was a lie.

All my past answers, I was lying, but now to be honest.

No, it doesn't mean that.

It's really just a filler.

It's just a way of starting your sentence in a nice way.

So as you've seen, I've used all three for the same context,

so they're very flexible, can be used.

They're powerful signposts, help your coherence

and your fluency, lovely.

Let's move on.

The next and final category is the would question.

So sometimes in part one you may be asked,

would you, ba, ba, ba, ba.

Would you do something, or would you like to do something?

For example--

(graphic swooshing)

Would you like to be famous?

(graphic swooshing)

Would you give shoes as a present?

(graphic swooshing)

So I'm gonna give you two phrases.

One is a yes answer, and the other is a no answer.

So if you're asked, for example,

would you like to be famous?

Yes, I wouldn't think twice about it.

And then develop your answer.

But yes, I wouldn't think twice about it.

Meaning I wouldn't think a lot, I would just do it.

Of course, yes.

Yes, absolutely.

Without a doubt.

I wouldn't think twice about it.

Great.

The opposite or the negative answer, no.

So for example, same question.

Would you like to be famous?

No, not for the love of money.

(Keith chuckling)

Not for the love of money.

So even if somebody gave me lots of money,

I wouldn't do it.

So no, not for the love of money.

There is a similar expression.

No, not for all the money in the world.

You could imagine.

But I like, no, not for the love of money.

Great, so what about you?

Would you like to be famous?

Tell me more.

Actually don't tell me more, we're moving on.

Now, remember what I said about using these phrases

and not squeezing them in, but to use them naturally.

How do you speak naturally?

Well, to be honest, to be totally upfront,

it doesn't happen overnight.

In all seriousness, you have to practice every day.

(graphic swooshing)

You really need to turn up every day.

Step-by-step you slowly get towards that goal,

(graphic swooshing)

speaking more and more naturally.

So puts in the time, put in the energy,

have fun, but put in time to do it.

As I say to my students,

every day that you practice,

the door to opportunity opens a little bit more.

So practice.

Do remember, go and check out Cambly where you can practice

with a native English speaker teacher.

You've got discounts.

In fact, if you go on as a first time user,

you can get a 10-minute lesson for free

to see if it works for you, if it's what you want.

If it is, you can use the code in the link below, keith-yt,

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So long-term investment,

but your speaking natural English is a long-term investment.

Great.

It's been wonderful as always chatting to you.

Go ahead, start practicing,

and I will see you very soon in the next video.

Take care my friend, bye-bye.

(upbeat music)