Hi guys,

It’s 2024! I would like to wish you all a very wonderful 2024!

May this year bring you joy, health and prosperity.

And my wish for the world this year is …. understanding, respect, peace and love. May each of us in our own corners of the world strive to bring this about in 2024 in our own special way.

My love to you all,

Liz xxx

Dear all,

I’m sure you’ve heard the news that Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom died yesterday.

She dedicated her life to her duty. A duty which lasted 70 years. She worked with dignity and faithfulness to what she believed in. In an ever changing world, she remained a constant – a rock for many people.  Ascending the throne at the young age of 25, her ability to remain steady and focused no matter what happened in the UK and globally never faltered. Even through the death of her husband, she continued her work with the same determined resolve right up to the end of her life aged 96.

While I am not a royalist as I believe that no single person is above another, I do deeply admire someone who was able to work with such great moral integrity over such a long period of time and who was held in such great respect by so many around the world. She was an inspiration in many ways.

My best wishes to you all,

Liz

 

Below are some predicted IELTS Speaking Part 1 topics that could appear this year. Please do not just jump to the list of topics. Please read all the information given below before you read the list of topics. The best way to learn is to be attentive to detail.

Preparation

As you see, I have not written questions, only topics. This is because it is important that you answer naturally in your IELTS Speaking Test without using memorised answers or memorised sentences. Instead, just prepare the following:

• key vocabulary
• comparisons
• your childhood memories
• your recent past memories
• your current situation or opinions
• popular activities or opinions in your country
• things you can do /  don’t do / do often / would like to do
• your future hopes

You can prepare for your Speaking Test on your own at home. See this video: How to Develop Your IELTS Speaking at Home for Free

Common Topics

You must prepare all common topics for IELTS Speaking Part 1 as well as predicted topics. Many common topics will definitely be used in 2022. Click here: IELTS Speaking Part 1 Common Topics

Predictions for Speaking Part 1 2022

Please note that within each topic below, there are subtopics. You might be given a subtopic. For example, within the topic of Clothing, you will find the subtopics of Fashion or Accessories. You could get any of those subtopics.

• Animals
  • pets, wild animals, common species, company for people
• Buildings
  • the prefect home: rooms, views, outdoor area
  • neighbourhood buildings
  • old buildings, famous buildings in your country
  • style of buildings: modern, old, classical, traditional
•  Clothes
  • buying clothes, traditional clothes, uniforms
  • spending money, fashion, functional wear
  • accessories: bags, shoes, belts, wrist watches, hats, jewelry
  • vanity, using mirrors, your image
• Communication
  • phone calls, emails, online chat, texts – best way to communicate
  • facebook, social media – pros and cons
  • special chats with friends or family
• Daily Habits
  • your daily routine
  • your usual schedule
  • time with friends and family
  • doing new things, meeting new people
• Education
  • subjects, teachers, school friends, 
  • sports, extra curricular activities
  • school rules, uniforms
•  Environment
  • your neighbourhood, nature in your country
  • outdoor activities, outdoor sports
  • parks, gardens, trees, flowers, bees 
  • recycling, wildlife
• Family & Friends
  • spending quality time, activities together, socialising online or in person
  • favourite people in your life
  • old members of your family, age of friends
• Free time
  • days off / holidays 
  • reading, magazines, films, passive activities, lockdown activities, hobbies
  • importance of free time, too much free time
• Food & Drink
  • meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • snacks, fruit, chocolate, cakes, junk food
  • tea, coffee, alcoholic drinks, celebration drinks
  • home cooked vs restaurant food
• Health
  • Keeping fit (gym/at home), sport, 
  • mental health (nature, meditation)
  • finding ways to relax, remaining positive (anxiety, happiness)
  • free time activities, hobbies
  • healthy diet
• Helping People
  • donating money, charities
  • helping neighbours, relationships with friends and neighbours
  • supporting the elderly
• Home
  • house / apartment
  • favourite room, furniture, decoration
  • neighbourhood, neighbours
  • home improvements
• Internet
  • using phones or laptop, life without computers
  • pros and cons of internet
  • meeting people online, communication online
  • favourite website. popular websites or apps
• Languages
  • learning a foreign language: books, app, teachers, visiting a country
  • children learning foreign language – school
  • subtitles on films, foreign films
• Music
  • songs, singers, places for music
  • foreign songs, lyrics
  • children and music, music in school
• News
  • domestic and international news – how often you read, what type you prefer
  • how you get your news – newspaper, online etc
  • reading headlines or articles
• Outdoor Activities
  • popular types: picnics, sport, hobbies, photography etc
  • with friends and family
  • importance and changes over time
  • childhood outdoor activities / games
• Phone
  • how often you use it and why you use it
  • special features: cameras, calendars, clock, weather etc
  • texting people, calling people, accessing the internet
  • children using smart phones
• Photography
  • your experience taking photos
  • types of photos (the type of picture – family/scene etc)
  • the way photos are taken – different gadgets
• Reading
  • types of books / magazines / websites / news
  • children’s books
  • foreign books, books converted into films / books vs movies
• Remembering
  • how to focus, being tired
  • remembering numbers, remembering birthdays / dates
  • using calendars or notes or reminder apps on your phone
•  Transport
  • trains, planes, buses, bike, walking
  • public / private transport / popular options
  • comparisons, your frequent habits, your past experiences, your opinions
• Sleeping
  • your habits
  • your dreams / importance of dreams
  • importance of sleep for health
• Study (only for students)
  • your course, your subject, your daily schedule
  • equipment you use, projects, working with others
  • first day memories, future goals, future career
• Sport
  • favourite sport, popular sport, watching sports on TV
  • sport in schools, exercise
  • exciting sports
• Sunshine
  • Spending time in the sun / activites
  • using sunscreen, tanning,  suitable clothing
  • weather in your country, seasons, rain, clouds
• Work (only for working people)
  • your job, roles, tasks
  • your first day memories
  • your goals, plans, development, promotion
  • equipment used

FREE TIPS AND MODEL ANSWERS FOR IELTS SPEAKING

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Below you will find the answers and transcript to the Multiple Choice Listening Practice about Moles.

If you haven’t completed this lesson yet, please do so before you look at the answers. Click here for the lesson: MOLES Listening Practice

Transcript and Audio

Listen again to the audio and read the transcript at the same time. It will help you to check your answers and also improve your pronunciation. The actual answers are listed below.

Transcript: Moles and Mole Hills. The earliest species of mole was found more or less 55 million years ago. Since then, they have developed into 42 species all of which are categorised as insectivores. Nowadays, most people in the UK come across moles when they discover mole hills on their lawns. It is from these mole hills that the idiom “making a mountain out of a mole hill” was formed. This is a very common idiom used by most native English speakers and means exaggerating something that is in fact quite small and trivial. Mole hills are created by the mole digging out earth to create tunnels and throwing the earth outwards into the garden which creates little mounds of earth on the surface. These mole hills do not cause the garden much damage but many people think they are unsightly. Moles can carry rabies which can cause serious illness if someone is bitten, but as most people rarely come into contact with a living mole, they are hardly considered a health risk. As people, particularly in the UK, are very proud of their gardens, the unsightly mole hills result in them laying down traps which kill the moles. Some people think moles are blind which is why they live underground in the dark. However, this is a myth. Although, it’s true that their eyes are very small and play little role in their life underground. They rely mostly on their sense of smell and hearing which they use to find food, such as worms. They are particularly sensitive to vibrations in the soil. A mole is capable of digging upward of 200 yards in a day, which considering that a mole only grows to about 15cm is a great achievement. They often use their tunnels as highways to travel from one place to another. They can run down their tunnels, go backwards and even do little somersaults all inside their tunnels. Their tunnel systems are also used to connect subterranean living chambers such as bedrooms and birthing chambers. The birthing chamber is about the size of a football and the female mole lines it with dry grass and leaves for the young. It’s easy to spot the breeding chamber because the mole hill above it is the biggest. She is the only adult mole who is responsible for taking care of the young. Moles are sweet looking creatures with massive hands, short limbs and strong claws all designed as excellent digging tools. Unfortunately, for moles, their skins used to be prized highly by British High Society for clothing which meant that many moles died for the vanity of people.

Audio

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Answers

1. The mole hill idiom means …
   • Answer: A
   • To exaggerate mean to make something small appear bigger than it is. Such as acting like a small spot on your face, it is huge tumour.
   • Also note, IELTS listening never tests your understanding of idioms. But in this question the meaning as given so it tested only your listening.
   • This isn’t a realistic question for IELTS listening because many of you could guess the answer. This isn’t normal for IELTS listening questions. But I thought you’d all enjoy the question anyway 🙂 
2. Most people are worried that mole hills ….
   • Answer: B
   • The recording says “mole hills don’t cause much damage”. This means option A is wrong. Just because you hear the word “damage” which is also found in the question doesn’t mean it is the answer. Don’t try to match words.
   • The recording says “many people think they are unsightly”. The word “unsightly” means ugly. 
   • The recording says “Moles can carry rabies which can cause serious illness if someone is bitten, but as most people rarely come into contact with a living mole, they are hardly considered a health risk” This means that while moles can carry disease, they aren’t actually a risk.
3. Moles …
   • Answer: C
   • The recording says that blind moles “are a myth”. This means it is not true.
   • The recording says they eat worms. But it does not say they eat “ONLY” worms. Pay attention to the word “only”. It means they eat worms and nothing else. 
   • The answer is found here “They are particularly sensitive to vibrations in the soil. ” This means they can feel movement in the earth.
4. Moles can dig …
   • Answer: A
   • The recording says “A mole is capable of digging upward of 200 yards in a day”. The word “upward of” means “over”.
5. Moles give birth ….
   • Answer: B
   • The recording says “Their tunnel systems are also used to connect subterranean living chambers such as bedrooms and birthing chambers. “. 
   • This was a difficult question. The birthing chamber is where moles give birth and the recording shows it is also one of the “subterranean living chamber”. This means “underground”.
   • You could also arrive at this answer by process of elimination. This means to delete the wrong answers. They don’t give birth in a bedroom, but in a birthing chamber and definitely not in a tunnel.
6. The birthing chamber is …
   • Answer: A
   • the recording says “The birthing chamber is about the size of a football and the female mole lines it with dry grass and leaves for the young. It’s easy to spot the breeding chamber because the mole hill above it is the biggest. She is the only adult mole who is responsible for taking care of the young.”. This shows it is not specifically larger than a football and the “she mole” (not the males) cares for the young. This provides the only answer which is 100% accurate: “the mole hill above is the biggest” which means the chamber is below the biggest mole hill.
7. Moles are equipped with …
   • Answer: C
   • The recording showed that moles have “massive hands, short limbs and strong claws all designed as excellent digging tools. “
   • Limbs are said to be short, no mention about strength. So, answer A is wrong.
   • Claws (nails) are strong, but no mention of being curved. So, answer B is wrong.
   • The word “immense” is the same as: huge, very big, massive.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed this listening test and have learned some new aspects of how to spot correct answers. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

Click below:

• ESSENTIAL MULTIPLE CHOICE TIPS
• Tips: Using the listening transcripts properly
• ALL LISTENING PRACTICE LESSONS & TIPS 
• ALL READING PRACTICE LESSONS & TIPS 

All the best

Liz 

I’ve posted the answers about misunderstanding or misreading the IELTS Speaking Part 2 Cue Card back on the original page. Click here to see the answers and explanation: Misunderstanding the Cue Card

Hi guys,

Many countries around the world are seeing in the New Year tonight. I want to wish you all a very Prosperous New Year. I hope that you reach your goals and find much love this coming year.

It’s been a tough few years. For some of you, it may have also been a painful few years. But each year brings new hope. Each tiny step you take from today onward will help shape your future. Take those steps with enthusiasm, joy and determination to never to give up!

My love to you all. Stay safe this year!!

Liz xx

Below you will find the full transcript and audio recording for the dictation lesson about “Disaster Management”.

If you haven’t completed this lesson yet, please do so before looking at the answers below. Click here: Listen & Write Lesson

Audio Recording

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Transcript

Strengthening community capacity to prevent and cope with the impact of disasters is a valuable way to save lives and better protect livelihoods as well as prevent such shocks from crippling development within the poorest countries. Early warning and early action are more cost effective than traditional disaster responses and save more lives per pound spent. In other words, public money has four times as much humanitarian impact if spending on preparation and risk reduction rather than on relief items.

Review

It is important that you check what type of errors you are making having completed this lesson.

1. Punctuation – did you overuse commas or did you miss them out? Did you notice when sentences ended and a new one began?
2. Spelling – did you spell all words correctly?
3. Grammar – below are three common grammar mistakes:
   1. articles (a/the = , the impact, the poorest countries
   2. plural nouns (livelihoods,
   3. verb agreement (is /are save/ saves)

If you need help with grammar, consider getting my Grammar E-book. Click below:

Visit LIZ’S ONLINE STORE

In the IELTS Speaking test, can you say “I don’t understand, can you repeat that please?” to the examiner. Will you get a lower score if you say that?

It is not uncommon that you might not understand a question that the examiner asks. Or you might not have heard the question properly so you want the question repeated. What is the best way to tackle this situation?

Can I ask the examiner to repeat the question?

Yes, it’s 100% ok to ask for the question to be repeated. See this page: Asking the Examiner Questions for more information about asking the examiner questions during the test.

Will I get a low score if I say “I don’t understand” in IELTS Speaking?

In IELTS Speaking, you are not marked on your ability to understand a question. You are only marked on:

• Fluency & Coherence 
• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Pronunciation

Each of those marking criterion are worth 25% of your speaking marks. As you can see, understanding or being on topic are not marked. This means if you don’t understand a question or you misunderstand a question, you won’t get marked down.  So, feel free to ask for the question to be repeated.

However, do I recommend that you say “I don’t understand“?  No, I don’t recommend you say it. It is never a good idea to show that you struggled to understand something in English during an English language test.

What can I do if I don’t understand a question in IELTS Speaking?

The best way to deal with a question you don’t understand is to simply ask for the examiner to repeat it without saying that you don’t understand. For example:

Could you repeat that, please?

Saying this simple line is clear and direct. It doesn’t show your lack of understanding. It is polite and appropriate for the IELTS Speaking test.

Other similar options are:

• Sorry, could you say that again, please?
• Sorry, I missed that. Could you repeat the question, please?

You can also say:

Sorry, I didn’t quite hear you. Could you say that again more clearly?

Sorry, I didn’t quite hear the question. Could you say that again more slowly?

Sorry, what did you say? Could you say that again more loudly?

Alternatively, you could say:

Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Could you repeat that, please?

I didn’t quite catch what you said. Could you repeat that, please?

This is a great way to ask for the question to be repeated because it uses idiomatic language which will boost your score. “to catch something that was said” is idiomatic language.  However, don’t say this repeatedly. Try to be flexible with the language you use when you ask for the question to be repeated. Each word you say while the recording is on will be marked.

Be Prepared

It is important that you rehearse these responses so that when you don’t understand something, you are ready with a variety of possible responses to deal with the situation. This will give you confidence in the test and show the examiner a range of language for dealing with misunderstandings. These are things which will help your score.

Can you ask for the question to be explained?

The answer to this question is Yes and No. Let me explain…

In part 1, the examiner is not allowed to explain the question to you. So, in part 1, you can only ask for the question to be repeated. 

In part 2, the examiner cannot explain the cue card to you. You must do your best to understand the main topic and follow the prompts as best you can.

In part 3, the discussion, it is fine to ask the question to explain what they mean. The examiner will say the question again using different words so that you can understand more easily. You could say “Sorry, could you explain what you mean?” This won’t affect your score, but try not to say too often.

I hope you have found this page useful. I always thinking that the more you are prepared for IELTS and the more you understand about the test, the better your chances of success. For more tips and free lessons relating to IELTS speaking, click here: Free IELTS Speaking Tips

All the best

Liz 🙂

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