4. 1.2 SOMEONE YOU ADMIRE
IELTS Speaking Exam Part 2
In today’s session, we’re going to look at part two of the IELTS speaking exam. And in this part, some people call it the “long turn” or the “monologue”.
Speak for 1-2 minutes
And that means that you have to speak for between one and two minutes, we usually recommend speaking for about ninety seconds. But the examiner will help you and tell you if they want you to speak more.
Today’s topic is a recent exam question and it’s a very popular exam question. And the topic looks like this:
Talk about a person you admire（钦佩;赞赏）.
Talk about a person you admire（钦佩;赞赏）.
You should say:
- who that person is
- how you know that person
- how long you have known that person (for)
- why you admire that person
TIP
Be natural
In the exam, don’t spend all your time looking down at the question card. Try to make some eye contact with the examiner.
Speak fluently
Also remember to speak fluently. And that means to speak without stopping. It’s really hard, so you need to do a lot of practice. A good way to do that is to record yourself on your smartphone.
Before you watch
Sample Answer
- Listen carefully
- Why this is a good answer
- Useful vocabulary
- Watch again
My Answer
So I’d like to talk about my friend Matthew, who I’ve known for about ten or twelve years. I first met him when we started living together as flatmates in London. And Matthew is a leading expert in cardiology. So he’s a doctor.
Review
Filler Phrase
- So I’d like to talk about…
Content
- Talked a lot about Matthew
- Introduced him
- Explained how I know him.
Grammar
- Present perfect
For example:
- “who I have known for about 10 or 12 years”
Mixed Grammar
-
“I first met him when we were living together”
-
Past simple and past continuous
Mix grammatical forms will score you good marks. So try to use them.
Vocabulary: With my vocabulary, I described Matthew as a leading expert. This is known as collocation. And you need to use them in your exam.
- “leading expert” - collocation
My Answer
But him being a doctor isn’t the reason why I admire him. When I was living with him, I found out about all the amazing things that he does in his free time. He spends a lot of his spare time volunteering for different charities. Matthew is really passionate about animal welfare. So he volunteers some of his time every week in a local dog shelter. So he goes along and looks after stray dogs. It’s so admirable.
Review
- Talked more about Matthew
- Why I admire him
- Supported my answer
Vocabulary:
- passionate about animal welfare
- stray dogs (A stray dog is a dog without a home)
My Answer
Before I met Matthew, he’d just come back from a week long cycle trip from London to Paris. Yeah, that’s right. He cycled all the way from London to Paris. What an incredible achievement. I don’t think I could do that. Even though he’s really successful in his field of work. You could also say that he’s really modest. Because he never boast or brags about his qualifications. In fact, when we go out with friends, he never tells any of our friends that he’s a doctor. So it’s always a surprise when he tells them.
Review
Vocabulary:
- even though
- he never boasts or brags
My Answer
All in all. Matthew is a super friendly and extremely reliable guy. If I ever have any problems, he is the first person that I would call. And I think I would be the first person that he would call as well. It’s incredible to know him. And even though we don’t live in the same city anymore. I do speak to him on WhatsApp. And I gave him a call once or twice a month. It’s so great to catch up.
Review
Summary
- Like the conclusion of an essay.
Phrases:
- “All in all.”
Grammar:
- Second Conditional
“He’s the first person that I would call.”
My Answer
As a person to live with, Matthew was great. He was so clean a tidy, he was pretty neat. Never any problems he would do his own washing up. It was a real pleasure to live with him. I really admire Matthew because he’s so humble. Even though he has such good qualifications and he’s so academically gifted, it’s really nice that he’s so “down to earth”.
Review
- Support your answers
- Tell stories
- Talk about experiences
LISTEN AGAIN
RECENT QUESTIONS
An important achievement in your life.
- What did you achieve?
- How did you achieve it?
- And why was it important.
A famous person who does things to help other people.
- What do they do to help.
COMMON PROBLEMS
Problem 1: Fluency
Many students don’t speak for the minimum on minute. So the key skill here is to be prepared with lots of different ideas.
Problem 2: Not Prepared
Students aren’t prepared for all of the different question types that may appear in the exam.
FULL MODEL ANSWER
- Watch, listen, pause and pratice (for yourself)
- Think about your own ideas
- Expand your ideas
- Use stopwatch and smart phone
- Be critical of yourself
Full model answer
Speaking for over 1 minute
So I’d like to talk about my friend Matthew, who I’ve known for about ten or twelve years. I first met him when we started living together as flatmates in London. And Mathew is a leading expert in cardiology. So he’s a doctor. But him being a doctor isn’t the reason why I admire him. When I was living with him, I found out about all the amazing things that he does in his free time. He spends a lof of his spare time volunteering for different charities. Matthew’s really passionate about aninal welfare. So he volunteers some of his time every week in a local dog shelter. So he goes along and looks after stray dogs. It’s so admirable. Before I met Matthew, he’d just come back from a week long cycle trip from London to Paris. Yeah, that’s right. He cycled all the way from London to Paris. What an incredible achievement, I don’t think I could do that. Even though he’s really successful in his field of work. You could also say that he’s really modest. Because he never boast or brags about his qualifications. In fact, when we go out with friends. He never tells any of our friends that he’s a doctor. So it’s always a surprise when he tells them. All in all. Matthew is a super friendly and extremely reliable guy. If I ever have any probles, he’s the first person that I would call. And I think I would be the first person that he would call as well. It’s incredible to know him. And even though we don’t live in the same city anymore. I do speak to him on WhatsApp. And I gave him a call once or twice a month. It’s so great to catch up. As a person to live with, Matthew was great. He was so clean and tidy, he was pretty neat. Never any problems he would do his own washing up. It was a real pleasure to live with him. I really admire Matthew because he’s so humble. Even though he has such good qualifications and he’s so academicallly gifted. It’s really nice that he’s so down to earth.
