IELTS Speaking Samples: My Top 3 Web Resources Recommendations

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Sample questions and answers  are, probably,  most popular queries  that  IELTS candidates use in google search. Sample answers from native speakers are very helpful for number of reasons: you see how the question is addressed, what vocabulary range used, what are ideas used in the sample answer.

In my opinion, you don’t need too much examples to  start practicing speaking part. It is important to prepare your own answers and speak as much as it possible  (Read my previous post in which I tried to tell about my own experience of overcoming information overload and not taking action problem (“paralysis by analysis”).

I hope you are focusing more on practicing rather than searching for top 100 websites providing free IELTS speaking samples. I made this mistake. It wasn’t worth it, believe me.

Nevertheless, you need to see or listen  sample answers to get an idea of how good  (or bad)  speaking part answer looks like.There are so many blogs and websites about IELTS and language learning today.

Unfortunately, there are also many of them with lots of ads. Although they provide useful information, such as sample questions and IELTS  sample answers,  ads  make it very difficult to use them. That’s why I think it would be helpful to share with you several websites I used for speaking part where you can find great ELTS speaking samples.

IELTS-simon.com

This is probably, most popular blog on the Internet about IELTS preparation. Today is July 22, 2016 and according to data provided by semrush.com,  ielts-simon.com have  just under 3 ooo  visitors  monthly only from UK.

Most likely you already familiar with this blog. I’ll just list a few  things that I like about this website. I think they make it a great resource for  IELTS candidates

  • Consistency (lots of questions covered). First posts were published on ielts-simon.com in September 2009. It sounds fantastic, but Simon was posting on his blog almost each day since 2009.He usually  writes short pieces of text on a small particular topic. For Example, “IELTS Writing Task 2: “online shopping topic”. As a result, I was able to find almost any question I needed on his blog.
  • Simple, clear and short. What many people like about Simon’s posts is that he   gives simple but well-written sample answers.I think it’s really helpful that he teaches  to avoid  complex sentences, use wide range of vocabulary and address questions properly.  Take a look at this and this sample answers for speaking part. There is really not too many things you need to know about speaking part. Simon’s posts do a great job at explaining what IELTS candidates should focus on.  Here are some of his  advice about speaking part:
  1. Prepare good vocabulary for common topics
  2. Keep it simple
  3. Prepare ideas for the six main topics
  4. Practice “3-step” answers”
  • Lists of vocabulary. Another reason  why I liked to use Simon’s blog for my IELTS preparation is that he often shares topic vocabulary. All you need to do is save those lists or write them down.
  • Video lessons. Recently Simon started to offer free and payed video lessons which is great. In that way, it is even easier to learn how to prepare for speaking part.
  • No ads and clutter. I believe this is one of the most appealing features of this website. Although design of the website is simple, it suits perfectly needs of IELTS candidates and provides good user experience. Much better than many other IELTS websites.  At least for me, I want to focus on content first. I don’t want to be distracted by blinking ads and banners tempting me to get something “for free”. Thank you, Simon, for keeping your website clean.

IELTSspeaking.co.uk

Another IELTS website which I found very useful in terms of  IELTS speaking samples. Unlike previous site, Ieltsspeaking.co.uk is focused entirely on IELTS speaking exam. Although the website is not updated as often as ielts-simon.com, it definitely will be valuable resource to prepare for speaking exam. Here are main points why  this website was useful for my IELTS preparation:

  • Speaking Part. As I mentioned above, Ieltsspeaking.co.uk can help you only with speaking exam. By focusing only on one part of exam, this resources manages to cover a lot of useful areas. You can find basic information about IELTS speaking exam, FAQS, find teachers, use free vocabulary materials (including  IELTS speaking samples) or subscribe to an online course.
  • 20 Topics  Vocabulary. No need  to look  for sample answers somewhere else. It saves a lot of time and energy. 20 topics  can be found in one place. Just navigate to “Practice” -> “Vocabulary” and you will find  lists of vocabulary for 20 most common  IELTS speaking topics along with model answers.
  • Video Lessons. As you might know it is very important (especially in IELTS speaking part 3) to show your ability to participate in discussion.  There are number of short video lessons explaining how to practice functional language. For example, take a look at this  Comparing and contrasting lesson.

Gorrillavault Youtube Channel

To be honest, I haven’t used it for my IELTS preparation. I found it not so long ago.

  • Answers+Video. The great thing about Gorrillavault  is that  it  provides wide variety of   sample answers on different topics.  I don’t know the exact number, but by the time I’m writing this post, there are 75 2-5 min videos on this channel. It seems like most of them are sample answers. You can find here a lot of examples on part 2 and 3 answers.
  • Questions+Video. I think it can be very useful to practice using short videos with IELTS speaking questions. Check out, this video that shows complete set of questions from “Toys” topic: part1, 2 and 3. It is  very convenient to have such  youtube channel. You can watch it regularly, especially nowadays, when everyone has smartphone and can do it on the go or while commuting.
  • Turn of the music.  There is only one thing I didn’t like about this resource. Each video has a background music. As far as I am concerned, It act as a distraction. I would record this videos without any music. However, it’s  not that big problem. Just turn the volume down and focus on content.

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Everyone you will meet knows something you don’t know

IELTS Speaking Sample Answers

 

Margarett Fuller

Great quote. Isn’t it? I hope I’ll be able to expand this article later in the future, so that it could become really valuable resource. If you have something to share, live a comment and tell us about IELTS speaking samples  you found online and useful  online recourses.

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