CONTENTS

Sample answers

Sample questions and answers  from speaking part 1, 2 and  3

Key vocabulary

Words and terms frequently used  when talking about work

Word formation

Learn how to use  wide variety of parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives

Collocations

Find out groups of words that usually used together by native speakers

Useful resources

References to teaching and authentic materials related to this topic: IELTS blogs, podcasts, videos and articles

 
 

WORK vocabulary topic for IELTS SPEAKING

Mindmap: WORK vocabulary topic for IELTS SPEAKING

 

 

Work: Sample questions and answers for IELTS speaking exam

 

Part 1

  1. Describe the company or organization you work for.

– I work for the Energy Development Corporation (EDC); it is a company that focuses on the development of renewable energy.

 

  1. What is your position?

-I am part of the geophysical survey team, I am a geologist.

 

  1. What are your responsibilities?

– Our team is accountable for identifying if a significant resource is present, as well as to collect and analyze samples within the area of research.

 

  1. What do you like about your job?

The best thing about my job is that I can travel and discover places in which I otherwise would not be able to see.

5. What do you dislike about your job?

-Conducting projects in far-flung areas means being away from my family for several days. Thus, I don’t spend a lot of time with my wife and kids. I miss them so much.

 

6. How many hours do you work each day?

-When I am out in the field work, I spend several hours traveling to the area, then the survey usually lasts for a couple of days, and sometimes – even weeks. When there is no fieldwork, I usually work from 8 am to 5 pm at the office.

 

7.What would be your ideal job?

 

-My ideal job is be something that always brings something new to life, not a repetitive monotonous work. I am good at my responsibilities, but I also expect some pleasant moments at my workplace.

 

Part 2

Describe the job you would most like to have. You should say:

 

  • what this job would be
  • where you would work
  • which qualifications you would need and
  • explain why you would like to have this job most.

I must admit that I have realized one of my passions a little bit too late in life. Seems like I have always wanted to become a chef in a nice high-end restaurant. Eating food is great, isn’t it? But the process of cooking food and the skill it requires to have is what I find even more intriguing and fascinating.

I could probably enjoy working and being trained in fine dining restaurants or some cruise ships that offer a variety of international dishes. I would like to get to know different cultures all over the world through food. I think it is one of the aspects that distinguishes countries.

To be able to be a chef, I need to have education in culinary arts. I also need to undergo a training in various restaurants to be able to apply the knowledge and information I obtained at school. A chef is a highly creative person, since one of his/her responsibilities is to arrange food with a final touch and think of its overall appealing look on the plate.

The kitchen is the only place I have ever felt like I really belong to. I love its heat and the pressure, apparently.

 

Part 3

  1. Which jobs are the most respected in your country?

-In my opinion, these are highly-skilled professional positions such as in the fields of law, medicine, and engineering. Usually, parents encourage their children to undertake such careers, because working in these domains, one always has a nice salary and bright perspectives in life. I specifically respect doctors, since they are not only hard-working professionals but also people who dedicate their lives to helping others.

  1. Some people say it’s better to work for yourself than be employed by a company. What’s your view?

 

-On the topic of self-employment, I agree with a Chinese billionaire Jack Ma. For young people, it is wiser to first seek a secue position at a smaller company, because at big ones recent graduates frequently get lost in the large system and routine of endless repetitive tasks, ending up unnoticed. At a family-owned enterprise, on the contrary, it is easier to seize opportunities and take initiatives. As one grows, it is important to focus on learning and developing hard skills. When there is a subjective border of learning reached, one might reconsider the career choice in favour of a more responsible place at a bigger corporation or even the difficult path of entrepreneurship..

 

  1. What changes in employment have there been in recent years in your country?

 

-There has been a rejuvenation of the “entrepreneurial spirit” in our country: more and more people become involved in starting their own businesses. The “start-up” community is now more alive than ever, even college students launch their start-up businesses while studying. Even though there is a high failure rate of start-ups, people nevertheless are starting to take the risk and put their ideas into creation.

 

 

Key vocabulary: Definitions and examples

 


 WORD

 

DEFINITION

 

EXAMPLE


 

get promotion

someone who got promotion is  given a more  important job  in the same organization

 

Do they get  promotion or change jobs?

 

to pay

to give money in exchange for goods or services

 

She refused to let me  pay for the taxi.

 

job

work that is done regularly to earn money

 

Afterlanding a job in an off-licence straight out of school, he was initially baffled, butintrigued all the same.

 

customer

a person or organization that buys goods or services from a store or business

 

He will usually refer the customer to someone in his firm who isan expert in that field

 

workload

the amount of work to be done by someone or something

 

To cope with the increasing  workload our staff has grown from about 350 to about 1,000, which makes us by far the largest ombudsman scheme worldwide.

 

career

an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan.

 

Most young people today , whatever their background , see school as a passport to a good  career.

 

workplace

any or all locations or environments where people are employed

 

People with a job spend a lot of time at their workplace so a healthy  workplace is vital to their health.

 

 

salary

monthly (yearly) payment that you earn  from your job

 

Apprenticeships areoften a great way to earn a salary or receive an allowance while learning newskills and gaining qualifications.

 

wage

a fixed regular payment, typically paid on a daily or weekly basis, made by an employer to an employee

 

The basic state pension is just 15.9 per cent of the average wage, compared to 18.4 per cent 57 years ago.

 

blue-collar worker

relating to manual workers

 

Workplace automation has eliminated many of the jobs that enabled blue-collar workers to join the middle class.

 

white-collar worker

relating to  those who work in an office

 

White-collar workers are evaluated based on performance.

 

to take time off

to stop working for a short time

 

Taking time off is one of the best ways to re-engage your mind and make yourself more productive.

 

to take unpaid leave

if you take leave you stay away from work usually because of holiday or illness, without getting paid

 

Can he  afford to take unpaid leave?

 

sick leave

Paid absence from work specifically to recover from illness.

 

Sick leave is usually 1- 1 1/2 days per month.


 

 

Word Formation

 


WORD

PART OF SPEECH

EXAMPLE

 

work

noun

When getting home from work, the first thing you tell your partner is the best thing that happened that day

to work

verb

Work on it in the morning before your work day.

 

working

adjective

What is the most effective way to enhance working memory?


promotion

noun

Promotions in Army are to higher ranks and not to a different organisation.

to get promoted

verb

Helping your manager get promoted is useless.


pay

noun

Their average basic  pay is approximately 300 pounds per month.

to pay 

verb

People do pay for quality.

 

 

well-paid

adjective

Are astronauts well paid?


 

employment

noun

A 2012 NASSCOM survey reveals that 83% of Indian engineering graduates are unfit for employment. 

unemployment 

noun

To get a sense of the cause of unemployment, it helps to understand excess capacity.

 

employee

adjective

The best employees are multipliers who make others more productive, and next are the adders (workhorses).

employer

noun

My  employers, the University of Bristol, own the intellectual property rights for this article.

to employ

verb

I explained again : about my job description , custom and practice and my right to do the work for which I was  employed .

 

self-employed

adjective

There are lots of ways to describe being self-employed and it will totally depend on the person that you’re speaking to.

unemployed

noun

I was unemployed for almost a year after graduating.


earnings

noun

Sales and earnings are two different things.

to earn

verb

What is the best career advice for a software developer to earn higher total compensation?


qualification

noun

Colonel Spratt highlighted the importance of the qualification for people planning a career in marketing.

to qualify

verb

Like student nurses, there are no jobs for them when they  qualify.

 

qualified

adjective

The English Department employs well qualified and experienced tutors and as a result has always enjoyed a high success rate in examination results.


 

Collocations

 


hard

arduous

challenging

complicated

intensive

labour-intensive

physical

delicate  

adjective +

work

 

monotonous

repetitive  

fascinating

interesting

paid

unpaid

professional

intellectual

mental

creative

adjective +

work

 

individual

group

meticulous

experimental

academic

commercial

educational

environmental

scientific

building

construction

adjective +

work

 

carry out

do

get done

have done

take on

undertake

begin

commence

get down to

verb+

work

 

carry on

continue

complete

finish

halt

hold up

stop

verb+

work

 

at

on

preposition+

work

 

 

lucrative

well paid

badly paid

full-time

part-time

permanent

temporary

regular

steady

adjective+

job

 

freelance

voluntary

skilled

unskilled

manual

indoor

outdoor

daily

day-to-day

adjective+

job

 

administrative

clerical

office

secretarial

managerial

domestic

social

research

agricultural

farm

building

adjective+

work

 

boring

dead-end

menial

routine

undemanding

well-paid

low-paid

full-time

part-time

9-to-5

regular

steady

adjective+

job

 

permanent

temporary

holiday

summer

vac/vacation

evening

Saturday

weekend

adjective+

job

 

in a/the

on the

preposition+

job

 

search

advertisement

vacancy

application

interview

title

market

cuts

losses

opportunities

prospects  

satisfaction

job+noun

work

 

have

look for

apply fo

go for

find

get

land

take

lose

give up

pack in

resign from

verb

verb+preposition+

job

 

give sb

offer sb

verb

job

 

right person for the job

phrase

job

 

Useful resources

 

 

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