IELTS speaking part 2 is called ‘the long turn.’ This is the part of the test that many students feel most nervous about because they have to talk for 1-2 minutes with only a minute of preparation.
Some tutors call this section ‘the talk,’ while others just think of it as a time to tell a good story. I tend to agree with the latter. If you can tell a good and interesting story then it is likely to be full of adjectives, adverbs, phrasal verbs and lots of things that the examiner will be impressed with
Hopefully, this will be a good chance for you to talk about something that excites you. If you’re excited about what you are talking about, the person listening should be interested in what you are saying.
You will receive a ‘cue card’ or question card along with some paper to make notes. You will be given 1 minute to prepare an answer (you can take notes if you like).
You will then be asked to speak for 1 to 2 minutes about the topic.
The cue card may look something like this:
Describe a story or novel you have read that you found interesting
You should say:
- when you read it
- what the story or novel was about
- who wrote it
- and explain why you read it.
This cue card is asking about a noun. It could be a book, present, film, place, food…They could ask about almost anything.
Some question cards will ask about journeys, experiences, problems, and changes… Some of the more abstract questions that were recently asked are given below.
Describe a time when you forgot/missed an appointment
You should say:
- when it was
- who you made it with
- why you miss it
- and how you felt about it.
Describe a positive change that you made in your life.
You should say:
- what it is
- why you did it
- who you did it with
- and explain how you feel about the change.
As you can see, these IELTS speaking part 2 question cards can really be about anything. The one thing that they all have in common is you. They all ask about something you did, someone you know, something you want or something you will do.
My first piece of advice when answering these questions is to base the answer on something true. It is much easier to talk about something that actually happened.
Look at this post to see how you can answer an IELTS speaking part 2 question about a person or thing (using PPF method).
The next blog post will look at how to answer an IELTS speaking part 2 question.
For a model answer to an IELTS speaking part 2 question follow this link.