In this tutorial we answer speaking questions recently seen in the IELTS exam.

We focus on parts 2 and 3.

Each answer has been transcribed.

Useful phrases you can use are highlighted.

The audio tutorial explains why these phrases are useful and how you can use them.

Tip: Listen to the audio, write down the phrases, and try and use them in your everyday conversations.

Eventually they will stick and sound more natural.

1. Cue Card (Part 2)

Describe your grand parent’s job

You should say:

– what it was

– how long he or she had this job

– how he or she got the job

– and whether you would like to have this job

USEFUL PHRASES:

Well to be honest, I don’t have much to go on here,

If I remember correctly

she got the job through a friend of hers

________ isn’t really my forte,

And that’s my small talk about

Well to be honest, I don’t have much to go on here, because I never met my Grandads, and my dad’s mum was retired, and we didn’t see her a lot. So I only have my Grandma to talk about.

If I remember correctly, she was a typist at a school for disabled children I think. She typed up letters that were to go out to parents and people connected with the school.

I think she transformed handwritten letters into typed ones because when she was working they didn’t have computers.

I believe she got the job through a friend of hers. I think they were talking about it at the market, and her friend suggested she should go for the new opening at Hollybank School. It was that or either she saw an advertisement in the newspaper and applied.

I would definitely not like to have this job because it requires a lot of patience and accuracy. Patience isn’t really my forte, to be honest.

Also, back then I think if you made a mistake it took a lot of time, typex and effort to correct it without it being visible. This would severely test my patience.

I really think it would be one of the worsts jobs I could ever be given.

And that’s my small talk about my grandma’s job.

What kinds of jobs are easy to get in a foreign country?

USEFUL PHRASES / DEVICES:

usually a reasonable demand

For example, …

Conditional: If _________ then _____ would.

gladly welcome them

or a cleaner of some sort.

So to summarise,

there is little conversation or interaction needed.

If you’re a native English speaker there is usually a reasonable demand for English tutoring. Also, I think if you are good in your profession it’s quite easy to get a job in a foreign country. For example, if an expert is world class in their field, I guess most universities would gladly welcome them.

Some of the most common jobs include being an au-pair, or a cleaner of some sort.

STORY: Last year I went to Poland and I found that a lot of the Uber drivers and food delivery drivers were foreign. I guess they didn’t need to speak the language to do those jobs.

The technology does most of the communication for them.

So to summarise, I’d say language jobs, domestic jobs and perhaps jobs where there is little conversation or interaction needed.

Is it hard to find an interesting job in your country?

strong job market

I guess

a diverse economy

job sites

enticing job descriptions.

decent job

In fact…

soul destroying

Well in my country, England, there is a relatively strong job market and I guess a diverse economy. So I think yes it would be easy to find an interesting job.

In fact last week I was looking on the job sites and found a few enticing job descriptions.

STORY: A few years ago I lived in Spain, and when I graduated I really struggled to find any decent job for the qualifications I had. In fact, I took a really boring job working in a logistics company. That job was soul destroying, it was so repetitive, I was so happy when the contract ended.

So, I think it depends on the economy of the country with regards to finding interesting an job.

Why do some people keep changing their jobs?

job loyalty

pay

opportunities

working conditions

perks

opportunities

interesting projects

job hopper

notice

although

career prospects

I think job loyalty has greatly reduced in recent years. I think people change because they can find better pay, better opportunities, and better working conditions.

STORY: I was reading The Everything Store, a book about how Amazon grew into the behemoth it is now. In one chapter it mentioned how all their engineers were ditching Amazon and going to Google. It mentioned that they moved for better perks, better opportunities, more interesting projects. Also –if I remember correctly– Silicon Valley was a major pulling factor too, because Amazon is based in rainy Seattle.

ANECDOTE: Personally, I was a bit of a job hopper too, although I was always considerate and gave the employer plenty of notice, in some cases I even found my own replacement.

So, I think people change their jobs a lot because they want to improve their conditions, location of work and most likely their career prospects.

What kinds of preparation should people do for a job interview?

I guess…

job interview techniques.

candidates

Hmmm, I think confidence is the key to excelling in a job interview. This could be obtained by learning what is expected of you, so I guess you should do your homework about the company.

Go to their blog, search the news and stuff like that.

ANECDOTE: I remember when I was looking for work in Manchester, I always used to search online for the CEO’s name, and try and mention it during the interview. For example, if they asked me if I had any questions, I’d say “yes, was it David Smith’s idea to start selling in Asia, or have you always been selling there?”.

However, I wasn’t really all that successful in job interviews.

I think the preparation candidates should do is mainly research about the company first, then perhaps review some job interview techniques.

What should a good employer do?

A good employer should, look after it’s workforce, give them opportunities to grow and perhaps even push them to more be the best versions of themselves they can possibly be. But I think that’s easier said than done.

So perhaps a more realistic answer would be to manage the organisation effectively to ensure job security and safety for the employees.

How would you define an interesting job’?

I think an interesting job would really challenge you, for me personally it would have to be the opposite of predictive and repetitive. No two days could be the same.

Other ways to characterise interesting, might be you are changing location a lot, although this would take a toll on a person’s personal life.

Other ways a job could be interesting could be if you are constantly learning. This would make it stimulating.

I once worked in a factory, in my hometown, and the only thing that made it interesting were the practical jokes we played on eachother.

So I guess whether a job is interesting or not, really depends on the person.

2. Cue Card (Part 2)

Describe a place in your city that you would like to visit

You should say:

– where it is

– what people do there

– how