‘It’s… There’s…That’s… What was the question again?’ Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking

We all know that in many awkward situations a smile can go a long way. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to score well on IELTS Speaking, so let’s see what else might help.

Regardless of how you see the world, when you sit in front of your examiner on the day of the Speaking test, you should have an opinion on a number of different subjects and be able to express it. In this article I’ll go on the assumption that you have no problems with the former and focus on the vocabulary that can help you communicate your ideas efficiently. Here we go!

Expressing your opinion

In my opinion, …

To my mind, …

Personally, I think …

I believe / reckon / assume / feel that …

I suppose / I don’t suppose …

As far as I’m concerned …

Expressing your attitude

I really like / quite like / don’t really like / dislike / hate (something / doing something)

What I like / love / dislike / hate is (something / doing something)

I prefer (something / something to something / doing something / to do something)

What I find most interesting / exciting / surprising / terrifying is (something / doing something)

Talking about your skills

I’m good / no good at (something / doing something)

What I’m good at is (something / doing something)

I’m great / not so good / hopeless at (something / doing something)

Introductory phrases for Task 2

I’d like to talk about / describe / tell you about …

What I’d like to talk about / describe / tell you about is …

My favourite (something) is…

The building / event that has made the greatest impression on me is…

The teacher / person that has greatly influenced me is…

Developing your talk

First of all / Firstly,…

Also / Secondly / Moreover / Furthermore, …

One of the reasons (for something) is that …

Another reason / problem is that …

One of the reasons / another reason why …

The main reason (for something) is that …

Because / since / as / due to the fact that …

Despite the fact that …

Giving details and examples

For example, …

For instance, …

Say, …

Contrasting and comparing

Unlike …

On the one hand, … / on the other hand, …

Compared with (something), …

(something) is higher / smaller / more interesting than …

(something) is the highest / smallest / most exciting …

(something) is twice as big as (something)

(something) is three times as high as (something)

Describing advantages and disadvantages

There is a number of advantages / disadvantages to (something / doing something).

The advantage / one advantage of (something) is that …

Another advantage / strong point / benefit of (something) is that …

Another disadvantage / weak point / shortcoming / drawback of (something) is that …

However, the advantages / pros outweigh the disadvantages / cons.

Summing up

All in all, …

To sum up, …

To conclude, …

These are just some basic lines that can be used to express your thoughts, but you really shouldn’t stop here. When speaking to the examiner, try to be fluent, paraphrase the words used in the questions and don’t be afraid to say something that’s a little bit strange or unwise! As long as it’s good English, you’re on top of the game. The only phrase you’ve got to avoid at all costs is ‘I don’t know’.