IELTS Tips: Speaking Part 2 Practice
Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test requires test-takers to speak for up to two minutes on a given topic. You’ll also get one minute to prepare before you start speaking, and we’ll look at some sample prompts and tips below which will also help you prepare for the test!
Unlike Speaking Part 1 which asks test-takers to provide short responses to a series of questions, Speaking Part 2 requires test-takers to provide a long form question. For Speaking Part 2, the examiner will give you a task card and you will have one minute to prepare before you start speaking.
The task card includes the topic which is usually presented in a sentence that starts will the word “describe.” For example, Describe a movie that you recently watched or Describe an interesting experience that you had.
In addition to the topic, the task card also includes three bullet points with specific questions, and a final question. The three bullet point questions begin with question words such as who, when, where, how long, etc., and the final question usually starts with the word “Explain…”
One important tip when you’re studying for the test is to time yourself. The examiner will set a timer for 2 minutes during Task 2 and you will be expected to speak for 2 minutes until the timer goes off.
During the one-minute preparation time, you should take notes on the three bullet points and on the final question. This will help you create your response while focusing on the specific aspects that the examiner expects you to speak about.
Let’s look at a sample question for Speaking Part 2. This questions on this task card require you to describe a meal that you recently enjoyed at a restaurant. some key words to consider are meal, recently, and restaurant because these key words will prompt you to answer what, when and where.
The three bullet points ask specific questions. You should jot down some notes for all of these points, and finally you’re being asked to explain why you liked this meal. Remember to describe and explain.
Here is an example answer. The length of this response is equal to about two minutes of speaking.
“It was my friend’s birthday last week and we went out for lunch to a new restaurant that just opened a few months ago. The restaurant which is called ‘Mila’ serves vegan food and since the birthday girl doesn’t eat meat or dairy, my friends and I decided to take her out to this restaurant.
The menu has a lot of different options including fresh salads and vegan burgers. My friends and I ordered plant-based bowls which come with either tofu or beans. I was surprised that the portions were very generous and the dishes were very flavourful! I ordered a Mexican-style black bean bowl that was served with rice and avocado, and it was delicious.
The restaurant is located in a busy area downtown so we had to make a reservation and luckily we got a table next to the window with a nice view of the street. The staff was really friendly and they recommended dishes based on our tastes. We even ordered dessert and the server put a candle in one of the slices of cake! My friend blew out the candle and we all sang ‘happy birthday’ to her.
In addition to myself and my friend whose birthday it was, two of our other friends joined so there were four of us in total. Actually the four of us used to work together and even though we’ve all moved on to different jobs, we’ve kept in touch. It was really nice to catch up and we laughed a lot and had a great time.
I really liked this meal because it made me think differently about vegan food. I had assumed that it wouldn’t be tasty or that the meals would be boring, but I was wrong! The atmosphere of the restaurant was really lively and I’m looking forward to going there again. But more than the food, I really enjoyed the company. It had been almost half a year since I had seen my friends so it was really special for us to reconnect and celebrate our amazing friend’s birthday together.”