IELTS Speaking Part Two- Presentations Vocab

Useful language for IELTS Speaking Part Two

For tasks on people, places, actions, times & things

Brainstorm useful words and phrases for IELTS Speaking Part Two into these categories:

People

Ways of describing ages/ stages of life:

Ways of describing bodies:

Ways of describing hair:

Ways of describing faces:

Relationships:

Positive personality words:

Negative personality words:

 

Places

Parts of a town/ city:

Buildings in towns/ cities:

Buildings in the countryside:

Materials for making buildings:

Positive adjectives for places:

Negative adjectives for places:

Ways places can make people feel

 

Actions

Housework:

Actions connected to work:

Actions connected to study:

Things to do in the evening at home:

Things to do at the weekend at home:

Adverbs of manner:

 

Times

Future

Ways of talking about future times:

Ways of talking about how you feel about the future:

Present

Ways of talking about present routines:

Past

Past time expressions:

Verb forms to talk about the past:

 

Things

Materials:

Positive adjectives to describe things:

Negative adjectives to describe things:

 

Compare your answers with the next page. Are any of your ideas not on that list?

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Suggested answers

People

Ways of describing ages/ stages of life: baby, toddler, teenager, tween, middle aged, retired/ elderly

Ways of describing bodies: fat/ cubby/ plump/ big-boned, skinny/ slim/ thin/ bony, lanky, tall, short, medium height, medium build, muscular

Ways of describing hair: dark/ black/ dark brown, fair/ blonde/ red/ ginger, straight, curly, wavy, neck length, shoulder length, cropped, spiky, permed, dyed, grey, greying

Ways of describing faces: - round, square, narrow, plump/ chubby, wrinkled, tanned, freckly

Relationships: _____-in-law, stepmother/father, cousin, fiancé/ fiancée, partner, great grandparent, niece/ nephew, distant relation, ancestor, great uncle/ aunt, acquaintance, workmate/ colleague/ co-worker, classmate, drinking buddy, fellow alumni

Positive personality words: determined, ambitious, reliable, trustworthy, friendly, sociable, optimistic, honest

Negative personality words: stubborn, pushy, bossy, unreliable, unsociable, a loner, pessimistic

 

Places

Parts of a town/ city: city centre/ downtown, High Street/ Main Street, suburbs, outskirts, business district, industrial estate, housing estate

Buildings in towns/ cities: apartment, (terraced/ semi-detached/ detached/ shared) house, hostel, hotel, B&B, (student) halls/ dorm(itory), condo(minium), high rise, tower block, Buildings in the countryside: cottage, barn

Materials for making buildings: brick, wood, tile, concrete, stone

Positive adjectives for places: peaceful, green, beautiful/ stunning, safe, clean

Negative adjectives for places: ugly, noisy, polluted, dangerous, chaotic

Ways places can make people feel: nostalgic, comfortable, at home, awe-inspired, impressed, fascinated

 

Actions

Housework: do the washing/ laundry, do the cleaning/ dusting/ hoovering/, do the washing up/ dishes, tidy up, take out the rubbish, hang out the washing, do the ironing, spring clean

Actions connected to work: commute, write, meet, arrange

Actions connected to study: revise, make notes, underline, use a highlighter pen

Things to do in the evening at home: watch TV/ channel hopping, watch a movie/ go to the cinema, go to bed early, social networking, surfing the internet

Things to do at the weekend at home: do the housework, have a lie-in/ catch up on my sleep, gardening, DIY

Adverbs of manner: quickly, briefly, half-heartedly, thoroughly

 

Times

Future

Ways of talking about future times: tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next week/ month/ year, the… after next, in… days/ weeks/ years

Ways of talking about how you feel about the future: look forward to, dread, expect, hope, would like/ want, plan to, have arranged to

Present

Ways of talking about present routines: once a day/ week/ month/ year, once every two/ three/ four…s, rarely, almost always

Past

Past time expressions: yesterday, the day before yesterday, last_____, the _____ before last, _____ ago

Verb forms to talk about the past: would, used to, was/ were going to, was/ were + ing

 

Things

Materials: plastic, wood, paper, leather, metal

Positive adjectives to describe things: useful, compact, good value, hard-wearing, classic, fashionable, user-friendly

Negative adjectives to describe things: bulky, complicated, expensive, fake, fragile

 

Share your extra ideas, then ask about any words above you don’t understand, can’t connect to the topic, etc.

Test each other on the vocabulary above:

• Say words from one list until your partner guesses which one
• Say words from one list until your partner guesses which one, then help them say more examples
• Say the same name of one category and help your partner say examples

Use the list above as you do IELTS Speaking Part Two tasks on people, things, etc.

Do one more without the lists to help.