Buzz
IELTS Speaking Part 1: Museums
IELTS Speaking Part 1: Example
1. Are there numerous museums in your hometown?
Yeah and off the top of my head, I can name a few museums in my hometown: War Remnant Museum, Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine, and History Museum of Ho Chi Minh City. I’m sure there are more but I cannot recall their names right now.
- Off the top of my head: Ý nói là “ngay lúc này tôi nghĩ tới”.
- War Remnant Museum: Bảo Tàng Chứng Tích Chiến Tranh
- Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine: Bảo Tàng Y Học Cổ Truyền Vietnam
- History Museum of Ho Chi Minh City: Bảo tàng Lịch sử Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
- Recall (v): nhớ
2. Do you believe museums serve a purpose for visitors to your hometown?
Yes, visitors could learn a great deal about the culture and history of my hometown through exhibitions and artifacts.
- A great deal: Nhiều (có thể thay thế cho “a lot” trong trường hợp này)
- Exhibition (n): Triển lãm
- Artifact (v): Vật dụng, đồ tạo tác (ý chỉ vật được con người tạo ra, không có trong thiên nhiên)
3. Do you frequently visit museums?
Unfortunately, no! I’m a college student so I’m drowned in coursework. It’s a shame though. I wish I had the time to come and check out some of the fantastic museums in my city.
- Be drowned in coursework: chìm trong bài vở (rất bận vì việc học)
- It’s a shame: đây là điều đáng tiếc
4. Do you consider museums to be significant?
I’m inclined to say yes! They’re great places for people to learn about history and culture.
- Be inclined to do s.th: có xu hướng làm điều gì
IELTS Speaking Part 2
IELTS Speaking Part 2: Discuss a valuable skill you acquired from an elder
You need to say:
- What it is
- Why the skill can be learned from older people
- How you learned the skill
And describe your feelings after mastering the skill
Example
I’m going to talk about a craft skill which I have recently learnt from my uncle, and that is making book sleeves from discarded cereal boxes.
I’ve never been much of an artsy-craftsy person. However, I’ve always been really keen on reading books and recycling. I always want to keep my paperbacks in excellent condition so that I can reread them later. Being an environmentally conscious person, I don’t want to buy plastic sleeves for my books.
My uncle heard about my struggle, so he offered to teach me how to make my own book sleeves from the boxes of my breakfast cereal boxes. My uncle also loves reading books. But he grew up poor, so he didn’t have the luxury of buying accessories for his books and he had to learn how to make them himself. He told me to collect my used boxes, some glue, a paper knife, and highlighters to make the sleeves.
He first carefully took a box apart and turned it inside out to hide the design of the package. He then folded and glued it in a specific way into a book sleeve and then used the knife to cut the excess parts off. After that, he used the highlighters to decorate. Simultaneously, I followed him step-by-step.
Initially, my first attempt at creating a product wasn't very impressive, and the process was more challenging than anticipated. However, after several attempts under the guidance of my uncle, I successfully crafted a tidy book cover. Now, I create them for all my books and have even gifted a few. I am grateful that my uncle took the time to teach me this incredibly useful skill.
Vocabulary
- Book sleeve: bìa bọc cho sách
- Paperback (n): sách bìa mỏng. Hardcover là sách bìa dày
- Environmentally conscious (adv adj): có ý thức về môi trường
- To have the luxury of + n/v-ing: có điều kiện làm việc gì đó
- Excess (adj): thừa/thuộc về phần thừa
- Simultaneously (adj): song song, cùng lúc đó (nói về các sự việc xảy ra cùng thời điểm)
- Step-by-step (adv): từng bước
Analysis
→ The question requires the responder to describe a useful skill learned from someone older (note: not necessarily elderly, just older).
The answer should progress as follows: introduction → reasons for wanting to learn → description → feelings. In the description part, treat it like an activity and describe the sequence of actions (use process linking words: first, next, then, after that…).
It's not necessary to be overly specific in the description; you can use general phrases like “do it in a specific/certain way to…” if the details are limited. If there are fewer details in the description part, elaborate more in the reasons and focus on the benefits of this skill.
IELTS Speaking Part 2: Narrate an intriguing tale you've encountered
You should express:
- What it was?
- When you heard it?
- From whom/ where did you learn it?
And elaborate on why you find it captivating.
Example
I am going to tell you about a folktale that my grandma told me a long time ago, and I was so interested in its horror that I still remember it after many years.
Before going to primary school, I lived with my grandma in a rural area. And frankly speaking, back then I was as stubborn as a mule, I never, ever wanted to go to bed early. Like almost any Vietnamese adult at that time, scaring their kids with horror stories of monsters or ghouls was the best way to force them to behave themselves.
So, my grandma, on a rainy and stormy night, told me the story of The Lantern Weasel – I vividly remember it was a giant weasel – you know, higher than an average child, with glowing eyes, sharp teeth, wears a Vietnamese palm-leaf conical hat and carries a traditional lantern. It only appears at night, by the bedroom’s window and will, like, capture the souls of children who misbehave into its lantern to devour them later. Needless to say, I was totally freaked out when hearing about that creepy creature.
However, when growing up, I actually found out that The Lantern Weasel was quite an interesting story and I still remember the lore because it was an unforgettable childhood memory for me, as I knew how frustrated my grandma was when having to deal with a stubborn kid like me at that time so she resorted to that mythical creature as the last solution to make me sleep. Till today, at night when I have to stay up late for studying, I somehow still have a spine-chilling feeling whenever I glance towards the window of my bedroom.
Vocabulary
- Folktale (n): chuyện kể dân gian
- Frankly speaking: thật lòng mà nói
- As stubborn as a mule: cứng đầu cứng cổ (như một con la)
- Ghoul (n): ngạ quỷ
- Vividly (adv): một cách rõ rệt
- Weasel (n): con chồn
- Vietnamese palm-leaf conical hat (n): nón lá Việt Nam
- To capture (v): bắt giữ
- To misbehave (v): cư xử không đúng mực
- To devour (v): ngấu nghiến, cắn xé
- Needless to say: không cần phải nói
- Unforgettable (adj): khó quên
- Frustrated (adj): bực bội
- To resort (v): nhờ vào, trông cậy vào
- Mythical (adj): hoang đường, thần thoại, không có thật
- Spine-chilling feeling: cảm giác ớn lạnh xương sống
- To glance (v): liếc nhìn
IELTS Speaking Part 3: Acquiring skills
IELTS Speaking part 3: Example
1. What can children learn from their parents or grandparents?
There are many things a young child can learn from their older relatives. First and foremost, it is cooking. It is the most basic skill that is useful to virtually everyone. Another aspect of parental education that I believe is really important is personal finance. However, in my country, many parents avoid talking about money and how to manage money. I think this is a grave mistake as I’ve seen so many young people struggle with managing their budget once they move out from their home and live indecently. I’d like to see parents put more effort in educating their children about managing money.
- First and foremost: đầu tiên và quan trọng nhất (ý nói đây là ý quan trọng nhất)
- Virtually (adv): hầu hết
- Personal finance: tài chính cá nhân
- A grave mistake: một sai lầm tai hại
→ The question requires the responder to articulate and analyze the knowledge or skills children can learn from adults. Consider personal connections to generate ideas, focusing on everyday skills like cooking, laundry, driving, or more abstract concepts such as discipline. Develop the answer by discussing the significance of these skills in everyone's life.
2. Do children learn more from parents or grandparents?
Well, it depends on whoever they spend more time with. People often assume children naturally spend more time with their parents and thus they learn more from their mother and father. While this is true for many families, there is a growing trend, especially in metropolitan areas, that both the parents work fulltime and so they have to put the child in his or her grandparents’ care. In these cases, the child certainly learns more from the grandparents.
- Assume (v): mặc định
- Thus (adv): do vậy
- In these cases: trong những trường hợp này
→ The question asks the responder to evaluate between the two options. The responder can choose whether children learn more from their parents or grandparents. In any case, it is necessary to elaborate the answer by explaining, analyzing, providing examples, etc. (depending on the response approach). If answering 'it depends', thorough analysis/explanation is required for both scenarios.
3. What kind of assistance do elderly people typically require?
The elderly need a lot of help. Obviously, people who live to old age will eventually reach a point when they can’t physically take care of themselves. So, this task will fall on their children’s or grandchildren’s shoulders. If they live alone then they may need help from state-run nursing homes. However, I also want to stress the importance of giving the elderly psychological support, which is often overlooked. Loneliness and boredom are quite damaging to their health and their relatives need to talk to them, have dinner with them and take them on vacations.
- Reach a point: đến lúc
- Fall on someone’s shoulders: đặt trách nhiệm lên vai ai đó (hiểu là ai sẽ là người có trách nhiệm phải làm)
- State-run (adj): được vận hành bởi nhà nước
- Nursing home (n): viện dưỡng lão
- Stress (v): nhấn mạnh. Lưu ý stress (v) không phải là áp lực (stress (n))
- Be overlooked (bị động): bị bỏ qua
