Test section – Speaking Part 3

Overview and practice

Activities
1. Finding ‘thinking’ time
2. Using other perspectives
3. Part 3 Speaking practice

Aims
• to enable students to find time to think about the question before answering
• to help students find ideas and responses to Part 3 questions
• to give students practice with Part 3 and to give and receive feedback

Learning outcomes
• Students will be able to use fixed phrases to buy thinking time.
• Students will be able to look at questions from different perspectives to help
come up with answers.
• Students will have practised a range of Part 3 questions.

Information about this section of IELTS

Speaking Part 3 is a discussion with the examiner. The examiner will ask a broader range
of questions based loosely on the topic in Speaking Part 2. The questions require test
takers to expand answers further with explanation and examples from the world in general.
This part lasts between 4 and 5 minutes.

Time 60-75 minutes (depending on amount of

speaking practice)
Level B1+
Class Suitable for groups / large classes
F2F / Online
Interaction Pair or group work
Materials Worksheets x3 attached

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Activity 1: Review of Speaking Part 3
Material: None
Time: 5-10 minutes
Procedure:
• elicit what students remember about Part 3 of the Speaking section (a discussion
based loosely on the topic in Part 2, in which candidates will be expected to express
opinions, to speculate and to discuss on a more abstract and academic level i.e.
moving from the personal to general, 4-5 mins).
• put students into groups and give them 2 minutes to brainstorm and discuss
possible difficulties they might have or have had with this part of the Speaking
section.
• elicit their ideas and write them on the board (Possible: no opinion on the subject,
no knowledge or experience of the subject, not knowing what is coming next /
difficult to anticipate, more complex language is needed to express opinions or
more nuanced ideas).
• put students back into their groups and give them another 2 minutes to think of
some solutions.
• elicit these and put them on the board and add the following items if the students
have not already stated them:
- buying thinking time (by using opening phrases)
- looking at the questions from other perspectives (what would other people
or sections of society think?)
- developing confidence in using certain fixed expressions for giving
opinions, speculation.

Activity 2: Buying time to think

Material: List of Part 3 questions cut up (Worksheet 1 attached)
Time: 20 minutes
Procedure:
• explain that sometimes the questions in Part 3 of the Speaking section may ask
about things students have not thought about much, don’t know much about, or just
haven’t thought about recently. Explain that being able to have a little thinking time
before they begin to answer can help this situation.
• write the following phrases on the board.
• to get the correct sentence rhythm, stress the highlighted syllables.

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That’s interesting! Let me think . . .
I’m not sure how to answer that, but . . .
I’ve never really thought about it before, but perhaps . . .
That’s quite difficult to answer. Um . . .

• you may wish to drill the phrases so that students are confident saying them with
the correct rhythm.
• brainstorm for other useful phrases/starters to buy time for thinking.
• put students into pairs or small groups for the activity.
• give a pile of cut-up Part 3 questions (Worksheet 1) to each pair or group.
• tell the class that they should take turns to turn over a card and to answer the
question using an opening phrase from the board.
• you may wish to get some feedback by nominating students in the class and
reading a question to them for them to answer.

Activity 3: Different points of view

Material: Worksheet 2
Time: 20-25 minutes
Step 1 Procedure:
• photocopy Worksheet 2 double-sided, 1 for each student.
• write the following Part 3 question on the board: Is tourism generally a good thing?
• ask: who are some of the people affected by tourism? (Possibly: owners and
workers in local industries and travel businesses, unemployed people looking for
work etc.).
• write the students’ ideas on the board.
• students copy the list from the board onto their worksheets.
• elicit what other ways the question could be approached (Possibly: social /
economic / local / national / international / global).
• go through the list of useful phrases with the class.

Step 2 Procedure:
• put students into pairs.
• each pair chooses 2 or 4 questions from the other side of the worksheet (depending
on time) to brainstorm in the same way as procedure 1.

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Page 3 of 10
• in their pairs, students practise answering their question in 3 different ways, that is,
another person’s point of view, a different perspective, and their own experience or
opinion.
• for feedback, ask the questions and ask students to volunteer their answers.

Activity 4: Part 3 Speaking practice

Material: Part 3 question cards and feedback sheets (Worksheet 3 attached)
Time: 15-20 minutes
Procedure:
• photocopy Worksheet 3 and cut up the list of Part 3 questions and the feedback
sheets so that there is one question card and one feedback sheet for each student.
You could just use 2 topics for the whole class, and use the other topics for
further/later practice.
• put students into pairs A and B and give each student a question card. Make sure
that the students A and B have different topics.
• write these questions on the board:
Why do you think that?
What do you mean by that?
Can you give me an example of that?
• explain that when you say ‘start’ student A should look at his/her card and start
asking student B the questions on it.
• tell student A that if their partner finds it difficult to answer the questions or answer
very briefly, student A can prompt them with the questions on the board.
• student B answers the questions. Student A should make notes on the feedback
sheet.
• say ‘stop’ after 4 to 5 minutes.
• students swap roles, student B asks student A questions. Student B should make
notes on the feedback sheet.
• give students a few moments to give each other their feedback.

If there is time, students could practise with another topic, or you could use the questions
cards to ask individual students questions in open class.

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Speaking Part 3 Worksheet 1
To be cut up

Is there a need for museums in society?

Do you think that travelling is less exciting than it used to be?

Is tourism generally a good thing?

Should young people be made to stay on at school until they are 18?

Are young children today being made to grow up too quickly?

Do you think electronic equipment is better for communication than being face-to-face?

Has shopping on the Internet, e-shopping, increased consumerism?

Should private cars be banned from city centres to help reduce pollution?

Do you think television brings members of a family together or separates them?

Why are more and more people becoming unhealthily overweight, or obese, particularly
in western countries?

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Speaking Part 3 Worksheet 2

Different points of view

1 Add more people, perspectives and personal points of view to the lists below.

Is tourism generally a good thing?

People Perspectives
Who are affected by tourism? How can we analyse the question?
a hotel worker from an environmental perspective

Personal
What do I or those around me think?
my experience of tourism

Useful phrases

I don’t really know, but if I worked in a hotel, I would think tourism was a good
thing because . . .
I’m not sure, but from an economic perspective, tourism produces a lot of
money.
From my own experience, I think tourism is a good thing because . . .

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2 Work in pairs. Choose two of the Part 3 questions below. Make notes on the people who
may be concerned, the different perspectives that could be used, and any personal
responses to the question.

Is there a need for museums in society?

Should young people be made to stay on at school until they are 18?

Are young children today being made to grow up too quickly?

Should private cars be banned from city centres to help reduce pollution?

Do you think that travelling is less exciting than it used to be?

Do you think electronic equipment is better for communication than being face-to-
face?

Has shopping on the Internet, e-shopping, increased consumerism?

Do you think television brings members of a family together or separates them?

Why are more and more people becoming unhealthily overweight, or obese,
particularly in western countries?

3 In your pairs, answer the question with three different perspectives using the phrases
from exercise 1.

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Speaking Part 3 Worksheet 3
To be cut up

Electronics
• Do you think electronic equipment is better for communication than being
face-to-face?
• What electronic equipment do people have in their homes in your country?
• How has this changed over the past few years?
• How do you think people would spend their time if they didn’t have this
equipment?
• Some people believe that very soon, all new housing will be ‘smart’ housing,
that is heating, lighting, opening and closing etc. will all be controlled from a
mobile phone. How realistic do you think this prediction is?

Education
• Should young people be made to stay on at school until they are 18?
• Do you think schools should encourage memorising facts and information
rather than creativity?
• How has education changed in your country in the last 20 years?
• Many people can foresee a time, when all classes will be delivered via a
computer rather than in a classroom. Do you think this will happen in your
country?
• How important is it to a country to have a well-educated population?

Children and young people

• Are young children today being made to grow up too quickly?
• What effects do you think advertising has on children?
• Some people believe that as children develop more quickly these days, they
should be considered as full adults from the age of 16. Do you agree or
disagree?
• Do you think there is more pressure on young people today than in the past?
• In some countries around the world, there seems to be an increasing gap
between young people and older people. To what extent is this true of your
country?

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Museums and art

• Is there a need for museums in society?
• How can more people be encouraged to visit museums?
• In some countries, graffiti is accepted as an art form. Do you think graffiti is art?
• Some forms of art, such as ballet and opera, are very expensive to see. Should
the state sponsor these art forms so that they are more accessible to ordinary
people?
• How do you think art and the presentation of art will change in your country in
the future?

Tourism and travel

• Is tourism generally a good thing?
• How has tourism to your country changed over the last 20 years?
• Has the typical family holiday changed in your country over the past few
years? Why?
• Why do you think people want to travel?
• Some people say that in only a few years’ time, holidays in space will be
affordable for ordinary people. Do you think this is likely?

Transport and cities

• Should private cars be banned from city centres to help reduce pollution?
• Do you think that making more areas of cities into pedestrian-only zone
increases or decreases business in local shops?
• How has public transport changed in your country in your lifetime?
• Some people believe that public transport systems should be run by private
companies not national or local governments. Do you agree or disagree?
• How do you think the way we travel to work will change in the future?

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Feedback questions
Yes Usually Sometimes No
Did your partner answer the questions

clearly?    
fully?    
without hesitating too much?    

Did your partner

paraphrase/describe/define words?    
try to correct any grammar mistakes?    

Feedback questions
Yes Usually Sometimes No
Did your partner answer the questions

clearly?    
fully?    
without hesitating too much?    

Did your partner

paraphrase/describe/define words?    
try to correct any grammar mistakes?    

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