Speaking lab test 10

Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 10

Speaking Lab 10
Part 1:
Q1 Let’s talk about your study plans for the future. Please tell me about your
current studies.
A1 Well, at the moment I’m enrolled in a language school. I’ve been doing an English
for Academic Purposes class trying to get ready for my university studies and, of
course, before that, my IELTS exam!
Q2 What is it you like most about your studies?
A2 The teachers are very friendly at the language school. They make all the students
feel real welcome. In fact, I’ve enjoyed getting to know many of the students at the
language school. We’ve got students studying from all over the world – Thailand,
China, one man is from Russia…um, a couple of students from France and…yes, and
one from Brazil. It’s a really international class!
Q3 What do you like least about your studies?
A3 Like least? Let me see…you know, that’s a difficult question because the teacher is
great, the lessons are interesting and the facilities are also wonderful…not to mention
the students! Like least…um, well I guess I’d have to say the English grammar is
not something I particularly like. Our teacher described grammar as the engine of a
car…you don’t need to be an expert mechanic to drive a car but it’s useful to know
what is under the hood! I rather liked his definition but it doesn’t mean I like
grammar any better!
Q4 Once you have finished your studies, what do you plan to do?
A4 Well, once I’ve finished at the language school, I want to study marketing. You see,
my mother owns a marketing company and she’s been doing this for almost 10
years. She tells me that one day, “I’m going to be the CEO, the big boss.” But
before that can happen I must get my qualifications…so, I’ll be studying marketing
at university. Actually, I’m very excited about marketing, it’s a very interesting

subject with almost limitless opportunities. You could say it ‘runs in my family’!
Q5 Ok. Let’s change topics and talk about animals. Can you tell me about some of
the different kinds of animals you have in your country?
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Yes, I’m from the Philippines and the local animals there are quite unique. I was
A5 reading the other day that we have almost 200 different kinds of reptiles! I was
amazed by that figure myself but I’ve seen a few Philippine crocodiles and of course
there are hundreds of different kinds of lizards that inhabit the tropical rainforests!
Did you know the Philippines is home to the smallest monkey in the world? We are
very proud of this! The Tarsier is an amazing animal…he lives mostly on insects!
He grows…well most people could fit him in the palm of their hand…I think an
adult can reach around 150mm. But they are very fast little creatures!
Q6 What’s your favourite animal and why do you like it so much?
A6 I’d have to say that dogs are my favourite animal. My family has a poodle and I love
him! His name is Peppi and he is such a smart dog. He even acts as a kind of guard
dog…if anyone comes near our house, he barks loudly – day or night! Of course his
noise is loud but he couldn’t really hurt anyone!
Q7 What’s your least favourite animal? Why?
A7 I have to say that my least-favourite animal is the snake. We have quite a few snakes
in the Philippines and I must confess that I have a phobia of them! They don’t um…
they seem so unfriendly, they don’t have any personality. Are they smiling or are
they angry, you can’t tell by looking at their face. I don’t like that, it scares me.
Q8 Tell me about the variety of uses for animals in your country. For example,
their use in farming, sports or other types of activities.

A8 Well, I know that in the country areas, the poorer areas, oxen are used for some
farming. Mostly however, my experience with animals is in the city and it’s here
that they are used primarily as pets. People love to keep dogs and cats and birds.
We have some very beautiful parrots in the Philippines which make beautiful pets –
my family used to have a Cockatiel which we called ‘Charlie’. Some animals are
used in sports…um, for example horse racing, which is one popular type of sport…
um…I can’t think of any more at the moment.
Q9 Ok, now, let’s change topics again. This time, I’d like to talk about games. Tell
me about some of the popular games people play in your country
In my country, the popular games people play are….well, the most popular game is
A9 basketball. Although Filipinos are slightly at a disadvantage in terms of height, they
are, I believe, among the best basketball players in the world! Every town plaza has
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Speaking Lab 10

a basketball court alongside the town hall and church. Even from an early age, boys
start playing this game using a makeshift basket…it’s very popular among the males
in our country.
Um…as far a card games go, for example, Mahjong is very popular in the
Philippines…but most people like outdoor games.
Q10What is your favourite game to play? Why?
A10For me? Well, I must confess I like volleyball. I played it a lot in high school and
I’m planning to continue playing it in University. I really enjoy the game, it helps
me to keep fit. You know, it’s a very team-oriented kind of game. You can’t really
be an individual and do well in volleyball. I like this aspect of the game, the
teamwork element.

Speaking Lab 10
Part 2: Transcript

That’s good. I’m now going to give you a topic that you will need to speak about
Q1 for 1-2 minutes. You can take notes if you want. You have 1 minute to prepare
what you want to say. I want you to describe a website that you enjoy visiting.
Ok? You have a maximum of 2 minutes to speak so if you go over 2 minutes, I
will ask you to stop. Can you please begin speaking now?
When it came time to prepare for the IELTS test, I looked around the internet, trying
A1 to find useful information. I tried a lot of places – forums, chats, blogs, free
videos….I’d have to say that the best site I found was Scott’s English Success! I was
having a very difficult time getting motivated to study for the IELTS exam so…as I
said…I had a look on the internet for some ideas. I came across Scott’s English
Success about 3 months ago. To be honest at first I was very sceptical about studying
with Scott’s, but after looking around at all the other options on the internet, I decided
to enrol and see if it would be suitable or not. Wow! It was very suitable…I have not
seen anything like Scott’s English Success on the Internet. It contains virtual
classroom lessons that are easy to understand and focuses on the key aspects of the
IELTS exam.
It has a Practice Lab section with some very realistic exams…just like the real exams
we did today! I must have spent hundreds of hours studying with Scott’s English. It
really helped me to feel more confident.
Um, it also has an area that they call the ‘Resource Library’. There you can practice
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on areas that are difficult – especially reading and writing. There are also many
practical tips that you can apply. It was a very great help with my IELTS
preparation. I’ve already recommended a couple of my friends to enrol!

Speaking Lab 10
Part 3: Transcript
Q1 We’ve been talking about a website that you enjoy visiting and I’d like to discuss
one or two more questions that are related to this. Let’s consider first of all the
Internet as a means of communication. Please compare email with traditional
letter writing.
A1 Well, when email started, a lot of people thought that the postal service would go out
of business. Of course, the email option is a wonderful service…I just wonder what
impact it has had on the numbers of letters sent via the post…or ‘snail mail’ as it’s
now called? I bet it cost the postal service quite a lot of money. Anyway, email is
faster, cheaper, more convenient – we don’t have to walk down to the post office to
send it…email’s the best! Traditional letter writing…well, the only real benefit of
this method of sending information is that you can post things with a more ‘personal
touch’ you know, things that are hand-written. My grandma used to send me money
in the post…she can’t do that via email. Generally speaking, I think email is much
less formal - which I like as well.
Q2 Good. Please suggest any ways you think the Internet could be improved.
A2 Improve the internet…um…that’s a good question. The Internet is fantastic but…
well, I guess it could be faster! Yes, it could be faster. At the moment, I have to wait
a long time for information to download. It seems to take such a long time for video.
I was watching a newscast on a website the other night and it seemed to take so long
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to download that I closed the screen and went to bed. It would be great if we could
somehow make video play over the Internet as fast and as clear as it looks on the TV.
Maybe that will happen soon!
Q3 Can you comment on the reliability of information presented on the Internet?
A3 Yes, actually I was talking about this topic with my friend just the other day! I think
that some people feel that if something is written on the Internet, then ‘it must be
correct’ but…this is not true. There’s so much information on the Internet that’s
completely false. The other day I was researching about a news story I saw on TV. I
went to several websites and all of them were a little bit different from each other.
It’s like no one agreed on the facts! Yet it is written about as being factual! This, I
know, is important for me to consider when it comes to researching for my university
assignments. The information has to come from a credible, reliable source otherwise
it’s completely useless information. I wouldn’t be surprised if 20 percent of the
information contained on the Internet was false.
Q4 What about the internet and retail shopping. Compare shopping on the internet
with traditional shopping methods.
A4 Well, this is of particular interest to me because I love shopping! I’ve found that it’s
possible to purchase almost anything on the internet. I particularly love Ebay. Have
you ever tried it? [Examiner: Yes, it’s great isn’t it?] Yes, you can buy so many
items cheaply. I guess that an online or ‘virtual’ store is always going to be cheaper –
you don’t have to pay for staff or rent or telephones…you know, all the things that
are needed to run a ‘real shop’. Of course, the downside is that internet shopping is a
little impersonal. You never get to physically meet the seller or buyer. But I think
the reduced price is more important!
Q5 Suggest reasons why people are reluctant to shop online.
A5 Well, as I said before Internet shopping is impersonal, you never meet the seller or
buyer, so it is possible that the person is a crook. It may also be possible with credit

card fraud that crooks can get access to your computer and use your credit card to
purchase items online. This is the major reason why some of my friends are not
willing to purchase items online – they’re scared that someone will take their money
and never be seen again.
Q6 Ok. To conclude, I’d like you to speculate on the future of Internet shopping.
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A6 I think that internet shopping will grow and grow. If connections to the internet get
faster and video is possible, I think that people will have live shopping…um…I guess
you could actually purchase products and see the shop assistant or owner and talk
with him or her about the product. I know sometimes I have questions about products
- especially clothing - it’d be great to be able to click a button and ask questions to a
live person online. Yes, I think Internet shopping will continue to become more
popular in the future.

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