you will be shown some instructions on a topic card. You have one minute to read the instructions and prepare your answer. Then you must speak for one to two minutes on that topic. Today we will look at three example questions. Each question deals with a different time frame: one past, one present, and one future event. Try answering these questions yourself first and then compare the sample answers below with your own.

ESL Speaking TASK Practice Questions

For each question, you have one minute to prepare your answer, and you should then speak for one to two minutes.

Question 1

Describe a major decision you have taken in your life.

You should say:

– What the decision was

– What other choices were available to you

– Why you made the decision you did

And explain if you think the decision was a good one.

Sample Answers and Analysis

A really important decision I’ve made recently is to study out of station because I belong to a small city and here there is limited possibility to get the desired preparation institutes and facilities, which is the reason I’m here talking to you now. No-one from my family has ever had the chance to study out of station that means in any other city before. My parents were actually hoping I’d start working in any company as soon as I graduate. I think it’s too soon to join any job. I really want to prepare for my IAS examination and English so I can serve my country. If I prepare for my IAS examination in Lucknow, I can get many options like I can do a part time job like to teach other students and I can learn other skills also, which is of course very competitive and fast-moving. As for whether it was the right decision, I’m pretty confident it was and I can’t change my mind now anyway because I borrowed money from my parents to pay for my tuition. I’m going to do my best to finish my course and I will go back to my city with new post and a confident face and I would try to serve my country and folks more comfortably. All I need now is to get a good score in my next IAS examination. So, anyway, that’s an important decision in my life.

This ESL students scores highly by:

Getting straight to the point and saying what the decision was in the very first sentence
Paraphrasing the topic: A really important decision
Using a range of tenses – past simple, present simple and present perfect – with great accuracy
Using a wide range of grammatical forms such as a conditional sentence (If I…) and a cleft sentence (All I need now is…)
Signalling parts of the question: As for whether it was the right decision…
Avoiding over-formality and using expressions such as actually and pretty that are appropriate to conversational style
Providing a summarizing sentence to wrap up the response

Question 2

Describe something you do to forget about work or study.
You should say:
– What the activity is
– How often you do it
– How it helps you forget
And say whether you would recommend other people try the same thing.

I’d like to talk about playing cricket, which has been my hobby since I was around ten years old. I’m actually the captain of my team, . I don’t have a part-time job so I spend most of my weekends in the playground with all friends playing cricket the. sometimes I sing some songs to forget about work because it is also one of my hobby, and singing is not a bad job I think for any one, it is such an interesting work that can't be explain in words. That means I can forget about my classes during the week when I’m singing and in the playground. There’s quite a large field behind to the M.L.K. (PG) college and I just get a wonderful sense of freedom when I’m playing in the ground with my friends. College & works seem a million miles away! Do I think other people would enjoy singing or playing cricket? Yes, absolutely. I think everyone should give it a try. Sports give you a challenge and also it releases the negativity from your body. If you ever have the chance to play cricket, you should definitely give it a try.

This is a much trickier question because the words work and study in the first sentence may lead some ESL students to speak about either of those topics. In fact, you should speak about some kind or leisure activity or other form of relaxation that helps you forget about work or study

This ESL student scores highly by:

Showing a clear understanding of the question
Getting straight to the point by mentioning the activity in the first sentence
Using present simple verbs throughout to show that this is a regular activity
Sticking to the question even though the topic might be a very enjoyable one to speak about
Showing awareness of hyperbole (a million miles), phrasal verbs (give it a try) and other forms common to spoken English
Using a rhetorical question to move from one part of the question to another: Do I think…?
Ending with a clear concluding sentence, in this case a recommendation

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Question 3

Describe a language you would like to learn.
You should say:
– What the language is
– Where it is spoken
– Why you are interested in this language
And say if you think you will ever actually have the chance to learn it.

Let me tell you about a language I always wanted to learn, which is French. It’s spoken in France and Belgium, obviously, but also in many other countries which have been influenced by France including places like Canada, Madagascar and Central, Africa . It’s quite a difficult language to learn because the alphabet is not the Roman one, which means that you have to learn to read and write from scratch, a but like studying Chinese or Japanese. Well, the reason I would like to learn French is that the energy industry is huge and there are lots of jobs. A lot of machinery and equipment, chemicals, finished diamonds are exported from my country so it’s really useful to be able to speak that language if you want to work in the energy field. I have actually been to France before so I know from experience that a lot of French can’t speak English very well, so that’s another good reason to learn their language. The only problem is I’m already thirty years old and I’ve spent more than fifteen years learning English. I don’t know if I would ever be able to learn French successfully because it’s a difficult language for anyone to learn, especially someone older like me. But it would be really great to try.

One problem ESL students have with hypothetical questions such as this one is that they fail to recognize them as hypothetical. Since students are already learning English, they should talk about another language that is neither English nor their first language. This can be realistic (e.g. Spanish) or unrealistic (e.g. Ancient Greek). It doesn’t matter as long as the language is not one you are currently learning.

This ESL student scores highly by:

Beginning with an impact sentence: Let me tell you about…
Using would to show that the response is hypothetical
Signalling parts of the question: The reason I would like to learn Russian is…
Using reference links to avoid overuse of the topic word ‘Russian’: that language; their language; it
Giving more than one reason
Returning to the main point of the question in the final sentence

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