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IELTS Life Skills A2 sample test 5

Answer questions about yourself, talk about your favourite season, listen to two conversations at a bank and a post office, and talk about money and shopping.

How to use this test. The real test is taken with an examiner and one other candidate, and it lasts up to 20 minutes. Practise with a friend if you can. If you are alone, speak your answers out loud and use the buttons to hear the examiner and your partner. The listening task is marked for you. The speaking tasks are not marked, so compare yourself with the example answers.

Phase 1a

The examiner asks you questions

4 to 5 minutes

The examiner asks you and your partner some questions in turn. Press a button to hear a question, then answer it out loud.

  • What's your name?
  • Where do you come from?
  • How long have you lived in this town?
  • What do you usually do in the evening?
  • What did you have for breakfast today?
  • What are you going to do next weekend?
See example answers
What's your name?
My name is Nadia Rahman.
Where do you come from?
I come from Bangladesh, from a city called Sylhet.
How long have you lived in this town?
I have lived here for two years, since my husband found a job here.
What do you usually do in the evening?
I usually cook dinner and help my son with his homework.
What did you have for breakfast today?
I had toast and a cup of tea, because I was in a hurry.
What are you going to do next weekend?
I'm going to visit my cousin in Birmingham with my family.
Phase 1b

Talk for one minute

6 minutes

You get a topic and one minute to prepare. You then talk for about one minute while your partner listens, and your partner asks you two questions. After that you swap: you listen to your partner and ask two questions.

Your topic

Tell your partner about your favourite season and what you do then.

You could talk about: which season, what the weather is like, what you do, why you like it.

1:001 minute to prepare. Make notes if you want to
1:00About 1 minute to talk about your topic

Then your partner asks you two questions

A real partner asks about what you said. These are the kind of questions to expect. Answer each one out loud.

  • Which beach do you go to?
  • What do you take for the picnic?
See an example answer for your topic

My favourite season is summer. In my country it is very hot in summer, but here it is warm and the days are long. It is light until ten o'clock in the evening, which I love. In summer I go to the park with my children after school, and we often have a picnic there. At the weekend we sometimes go to the beach by train. I also like summer because I can wear light clothes and I don't need a big coat. The only thing I don't like is when it rains for days.

Now you listen and ask two questions

Your partner tells you about a job they did in the past. Listen without reading, then ask two questions about what you heard.

See what your partner said and two example questions

Before I came here, I worked in a bakery in my town for four years. I started work at five o'clock in the morning, when it was still dark. I made bread, cakes and biscuits. The work was hard, and the kitchen was very hot, but I liked it because the bread smelled wonderful. The customers were friendly, and many of them came every day. I left the job when I moved to this country. Now I make bread at home for my family.

  • What was your favourite thing to make?
  • Would you like to work in a bakery again?
Phase 2a

Listen to two conversations

4 minutes

You hear two short recordings. First you answer one question about each, choosing from three options. Then you hear both again and answer two questions about one of them. Here you answer the questions on both.

You hear two short conversations in different places.

Listen to both recordings. Where are they? At a bank, at a post office or at a supermarket?

Phase 2b

Talk with your partner

4 to 5 minutes

You and your partner talk together. Ask your partner questions and answer theirs. The examiner only helps if the conversation stops.

The examiner says

Talk to each other about money and shopping: how you pay and how you save.

4:00About 4 minutes to talk together

If you stop talking, the examiner may ask

  • Do you prefer to pay by card or with cash? Why?
  • What do you spend most of your money on?
  • Is it easy to save money? Why? Why not?
  • What was the last expensive thing you bought?
See an example conversation
  • YouDo you prefer to pay by card or with cash?
  • PartnerBy card, because it's quicker and I don't lose coins. What about you?
  • YouI use cash at the market, because some small shops don't take cards.
  • PartnerIs it easy for you to save money?
  • YouNot really. Food and rent are expensive, but I try to save a little every month.

Check yourself

You get a pass or a fail, not a band. Ask yourself whether you did these things:

  • I answered every question in a full sentence.
  • I asked my partner questions, and did not only answer.
  • I talked for about one minute on my topic, and gave a reason.
  • I understood what each recording was about, and the details.
  • I asked for the question again when I did not understand.
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