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IELTS Life Skills B1 sample test 5

Talk about your phone and a teacher you remember, listen to two messages about a job interview and a flat, and plan how to raise money.

How to use this test. The real test is taken with an examiner and one other candidate, and it lasts up to 22 minutes. Practise with a friend if you can: one of you is the partner. 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

Questions with your partner

3 minutes

The examiner first asks each of you your name, where you come from and how long you have lived here. Then you and your partner ask each other questions for two minutes.

The examiner says

Find out from each other about your mobile phone and what you use it for.

2:002 minutes to ask and answer questions

If you stop talking, the examiner may ask

  • What do you use your phone for most?
  • How many hours a day do you think you use it?
  • Could you live without your phone for a week? Why? Why not?
  • At what age do you think children should have a phone?
See an example conversation
  • YouWhat do you use your phone for most?
  • PartnerMostly for talking to my family, because they live abroad. We have a video call every Sunday. What about you?
  • YouI use mine for maps and bus times. I am new in this town, so I would get lost without it.
  • PartnerDo you think you use it too much?
  • YouProbably, yes. In the evening I try to put it in another room, but it is not easy.
Phase 1b

Talk for one and a half minutes

7 minutes

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

Your topic

Tell your partner about a teacher you remember and what you learned from them.

You could talk about: who the teacher was, what they taught you, what they were like, why you still remember them.

1:001 minute to prepare. Make notes if you want to
1:301½ minutes to talk about your topic

Then your partner asks you three questions

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

  • Did you ever see him again after you left school?
  • Would you like to be a teacher yourself?
  • How do you help your daughter when she makes a mistake?
See an example answer for your topic

I'm going to tell you about Mr Hakimi, who taught me mathematics when I was thirteen. Before I was in his class, I hated the subject and I always got low marks. I thought I was simply bad at numbers. Mr Hakimi was different from my other teachers. He never shouted, and when someone made a mistake, he asked the whole class to find out why, so nobody felt stupid. He also used examples from real life, like the price of food in the market or the size of a football pitch. After a few months I started to enjoy his lessons, and at the end of the year I got one of the best marks in the class. I learned from him that I can do difficult things if I am patient and I practise. I still think about him when I help my own daughter with her homework.

Now you listen and ask three questions

Your partner tells you about something they bought that they are pleased with. Listen without reading, then ask three questions about what you heard.

See what your partner said and three example questions

I want to tell you about a second-hand bicycle I bought last spring. I saw it in a small shop near the station, and it cost only forty pounds. It is green and quite old, but the man in the shop had repaired it well. Before that, I took two buses to get to work, and the journey took almost an hour. Now I cycle, and I arrive in twenty-five minutes. I save about fifteen pounds a week on bus tickets, so the bicycle paid for itself very quickly. I also feel healthier. The only problem is the rain, so I bought a good waterproof jacket too.

  • Where do you keep the bicycle at night?
  • Is it safe to cycle on the roads near you?
  • What will you do with the money you save?
Phase 2a

Listen to two messages

5 minutes

You hear two short recordings. First you say what each one is about, 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 messages left on the phone.

Listen to both recordings. What is each message about? A job interview, a flat to rent or a school meeting?

Phase 2b

Plan together, then discuss

7 minutes

First you and your partner plan something together for two minutes. Then you talk together about a related topic for about four minutes. The examiner only joins in if the conversation stops.

The planning task

Your English class wants to raise some money for the children's ward at the local hospital.

How to raise the money?

  • sell home-made cakes
  • do a sponsored walk
  • hold a second-hand sale

Plan and decide

  • when to do it
  • who can help
  • how to tell people about it
2:002 minutes to choose one and plan the details
See an example conversation
  • YouHow do you think we should raise the money? I'd choose a cake sale, because most people in the class enjoy cooking.
  • PartnerThat's a nice idea, but we would not make much from cakes. A second-hand sale could make more, because everyone has things they don't need.
  • YouYou're right. We could do it on a Saturday morning, when more people are free. Who can help?
  • PartnerThe whole class, I hope. Two people could collect the things and two could sell. How shall we tell people?
  • YouLet's put a notice in the college and a message online. So we agree: a second-hand sale on a Saturday morning, with a notice and a message.

Then talk together

Talk to each other about helping other people where you live.

4:00About 4 minutes to talk together

If you stop talking, the examiner may ask

  • Have you ever given your time or money to help other people?
  • Who helps people in your area when they have a problem?
  • Is it better to give money or to give your time? Why?
  • Do people help each other more in your country or here?

Check yourself

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

  • I asked my partner questions, and did not only answer.
  • I kept talking for the full minute and a half on my topic.
  • I gave reasons for my opinions, with words like because and so.
  • I talked about the past and the future, not only the present.
  • I listened to my partner and replied to what they said.
  • I understood the main point and the details of both messages.
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