Mat Clark ielts speaking

Mat Clark – IELTS Speaking 
56
Topic 4: Sports 
 
Do you like playing sports? 
How often do you play sports? 
What sports are the most popular in your country? 
Do you think it is important to play a sport? 
What sports would you like to try in the future? 
Do you prefer watching or playing sports? 
 
 

Nouns 
team game 
spectator spost 
physical activity 
squad 
solo sport 
 

Verbs 
compete 
challenge 
get fit 
lose weight 
stay healthy 
 

Adjectives 
strenous 
physical 
energizing 
revitalizing 
 

Idioms 
have a crack at (= had a try at) 
I 
had a crack at
baseball but it was too strenuous 
for me. 
get into shape 
I’ve been trying to 
get into shape
by going to the 
gym. 
 

Mat Clark – IELTS Speaking 
57
Topic 5: Televison 
 
Do you like watching TV? 
How much time do you spend watching TV? 
When do you usually watching TV? 
What types of TV programme do you like watching? 
What types of TV programme are popular in your country? 
Why do children like watching TV? 
 

Nouns 
telly (= TV) 
episode 
series 
soap opera 
documentary 
mainstream 
sitcom 
audience 
viewer 
 

Verbs 
turn on/ off/ over 
tune in 
sit in front of theh telly 
repeat 
produce 
telesise 
broadcast 

Adjectives 
witty 
enlightening 
mind-numbing (= boring) 
televised 
live-broadcast 
attention-grabbing (= interesting) 
pre-recorded 

Idioms 
watch the box (= watch TV) 
I often 
watch the box 
at weekends 
channel surf(=change TV 
channels frequently) 
I usually sit in front of the telly and 
channel surf
 
Topic 6: Music 
 
Do you like listening to music? 
What types of music do you like listening to? 
Where do you usually listen to music? 
Can you play any musical instruments? 
Do you think it’s important for children to learn to play a musical instrument? 
Do you prefer listening to live performances or recorded music? 
 
 
 
 
 

Mat Clark – IELTS Speaking 
58
 

Nouns 
harmony 
melody 
lyric 
synthesizer 
concert 
gig (= concert) 
album 
tune 
portable 
CD player 
MP3 player 
a hit record 
 

Verbs 
download( MP3’s) 
burn CD’s 
put on CD/ piece of music
 

Adjectives 
funky 
catchy 
soothing 
atmospheric 
 

Idioms 
blow one’s mind 
The music was so amazing it 
blew my mind
set sth. to music 
The composer managed to 
set
the lyrics 
to music
chill out to (= relax) 
I often 
chill out to
atmospheric ambient music 
 
Topic 7: Reading 
 
Do you like reading? 
How often do you read? 
What do you like to read? 
Where do you usually read? 
Do you read for pleasure or to get information? 
 
 

Nouns 
a work of fiction 
biography 
novel 
novelist 
poetry 
author 
literatune 
best-seller 
 

Verbs 
scan 
skim 
browse 
flick through 
flip through 
 

Adjectives 
fictional 
gripping 
contemporary 
classical 
 

Mat Clark – IELTS Speaking 
59

Idioms 
read up on (=read about) 
I often 
read up on
modern literatune. 
have one’s nose in a book (= read a book)
I always 
have my nose in a book
. 
a coffee-table book (= a large book 
that one leaves on the table, often 
with photos etc.) 
I sometimes flick through 
a coffee-
table book
. 
 
Topic 8: Email 
 
How often do you use email? 
What do most people in your country use email for? 
What are the advantages of email? 
Are there any disadvantages? 
Do you think that email will replace letter-writing? 
 
 

Nouns 
email account 
electronic message 
attachment 
spam (= junk mail) 
commercial correspondence (= business communication) 
cyberspace 
 

Verbs 
send out
deliver 
delete 
 

Adjectives 
web-based 
prompt 
speedy 
virtual 
time-consuming 
 

Idioms 
snail mail (= sending letters through the post) 
Snail mail
is extremely time-
consuming 
lost in cyberspace (= lost somewhere on the 
internet)
Sometimes emails get 
lost in 
cyberspace
At the push of a button 
With email you can send a 
message 
at the push of a 
button
 

Mat Clark – IELTS Speaking 
60
Topic 9: Learning English 
 
 
How long have you been learning English? 
What do you find difficult about learning English? 
What advice would you give to someone starting to learn English? 
Would you like to learn another language in the future? 
 
 

Nouns 
expression 
irregularity 
syntax 
learning 
strategy 
 

Verbs 
become skilled at sth.
make progress 
recall 
 

Adjectives 
tough (=difficult) 
effortless (= easy) 
intricate 
 

Idioms 
learn by heart
(= remember) 
It’s quite tough to 
learn
expressions
by 
heart
swot up on (=learn) 
I find it effortless to 
swot up
on the irregular 
verbs. 
block out (= ignore) 
It’s a good idea to 
block out
your first 
language 
 
Topic 10: Writing 
 
How often do you write something by hand? 
What types of things do you usually write by hand? 
Do you think it is important to have good handwriting? 
What are the advantages of writing something by hand? 
 

Nouns 
handwriting 
calligraphy 
correspondence 
script 
diary 
journal 
 

Mat Clark – IELTS Speaking 
61
 

Verbs 
scrawl 
scribble sth. down (= write sth. quickly) 
keep a diary 
 

Adjectives 
hand-written 
illegible 
sloppy (=untidy) 
clear (= tidy) 
personal 
 

Idioms 
put pen to paper (= write 
by hand) 
I don’t 
put pen to paper
very often. 
put…in writing 
A diary is a cool way to 
put
your thoughts 
in writing
. 
jot down (= write quickly) 
I might 
jot down
a new idea in my 
notebook. 
 
 
Topic 11: Clothes 
What types of clothes do you like wearing? 
Where do you usually buy your clothes? 
Did you wear a school uniform when you were younger? 
What can we learn about a person from the clothes that they wear? 
 

Nouns 
clothing 
garment 
trend 
Clothes 
boutiquite 
 

Verbs
flaunt 
show off 
dress up 
 

Adjectives 
stylish 
chic 
well-made 
hard-wearing 
 

Mat Clark – IELTS Speaking 
62

Idioms 
the in thing (= fashionable) 
This summer, baggy jeans are 
the in the 
thing
. 
at the height of fashion (= 
fashionable) 
Sports clothing is 
at the height of 
fashions.
up-to the-minute (= the most 
recent) 
I don’t really follow 
up-to-the-minute
fashions. 
dressed to the nines (= 
wearing very formal clothes) 
If a person is 
dressed to the nines,
then 
it usually means they want to impress 
someone. 
 
Topic 12: School (that you went to when to when you were younger—NOT 
your current school) 
 
Telll me about a school that you went to when you were younger. 
What did you like about that school? 
What subject did you like best at that school? 
What would you like to change about that school? 
 

Nouns 
Rules & regulations 
Subject matter 
curriculum 
Tutor 
 

Verbs 
Cram (=remember a lot of information in a short time 
Clarify 
punish 
reward 
Assess 
 

Adjectives 
monotonous 
Thought-provoking 
authoritarian 
Easy-going 

Idioms 
Off by heart (=remember 100%) 
We had to learn all our lessons 
off by heart
. 
Off the top of one’s head (=without any help) 
We had to recite famous stories 
off the top of our heads
. 
Come down like a ton of bricks (=punish severely) 
My maths teacher used to 
come down on us like a ton of bricks
if we couldn’t work out 
some problems. 
 

Mat Clark – IELTS Speaking 
63
Topic 13: Restaurants 
How often do you eat out in restaurants? 
What types of restaurants do you like best? 
What types of restaurant are common in your city? 
What are the advantages of eating out in restaurants? 
(See Topic 31: Cooking and Topic 36: Food) 

Nouns 
eatery cuisine meal speciality dish 
delicacy service décor setting 

Verbs 
eat out dine out feast on sample 

Adjectives 
regional swanky posh low-cost
unsophisticated 

Idioms 
Not as good as it’s/they’re cracked up to be (=not as good as people say) 
Lots of the posh restaurants are 
not as good as they’re cracked up to be
. 
Run of the mill (=average, typical) 
In my neighbourhood there are quite a few run 
of the mill
eateries. 
Set sb, back (=cost sb, an amount of money) 
The swanky restaurants will 
set you back
quite a lot of money. 
Topic 14: Friends 
 
How much time do you spend with your friends? 
What do you usually do with your friends? 
Do you prefer spending time with your family or friends? 
Is friendship important to you? 

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