Useful+ idioms+ for+ ielts+ speaking

USEFUL IDIOMS FOR IELTS SPEAKING KEITH O'HARE About the Author Keith runs The Keith Speaking Academy He has been working in international education for over 20 years as a teacher, teacher trainer, and education manager He has helped over 40,000 students prepare for their IELTS Speaking test with his online courses COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY In this PDF, I will showy you lots of useful idioms for IELTS Speaking that you can use for any topic Idioms are important because they help you understand natural English, and also because to get a Band 7+ in IELTS Speaking you need to use ‘some less common and idiomatic vocabulary’ Many students find idioms a challenge – Which I learn? How I use them? Well there are thousands of them, and I suggest you should learn idiom a day as a regular part of your daily English diet Rather than going to lists, I would note them as you hear them in context, such as a podcast or TV series COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY In IELTS Speaking you are often asked to give your opinion on a topic, and there are different idiomatic expressions you can use to express your opinion Let’s take the following question: Many governments are investing in space travel What you think about this? You could reply with either of the following, My take on this is, it’s a good idea To my way of thinking, it’s a good idea If you are unsure about your opinion, you could say one of the following; I’m in two minds about this I’m on the fence If you want to talk about one most important idea, you can use the expression, It boils down to + noun = the most important thing is _ For example, It boils down to money Can we afford to invest in space exploration? I don’t think so Or you might say, It boils down to one thing, our planet is in danger, so we need to explore space COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY Very often in the test, you are asked whether you like something or not For example, Do you like your job / football / fast food? (Single nouns) Here are some useful idioms for IELTS Speaking that you can use in this case The first is to say you like it, the second is if you don’t care or you are indifferent, and the third is to say you don’t like it It’s the bees knees = I love it I can take it or leave it = I don’t care / mind It’s not my cup of tea = I don’t like it COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY Some topics in IELTS Speaking can be confusing and you may not honestly really understand them For example, Science A.I Museums Art Architecture That’s fine, you just need to say you don’t fully understand them, or you find them confusing This is a great opportunity to show off your language If the examiner asks, What you think of Artificial Intelligence? You can try the following: I can’t make head or tail of it (GB) I can’t make heads or tails of it (US) I can’t get my head around it COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY In IELTS Speaking Part 2, you may need to talk about a person, maybe some you like or admire Instead of saying, I’d like to talk about my father You could say, The person I want to talk about is none other than my father ‘none other than’ is used to introduce someone that might be a surprise to the listener COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY As mentioned above, in Part 2, you may have to talk about a person, or possibly a place, an activity, or a thing If you want to describe any of these as good, you can use the following expressions, is hands down the best is second to none is a cut above the rest I think the world of Here are some specific examples: Harry Kane is hands down the best football player in England My Maths teacher is so good, she is second to none Samsung phones are a cut above the rest I think the world of my father COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY If on the hand, you want to describe a person, place, activity or thing as normal, nothing special, you can say, It’s a run-of-the-mill restaurant This hotel is ok, but nothing to write home about COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY Finally, some things may not be good at all When we want to compare things or people, saying one is not as good as the other, we can say, It is not a patch on = It’s not as good as It can’t hold a candle to = It’s not as good as Here are some specific examples: The latest Marvel film is not a patch on the previous film This restaurant is not a patch on the one we went to last week This singer is ok, but she can’t hold a candle to Beyoncé COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY I hope you will find these idioms useful for your IELTS Speaking test Remember, always learn idioms in context, and just learn or a day Idioms are fun because they help you add colour, metaphor and humour to your speech This is why they are used a lot in the news, or by politicians to make their speech more attractive Think of them as a the salt or pepper of your speech, they add flavour Don’t overuse them in your speech, it won’t sound natural – too much salt will ruin the flavour of your speech! Which idiom are you going to learn and try using? Find out more about my work at WWW.KEITHSPEAKINGACADEMY.COM COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY