Describing a Special Occasion

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Part 2 Preparation

Intermediate

Learning Objectives

In this lesson you will:

Practice answering questions based on Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test.
Learn and practice some different ways to talk about special occasions.
Practice pronouncing /f/ as in "fin" and /θ/ as in "thin."

Exercise 1

Warm-Up: Pronunciation Practice

Listen and Repeat

Listen and repeat after your tutor.

A) free

B) three

A) deaf

B) death

A) fought

B) thought

A) fin

B) thin

A) first

B) thirst

Quiz

Your tutor will choose 5 words and say them aloud. After each word, say whether it is from Group A or Group B.

Quiz Your Tutor

Choose 5 words and say them aloud. After each word, your tutor will say whether it is from Group A or Group B.

Exercise 2

Helpful Vocabulary

Special Occasions

Listen and repeat these words with your tutor. If you don't know a word, ask your tutor to read the definition and example sentence.

firework

Noun

balloon

Noun

cake

Noun

candle

Noun

present

Noun

champagne

Noun

suit

Noun

dress

Noun

Tell your tutor when you do or wear these things. Try to use "always," "sometimes," and "never."

For example:

"We always light fireworks at New Year's."

"I never wear a suit for my birthday."

Describing Feelings

Listen and repeat these words with your tutor. If you don't know a word, ask your tutor to read the definition and example sentence.

tired

Adjective

happy

Adjective

surprised

Adjective

relaxed

Adjective

nervous

Adjective

excited

Adjective

bored

Adjective

proud

Adjective

Tell your tutor which words describe positive or negative feelings.

For example:

"Happy is a positive feeling."
"Tired is a negative feeling."

Exercise 3

Speaking Test Part 2 Response

Read the following instruction based on Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test.

Describe a special day you have experienced.

You should say:

what the day was
who was there
what happened

And explain how you felt.

Model Response 1

Listen and read as your tutor reads Daisuke's response aloud. At the end, you will need to answer three short questions.

I'm going to tell you about a very special day for me. It was when I graduated from university when I was 22 years old. I wore a suit that day, and my parents gave me some presents. At first, I sat down on the stage, and my parents sat in the audience. The professors made a speech and then they called out our names, and we had to shake hands with the professors and get our certificates. I felt very excited, but also nervous.

Then, I went and sat down again until the end of the ceremony when I met my parents. They took lots of photos of me and my certificate. I think my parents were really proud that I had completed my degree. My mom even had tears in her eyes!

Afterwards, we went out for dinner and a glass of champagne. And my mom had made me a special cake with candles. It was a really special day and I felt very proud of myself.

Questions

What was Daisuke's special day?

Who was there?

How did Daisuke feel?

Useful Language

Daisuke uses these phrases to talk about a special day and to structure his response. Listen and repeat each phrase with your tutor.

I'm going to tell you about ...
It was when ...
At first, ...
Then, ...
Afterwards, ...
I felt really ...
It was a really special day because ...

Exercise 4

Fill in the Blanks

Read the response based on Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test and fill in the blanks.

Model Response 2

I'm going (1) tell you about a very special (2) for me. It (3) when I turned 21. Twenty-one is an important birthday in my country; it's the day you become an adult. At (4), I felt nervous and I didn't really want to have a party, but then I changed my mind. About 30 people came over to our house and we drank champagne. All of the men wore suits and the women wore nice (5). I had a birthday(6) with 21 (7). We put (8) all around the house, and when it got dark, we lit some fireworks. I felt really happy. It was a really (9) night.

Choose answers from the options below that fit in blanks 1 to 9

Answer Pool (Questions 1-9)

special
cake
candles
first
dresses
day
was
balloons
to

Exercise 5

Part 2 Test Practice

Complete this task based on Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test. You have 1 minute to prepare your answer and up to 2 minutes to speak. Your tutor will stop you when the time is up.

Describe a special day you have experienced.

You should say:

what the day was
who was there
what happened

And explain how you felt.