Giving Your Opinion

As far as I’m concerned…

If you ask me I think…

To be honest I think…

In my opinion…

I would like to point out that…

Giving The Public Opinion

Many people would say that…

It is often said that…

It is widely believed that…

Saying You Don’t Know

I haven’t really thought about it but I reckon…

It is not something I have considered, however, I think…

To be honest, I don’t really know but I would say…

I don’t know much about the issue, however, I would say that…..

That’s a tough question, …well I reckon that…..

Well, that’s an interesting question, let me see….. I think…

Giving Strong Opinion

I am firmly convinced that…

I strongly believe that….

I am absolutely certain that….

What do think about the way languages are taught in schools?

As far as I’m concerned the methods used to teach foreign languages in schools are in need of improvement. Teachers need to engage students more with interesting materials and fun activities with real-life conversations in that language. It is widely believed that teaching just grammar or lecture-based lessons is not effective and I agree with this. For example, when I was in school I didn’t like French class as the teacher just lectured and there were no fun group activities.

How to make a prediction

The way I see it is that…

There is a strong possibility that…

It is highly unlikely that….

It has long been predicted that…

It is highly likely that….

I can definitely see….

Will computers and robots replace teachers in the future?

I reckon it’s highly likely that robots and computers will be used in schools rather than teachers. If technology continues to progress at this pace, then I can definitely see that teachers in the classroom will not be needed in the future. For instance, I recently read a report in the Guardian newspaper that Japan is planning to put robots in English classrooms to help pupils with their pronunciation, so yes there is a strong possibility that robots will be doing the job of a teacher within 10 years.

Talking about other people

The majority of people in my country…

Most people would prefer to…

A lot of people feel that…

People in the past used to…

In general, most people tend to…

Do people in your country spend a lot of money on their education?

I would say that the majority of people spend a lot on education. Traditionally in my country, studying hard to get into a good university is considered to be very important. For instance, most people want to get a job as a Doctor or some other high-paying profession, therefore, many people tend to see investing in their education as a big priority.

Comparing and Contrasting

A is better than B

A is more interesting than B

A and B are good but C is the best

A and B are interesting but C is the most interesting

A is more effective than B

What is the difference between studying online and studying at a school?

Studying on the internet such as an online course is more effective than studying at school because we can focus more without the distractions of being in a class. We can also study at our own pace and with recent advances in technology, it is often much cheaper to study online than at a school. For instance, if you want to learn English it will be more expensive to enroll in a school than studying through Youtube videos or taking a Skype lesson.

Making comparisons with the past

How are education priorities today different from those in the past?

Used to: Universities used to be free in the UK but now students are getting into debt

Present perfect: The quality of teaching has become much better compared to 50 years ago

Present perfect continuous: Education has been getting more expensive over the past 20 years

Past simple: Teaching was a well-paid profession in the past, but nowadays it has one of the lowest salaries

Past continuous: Truancy was becoming a big problem when I was in school, although these days it seems to not be such an issue.

How are education priorities today different than those in the past?

Many years ago teaching was about rote learning and the pupils used to listen to the teacher in a lecture format. In recent years in the Western world especially, there has been more of a focus on individualism and critical thinking skills. For example, when I was in high school I remember the teacher was writing up stuff on the blackboard with no group discussion among the class. These days the classroom is a very different place.

Talking about cause and effect

….because of…

….owing to…

….due to…

….is/was caused by…

….is /was down to…

This can be attributed to….

This means that….

Consequently…..

As a result of this…

Pollution and smog are a result of coal-fired power stations and Co2 from vehicles.

Global warming is partly due to the burning of fossil fuels in developing countries, consequently, weather patterns have been changing worldwide.

Many schoolchildren are doing badly at school. This is down to various issues, bullying, boredom, and poor teaching methods. As a result, the pupils are not getting the grades they need to go to University.

Question: What are some of the reasons for students doing badly in school?

I reckon that this is down to a number of issues, among these are poor teaching methods, boredom and lack of motivation. This means that many students are not getting the grades they need to enter University. For instance, when I was at school I had to study geography and science but I had no interest in those subjects. Also, I realized that the teaching methods in my school were not so good. Due to this I completely lost interest in those subjects and got poor grades too.

Useful IELTS Speaking vocabulary

1. In my opinion, parents should encourage the young generation to have more activities than playing computer games.

2. Personally speaking, the trend has changed to a great extent than that of our forefathers’ era.

3. I would like to point out that having a part-time job is advantageous from various aspects.

4. The way I look at, it is a waste of time and resources which could have been better utilized in academic fields.

5. The point I am trying to make is that it is not entirely our fault to have this much traffic in our cities.

6. What I actually meant was space research might be important but not more than feeding hungry mouths.

7. To express it another way, parents have a far greater role to play.

8. Let me put it another way and express my strong agreement in support of the year gap for university students.

9. To rephrase what I have just said I believe that parents should spend more time with their children despite their busy schedules.

10. What I am trying to say is books are better than movies as it has a lasting impact on readers’ mind.