Shadowing Practice: IELTS Speaking Part 1 SAMPLE ANSWERS | Hometown - Learn English Speaking with Video
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hi there it's asiya do you know that there are just a few topics that each ielts speaking exam begins with in this video i'm gonna talk about one of them your hometown i'll show you sample answers
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and give you some useful vocabulary to help you improve your answers there is also a pdf guide where you can find questions and sample answers for the other topics okay let's get started
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first of all what is a hometown that's a place where you were born or lived as a child i've been living in london for 10 years but this is not my hometown actually i have two i was born in almaty
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and grew up mainly in bishkek so i can talk about either if you're in a similar situation just choose one to keep it simple the first question is are you from a town or a village listen to this
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answer and think if it's a good one i was born in almaty the largest city in kazakhstan with a population of about 2 million people almaty served as the capital of kazakhstan in the past and it's
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still its main commercial and cultural center benefiting from its location along the ancient silk road can you feel that something is wrong that it didn't sound natural well that's because
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this answer sounds like a wikipedia article because it is the wikipedia article i just copied it that won't do you'll be penalized for using memorized answers because they don't show
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your english they show your memory so give an answer you would normally give in real life
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i could say i'm from a city called almaty it's the former capital of kazakhstan or here is another option i'm from a small village called take in south kazakhstan and that's enough in these two
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examples i directly answered the question and then gave a bit more information to explain where it is
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there will be questions where you can say more so don't feel the pressure to just talk a lot all the time the next question is what is your hometown like okay so here i can say more
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it's quite a large and modern city of over 2 million people it's growing fast because many people move there to work or study i like its hustle and bustle the city is located
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in the foothills of the alatau mountains which means that the views are beautiful
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and we can easily go hiking in summer and skiing in winter here are a few useful phrases hustle and bustle that's all the noise and activity we associate with a busy city you may love the hustle
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and bustle of living in this city center but then require a break from all this hustle and bustle
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you can also talk about a bustling city or neighborhood that's the one that is full of people moving around okay what kinds of public transport are there in your hometown
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there are buses electrical trolley buses and trams and one metro line which took about 20 years to build that's definitely not enough for such a large city and as a result most
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people use cars and traffic congestion is a major problem so public transport is british and public transportation is american and it includes buses trains taxes and so on if you
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live in a small village there may be no public transport you can travel by public transport
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traffic congestion that's when there are so many cars on the roads that they move very slowly and a traffic jam is when cars stop in one particular place as a result of congestion or a car accident
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next what are people like in your hometown i find that people are generally friendly and quite open
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i mean they share personal information with you freely so it's easy to make friends but i must admit that not everyone respects the queue so cue jumping is quite common which stresses me out to
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respect the queue means to wait in line for your turn and that's what people in the uk do very well
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there is even a joke that if you've been waiting for 20 minutes to discover that there is no queue
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you're british cue jumping is quite rare here before we move on to the other questions i just want to say that you should practice your answers to these questions but don't learn them by
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heart to keep them natural and if you want to work on your speaking skills with the teacher a great place to do that is cambly the sponsor of today's video it's an online learning platform where you
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can practice your english with the native speaking teachers at any time that suits you you can choose a teacher you like or book lessons with different teachers to get used to a variety of accents you
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can suggest a topic for your lesson or take ielts speaking lessons or even a mock speaking test
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lessons start from just 15 minutes a day twice a week and you can take them at any time of the day or night at the moment you can take one 10 minute class for free and if you like it subscribe using
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the link in the description to get an extra discount you save the most if you take a 12 month plan and if you change your mind you can still cancel your subscription and get a refund
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you should definitely consider taking the free lesson while it's available all the links are in the video description box below and now let's continue you may be asked one of these questions
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what is your town known for or what is the most interesting part of your town or
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what would you recommend a visitor to see or do in your town
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think what you could say in advance to avoid being caught off guard here is my idea
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on the outskirts of almaty there is an outdoor skating rink called medellin
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it's famous because of its high altitude and it's even hosted some international competitions
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i think it's definitely worth seeing even for people who don't skate because the views from there are simply breathtaking on the outskirts of the city that's near the edge of the city far
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from the city center to be worth seeing that's a good phrase breathtaking that's something that is so beautiful that it takes your breath away a breathtaking view is a common collocation
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what kinds of jobs do people in your town or village do that's a common question but quite a tough one even people who speak english very well may find it difficult to answer it
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you can actually see a mock speaking exam with this question linked in the description
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so here is what i would say i suppose that most people work in manufacturing i know that there are some big factories in elma team others work in small businesses such as
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shops and restaurants also almaty is known as the financial center of kazakhstan which means that some of the country's largest banks and this stock exchange are based in the city when you're
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talking about your city or village you can start by saying that most people work in manufacturing agriculture fishing hospitality the services industry just choose the ones that suit you
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usually a lot of people work in small and medium-sized businesses such as shops and restaurants and you can say if there are banks or if there are no banks where you live
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and that will basically be enough next has your hometown changed much since you were a child
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a lot when i see old photographs of almaty i can hardly recognize it it used to be a quiet medium-sized town but in recent years big developments have sprung up like mushrooms
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the city center is now dominated by glass and concrete offices and big shopping malls i think the city has almost doubled in size in the last 20 years and has completely changed its appearance
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okay it used to be that's something you can say when something was true in the past but it's not true anymore it used to be a quiet town to spring up like mushrooms that means to grow very quickly
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and that's a common idiom to talk about buildings glass and concrete offices
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shopping malls to double in size that means to become twice larger and basically this question is a great opportunity to use the perfect tense it has doubled in size or it hasn't changed much next
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would you say it's a good place to live and why you know there are a lot of great things about living in almaty i like its climate the hot sunny summers and snowy winters i also think that
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almaty's universities are the best in the country and the city offers good work opportunities
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however traffic congestion and the related air pollution are big problems for those living there
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so you can talk about great and limited job opportunities traffic congestion and of course air pollution right now you can download the pdf guide with the sample answers from this video and
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answers to other topics used at the beginning of ielts speaking exams right here and don't forget to check out cambly if you like to practice your english with a native speaking teacher
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thank you so much for watching me today good luck with your preparation and your exam bye
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Why Practice IELTS Speaking with This Video?
Mastering IELTS Speaking Part 1 starts with nailing common topics like "hometown"—and this video is your secret weapon. It breaks down natural, non-memorized answers, so you learn to speak like a real person, not a textbook. Whether you’re prepping for IELTS or just want english speaking practice, these sample responses teach you to balance clarity and detail. Plus, you’ll pick up vocabulary that impresses examiners, making it perfect for IELTS speaking practice and everyday fluency.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The video is packed with practical language. Here are 3 key takeaways:
- "It used to be a quiet town": Use "used to" to contrast past and present—ideal for answering "Has your hometown changed?" questions.
- "Big developments have sprung up like mushrooms": This idiom adds color when describing growth, showing you can use figurative language naturally.
- "The views are breathtaking": Collocations like "breathtaking view" make your speech sound native. Pair adjectives with nouns examiners love!
Common Pronunciation Traps
Don’t let tricky words trip you up! The video highlights:
- "Hustle and bustle": Stress the first syllable in "hustle" and "bustle" to keep the rhythm natural.
- "Traffic congestion": Pronounce "congestion" with a soft "g" (con-JES-chun) to avoid miscommunication.
- "Queue jumping": "Queue" rhymes with "view"—not "kwee"! Practice saying it slowly to build muscle memory.
Ready to level up? Use this video as a shadowing site—pause, repeat, and refine. With practice, you’ll turn these tips into habits, acing IELTS Speaking and sounding confident in any conversation.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | i've been living · you've been waiting |
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to be |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were born · was born · be penalized |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | mountains which means · people who don · people who speak |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.