This week's sessions
Tick each session when you finish it. Your ticks are saved only in this browser.
- Describe Image: the four-part answerRead this week's lesson, then practise three images. Use the 25 seconds to find the main feature and two numbers before you speak.
- Image, lecture and short questionsDo the speaking set below. For each Retell Lecture, write keywords in four lines (topic, two points, conclusion), then compare with the model.
- Describe Image sample answersStudy three sample answers, then describe each image in your own words without looking. Record yourself and check you kept talking for 35–40 seconds.
- Retell Lecture: keywords and linkingDo three Retell Lecture items. Speak only from your keyword notes, using a linking phrase before every new point.
- Daily practice, all four skillsDo today's ten questions. Note which question types you got wrong; you'll work on them in weeks 4 and 5.
This week's lesson: 40 seconds of clear content
Describe Image and Retell Lecture both give you 40 seconds to speak. At this level, many people either memorise a long template and say very little about the actual image or lecture, or they try to say everything and stop to think. Both cost marks. The aim is a simple structure, real details, and smooth delivery from start to finish.
Describe Image: a four-part answer
You have 25 seconds to prepare. Use them to find the four things you'll say:
- What it shows: "This line graph compares the sources of electricity in Westland from 2010 to 2025."
- The main feature: the biggest change, the highest value or the clearest contrast. "The most striking change is the decline of coal."
- Two details with numbers: "Solar grew from almost nothing to 27 per cent, and wind climbed from 4 to 24 per cent."
- A conclusion: "In conclusion, Westland has moved a long way from coal towards renewable energy."
That's about 60 to 70 words, which fits comfortably in 40 seconds at a natural pace.
Useful language for images
- Change: rose, grew, climbed, fell, dropped, declined, stayed steady, peaked at
- Size: sharply, steadily, slightly, dramatically
- Comparison: the largest share, twice as many as, in contrast, while
- Processes: first, after that, then, finally, at the end of the process
Learn five or six of these well rather than twenty you can't say smoothly.
Don't try to describe everything
If a chart has eight bars, choose the highest, the lowest and one interesting difference. If you can't read a label, describe something else. A confident answer about three features is better than a hesitant answer about eight.
Retell Lecture: notes that help you speak
You'll hear a short lecture, then have 10 seconds to prepare. While you listen, write keywords only, in a simple layout:
Topic: urban heat island Cause 1: roads, roofs absorb heat → release at night Cause 2: fewer trees Solution: street trees, light roofs
Then speak from your notes using linking phrases:
"The lecture was about... The speaker explained that... Another point was that... Finally, the speaker said that..."
Paraphrase, don't copy
You don't need the speaker's exact words. Use your own simple phrases, as long as the meaning is right: "absorb heat during the day and release it slowly at night" can become "store heat in the day and give it off at night."
Keep going to the end
If you run out of points with time left, add a conclusion: "Overall, the lecture showed that..." If you're still speaking when time ends, that's fine. Avoid long pauses: a short "and", then the next point, sounds far better than silence.
Answer Short Question
You'll also practise Answer Short Question. Answer with one word or a short phrase, immediately. There's no need for a full sentence.
This week
Practise every day with the timer. After each answer, ask: Did I say the main feature? Did I give two details? Did I keep talking?
Practice for this week
Image, lecture and short questions
Loading questions…
Weekly check: Mock test 2 speaking tasks
Do the speaking tasks in Part 1 and record yourself. For Describe Image and Retell Lecture, check: main point, two details, a conclusion, no long pauses.
When you finish, come back to your plan home: your dashboard updates with the new score.
Answers, explanations and transcripts
Finish the test first, then open each section to check your answers. Every answer has an explanation.
Image, lecture and short questions
Model answer: Describe Image
Describe the image in detail. You have 25 seconds to prepare and 40 seconds to speak.
This line graph compares the sources of electricity in Westland from 2010 to 2025. The most striking change is the decline of coal, which dropped from about 72 per cent of the total to 30 per cent. Over the same period, solar grew from almost nothing to 27 per cent, and wind climbed from 4 to 24 per cent. Gas stayed fairly steady at around 20 per cent throughout. In conclusion, Westland has moved a long way from coal towards renewable energy.
Transcript: Retell Lecture
Today I want to explain why cities are often warmer than the countryside around them, an effect known as the urban heat island. Roads, roofs and car parks absorb heat during the day and release it slowly at night, so city temperatures stay high after sunset. Cities also have fewer trees to provide shade and cool the air. To reduce the effect, many councils are planting more street trees, and some buildings now use light-coloured roofs that reflect sunlight instead of absorbing it.
Model answer: Retell Lecture
Listen to the lecture, then retell it in your own words. You have 10 seconds to prepare and 40 seconds to speak.
The lecture was about the urban heat island, which explains why cities are warmer than the surrounding countryside. The speaker said that roads, roofs and car parks absorb heat during the day and release it at night, and that cities have fewer trees for shade. To reduce the effect, councils are planting more street trees, and some buildings use light-coloured roofs that reflect sunlight.
Transcript: Retell Lecture
Let's talk about how to study more effectively. Many students revise by reading the same notes again and again, but research suggests this mainly creates a feeling of familiarity rather than real learning. Two methods tend to work better. The first is retrieval practice: testing yourself, for example with flashcards, without looking at the answer. The second is spacing: reviewing material over several days instead of in one long session. Both feel harder at the time, but that effort is what helps information stay in long-term memory.
Model answer: Retell Lecture
Listen to the lecture, then retell it in your own words. You have 10 seconds to prepare and 40 seconds to speak.
The lecture discussed effective ways to study. The speaker explained that rereading notes often creates familiarity rather than real learning. Two better methods were described: retrieval practice, which means testing yourself without looking at the answers, and spacing, which means reviewing over several days. The speaker concluded that although both methods feel harder, the extra effort helps information stay in long-term memory.
Transcript: Answer Short Question
What do we call a word that means the opposite of another word?
Model answer: Answer Short Question
Listen to the question and answer with one or a few words.
An antonym.
Transcript: Answer Short Question
In which room of a hospital are operations usually performed?
Model answer: Answer Short Question
Listen to the question and answer with one or a few words.
The operating theatre.
Transcript: Answer Short Question
What is the name for a list of the books and articles used in an essay?
Model answer: Answer Short Question
Listen to the question and answer with one or a few words.
A bibliography, or a reference list.
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