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IELTS Speaking: Hometown vocabulary and ideas

27/06/20144 minute read

One of the topics you are most likely to be asked about in part 1 speaking is your hometown. This lesson gives you some vocabulary and ideas to help you along.

Talking about quality of life

These ideas should help you discuss what you enjoy/dislike about your home town. Remember to try and give examples/reasons to extend your answers.

 Living Example sentences
 cost of living The cost of living is fairly reasonable.
 pace of life There is a fairly slow pace of life where I come from.
 the rat race I moved out to avoid the rat race.
 atmosphere It’s got a really relaxed atmosphere.
 pollution The air quality is terrible because of the pollution.
 overcrowding Like most places it suffers from overcrowding.
 poverty You can see poverty everywhere.
 amenities One of the best points is that is has excellent amenities.
 sense of community What I enjoy most is the sense of community there.

notes: “the rat race” is a nice idiom for the fast pace of modern city life where no one has the time to sit back and enjoy life.

Areas of a city

If you are asked where you live, you should try and be precise.

 Areas Example sentences
 residential area We live in a residential area on the outskirts of the city.
 housing estate There is a shortage of accommodation so they are building some new housing estates.
 industrial zone Fortunately the industrial zone are outside the city limits so the pollution is not too bad.
 suburbs Most people choose to live in the suburbs as it is much quieter there.
 outskirts Most of the superstores are some way from the city centre on the outskirts of the city.
 inner city It is quite a safe place but some of the inner-city areas can be dangerous late at night.
 heart of the city I suppose the heart of the city is the main square in the city centre.
 neighbourhood The neighbourhood I live in is quite affluent.

notes: “the inner city” is normally (in English) associated with poverty – although this will obviously vary from city to city; “the outskirts” are the outer parts of a city/town.

Means of transport
 TransportExample sentences
 congestion Where I come from the congestion is terrible.
 traffic jams Like most places we get traffic jams in the rush hour.
 rush hour There is not really a rush hour – it is too quiet for that.
 bus route Fortunately I live near a convenient bus route.
 underground system/subway There are lots of means of transport – even a subway system.
 commute Some people choose to live in the country and commute in to work.
Adjectives

You will of course need some adjectives too. You should note how I use “fairly” “really” and “quite” to qualify these adjectives.

 Adjectives Example sentences
 quiet/peaceful It is a fairly quiet place.
lively/bustling/vibrantThe centre of town is really lively at night.
 industrial Of course it is quite industrial like most modern cities.
 provincial It is one of the largest provincial cities in the country.
 cosmopolitan There is a really cosmopolitan atmosphere.
 green While some parts of it are industrial it is still a green city.
 historic It is a fascinating historic old town.
 sleepy/relaxed/dull Some people might call it sleepy while I find it rather dull.

6 Comments

This Post Has 6 Comments

    1. Sorry, I don’t know about what topics are belong to year of 2013 and 2012, actually I just got around to my own IELTS test in the late 2014, so I cannot send you the materials.

  1. Would you please send me some topics and discussion questions related to those topics for a conversation session for English language learners? Thanks.

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