Pausing/ Filling silence for IELTS

Choose one of the following topics and speak about it as long as you can. Your partner will time how long you speak from the first word you say to the last word you say, minus how much time you spent being silent.

Everything you did yesterday evening

How to get from where you are sitting now to the nearest station

If you got on well with your brothers and sisters when you were younger, with examples

Some gossip people have told you or you have read

What kinds of music you have in your music collection, with examples

What kinds of videos you have in your video collection, with examples

Films you like and dislike and why

Sports stars you like and dislike and why

Music you like and dislike and why

The history of your country or a foreign country

Food you like and dislike and why

Types of holidays you like and dislike and why

Your morning routine

Your hobbies in the past, present and future

Your life story

Your work in the past, present and future

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When speaking English silence is not a good thing, especially in the IELTS exam! Below are good phrases to use when you need time to think. Put the phrases into the three categories in the boxes:

Phrases to use when you need time to think when you start speaking:

Phrases to use when you need time to think in the middle

Phrases to use when you are nearly finished speaking

Put these phrases into the table above

First of all…

Can I add that…?

Can I stop there?

I’d like to talk about…

I forgot to mention…

Let me think.

Is there anything else I should add?

I can’t remember much about that, but…

Let me see.

I think I’ve covered everything

That’s an interesting question

I’ve never really thought about that before, but I would say…

The other thing I should say is…

What’s that called?

I can’t think of the word.

The first thing I should say is…

Let me give you an example.

That’s about all I can say about that

I’m going to talk about…

Where shall I start?

I can’t think of anything else to say

Let me start by saying…

That’s a difficult question

Let me have a look at the question again.

What else was I supposed to say?

What was the last point again? Oh yes, …

Taking turns with your partner, continue the topics on page 1. Use as many pharses from the list here as you can. Your partner will tick off each one you use. You and your partner can only use each expression once.

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PDF version for easy printing: IELTSPausing