IELTS Speaking Practice 3

Part 1 — Introduction & Interview (~4 min)

🎙️ ตอบ 2–3 ประโยค · ขยายความ ไม่ตอบสั้น

Q1

How often do you use a smartphone in a typical day?

I would say I use my smartphone almost constantly throughout the day. I rely on it for everything from checking messages and navigating to work, to reading news and attending video calls. If I'm honest, I probably pick it up dozens of times without even realising it.

Q2

Do you think technology has made people more or less social?

That's an interesting question. I think it has made people more connected in some ways — I can instantly message friends abroad — but less socially present in others. It's common to see a group of friends sitting together all staring at their phones rather than talking. So it's really a double-edged sword.

Q3

Is there any technology you find difficult or frustrating to use?

Yes, I find some government online systems quite frustrating. They often have poor user interfaces and require uploading numerous documents in very specific formats. Despite the intention of making services more accessible, the experience can sometimes feel more complicated than simply going in person.

Q4

Do you prefer to shop online or in physical stores? Why?

I tend to shop online for most things simply because of the convenience — comparing prices, reading reviews, and having items delivered to my door. That said, for clothing or shoes I still prefer physical stores because I value being able to try things on before committing to a purchase.

Part 2 — Individual Long Turn (~2 min speak)

📋 เตรียม 1 นาที → พูด 1–2 นาที

Describe a place in nature that you find beautiful or inspiring.

You should say:

where this place is
when you first visited or discovered it
what it looks like
and explain why you find it beautiful or inspiring

1:00

2:00

I'd like to describe Doi Inthanon National Park in Chiang Mai, which is home to Thailand's highest peak. I first visited it during a university field trip about five years ago, and the experience left a lasting impression on me.

The park is quite unlike the tropical beaches Thailand is famous for. As you ascend the mountain, the landscape transforms dramatically — from dense tropical forest at the base to misty cloud forest near the summit, where the temperature drops to near zero in winter. The summit is often shrouded in fog, and there are beautiful twin pagodas surrounded by manicured gardens that feel almost surreal against the wild backdrop.

What I find most inspiring is the sheer biodiversity — the park is home to hundreds of bird species and an extraordinary variety of orchids and ferns. Standing at the summit on a clear day, you can see an endless canopy of green stretching to the horizon, and the silence is almost absolute except for birdsong.

The experience reminded me that beauty doesn't always require a journey abroad — sometimes it's waiting in your own backyard. Since that trip, I've returned twice and recommended it to every nature-loving friend I have. (≈205 words)

Part 3 — Two-way Discussion (~5 min)

🗣️ แสดงความเห็น + เหตุผล + ตัวอย่าง

Q1

Why do you think many people in modern cities feel disconnected from nature?

I think the primary reason is the built environment itself. When people are surrounded by concrete, traffic, and screens from morning to night, nature simply isn't part of their daily experience. Add to that the demands of modern work culture — long hours, commutes, and digital entertainment filling every spare moment — and there's very little opportunity or motivation to seek out green spaces. It becomes a vicious cycle where the less time people spend in nature, the less they miss it.

Q2

How can governments encourage people to protect the natural environment?

There are several levers governments can pull. Financial incentives — like subsidies for electric vehicles or tax breaks for solar panel installation — make environmentally friendly choices more attractive. On the regulatory side, stricter emissions standards and plastic bans create systemic change that doesn't rely on individual willpower. Perhaps most importantly, environmental education in schools can cultivate a generation that sees sustainability not as a sacrifice but as a natural value. Countries like Sweden and Denmark have shown that combining policy, education, and cultural messaging can shift behaviour at scale.

Q3

Do you think economic development and environmental protection can go hand in hand?

I believe they can, though it requires deliberate policy design. The old argument that growth must come at the environment's expense is increasingly outdated. Renewable energy industries now create millions of jobs, and there is growing evidence that countries investing heavily in green infrastructure — Germany, for instance — have remained economically competitive. The key insight is that environmental degradation is itself an economic cost: floods, droughts, and health problems caused by pollution impose enormous financial burdens. Seen through that lens, protecting nature is not a constraint on development but a precondition for its sustainability.

💬 Useful Phrases — ฝึกใช้ให้คล่อง

เริ่มตอบ

"That's an interesting question." / "Well, to be honest..." / "I would say that..."

ขยายความ

"What I mean by that is..." / "To give you an example..." / "In other words..."

แสดงความเห็น

"I firmly believe that..." / "From my perspective..." / "I'm inclined to think that..."

ยอมรับอีกฝ่าย

"I can see why some people think..." / "There is some truth in that view, however..." / "Whilst I understand that argument..."

เปรียบเทียบ

"In contrast to..." / "Compared to..." / "Whereas X is the case in..."

สรุป

"On balance, I think..." / "All things considered..." / "Taking everything into account..."

📊 Speaking Band Descriptor

Band	Fluency & Coherence	Lexical Resource	Grammar
7–8	ไหลลื่น หยุดน้อย ใช้ cohesive devices ดี	หลากหลาย idiomatic ผิดน้อย	ซับซ้อน ยืดหยุ่น ผิดน้อยมาก
6	มีลังเลบ้าง แต่ยังเข้าใจได้	พอใช้ ซ้ำบ้าง	ง่าย-กลาง ผิดบ้างแต่ไม่กวน
5	หยุดบ่อย ต้องคิดนาน	จำกัด ซ้ำมาก	ง่ายๆ ผิดถี่