Maths is a topic that can appear in IELTS Speaking Part 1. This topic can also be called Calculations or Numbers. This has been a reported topic since 2015, appearing regularly in the IELTS speaking test.
Below are some questions with useful vocabulary so that you can prepare this topic.
IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions: Maths
When you prepare at home, don’t write your answers down. Instead, speak your answer out loud and record them on your phone. This way you are practicing more naturally and you can listen back to check your pronunciation and other aspects of language.
- Are you good at maths?
- Did you like mathematics when you were at school?
- What was your teacher like?
- What kinds of things did you learn in maths?
- Did you use a calculator when learned maths?
- Do you find it difficult to do calculations?
- How do you calculate difficult sums?
- Do you think maths is an important subject for children to learn?
- Why do you think children should learn maths?
Useful Language for Maths Topic
- calculate numbers / data / figures
- adding up / addition (2 + 4 = 6)
- subtraction / taking away (6 – 2 = 4)
- multiplication / multiplying numbers (multiplying = 2 x 3 = 6)
- the multiplication table
- division / dividing (dividing = 6 / 3 = 2)
- long division (12,000 / 1,500 = 8)
- estimating powers and roots for positive numbers
- learning about decimals and fractions (decimal = 0.333 & fraction = 1/3)
- algebra = learning about using letters and symbols in formulas
- geometry = calculating angles in triangles or relationships between points on graphs or maps
- proportions and rates of change
- maths teaches people how to solve problems
- maths teaches people how to interpret and understand data
- maths teaches people how to do simple and complex calculations needed for everyday life
Model Answers
- Question: Did you like maths when you were at school?
- Answer: Yes, I did. I enjoyed it at the beginning when we were doing just simple sums but I went off it as we progressed on to complex calculations, like complex algebra and things like that.
- Question: Did you use a calculator at school for studying maths?
- We weren’t allowed a calculator for doing sums or long division and things like that. But we were allowed to use one for geometry and other complex calculations.
Speaking part 1 answers are not long. They are quite short, but you should still aim for at least two complex sentences for your answer. Your answer is likely to be shorter for a simple question and longer for a more complex question. In part 3, all your answers will be longer because the questions are more complex.
You can also see that language is very relaxed and natural. This is perfect for IELTS Speaking which is an informal test of your natural spoken English.
