IELTS Speaking Topic: Concentration – Questions, Model Answer and Vocabulary. The topic of Concentration is common in IELTS speaking and can appear in part 1, part 2 and part 3. Below you will find a list of Cue Cards about this topic for Speaking Part 2 followed by useful vocabulary and a model answer. I’ve also added questions for part 1 and part 3 as well so that you can prepare fully for this topic.
Concentration Cue Cards for IELTS Speaking Part 2
Something that helps you concentrate at work or in your studies
You should say:
- what it is
- how you use it
- how it helps you concentrate
- how you feel about it
A method that helps you focus
You should say:
- what it is
- when you use it
- how it helps you
- whether you like it or not
Something that helps you remember things
You should say:
- what it is
- how often you use it
- how effective it is
- how you feel about it
A time when you struggled to concentrate
You should say:
- when it was
- what happened
- how you reacted
- how you felt about the incident
A time when you forgot something important
You should say:
- when it happened
- what happened
- how you responded
- how you felt about it
Someone you know who is very focused
You should say:
- who it is
- how you know this person
- in what way they are focused
- what you think of the person
A job that requires a high level of concentration
- what the job is
- what tasks are involved in it
- why concentration is so important
- and whether you think this is a useful job
Ideas & Vocabulary for Concentration Topic
In Speaking Part 2, it can be difficult to decide what to talk about for your topic. It’s important that you choose something easy to talk about that you are familiar with. This way, you will easily be able to expand your talk with extra details from your own memory or feelings. Below are a list of ideas and vocabulary of what to talk about for the topic of a method of concentrating or something that helps you concentrate. I’ve underlined useful language for you.
- Ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones
- Many people find that using ear plugs helps them focus on the task in hand without being distracted by surrounding noise.
- Eliminate distractions
- Getting rid of things that distract you from concentrating, such as closing down unused programs or personal social media on your laptop, removing files from your desk, clearing away mess etc. Some people are more easily distracted by such things than others.
- Go for a walk or take a break
- Taking some time out often helps clear brain-fog. It can give you a fresher perspective and more energy.
- Create an hourly plan
- Sometimes having a schedule can help you concentrate and get things done on time. Being more focused usually leads to higher levels of concentration.
- Set an alarm
- Setting regular notifications on your phone to ping helps remind you of what you are supposed to be focusing on.
- Distraction blocker apps or focus apps
- These apps can block incoming calls, messages pinging and prevent you accessing any website pages until the time you set has expired. Focus apps are designed to reward you if you focus on one task and give punishment if you switch to other apps or tasks during the time period set.
- Have a to-do list
- Having a clear list of tasks you must complete will help you focus as you tick them off one by one. This way you will be less preoccupied with things hanging over you and can work through them systematically.
- Multitasking
- Many people find doing more than one task at a time can save time, but others find it lowers their performance and ability to concentrate.
- Set deadlines for yourself
- Doing this gives you the drive to get things done and not fritter your time away.
- Avoid social media
- Time seems to disappear when people go on to social media and can lead to shorter attention spans in the long run.
- Drink water
- One of the main reasons people start to struggle with concentration is because they are dehydrated. Drinking water refreshes your mind and helps you focus. It is usually more effective than drinking caffeine.
Model Answer for Concentration Topic: IELTS Cue Card
The model answer below offers you another option for tackling the topic of concentration problems. I’ve again underlined useful language. Notice how I use a range of tenses and even manage to add some past tense and future forms even though the cue card is in the present – this is a very good way to boost your grammar score.
A method you use to concentrate
You should say:
- what it is
- when you use it
- how it works
- and how you feel about it
Model Answer
One great way that I ensure I can concentrate at work is by taking some time out for mindfulness. I know it probably sounds strange, but it really works. I find that my concentration starts flagging usually around 3pm after having eaten lunch and I also struggle to focus sometimes when I am overloaded with work. When I first started my job, my performance at work really dropped at those times. But having just a short break of just 15 mins to revitalises my body and mind through mindful breathing and creating a bit of peaceful space around me works wonders. Other people at work seem to take a break and spend their time gossiping, eating junk food or just stressing about unfinished tasks. But I use my short break to go for a short walk alone to clear my head and do some deep calm breathing. With a fresh mind, I can return to my work and tackle things in a more logical order without getting flustered.
Another aspect of mindfulness is having a clear work space. The more cluttered my desk is, the more overwhelmed I feel with tasks. It’s like everything gets on top of me. So, I make sure to take time to regularly clear my desk, check my task list and keep things organised. This creates a peaceful work environment which helps keep my mind focused on the task in hand.
But I know that everyone has their own methods. My friends says that the best way to focus in a busy office is to use noise cancelling ear plugs which help cut out ambient noise that can be very distracting. Another friend of mine found that by improving their sleeping and eating habits, they increased their ability to concentrate and were more attentive to smaller details. So, I guess everyone is different and you need to find what works best for you.
Model Answer Feedback
This answer doesn’t necessarily tackle each of the prompts on the cue card one by one. That’s ok and is acceptable in IELTS speaking part 2. It also offers multiple methods which isn’t asked for in the cue card. It also introduces methods used by others rather than just the speaker. This is all 100% fine and it’s a great technique for lengthening your talk. IELTS Speaking part 2 talks can be adapted as long as you stick to the main topic which in this case is “concentration”. This model answer is packed with incredibly natural, high band score vocabulary and expressions. It also contains a lot of topic based vocabulary which is important for the examiner to hear. Whatever your topic, the examiner will be looking for vocabulary relevant to that topic. This answer also contains various grammar tenses, a comparative statements, superlatives and a wide range of sentence structures.
IELTS Speaking Part 1 Concentration Questions
- Do you ever struggle to concentrate?
- How do you improve your concentration?
- Did you struggle to concentrate at school? Why?
- What kinds of things makes it hard to concentrate?
- Do you think older people struggle to concentrate more than younger people?
IELTS Speaking Part 3 Concentration Questions
- Do you think technology has impacted our concentration?
- Do you think people concentrate better now than in the past?
- Do you think modern technology can be intrusive?
- What methods are there to improve someone’s concentration?
- How could employers help their employees concentrate more?
- Are there any jobs that require more concentration than others?
- Can exercise impact concentration?
- Why do some children struggle to concentrate in class?
- Can teachers do anything to help children concentrate better?
I hope you found this page useful. If you wish to learn more about IELTS Speaking, go to the main Speaking page on this website for tips, topics and model answers: IELTS Speaking Main Page. All main sections of this website are found using the RED Menu Bar at the top of the website.
All the best
Liz
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Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and theories with us.Here, I want to ask a question. Are American words acceptable in IELTS? Kindly share some information about this topic with me.
Thanks !
IELTS means International English Language Testing System and that is because it is about international English, not just British English or Australian English. Yes, you can use American words and American spelling.
Thank you so much for your work Liz, I wish you all the best, get well soon <3
Thanks. I’m glad you enjoy my lessons 🙂
Hi Liz,
I found your website very insightful and want to thank you for making most of the resources free so the most people could benefit from it. That’s a big heart that you have, and what a contrast to all the commercial materials on the market that charges crazy but are barely effective.
I had two tests before: both overall band 8. L-9 R-9 W-8 S-6.5 L-8.5 R-9 W-8 S-7. It agonises me how I can nail writing while scored poorly on speaking. I can understand perfectly what a native speaker says but can’t respond with the same level of fluency? So I decided to retake the test for a better speaking score.
As I prepare for speaking part II, a question comes to my mind. Say, the topic is, tell me about a family celebration you recently had. And some details about the celebration. So I grew up in a family where we seldom have celebrations. My parents aren’t the cheerful kind of people. They even seldom smile. They don’t fare well in the society they live in because they lack the necessary interpersonal skills etc and they are almost never in a mood to celebrate anything. They live a stringent life, made sure they save every penny to spend on only important matters like my education, the house we live in and cut back on any other things. The last time I proposed to eat out for my birthday, my mom harshly rejected, saying no need to waste money. So when I saw this cue card, the fist celebration from memory was actually a birthday party I had when I was seven or eight, at a local McDonald’s, which was really impressive and unusual at that time. So 2 questions: 1. Can I talk about the above situation as background info or should I go straight into the birthday party to address the cue card only. 2. If you are asked to talk about a celebration/event/piece of furniture you owned, and you are not super impressed by one celebration/event/piece of furniture, can you talk about 2 or even 3 such things to fill up the length? Sometimes it’s just hard to speak at length about something that’s like, mundane or inane to you. Like my parents, I have also developed a personality that doesn’t relish big gathers or celebrations but I can still describe a few different events I’ve been to.
Thank you so much for your time and best wishes to you!
You are definitely over-thinking your speaking test answers. The aim is to speak naturally and chat like you would with a friend. If a friend asked you “Tell me about how your family celebrates festivals” – would you panic and be scared because you aren’t sure what your friend wants to hear? Or would you just explain to your friend what your family are like and how you feel about it? I’m sure, you would choose the second option and be natural. This is what IELTS speaking is all about. IELTS speaking test is informal and aimed to assess your real English level, not check that you are answering with certain ideas. That is why there is NO “Task Response” mark and NO “Task Achievement” mark for the speaking test. Your ideas are not important. You are being marked on being chatty in English and how good your English is.
In your comment above, you already used great English when you explained why your family doesn’t celebrate. You showed great fluency too. This is what the examiner wants. So, I guess the reason you aren’t hitting the score you want in the speaking test is because you aren’t sure of your aims and you aren’t sure what the speaking test is about. If a friend asked you about a piece of furniture you liked and you replied that actually there are a few you like, would you friend be annoyed? No, it’s natural to respond like that. But in this case, we ask “is this is a good strategy for a high score”. Certainly, we are allowed to talk about as many things as we want, but will it help increase the score? For IELTS, if you do talk about many things in part 2, your answer might lack depth, and the reason this is an issue is because you might not be producing as good a range of language compared to if you described one thing in depth. So, while it’s fine to talk about a variety of things, your reply might lack details and details provide great language for a high score. Why don’t you try it at home. Record yourself talking about one item of furniture in depth (descriptions, personal history, your thoughts, likes, dislikes, uses for the item, aims for the future, comparisons with other furniture you have etc – add any information you want – a background story if you want but with great description). Then record yourself talking about three items. Listen back to the recording and see which had the best range of English to help you get a high score. These are the choices you make during that 1 min preparation time for part 2. Choose your strategy and then chat openly taking it in any direction you want as long as it’s generally related to the main topic.
Your IELTS cue card and topics are just a support to give you a focus for producing language. If you didn’t have topics, what would you talk about? So, the test is designed to cover various topics, but not to keep you trapped with no way to expand answers. There aren’t fixed, hard rules for answers in the speaking test (unlike with the writing test). Be chatty, be open and explain whatever you want around that topic. See my main speaking page and look at all my model answers – they are all different and varied: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-speaking-free-lessons-essential-tips/
Hopefully, reading my response will help you relax and be more natural in your test. Hopefully, this will clear your doubts. Then you’ll get the score you deserve because your English is there, you just have to let it out in a friendly, natural manner. Lots of luck! Let me know how it goes 🙂
I am very grateful for the resourceful ielts materials. God job!! God bless you.
I’m glad you are enjoying my lessons 🙂
Hello Liz!
Excuse for me being so direct here in your comments section. I tried to find a way to contact you but to no avail.
Are you available for private instruction? I am a British teacher living in China. I don’t suppose you would be available for online mentoring. I hope to advance my level of English and become a better IELTS educator.
I believe you are too busy and won’t be available. But I had to ask!
Thank you anyway for all your marvelous materials! Truly wonderful work!
Kate Phillips
Sorry but due to serious health problems I have reduced my work down to a bare minimum and am not available for anything more. However, I wish you luck in your teaching.
Omg! Hope you will be well and healthy soon.
Thanks
Thanks a lot for the website I really find it pleasing since I have a test next week
Good luck!
Thank you so much for the materials. I found them very useful.
I’m glad.
Thank you Liz. Vocabulary and topic are very useful/
Glad you find the page useful 🙂
Hello Mam,
Thank you so much for your useful contents about speaking test. I, m impressed with your teaching method. I learn paraphrasing from you.
I’m glad you found it useful. Yes, learning a wide range of language around one topic will really help you.
Thank you very much for sharing the materials. It’s really useful to me.
You’re welcome 🙂
Thank you so much for your generous offer of assistance on IELTS 😊.
Sri…
My pleasure. I enjoy making these lessons and trying to produce as much useful language and information as possible.
Hi Liz
it’s wonderful. Your materials and instructions are very useful. Thanks for your invaluable free materials.
Glad you enjoy my lessons 🙂
Thank you so much for the tips. They ARE very useful. 😊
Thank you so much, Liz, for your explicit updates as for speaking tips on the given topics.
Glad it’s helpful 🙂
Hi Liz,
It’s me Noor Mohammad.
From Bangladesh. your website helps me a lot. Tomorrow is my final speaking exam. Please give me some tips for the final stage.
See these pages: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-exam-tips-on-the-day/ and https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-help-faq/
Thanks a lot
Hi
My main issues has been reading task especially reading comprehension part for academic.
please how can I get your lessons and videos on reading.
Use the RED Menu Bar at the top of the website to open the main sections of this website for each part of the test.
I’m impress with your teaching method
I’m glad it’s useful 🙂
Thanks for your valuable sharings. I really benefit from the tips of exam and sample topics.
You’re welcome 🙂
Is it okay to use the word ‘you’, i.e., second person speech, in Part 2 speaking? I found somewhere that we should try to avoid it as much as possible.
It is completely normal to use the word “you” in that way. The speaking test is informal.
Thank you so much for providing the materials
You’re welcome 🙂