IELTS Video Lesson Speaking Part 3 Question: Urban vs Rural Life

Ideas and vocabulary for a common type of question in IELTS speaking part 3 – How to compare urban and rural life. The ideas and language can also be used in your IELTS writing task 2 essay.

Recommended IELTS Speaking Video Lessons:

How to improve your speaking at home
What’s your favourite…? Part 1 question tips

Transcript

hello welcome to another IELTS

lesson in this lesson we’re going
to look at a very common topic

for IELTS for the speaking test and that is
the topic of

can you guess it’s the topic of homes and
today I’m standing outside a beautiful

old English country home it’s
really lovely here

now my question for you is from speaking
part 3

so that means it’s going to be more
difficult are you ready for your

question

do you think it is better to live

in the countryside or in

a city I would like you to answer that
question

I want you to take your telephone record
your answer and then

check your answer and see how you
can improve that and please do this

before you continue with the video

because now I’m gonna go to the white
board

and I’m gonna give you some vocabulary
and ideas to improve your

answer so record your answer and I’ll see
you

in a minute here is your question

do you think it’s better to live

in the countryside or in a city

have you recorded your answer I hope so

now let me give you some

ideas for the countryside and

for the city and you need to think of
advantages

to living in one up those places let’s
look

at the countryside and see what
advantages

there are the first one is

of lower pace of life

and this means that life

in the countryside often moves more
slowly

than in the city it’s often

more relaxed less stressful

and some people believe pleasanter

so that’s one benefit to country
life

another advantage is less

pollution and also less noise

the pollution is generally air pollution

now less air pollution and less noise in the
countryside

is because there is less industry

there’s less traffic less building work

than in a city and therefore

it is considered healthier to live

in the countryside so that really is a

a big positive point another

plus point to life in the countryside

and that is stronger communities

now what does that mean exactly

well in the countryside people often

live in a town for their whole life

and families live

in the town generation after generation

and that means that they know each other
very well

and therefore the community is quite
close

and neighbours have a good relationship
with each other

this means that the countryside

often gives people a good support
network

because the community is so close

so that is definitely a plus point

the next advantage now that depends

on which country you live in but

in England for example in the
countryside

houses are cheaper than in a city

so that means that they can have bigger
houses

bigger gardens there’s more space you
remember the beautiful house

from the beginning of the video that was
an English

country house over 150 years old

so the owner of that house couldn’t

have the same building if they lived

in a city so those are four

plus points four advantages to

country life now let’s look at cities

maybe you prefer living in the city
now one

definite advantage about that the city has

over country life is

there are more amenities

in a city what are amentities

well another word for amenities is

facility now the facilities and
amenities

that we’re talking about are things like
better restaurants

better sports facilities more leisure
centres for example

also the transport is better a

the roads are better there are so many

more things that you can do

their cinemas shopping malls opera houses

many many more amenities and
facilities

in a city than living in the countryside

in a small town or village

now let’s check the pronunciation of these
words

the first word is amenity

so that four syllables

A Men I Ty

this is ah ah

sound amenity

here is the stress amenity:

amenities so

singular amenity and plural

amenities the next one

facilities Fa

Cil I Ties

this also is ah fa

and the stress of is here

in the second syllable facilities

so the city has more facilities

and amenities to offer than the
countryside

the next positive point

to city life and that is in the city there
are often

better prospects do you know that word

well prospects often mean opportunities

there are more opportunities for people
in the city

the word prospects we often use with

employment and this means that when
there

are better prospects it means

that it’s easier to get a good job

so there are more jobs available in the
city

more prospects and more opportunities
to do what you want to do

and advance get promotion

and improve your life

the next advantage is very clear

better public transport there are more buses
and

trains and undergrounds in

cities and of course in the countryside

there’s often very little public
transport

people need their own transport to get
around

but in the cities if you don’t have
your own transportation

you can still get around and you can
travel using

public transport and the last

advantage again this depends on which
country you live in

but in many countries there is better
education

in the cities than in the countryside

nearly all universities are in

cities often the facilities

at school in the city

they are better than in the countryside

so for example city schools have better
technology

more laptops and computers and high
technology for their students

and the standard of education is often
higher

better teachers so

there are 4 clear positive points to

city life now before we finish

there’s something I want to tell you about
this question

obviously you need to choose

living in the country or living in

city and when you choose one

you really need to compare it with

the other because when you use

a language of comparison when you give a
comparative

sentence it will help your IELTS

speaking results the examiner does need to
hear

a range up different grammar

so we say less and

more well better

say for example there is less pollution
and noise

in the countryside than in

a city there are often better

prospects for work in a city

compared to the countryside

so remember when you give some ideas that
you need to compare them

now these are only 4 ideas for each one

maybe you’ve got some more ideas if you
have

let me know it’s always good to share
ideas

for IELTS well that’s all for this lesson
I hope that was useful and I will see
you again

in another IELTS lesson

here are some more useful IELTS lessons

to help you prepare for your IELTS test

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Comments

  1. Hi Lizz:
    we are waiting for more videos about part 4 Speaking test
    thanks.

  2. dimple chtani says

    Hi Liz , Thanks for Posting this Video . It’s really helpful . Also , I would like to confirm one thing on the comparison questions . Will it be correct , if we explain pros and cons for both the options (for example , urban and country side ) or should we only choose one option and describe advantages of it ?

    • You just answer what the question asks for. If the examiner says “What are the advantages and disadvantages…” then give both. But remember, task response and task achievement do not exist in IELTS speaking. The examiner will only mark your language, not your ideas.

  3. Thank you Liz, for this very useful website and your effort.
    I want to know…
    Is it okay to start my answer by saying – okay, … . / well, …. . I mean starting the answer by the words which come naturally.

    Another thing to know is, in the speaking part, should I always answer by using I/me? or can I use we/ you?

    • The speaking test is informal and you should speak in your natural way. It is normal to use such fillers. If the question is about you, then you answer about you. If the question is about people in your country, you answer about people in your country. Just answer the question.

  4. Hello Liz,

    May I know, if I take 2-4 seconds pause to answer questions in Part 3, will it create any problem?

    Thanks

    • Try filling your pause with language – “Well, let me see, I suppose …. ”
      Or ask the examiner to repeat the question so you have time to think.

  5. Alisa Butuc says

    Hi Liz, kindly ask you to help me with one question: When I registered for IELTS I choose the option that I am a student. Actually, I am not a student because I graduated in July this year and came to Germany, and I will pass my IELTS here on 1st December. I am not working also and that’s why I am worried if the examiner will ask me if I am a student and I will say not, but in my registration paper they have information that I am a student. So what should I respond to him, if I am not studying and not working? (I am actually going to start an intensive course of German language, and intend to make a master next year).
    Thank you for your time!

    • If the examiner asks “do you work or do you study?”, you say “I’m about to start a Germany language course and I plan to take a Masters next year.”
      The words “I’m about to start…” mean that you will start very soon. Just be honest and open in your test. This is an informal test so be chatty, friendly and open.

  6. Hi liz, hope you are doing well.
    My question is- Can I use examples from my own experiences in speaking part 2&3?
    For instance, if the question is- ‘Does travelling to different countries change the way people think?’ can i use examples from my travels and how it changed the way i percieve things?

    • Part 3 is usually a time to talk about the world in general. If the question is about the world in general, you should speak about the world in general and relate your examples and ideas to people. Part 1 is mainly about yourself. Part 2 – it depends on the topic but you should always add your own memories and experiences.

  7. Thank you Liz for your support through this website. I learned a lot and got confidence to attend IELTS speaking exam by tomorrow. And I have LRW exam on 8th of this month. Can you help me out anything to get better score in this time.
    And I am confident that I will get 7band

    Ramesh

  8. Hey liz
    Thank you so much for your useful tips hope i can crack this exam in coming Wednesday

  9. Hey liz, thnx for ur great help n i rly need ur wishes for my IELTS exam.

  10. tejendra gurung says

    I find the comparison method very helpful, it’s make the English learning more Interesting , Hope i would get better score in tomorrows Speaking Test.

    Thanks Liz.

  11. Hi Liz!
    Should I present as many points as I thought of in part 3 Speaking?
    Or should I only give one point and then further elaborate it?
    Thanks for your videos and materials!

    • The examiner is not marking your ideas. You are being marked on your English language only. So, present each idea with lots of detail in order to showcase your language skills with a range of grammar and vocabulary.

  12. sravs 222 says

    hi liz maam,
    Is it good to take the use of cambridge ielts books for reading practice(GENARAL)
    What is the cost of that cambridge books.

    How can I improve my generation of ideas in writing task 2

    Give me any suggestion

    • Yes, you should use the Cambridge books which you can find on amazon. Get ideas for writing task 2 from model essays and the internet.

  13. k vijaya gopal says

    From your videos and lessons,I learned a lot and indeed i am going to take my speaking test tomorrow.Thank you and wish me good luck”)

  14. Thank you so much for your help…………………………

  15. thanks

  16. You are awesome, Liz. I’m going to take IELTS speaking test tomorrow morning, and I have learned a lot from your videos and notes. I hope I can get band 6.5!

  17. Sanjay (from Saigon) says

    One more thing I always love to add to this type of topic. Life in the city is convenient but not comfortable but in the countryside, life is comfortable but not convenient. 😉

  18. my fate is my decisions

  19. you are the best,good luck to all

  20. nice 🙂

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