IELTS Speaking Part 1: Names

IELTS Speaking Part 1: Names

in IELTS Speaking Part 1 Posted on 

General Rules:



Here are some general rules about Part 1 that you may find useful. The point of Task 1 is for you to answer shortly to many questions. Think of it like an interview where you need to answer questions about yourself. You should:

Keep it short. When you practice, in general try to answer in 15 to 20 seconds per question. 

Give at least 1 reason and 1 real-life example. Again very general but try to have at least 1 real example in your answer.

Talk about yourself. This part is all related to you (if the question doesn't say another person).

So, lets take a look at some questions:

Vocabulary related to the topic

Sentence starters and Linking words

Idioms or Special Phrases

Does your name have any special meaning?

Answer 1:

For China as I live here at the moment:


In my country, we have a tradition that some families follow. This tradition is about giving names based on ancient characters from our language that mean something powerful. For example, my name means literally "brave" and "wise".  Not everybody follows this tradition, but many parents still prefer to give these names as a wish for the future of their kids.

My Personal Answer:

Well, actually I never dug deeper into names and their meaning. I accepted my own name and everyone's name at face value. This means that I never asked myself "But what does it mean?". In my family, we have a tradition, in which we give our kids the name of their grandfather or grandmother. I don't plan to follow this tradition further, but I got my name after my grandfather.
Answer 1:
My Personal Answer:

How would you choose names for your next generation (kids)?

Answer 1:

To be honest, I didn't think about this so far. We do have some cultural traditions, but I feel I would like to follow my own way of naming my child. I suppose I'll research online and consider an interesting, meaningful, but also simple and easy-to-use name for my child, be it a boy or a girl. 

My Personal Answer:

I've actually had a lot of thoughts on this. In my mind, I always considered this aspect - the name has to be easy but also difficult to be bullied with or for. Oftentimes, kids tend to make nicknames for other kids they tend to "soft" bully. I wish that my child has a name that cannot be associated with any funny or dirty word, so I'll put a lot of effort into naming him or her. And If I fail, I'll name him or her after an X-man.
Answer 1:
My Personal Answer:

Are there any differences between how people in your country name their children now and in the past?

Answer 1:

I think some traditions are changing. In the past, many names used to be similar, and you would find a lot of people with the same names as John or Peter, or Marry. Nowadays, people try to make their kids special and unique, so they will choose a more stand-out name.

My Personal Answer:

We've definitely come a long way since then. There used to be some traditional names that were given to almost every person in the country. We even have special Name Days in our culture, which happen once per year to celebrate those big names. My Name Day is on the 6th of January, for instance, and it's like a second birthday. But in the last 10-20 years people have begun picking a lot of weird and creative names from books, pop culture, and other publications.
Answer 1:
My Personal Answer:

Does anyone in your family have the same name as you?

Answer 1:

For a "No".


No, no one does. I think my parents tried to avoid that exactly when naming me. I know many of my friends were given the names of their grandparents or aunts, but in my family, my parents decided to give me a completely different name.

My Personal Answer:

I mentioned this a little earlier, but yes, I am named after my grandfather on my father's side, and my sister is named after my grandmother on my mother's side. It is definitely an interesting tradition, in a way respecting and honoring the previous generation. Similarly to that, my father is named after his grandfather, and my grandfather is named after his. This tradition spans across a few generations and is an interesting approach to naming.

Answer 1:
My Personal Answer:

Are there any names that are more popular than others in your country?

Answer 1:

Well, I think the popularity of names is changing. We used to use a lot of flower names for girls, like Rose, Lilly, and others, but nowadays, the names of celebrities and popular people have become hot. I know many girls called Taylor or guys called James for instance.

My Personal Answer:

For Bulgaria (where I'm born).


Yeah there are. I never followed the customs for girls, although there were many Gloria's in my time, named after a big pop-folk musician in my country. However, for boys, the two top names by far were my name Ivan and George. These names are so popular that we always got congratulated for our Name Day during the news broadcast on our special Name Day.

Answer 1:
My Personal Answer:

What do you think about people who change their names?

Answer 1:

Well, most of the time I don't really understand this. Everyone has the freedom to make his own free choices, but changing your name usually means you've hated your original name that your parents gave you. This seems to indicate that there are or were some serious problems within that family. Or at least that's how I understand it.

My Personal Answer:

From what I understand, this is commonly done by artists and actors. In many cases there is this need to hide their true identity, so people won't be able to find them and their whereabouts. I guess in this instance it makes sense, as these artists can get in trouble, by having insane fans stalking them and chasing them around their neighborhoods. What I don't understand is people (not celebrities) doing that. In a way, they reject their parent's choice of name and disrespect their family deeply. 
Answer 1:
My Personal Answer:
3 Comments
Manpreet kaur
Posted on  07/30/2023 01:56 PM 👎
Humora
Posted on  10/29/2023 02:14 PM 👍
Mushtariy
Posted on  10/31/2023 10:44 PM 👍
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