IELTS Speaking Lesson about Mobile Phones
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Talking fluently about mobile phones in IELTS Speaking might be no laughing matter!
In this free IELTS Speaking lesson on the topic of PHONES, you will learn how to talk about using phones, mobile phone apps, and texting.ย ย
IELTS vocabulary: Mobile phones
It is essential to build your vocabulary and also to start activating it.ย
That means you should try making some phrases with the vocabulary below.ย
Remember to always learn the collocations of new words.
- Smart phone / mobile phone / cell phone
- I donโt have a landline ย (fixed phone at home in the office)ย
- The battery is lowย
- My phone is low on battery
- I have run out of battery
- My phone / the battery is dead
- I need to charge (up) my phone
How you use your mobile phone
There are 2 ways of expressing use
- I use it FOR + gerundย
I use it for accessing the Internet
- I use it to + verb
I use it to access the Internet
Both mean the same and either can be usedย
ย
- For passing on informationย =sharingย
- For calling friends
- For photography
- For taking selfiesย
- I am selfie-mad (I love it)
- To chatย
- To navigate my way around
- To watch videosย
- I use it to apply for jobs
- To listen to podcasts
- I use it to download trending apps
- I use it for textingย
- I tend to use it just to get online and surf the web
- Itโs really handy for video-conferencesย (=convenient, easy to use)
- It comes in handy for accessing Facebook and other social networks
- Itโs the best way to play games
Different kinds of apps
- Gamesย
- Language learningย
- Productivityย
- Stocks and tradingย
- Newsย
- Health and fitnessย
- Music streamingย
- Audio booksย
- Dictionariesย
- Weatherย
- Photo editingย
- Personal finance

Places where you cannot use a cell phone
If we are talking about not making a noise or being a nuisanceโฆ
(A pain, a bother, something bad)
- Temples, church, or similar places of worshipย
- Some hospital waiting areasย
- Quiet zones of trains
- Librariesย
If itโs more about not being allowed to take photosโฆ.
- Some museums
- Some art galleriesย
- Temples
- Airport security checkย
- Passing through customs control (airport)
- Some government buildings forbid/prohibit phones
- =not allowed
Generally speaking,โฆ
- When taking an examย
- In many schoolsย
- In meetings – at least we have to turn the phone to silent
To turn your phone off๐
To turn off your phone ๐
To turn it off๐
To turn off it XXX
Vague language
When you donโt know the name of something, you can sayโฆ
Itโs a thingy, you know a kind of thingamajigย ย
I use a whatchamacallitย
I like to use the whatsisnameย
The benefits of texting
Texting is less intrusiveย
Itโs easier and quicker
Itโs convenient/handyย
It comes in handy for expressing emotions
It eases communication between people
It saves timeย
Itโs not time-consuming / time-drainingย
Itโs great for sharing important informationย
Idioms about mobile phones
- Just drop me a line on Whatโs app when you know = get in touch
- You can keep me posted by sending me a message on Facebook =keep me up to date
- ย The great thing about texting is that it allows you to get straight to the point, (=be direct) you donโt need to beat about/around the bush (to ramble, be indirect)ย
- At last, we can speak, weโve been playing phone tag all day!
- To hit the bullseye = to get it right = to hit the nail on the head
Students' questions about mobile phones
Keith, which app you use most on your mobile phone?
Thatโs a great question.ย
I have got so many Apps, itโs hard to choose, but if I had to choose one I would opt for Google maps, to be honest,ย
because when I need to navigate my way around a new city or even my own city here, I always use Google maps.ย
I think I have lost the habit of asking people the way.ย
I just much prefer to use Google maps.ย
Itโs quicker, itโs faster, and itโs more accurate.ย
So, thatโs probably the app I use most on my mobile phone.
Useful Links
Useful vocabulary about phonesย
https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2014/06/18/the-language-of-mobile-phones/
Article about the benefits of texting
(This website is a great resource and you can sign up for free)
Pronunciation Files For Vocabulary From My Best Live Lessons
Use Words EASILY in English Conversations!
More Free IELTS Speaking Lessons
If you liked this lesson,ย leave a comment below!
There are more lessons you can follow in the links below too.
MEETINGS in IELTS Speaking. Adjectives you need to describe different situations of meetings.
TV SERIES in IELTS Speaking. Vocabulary you need to describe different kinds of Television Series.
SOCIAL MEDIA in IELTS Speaking. Improve your listening and speaking skills for the topic of social media.
Hey Keith
First of all ,, Thanks for your brilliant website ๐๐ป๐๐ป๐๐ป๐๐ป๐๐ป …. Super Fantastic
I also have a question
Is it true in part 3 of the ielts speaking we should not give an examlple of personal experience?
Generally speaking, you should give more general examples, and talk on more abstract topics. However, if you give one example of presonal experience and it is relevant to the topic, then that is fine.
It seems there are some problem with file it’s about phone not job.
Thanks for the advance
Parisa
That is because this lesson is about phones.