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IELTS Speaking Lesson about Travel

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IELTS Speaking Vocabulary: Travel

1. To travel (v.)

To go from point A to B.

I usually travel by bus when I go to work.

Word Family

  • Travel (n. Uncountable) = The act of travelling

I hate air travel

Do you have any travel plans this summer?

  • Travels (n. Countable / Plural) = Journeys

Tell me about your travels around Europe

  • Travelling (n. Uncountable)

Travelling is my biggest hobby

Collocations

  • To travel abroad
  • domestic travel
  • To travel on holiday

To travel _____

  • by bus
  • by plane
  • by boat
  • by car / bike
  • on foot

Common Mistake

  • I went on a travel ❌
  • I went on a trip ✅
  • I went on a journey ✅

2. A trip (n. Countable)

Going somewhere and coming back (usually short time)

Similar words

  • To go on a trip (on holiday)
  • To go on a tour (visit in and around a place, e.g. a city, a museum)
  • To go on a journey (the travelling bit only, e.g. by train)
  • To go on an outing (a very short trip, e.g. half a day – to a park, to a zoo, usually organised, by a school or parents)
Holiday Trip

Part 3 Model Answers: Travel

Watch three candidates.

They will answer an IELTS part 3 question on the topic of travel.

Language Functions

1. Giving an opinion

Well, I’d say…

I reckon

The way I see it,

To my mind,

2. Clarifying

I mean…

What I mean is…

What I mean to say is..

3. Giving an example

For example,

For instance,

Watch this model answer. 👇🏽

Well, I’d say one of the benefits is

when you travel,

you can taste new food

I mean, you can discover

whole, new, local delicacies

ones that they may not find at home.

For example, when British people visit Spain

they often order a local dish called ‘paella’

it always goes down well

Useful Language

  • A delicacy = a rare / expensive thing to eat
  • To go down well = received positively, something enjoyed.

Why do some people not like to travel?

  • Too expensive
  • Culture shock
  • Prefer to stay at home and rest
  • Health conditions
  • Phobia (e.g. fear of flying)
  • Don’t like unfamiliar food

With this kind of question it is a good idea to choose a group of people to talk about. For example,

  • Older / elderly people
  • Women
  • Children
  • Unemployed people

We can use some of the functions below:

Language Functions

1. Identify someone

  • If we are talking about _____
  • If we take _____
  • When it comes to _____

2. Giving a reason

  • One reason is _____
  • One of the reasons is _____
  • It’s mainly because of _____

 

Watch the second model answer. 👇🏽

Young people

Travelling is too expensive

It depends,

I think if we are talking about young people,

one of the reasons is the cost,

it can be quite expensive

Take plane tickets,

prices have rocketed in recent months.

Even the no-frills airlines have been impacted.

Short and long-haul flights

can cost an arm and a leg.

So this puts some people of travelling.

Useful Language

  • To rocket = to rise quickly (prices, fame…)
  • no-frills (adj.) = basic, no unnecessary things (product or service)
  • To put someone off = to discourage s.o. from doing something

Watch a final model answer.

To my mind,

there is a direct impact

on hotels and restaurants

since these are very popular

with holiday-makers.

So to be more specific,

tourists will spend a lot of money eating out

and this will boost the local economy,

The challenge is that

the hospitality sector

tends to be cyclical

so they only get the benefit

for maybe 6 months a year.

Useful language

  • cyclical (adj.) = goes in cycles

Tourism in Spain is big in summer, but quiet in winter – it’s cyclical

Language Functions

1. Giving an opinion

  • To my mind…

2. Giving more details

  • So to be more specific,
  • More concretely,

3. Countering

  • The challenge is…
  • On the other hand,
  • That said,

Idioms to talk about TRAVEL

Idiom - travel

1. To travel light = to travel with few items

I only take a small rucksack when I go on holiday, I love to travel light.

2. To catch the travel bug = To develop a passionate desire to travel.

After travelling around Europe last year, she has now caught the travel bug.

3. To soak in the sights = to fully appreciate, enjoy, and absorb the beauty of a new place or a scenic view.

We went to the main square of the city and just soaked in the sights

Similar idioms

  • Soak in the view
  • Soak in the scenery
  • To take in the sights

Song

Verse 1

I travel by bike every morning at eight,

Same old road, I’m never late,

I don’t fly, no air travel for me,

Just two wheels rolling, slow and free.

I go to work, I come back home,

No big journeys, I stay alone.

It’s just my life, it’s plain and true,

Same o

ld sky, same old view.

Chorus

I wanna go on a trip, far away,

See the world, just for one day.

I wanna travel abroad, feel the sun,

But I know that dream just won’t come.

I just ride my bike, do my part,

Got a simple life, got a hopeful heart.

Verse 2

I’ve got dreams inside,

I see planes up in the sky.

People flying so high,

I just watch them passing by.

I ain’t got no money

to go where it’s sunny

It costs an arm and a leg

That’s what you said

Chorus

I wanna go on a trip, far away,

See the world, just for one day.

I wanna travel abroad, feel the sun,

But I know that dream won’t come.

So I ride my bike, I do my part,

Got a simple life, got a hopeful heart.

Bridge

But I can soak in the sights on my street,

Hear the birds, feel the breeze, life’s sweet.

I travel light, got nothing to lose,

No big plans, no heavy shoes.

Final Verse

Now I don’t dream like I did before,

Found my peace, don’t need much more.

This little world is where I stay,

And I’m okay at the end of the day.

Final Chorus

I don’t need no trip far away,

Got my life right here today.

No big plans, no fancy view,

This small world… it’ll do. 

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