Sports Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking

Sports Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking

Sports Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking

Sports Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking
Sports Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking

In the Speaking section of IELTS you will have to talk to the examiner for about 15 minutes.

During all this time, you must show that you know a lot of English words and phrases. You’d better avoid repetitions and use synonyms and advanced vocabulary.

In this article, IELTS Game will look at some useful words and expressions related to one of the topics that you are quite likely to get at the Speaking test: Sports.

Everybody has a relationship with sport: you can play some kind of sport, or just watch it and be a fan of a football team.

You may even do your best to avoid sport in your life.

Anyway, if you are asked about this topic, you should be able to discuss it.

Look at the examples below where IELTS candidates answer the examiner’s questions about sport.

While reading, pay attention to underlined words and expression.

Sports vocabulary in Speaking Part 1

Examiner: What kind of sport do you prefer?

Candidate: I can’t say I like some particular kind of sport, but I’m really fond of working out in the gym. It keeps my body in a good shape. I usually train with a sport coach. It is really convenient as he always tells me what to do, and he developed for me special fitness programme.

Examiner: Do you do any kind of sports during weekends?

Candidate: Yes, sometimes. For example, when it is summer and the weather is good, I go cycling with my friends. Also, we often go to the countryside with my family. In the village, we enjoy playing badminton or volleyball.

Examiner: Tell me about your hobbies. Is there anything you like to do in your leisure time?

Candidate: I used to do yoga as a hobby. Unfortunately, my yoga coach has moved to another city, and I cannot find somebody as good as he is. That’s why, I decided to take up tennis. The great advantage for me is that there is a nice tennis court near my house.

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Part 2 Example

Describe a place that you visit to keep fit. You should say:

  • What is it;
  • When do you go there;
  • What do you do there;
  • and say why do you like it.

I would like to talk about the local gym I go to twice a week. This sports centre is not new, I remember it being in the city since my childhood.

However, all the fitness equipment in this gym is new and up-to-date.

It seems there is everything a person needs to keep fit: dumbbells, treadmills and exercisers for different muscle groups.

I usually go to the sports centre two times per week: on Tuesdays and Fridays.

I prefer to train in the morning as there are not many people and almost all exercisers are not occupied.

I have a personal sport coach who helps me with exercises. We usually start training with jogging on the treadmill for 10 or 15 minutes, then I do several lifting exercises and work out on different exercise machines.

At the end of the session, I do stretching.

I enjoy visiting this sports centre because it offers sports facilities for every taste.

Beside gym trainings, it offers a wide range of other classes, such as dancing, yoga, swimming, gymnastics, and so on.

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Using Sports Vocabulary in Part 3

Examiner: Should people be encouraged more to take up sport?

Candidate: There’s no doubt that doing sport should be encouraged, especially among children and young people. Nowadays, all schools around the world have Physical Education classes.

However, in my opinion, attending PE classes is not enough for getting into sport. One more way of encouragement is watching live sport events, such as athletic meetings or football matches.

Examiner: Why do some people enjoy participating in sport more than others?

Candidate: That’s an interesting question. Let me think… Maybe, there are people who care about their health more than others. They can’t live without physical activities and exercises.

Also, there are sportsmen, whose life is devoted to sport. Their life goal is to set records or become Olympic champions.

Examiner: Which sports do you think are best for people who aren’t used to physical activity?

Candidate: In my opinion, people who only start doing sport should avoid strenuous exercise.

They’d better commence sport activity with light trainings, like jogging or swimming.

When their muscles and body get used to exercises, they can do any other kind of sport.

NOTE: Pay attention that these answers are given as an example. You will never get all these questions together at the exam. Topics for discussion in Part 1 and Parts 2 & 3 are always different.

Sports Vocabulary

There are a lot of useful expressions about sport in the above example of the IELTS Speaking section.

If you don’t know any of these words and expressions, write them down in your notebook and learn by heart.

Below, there is the list of vocabulary that you can also use when talking about sport.

  • an athletics track – a running track;
  • an away game – a football match played in the opposing team’s stadium;
  • a brisk walk – a fast walk;
  • a fitness programme – a plan to help someone improve their health and physical condition;
  • a football pitch – the surface on which you play football (as opposed to a stadium, which is the building);
  • a football season – a period in the year when football is played;
  • to get into shape – to become fit;
  • to go jogging – running at a slow regular pace usually over a long distance as part of an exercise routine;
  • a home game – a football match played in the teams own stadium;
  • to keep fit – to stay in good physical condition;
  • to be out of condition – to not be physically fit;
  • a personal best – to achieve the best personal result so far in a sport;
  • a personal trainer – a sports coach that helps you on a one-to-one basis;
  • to run the marathon – to run a distance of about 42 kilometres;
  • a tennis/badminton court – the surface where you play these sports;
  • to take up exercise – to start doing exercise;
  • to train hard – to train with a lot of effort;
  • active rest – a leisure time during which you exercise;
  • barbell – a long bar with adjustable weights on either side that people lift to strengthen their arm and shoulder muscles;
  • blow the competition away – win easily the competition;
  • to build muscle – to gain muscle mass;
  • to warm up – to perform light exercises to prepare for a hard workout;
  • to work out – to exercise in gym;
  • a treadmill – an exercise machine that consists of a moving strip or two step-like parts on which you walk without moving forward.

Practice

Now you know vocabulary on the topic Sport.

So, you can move to training exercises. Answer the question below using new words and phrases.

All the questions relate to the topic Sport in some way.

However, do not forget that you will not have all the tasks in Speaking on the same topic at the real test.

You can practise answering these questions alone or with your tutor.

If you train by yourself, I recommend to record yourself so that you can listen to your speech later and check it for mistakes.

IELTS Speaking Part 1

  • What sports do you like? (Why?)
  • What sports are most popular in your country?
  • Are boys and girls good at the same sports?
  • What sports do children prefer?
  • Do you like to do daily exercise? (Why?/Why not?)
  • What are the advantages of doing regular exercise?
  • Where do people in your country usually exercise?

Part 2 Cue Card

Talk about a sport you did when you were a child.

You should include in your answer:

  • How often you did it;
  • Where you did it;
  • If you were good at it;
  • And say if you would like to do that sport again or not, and why.

Read Also: Expected Cue Cards for Jan-Apr 2020

Part 3 Follow up questions

  • Should young people participate in dangerous activities such as mountain climbing?
  • Why are there some people who like joining dangerous activities?
  • Is it harmful to spend too much time on a hobby?
  • Do you think it’s important for people to have hobbies?
  • Can hobbies have any negative effects?

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