IELTS Speaking Vocabulary: Accommodation
Accommodation is the most frequent IELTS Speaking topic. There is a good chance it will be the first topic the examiner uses – so IELTS accommodation vocabulary should be high on your priority list.
Below you will find questions about accommodation for each part of the Speaking tests — with model answers.
I have highlighted vocabulary and expressions that will help you get Band 7.0 in bold. Not only that — I have also included a glossary of these key expressions at the end of the page.
Before you read, you might like to download a free PDF quiz-version of this page. When you’ve finished, pop back here to check your answers.
Part 1-style questions
Examiner: Do you live in a house or an apartment?
Candidate: I live in a spacious bungalow. It is in a rural area, and I have a large back garden with a beautiful lawn.
Examiner: What is your favourite room?
Candidate: I like to sit in the dining room since it opens onto a patio and overlooks the back garden.
Examiner: Is there anything about your house you would like to change?
Candidate: The kitchen is poky and has a small larder. I want to build an extension to give me more room to cook and to stockpile a bit more food.
Part 2-style task
Describe a house or apartment you would like to live in.
You should say:
- where it would be
- what it would look like
- who would live there with you
and explain why you would like to live in this place.
Candidate: My dream is to live in a house next to the ocean … I’d like a panoramic view of the coast and the sea … the house would be minimalist in style, I hate cluttered spaces… A really special feature would be a swimming pool on the roof with a reinforced glass floor … this would allow light to shimmer through to the room below … the bedroom would be at the top of the building and offer wide uninterrupted views of the surrounding area … I would construct the building from wood, glass and concrete … it will have bare walls and surfaces except for the refractions and shadows from the roof and windows … the dining table and bed would be fashioned from concrete … I’m an introvert and so would live there along – it would be a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the outside world …
Part 3-style questions
Examiner: Do most people in your country live in a flat or a house?
Candidate: The majority of people live in urban areas … since cities are so crowded, people tend to live in large apartment complexes … rural areas are less densely populated and in these areas houses are more common …
Examiner: What are the good and the bad points of living in an apartment?
Candidate: I guess an apartment is safer since they give burglars fewer access points … on the other hand they can be more inconvenient for those with mobility problems since lifts can often break down …
Examiner: Which do you think is more important, the functionality of a home, or it’s appearance?
Candidate: I’ve already talked about people with mobility problems – and I fall into this category … so I favour functionality. There is no point in having a beautiful home if you can’t move around it freely.
Definitions for IELTS Accommodation Vocabulary
- a spacious bungalow — a one-floor house with lots of room
- a lawn — an area of short grass often found in the garden of a house
- a patio — a paved outdoor area which is connected with a house
- to overlook — to have a view of something from above
- poky — an uncomfortably small space
- a larder — a room or large cupboard for storing food
- an extension — something which is added to something to make it larger. e.g. an extra room built onto the side of a house
- a stockpile — a collection of something that you don’t need right now
- a panoramic view — a view which shows you a wide area all around you
- the coast — the land next to the sea
- minimalist — simple or basic in design
- clutter — an untidy collection of objects
- a special feature — a part of something that makes it different
- to reinforce — to make something stronger
- to shimmer — uneven light which flickers like a candle
- uninterrupted view — a complete view of something with nothing in the way
- concrete — a hard substance used in building made by mixing cement, sand, small stones and water
- bare — bare surfaces have no covering or decoration
- refractions — the bending of light after it passes through glass or water
- to fashion from — to make from
- a refuge — a safe place
- the hustle and bustle — a lot of noisy activity
- urban areas — towns and cities where lots of people live
- apartment complexes — a group of buildings which are managed by a company
- rural areas — countryside areas
- less densely populated — used to describe a place where not many people live
- a burglar — someone who breaks into your home and steals things
- mobility problems — being unable to move around as well as most people can
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