C1IELTS-style · Band 7.0–8.0Speaking30 min

IELTS Speaking Part 3: The Attention Economy

The attention economy and digital wellbeing

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Target: 7.0-7.5 Unit: Attention Economy & Digital Wellbeing

The Attention Economy: Getting Started

Get your vocabulary, collocations, and sentence structures ready before answering speaking questions.

💡 How to use this lesson

For the teacher

Lead this quick warm-up for 10 minutes to review key language before speaking practice.

Have students complete the questions online and quickly compare their scores together on the board.

For the learner

First, test yourself on the 10 core words and 6 natural combinations below.

Next, study the 4 sentence patterns and guess the two survey numbers before speaking.

1

Unit Words in Action

Fill in each blank with the correct word from the unit list.

Word Bank

engagement monetise nudge metric compulsive multitask overload mindful detox ration

1. Time spent on screen is the primary ____ companies track to evaluate how well their app holds our focus.

2. Most free social platforms only exist because they can ____ user attention by selling hyper-targeted adverts.

3. Algorithms are deliberately engineered to maximise user ____ through endless feeds and autoplay video clips.

4. A pop-up reminder or a red badge acts as a subtle behavioral ____ encouraging you to open the notification immediately.

5. When picking up your phone becomes an automatic, ____ reflex, it disrupts sustained conversation and concentration.

6. Many people believe they can effectively ____ while studying, but evidence shows attention merely splinters into shallow bursts.

7. Constant alerts and breaking news headlines quickly trigger mental ____ and leave us feeling drained before midday.

8. Practicing ____ device usage means pausing before opening an app to ask whether you truly need it.

9. Taking a weekend digital ____ can help restore your sleep cycle and reduce background anxiety.

10. Some psychologists advise individuals to strictly ____ their social browsing to set windows of thirty minutes a day.

2

Natural Combinations

Match each natural collocation to its exact meaning. Each pair has only one correct match.

Select the corresponding meaning for each collocation:

1. drive engagement

____ an indirect prompt designed to guide someone's choice ____ encourage active use and interaction ____ an overwhelming state caused by too much input at once

2. monetise attention

____ repetitive and uncontrollable looking at a screen ____ a set period spent completely away from screens ____ make profit from the time users spend online

3. subtle nudge

____ an indirect prompt designed to guide someone's choice ____ repetitive and uncontrollable looking at a screen ____ encourage active use and interaction

4. sensory overload

____ make profit from the time users spend online ____ an overwhelming state caused by too much input at once ____ a set period spent completely away from screens

5. compulsive checking

____ an indirect prompt designed to guide someone's choice ____ encourage active use and interaction ____ repetitive and uncontrollable looking at a screen

6. digital detox

____ a set period spent completely away from screens ____ an overwhelming state caused by too much input at once ____ make profit from the time users spend online
3

Spoken Sentence Patterns

Four natural ways to frame your thoughts clearly and sound fluent in Part 3.

Pattern 1 Comparing actions to living things

... as if it were ...

"The app buzzes as if it were a real person asking for attention."

Why this works:

It gives personality to technology, making your spoken point sound imaginative and immediate without being formal.

Pattern 2 Showing parallel habits

Just as ..., so ...

"Just as junk food tricks our taste buds, so endless feeds exploit our curiosity."

Why this works:

It lets you borrow an everyday truth everyone accepts and connect it directly to digital behavior.

Pattern 3 Drawing a clear boundary

It is one thing to ..., but quite another to ...

"It is one thing to check a quick message, but quite another to lose two hours to a feed."

Why this works:

It cleanly separates a normal, harmless action from an unhealthy extreme in a balanced sentence.

Pattern 4 Showing cause and effect

The more ..., the less ...

"The more we switch between open tabs, the less able we are to finish a single page."

Why this works:

It delivers a confident observation about habits without needing stiff, academic transition words.

4

The Reality Check: Guess the Number

Test your intuition against real survey findings from the World Health Organization.

Survey Year: 2022 44 Countries and Regions

In a 2022 survey across 44 countries and regions, what percentage of young people aged 11, 13 and 15 showed signs of problematic social media use?

____ 1 percent ____ 11 percent ____ 51 percent

Source: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, 2024.

Survey Year: 2018 Previous Survey Round

In the earlier 2018 round of the same survey, what percentage of young people showed signs of problematic social media use?

____ 7 percent ____ 17 percent ____ 70 percent

Source: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, 2024.

Target: 7.0-7.5 Module 2: Part 3 Speaking Practice

Part 3: Discussion & Digital Wellbeing

Practice answering six real discussion questions out loud, then unlock spoken model answers to compare.

🎙️ How to use this speaking practice

For the teacher

Run this as a timed mock test or pair-check activity in 15 minutes.

Listen for natural flow and review the AI score breakdown across the four criteria.

For the learner

Hit record and give your own spoken answer without reading notes.

Only after recording, open the model answer to spot useful spoken phrases.

1
Question 1

Why is it so hard to put the phone down even when we know we should?

Fluency and Coherence Lexical Resource Grammatical Range and Accuracy Pronunciation

[Bài tập luyện nói]

💬 Model Answer (open after recording) Click to expand

"Well, honestly, it's hard to put down because everything on the screen is designed to keep us hooked. You pick up the phone just to check the time, but, um, a bright notification grabs your attention. Before you realize it, you're getting pulled in, jumping from one short video to another. Like the other night, I told myself I'd sleep at ten, but I ended up scrolling through baking clips until midnight. That constant drip of novelty tricks our brains, so stopping really takes massive willpower, even when we're dead tired."

Useful spoken phrases:

  • • keep us hooked: a natural way to say something holds our attention so strongly we cannot look away.
  • • grabs your attention: suddenly pulls your focus without you planning it.
  • • getting pulled in: being pulled deeper and deeper into something without meaning to.
  • • ended up scrolling: describes an unintended final result after meaning to do something else.
2
Question 2

Should apps be allowed to send alerts at night, or should there be a rule against it?

Fluency and Coherence Lexical Resource Grammatical Range and Accuracy Pronunciation

[Bài tập luyện nói]

💬 Model Answer (open after recording) Click to expand

"I reckon there ought to be stricter ground rules, honestly. When your phone buzzes on the nightstand at two in the morning, your natural instinct is to reach over and look. Most times, it's just a pointless promotional ping or someone liking an old photo. For instance, my shopping app used to ping me about flash sales past midnight, which woke me up completely. Companies shouldn't have free rein to disrupt people's rest like that. Having a mandatory quiet window by default would protect our downtime, without forcing everyone to fiddle with hidden settings every single evening."

Useful spoken phrases:

  • • ground rules: basic principles or boundaries everyone agrees to follow.
  • • natural instinct: an automatic physical or mental reaction you have without stopping to decide.
  • • free rein: an everyday expression meaning complete freedom to act however someone wants without control.
  • • by default: an option that is automatically set unless you actively choose to change it.
  • • fiddle with: touch, adjust, or change small settings in an annoying or fiddly way.
3
Question 3

Should young people have a limit on how long they spend on screens each day?

Fluency and Coherence Lexical Resource Grammatical Range and Accuracy Pronunciation

[Bài tập luyện nói]

💬 Model Answer (open after recording) Click to expand

"To be fair, setting some boundaries makes total sense, but a blanket ban usually backfires. Teenagers need screens nowadays for school assignments and staying in touch with classmates. However, when recreational browsing eats into family dinners or sports, that's where you draw the line. In my household, for example, we put all devices in a basket by eight in the evening. It felt awful at first, but everyone actually talked more and slept better. So yes, reasonable guardrails are helpful, provided parents explain the reasoning rather than just shutting everything down without any discussion."

Useful spoken phrases:

  • • blanket ban: a total, strict prohibition that applies to everyone and every situation equally.
  • • eats into: gradually takes up time, energy, or resources meant for something else.
  • • draw the line: set a firm limit on what is acceptable and what is not.
  • • shutting everything down: stopping it completely at once.
4
Question 4

Who is more responsible for people spending too long online: the user or the company?

Fluency and Coherence Lexical Resource Grammatical Range and Accuracy Pronunciation

[Bài tập luyện nói]

💬 Model Answer (open after recording) Click to expand

"Well, I'd say both sides share the blame, but tech platforms carry the heavier load. Sure, personal accountability matters, yet everyday users are up against armies of software engineers who optimize every pixel to trap our eyeballs. I mean, I frequently set a timer to limit my social media use, but the autoplay feature keeps dragging me back in before I realize what happened. It's hardly an even playing field when an ordinary person has to resist psychological tricks all day long. Users need self-control, certainly, but companies clearly design these products to keep us hooked."

Useful spoken phrases:

  • • share the blame: both parties have some degree of fault for an issue.
  • • up against: facing a powerful challenge or an opponent that is tough to fight.
  • • even playing field: a situation where everyone has an equal and fair opportunity to succeed.
  • • all day long: for the whole day without a break.
5
Question 5

Would you pay for a service that had no adverts and no endless scrolling?

Fluency and Coherence Lexical Resource Grammatical Range and Accuracy Pronunciation

[Bài tập luyện nói]

💬 Model Answer (open after recording) Click to expand

"Personally, yes, I'd jump at the chance if the monthly fee stayed reasonable. Nowadays, free websites bombard you with flashing banners, sponsored posts, and auto-refresh feeds that constantly derail your focus. Just yesterday, I was reading a simple soup recipe, and pop-up videos completely froze my screen. Paying a small subscription would give me peace of mind and save precious time. When a platform doesn't need to fight for your clicks every second, the whole reading experience becomes calm and deliberate. To me, reclaiming my attention is well worth a couple of dollars a month."

Useful spoken phrases:

  • • jump at the chance: eagerly and quickly take an opportunity without hesitating.
  • • derail your focus: completely knock your attention off track from what you were doing.
  • • peace of mind: a welcome feeling of mental calm and freedom from worry or hassle.
  • • well worth: definitely deserving the effort, money, or time you spend on it.
6
Question 6

Is it rude to look at your phone while other people are talking to you?

Fluency and Coherence Lexical Resource Grammatical Range and Accuracy Pronunciation

[Bài tập luyện nói]

💬 Model Answer (open after recording) Click to expand

"Without question, yes, I think it sends an awful signal. When someone glances down at their screen mid-sentence, it implies whatever is happening online matters more than the person sitting right across from them. Just last weekend, I was catching up with a friend over coffee, and she kept flicking through her notifications while I was mid-story. It really made me feel ignored and invisible. Even if you claim you're still listening, dividing your focus chips away at genuine connection. Putting the phone face down shows basic respect, and that shouldn't feel like a chore."

Useful spoken phrases:

  • • sends an awful signal: communicates an unintended, disrespectful message to others through your actions.
  • • catching up with: meeting an acquaintance or friend to hear each other's recent news.
  • • ignored: treated as if you are not there because the listener has stopped paying attention.
  • • chips away at: gradually weakens or damages something valuable over time.
  • • face down: placing a smartphone screen directly against a table surface so alerts remain unseen.

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