Mark Teacher’s Free Weekly IELTS Newsletter:
Colours
Check out the video below to learn a useful way to describe your feelings. We’ll continue to use this grammar pattern to describe this week’s topic: Colours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi_QngwaEGs
IELTS Warm-up Questions: Colours
Warm-up Questions:
- Have you ever coloured your hair?
- Yes? What colour, when, and why?
- No? Would you like to change your hair colour?
- What do you think about people who dye (verb – ‘to change colour with a chemical’) their hair different colours?
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IELTS Grammar Lesson
The following grammar lesson comes from my new book: TESTED: Proven IELTS Speaking Methods
Grammar Lesson:
‘Make’ as a verb, means that something changes or affects the way we feel.
For example:
- Sunny weather makes me happy
- Reading makes me sleepy
- Traffic jams make me angry
This type of verb is called ‘a Causative Verb’. ‘Help’, in the video above, is also a Causative Verb.
Teachers, scientists and psychologists agree that colours can make you feel different.
- Red makes us feel angry or emotional >:(
- But blue makes us feel calm or relaxed 🙂
- Yellow can make us feel cheerful, although too much yellow can make our eyes hurt. (>.<)
- Maybe green makes you think of money $$$, or nature?
How do these colours make you feel?
[Subj. + makes me feel + adjective]
- Red makes me feel ____________________________
- Blue makes me feel ____________________________
- Yellow makes me feel ____________________________
- My favourite colour is ___________ because it makes me feel ______________________.
What do these colours make you think of?
[Subj. + makes me think of + noun]
- Red makes me think of ____________________________
- Blue makes me think of ____________________________
- Yellow makes me think of ____________________________
- Green makes me think of ____________________________
- My favourite colour is ___________ because it makes me think of __________________.
Let’s Expand: How do these activities make you feel?
- Seeing my friends makes me ______________________________________________________
- Doing exercise makes me ________________________________________________________
- Waiting in traffic makes me _______________________________________________________
- Going shopping makes me _______________________________________________________
Loving the Grammar Lesson? Get the Complete Edition of my IELTS Speaking E-book, Audio Book and Workbook below!
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IELTS Vocabulary and Levelled Reading
Read these 3 levels of about ‘Colours’. Every level becomes more difficult but every level has the same meaning. The new words are highlighted, so if you don’t understand a word in Level 2, look back at Level 1 to find the easier synonym! This is a great way to learn new vocabulary!
Level 1: Beginner Level 2: Intermediate Level 3: Advanced
IELTS Question #1: What is your favourite colour?
- Level 1: I’ve always liked red. Some of my favourite clothes are red, and I’ve even owned dark red trousers in the past, but usually I wear darker, calm colours like dark blue because I think it makes me look casual, but still quite smart and mature.
- Level 2: I’ve always liked red. Some of my favourite clothes are red, and I’ve even owned maroon trousers in the past, but ordinarily I wear darker, soothing colours like navy because I think it makes me look casual, but still relatively smart and mature.
- Level 3: I’ve always been partial to red. My favourite hoodie is red, and I’ve even owned maroon trousers in the past, but ordinarily I opt for muted, soothing colours like navy because I think it makes me look casual, but still relatively smart and put-together.
IELTS Question #2: What colour would you never use in your home?
- Level 1: I’ve never liked yellow or orange, because they are very bright and make my eyes hurt. I understand that some people think it’s bright and energetic, but for me it’s too much. So I would never buy any yellow or orange furniture.
- Level 2: I’ve never liked yellow or orange, because they are almost blinding and make my eyes hurt. I understand that some people think it’s vivid and energetic, but for me it’s too much. So I would never buy any yellow or orange furniture.
- Level 3: I’ve never liked yellow or orange, because they are almost blinding and make my eyes sore. I get that some people think it’s vivid and eccentric, but for me it’s usually overkill. So I would never buy any yellow or orange furniture.
Links and Resources
You can find even more IELTS-appropriate vocabulary, collocations and phrases about Colour here:
Video: Did you know your native language can make you better at seeing different colours?
Color Psychology: Does It Affect How You Feel?
Here’s an image from the linked article fromVeryWellMind.com. It’s absolutely loaded with great vocabulary you can use if you get IELTS questions about colours.
IELTS Practice Questions
Putting it all together:
Try these Part 1 IELTS Questions all about Colours!
- What is your favourite colour?
- What colour clothes do you like to wear?
- What is the most popular colour in your country?
- Do you think colours influence you?
- What are the differences between the colours men and women like?
- What colour would you never use in your home?
- What colour car would you choose to buy?