As we know the examiner will fire a range of personal questions in rapid succession in IELTS Speaking Test Part 1, which is the first five minutes of the IELTS Speaking test, we can prepare accordingly.
First and foremost, an IELTS test candidate should never be caught off-guard with the questions, so it is wise to think about different aspects of life before sitting for the Speaking test.
Secondly, since IELTS Speaking Part 1 is not a job interview or an oral test of your academic knowledge, you should learn to hold casual conversation on everyday matters. It does not matter what you decide to say; you can choose to give controversial opinions or even outlandish responses as long as you stay on the topic and speak eloquently.
Last but not the least, you should expand your vocabulary to be able to speak comfortably and with precision regardless of the subject matter. Apart from the words you use, the sentences you form with those words also need to be precise (as opposed to rambling on) and adhere to prescribed grammatical rules.
IELTS Speaking Part 1 question types
The examiner wants to know you better as an individual with the questions she asks you in IELTS Speaking Part 1. So, expect questions about your work or studies, your leisure pursuits, people in your life (as in family, relatives, friends, neighbors, relatives, and so on), your past, your dreams for the future, as well as your society and the country.
For example, in IELTS Speaking Part 1 the interviewer may ask you: “What is your favorite color? Why?”
Now, you should not start thinking about the colors you like and the reasons behind them during the test. You should instead deliberate on such topics before you take the test, so that your response sounds thoughtful and articulate.
This is not to say that you rehearse complete answers and memorize them. Rather, you are encouraged to practice answering such questions at home in order to eliminate hesitations or awkwardness in front of the examiner.
A final thing to remember is that how the test goes depends completely upon you. IELTS Speaking Part 1 lasts for four to five minutes. If you provide very short answers, you will receive many questions until the time runs out. Alternately, if you provide very long answers to certain questions, the examiner will not have time to ask you more questions. The ideal number of questions is eight to 10, and the ideal duration of each answer is around 30 seconds.
Think of your IELTS Speaking test as an audition for a singing reality show. Contestants can choose to sing whichever song they want, but in order to impress the judges, the participants deliberately choose difficult songs to demonstrate the range of their voice.
Family
Do you have a small or a large family?
What sorts of things do you do together with your family members?
How are birthdays celebrated in your family?
Festivals
What are some of the main festivals in your culture?
Which festival do you enjoy the most? Why?
Is there any festival in another country that you would like to participate in?
Traveling
How often do you travel outside your hometown?
Do you like to travel alone or with other people?
What do you enjoy doing when you are in a new place? Why?
What are some of the things in your country that attract tourists?
What is the farthest place from home that you have been to?
Is there a dream destination that you would want to visit?
Daily routine
Tell me about a typical day in your life.
Is there anything that you would like to change in your daily routine? Why? Why not?
How do you spend your weekends?
Are your weekends long enough?
Do people of your age have a similar lifestyle in your country? Why? Why not?
How much free time do you get in a day?
Normally, do you prefer to be idle or busy?
Friends
Do you have a lot of friends?
How much time do you spend with your friends? What do you do together?
How do you keep in contact with your friends?
Are your friends roughly the same age as you or are they of different ages?
In what ways are your friends important to you?
Shopping
Do you enjoy shopping? Why? Why not?
Where do you go shopping? Why?
When shopping, do you prefer to pay with cash or by card?
How do you select the products you buy?
Online shopping
Do you shop online?
What was the last thing you bought online?
Do you ever see things in shops and then buy them online? Why? Why not?
Do you think the popularity of online shopping is changing in your town or city center? Why? Why not?
Sleep
How many hours do you usually sleep at night?
Do you sometimes sleep during the day? Why? Why not?
What do you do if you can’t get to sleep at night? Why?
Do you ever remember the dreams you’ve had while you were asleep?
Future
Do you think a lot about your future? Why? Why not?
What would be an ideal job for your future? Why?
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Transportation
How do you usually travel around your town?
What means of public transportation are available in your town?
Do you face road traffic problems near where you live?
Social Media
Which social media platforms do you use?
How much time do you spend on these platforms? Why?
What kinds of things do you share in social media? Why?
What do you dislike about social media?
Why do some people post negative comments on social media?
Holidays
How do you spend your holidays?
Do you sometimes save money to go on a planned vacation?
Is it better to spend holidays with family or with friends?
Hometown
Is your hometown a nice place for a young person to live in?
What are some of the major landmarks in your hometown?
What sorts of jobs do people do in your hometown?
Do you enjoy living there? Why? Why not?
Reading and writing
Do you read a lot? Why? Why not?
What sorts of things do you read?
What is your favorite book? Why?
Do you do any writing?
When writing, do you prefer a pen or a pencil?
What about typing?
Home
What type of accommodation do you live in?
What do you like about your home? Why?
Is there anything you do not like?
Would you prefer to live in house or a flat?
Describe your dream home.
Science
Did you like studying science when you were at school? Why? Why not?
What do you remember about science teachers at school?
How interested are you in science now? Why? Why not?
What do you think has been an important recent scientific development? Why?
Music
Do you enjoy listening to music? Why? Why not?
What types of music do you love the most?
Have you always liked the same type of music?
Do your friends and family members share your taste in music?
How do you listen to music?
Do you sing or play any musical instrument?
Which is your favorite musical instrument? Why?
Who is your favorite singer? Why?
How important is music in your culture?
Television
Do you watch TV a lot?
What sorts of programs do you usually watch?
What is your favorite TV show?
What are some of the popular TV shows in your country?
Do you like the advertisements in TV?
Are there TV shows that you dislike?
Games and sports
Do you play any game or sport? Why?
Do you watch sports on TV?
What games are popular in your country?
Where did you play when you were a child?
Do you follow any sports team? Why?
Food
What is your favorite food? Why?
Is there anything that you do not like eating? Why?
Do you prefer eating at home or eating outside?
Are you very picky when it comes to food?
Do you cook? Why? Why not?
Do you watch cooking shows on TV?
Tell me about a traditional dish of your country.
Movies
What types of movies do you enjoy? Why?
Are there any types of movies that you do not enjoy?
Which is your favorite movie? Why?
Who is your favorite actor? Why?
Do you prefer watching movies at home or going to the cinema? Why?
Tourism
What kinds of foreign tourists come to your country?
What would you suggest a tourist to do or see in your country?
Is there any traditional food from your country that you would recommend to a tourist?
How has tourism changed in your country in recent years?
Hobbies
Do you have any particular hobby or interest?
How did you become interested in that?
Is there any hobby you would like to take up?
Do you find any hobby of other people unusual or interesting?
Country
Which part of your country do most people live in?
What are the main industries in your country?
How easy is it to travel around your country?
How has your country changed in the last 10 years?
Is your country a good place to live for young people?
Color
What is your favorite color? Why?
Has your favorite color changed since you were a child? Why? Why not?
Can we learn anything from the colors a person likes?
What are the meanings of different colors according to your culture?
Clothes
What kinds of clothes do you like to wear?
Have to always liked the same types of clothes?
What kinds of clothes do you dislike?
Where do you buy your clothes from?
How do you decide which clothes to buy?
How often do you buy new clothes for yourself?
What are the traditional costumes of your country?
Dancing
Do you like dancing? Why? Why not?
Have you ever taken dance lessons? Would you like to?
Are there any traditional dances in your country?
Communication
How to you usually contact your friends?
Do you use other means of communication to contact other people?
Do people in your country use the same communication media as you?
How have the methods of communication changed in your country over the last two decades?
Do you write letters or emails?
Who do you spend the most time talking to on the phone?
When do you think you will make the next telephone call?
Laugh
What makes you laugh? Why?
Do you like making others laugh? Why? Why not?
Are laughing and feeling happy the same thing?
Weather
What is the weather like in your area of residence these days?
What is the coldest place you have been to?
What is the hottest place that you have traveled?
What type of weather do you prefer?
Neighbors
How well do you get along with your neighbors?
How often do you visit your neighbors in their house?
How do you help your neighbors?
Is your neighborhood a good place to live in?
News
Where do you get your news from?
Do you read newspapers and magazines? Why? Why not?
What types of news interest you the most?
Have you encountered fake news online?
Flowers
Do you have flowers in your home?
Do you give flowers to other people on different occasions?
According to you, which is the most beautiful flower?
Are flowers significant in your culture?
Gifts
Is there a culture of giving or exchanging gifts in your country?
Do you take a gift along when you visit someone?
When was the last time you gave a gift to someone? What was it?
What is the last gift you received?
How do you select a gift for someone?
Bicycles
Are bicycles common in your hometown?
Do you ride bicycles?
How easy or difficult is it to learn to ride a bike?
Are bicycles better than motor vehicles? Why? Why not?
School
How far was your high school from your home? How did you travel?
What did you like about your school?
Was there anything you disliked?
What was your favorite subject at school? Why?
Which subject did you find the most difficult? Why?
Do you ever need that subject now?
Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
Did you participate in any extracurricular activities in your school?
Who was your best friend at school?
Do you still keep in touch with your classmates from primary school?
Photographs
Do you like taking pictures?
What type of camera do you have?
What do you do with the pictures you take?
What about videos? How often do you take them?
Names
Who named you? How did they decide upon your name?
Does your name a meaning?
How common is your name in your country?
Is there a name of a person that you like?
Would you ever change your name?
Health
How much do you care about your own health?
Do you pay attention to your diet in relation to your health?
If you catch a mild sickness like headache or fever, what do you do?
Is there anything you could do to improve your health?
Art
Do you spend your time looking at art, as in paintings and sculptures? Why? Why not?
Did you have art lessons when you were a child?
Do you involve in making art now?
Do you think anyone can be trained to be an artist?
Do you have pictures or other types of art in your home?
Paying bills
What kinds of bills do you have to pay?
How do you usually pay your bills – in cash or by another method? Why?
Have you ever forgotten to pay a bill? Why? Why not?
Is there anything you could do to make your bills cheaper? Why? Why not?
Age
Are you happy to be the age you are right now? Why? Why not?
At what age do you think a person has the most fun? Why?
At what age should an individual start making career plans?
What is the best age to start computer lessons for children?
What is the right age to get married and start a family?
Do you think people get wiser as they get older? Why? Why not?
Money
Do you carry a lot of money with you?
Do you have a bank account?
Do you save money for the future or to buy special things?
What is the most expensive item that you have purchased?
Would you take a job if the pay was low?
If you win a lot of money in a lottery, what would you buy?
Animals
Which is your favorite animal? Why?
Are there a lot of birds and animals in your hometown?
Do you watch television programs about wild animals?
Have you ever visited a zoo or a wildlife park?
Do you have a pet animal?
What kinds of emails do you receive?
Do you send emails for different purposes?
Do you immediately reply to the emails and messages you receive? Why? Why not?
Do you like receiving emails advertising different products?
Languages
How many languages do you know?
Which language do you use in your studies and work?
Is learning additional languages a part of school curriculum in your country?
Do you think English will be important for your future?
Is there any language you would like to learn? Why?
Next lesson:
IELTS Speaking Part 1 tips. How to answer IELTS Speaking Part 1?
