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Where is your hometown?

What was it like growing up there?

Has it changed much since you were a child?

What do you like most about living there?

What kinds of things can visitors to your hometown go and see?

Do you think you will live there when you are older?

Home

I’d like to ask you some questions about your home.

Do you live in an apartment or a house?

Is it a large apartment/house?

Who do you live there with?

What is your favourite room in your apartment/house?

Is it a quiet or noisy place to live?

What can you see from the windows in your apartment/house?

If you could change anything about your apartment/house, what would you change?

Studies

I’d just like to ask you some questions about your studies.

What are you studying?

Why did you choose that particular course?

What is your favourite subject?

Are you friends with many other students on your course?

What job would you like when you have completed all your studies?

Will you have to do further studies in the future?

Work

I’d just like to ask you some questions about your work.

What work do you do?

What do you enjoy most about your work?

What are your main duties?

Is there any other work you would like to do in the future?

What do you normally do when you finish work everyday?

Will you have to do more training for your work in the future?

Other Common Part 1 IELTS Speaking Questions

These are some other IELTS speaking questions and topics that you may see in the test that will follow your questions about home, work or study.

Remember again that this list is not exhaustive. IELTS are always coming up with new topics or changing current ones, so the IELTS speaking questions you get in the test are likely to vary.

Free Time

I’d like to move on and ask you some questions about your free time

What type of activities do you like to do in your free time?

How long have you been interested in these activities?

Do you like to do theses activities alone or with other people? (Why)?

Do you think people have enough free time?

Family

I’d like to move on and ask you some questions about your family.

How many people are there in your family?

Do you all live in the same house?

What things do you like doing together?

Who is your favourite family member?

Timing

Let’s move on and talk about being on time for appointments.

Is being late acceptable in your culture?

Are you ever late for appointments?

What type of excuses do you think are alright for lateness?

How do you feel when someone is late for an appointment with you?

Neighbours

Let’s change the topic and talk about your neighbours

Do you know the people who live next door to you?

How often do you see each other?

What kind of relationship do you have?

How can neighbours be helpful?

What kind of problems can people have with their neighbours in a big city?

Food

Moving to a new topic, I’d like to discuss cooking and meals with you.

Do you enjoy cooking?

What type of things can you cook?

What kinds of food are popular in your country?

Is it an important part of your culture to have dinner parties?

Do you prefer to eat with other people or on your own?

Dreams

I’d now like to discuss your night time dreams with you.

Do you dream much at night?

Do you often remember your dreams?

Do you think we can learn anything from dreams?

Do people in your country talk about their dreams?

Do you think that dreams can come true?

Magazines and Newspapers

Okay, let’s move to a different topic and discuss magazines and newspapers.

Which do you prefer reading, newspapers or magazines?

What type of stories do you like to read about?

Do you think reading a magazine or a newspaper can help you learn a language?

Why do you think some people prefer magazines to newspapers?

Humour

Let’s change the topic and talk about comedy and humour.

What type of programmes do you find funny on TV?

Which types of programmes are most popular in your country?

What kind of things make you laugh?

Do you like to make people laugh?

Do you think it is important to have a sense of humour? (Why)?

Museums

Let’s move on and talk about museums.

Are museums popular in your country?

Did you visit museums when you were a child?

Do you like to visit museums nowadays?

Do you think you should pay to visit museums?

Mobile Phones

Now lets talk about mobile phones.

Do you have a mobile phone?

At what age did you first get a mobile?

What do you most use it for?

Is it a nuisance if people use mobiles in public places such as trains and buses?

Television

We'll now talk about television.

How many hours a day do you spend watching television?

What type of television programs do you like to watch?

Do you think children in your country watch too much television?

Do you think television is useful for education in schools?

The Sea

Now we'll talk about the sea.

Do you like to go on holiday by the sea?

Are there many hotels by the sea in your country?

What kind of activities can people do by the sea?

How long do people normal visit the sea for when they go on holiday?

Flowers

Now we'll talk about flowers.

How you ever given anybody flowers?

Is it popular to give flowers to people in your country?

On what special occasions do people give flowers in your country?

What kinds of flowers would you like to receive as a present?

The Weather

Now we'll move on to talk about the weather.

What kind of weather do you like the most?

Does the weather affect the way that you feel?

Do people like the weather in your country?

Do the kinds of outside activities people do in your country change when the weather changes?

Public Transport

Now we'll move on to talk about public transport

What kinds of public transport do they have in your country?

What kinds of public transport do most people use?

What is your favourite type of public transport?

What do you do when you are travelling on public transport?

How could public transport in your country be improved?

Sport

Now we'll move on to talk about sport.

What is the most popular type of sport in your country?

Is there a lot of sport on television in your country?

What sports do children normally do at school?

Do you think people do enough sport these days?

Writing

Now we'll talk about writing

Do you enjoy writing?

What age do children normally learn to write in your country?

Did you used to write a lot when you were a child?

Do you ever write letters?

Do you prefer writing letters or sending emails?

Animals

Now we'll talk about animals.

What is your favourite animal?

What types of animals do you have in your country?

What types of animals are kept as pets in your country?

Do you think animals should be kept in zoos?

Dictionaries

Now let's move on to talk about dictionaries.

Do you ever use a dictionary?

Do you prefer paper or electronic dictionaries?

Are dictionaries used a lot in schools in your country?

Do you think dictionaries are useful for learning a language?

Fashion and clothing

Now let's move on to talk about fashion and clothing.

Were you interested in fashion when you were a child?

Is fashion important to you now?

What types of clothes are fashionable for young people in your country these days?

Does fashion change for people as they get older?

Birthdays

Now let's move on to talk about birthdays.

What did you usually do on your birthday when you were a child?

How do you normally celebrate your birthday now?

Is your birthday now still as important to you as when you were a child?

Do you think it's important to give someone a card when it's their birthday?

Do you think the price of a gifts/presents is important?

Books

Now let's move on to talk about books.

Do you like reading books?

What kinds of books do you like to read?

What is the best book you've ever read?

Is reading books a popular activity in your country?

Do you think that electronic books / eReaders are better than real books?

Exercise

We'll now talk about exercise.

Do you do