IELTS Speaking - Speaking Topics

One very frequent question I get from students is to ask me what topics might come up for the speaking and writing tests. There is a lot of overlap between the speaking and writing tests (some subjects occur often in both parts) but in this Blog post, I will look at the topics for the speaking test and highlight the Difficulty and frequency of each respective topic with some notes on each topic as well. Some important ideas and vocabulary will also be highlighted in red. I will look at topics for the writing test in another future post.

I have ranked each topic based on Difficulty. This means the ideas to talk about this topic well might be more abstract or less common or that there might be a requirement to use more specialised vocabulary.

Difficulty

* = very easy

** = easy

*** = moderate difficulty

**** = difficult

***** = very difficult

I have also given a score for which gives a rough guideline as to how often certain subjects might come up. Please note that this is not a scientific assessment of frequency but just a way to enable me to rank the topics in some kind of order.

Frequency

* = very rare

** = rare

*** = quite often

**** = common

***** = very common

My list of General Topics

Art and literature – difficulty = **** / frequency ** - some more difficult vocabulary required to talk about painting / sculpture or the theatre. This is quite a hard topic to talk about well and you might consider the subjective nature of art and how the price of a piece of art is derived. It could also mean you have to talk about different types of literary works (fantasy, science fiction, classics etc.) or talk about the plot, characters and themes of your favourite novel.

Culture – difficulty = ***** / frequency **  - a very difficult topic to talk about properly as it can deal with quite abstract concepts which require quite a lot of thought. There are however some simpler issues to look at such as festivals and traditions. A good way to deal with this topic is to read some news articles about your country and culture and look at how other countries view your country an culture. This means you can look at stereotypes and things like social stratification and the demographics of your country.

Education – difficulty = ** / frequency ***** - this should be quite an easy topic as all people have experience education and some candidates may still be students. The vocabulary and ideas are quite straightforward and this topic would be a very general one that people would experience in day to day conversation or when meeting someone for the first time. Adding topics like lifelong learning and vocabulary like undergraduate study or postgraduate study to stand out!

Entertainment and Leisure – difficulty = *** / frequency **** - a middle of the road topic that everyone will have experience with, whether it is going out to a restaurant or the cinema (it is quite a broad topic). The vocabulary should be familiar for all candidates to talk about the types of entertainment they enjoy and what they do to relax. Think about hobbies and other things you choose to do in order to relax. (sleeping and eating are not things you do to relax)

Environment – difficulty = **** / frequency * - the environment is important but it is not an easy topic to talk about at length (and in detail). Look at topics and vocabulary related to climate change, sustainable development or deforestation and recycling.

Family – difficulty = * / frequency ***** - one of the easiest topics and one which people talk about the most. Very easy vocabulary which candidates can take to the next level if they want with words like siblings etc.

Fashion – difficulty = *** / frequency * - perhaps an easier topic for female students than male ones! I personally would find it difficult to talk about fashion as I dress quite conservatively and don’t care much about fads in fashion or styles and fabrics.

Favourites – difficulty = ** / frequency *** - this topic might not be asked for outright but as a part of another topic. Questions on reading might ask about your favourite book. Think about books or movies that you love or restaurants or other places that you like to visit.

Food – difficulty = *** / frequency *** - a very easy topic to talk about (everyone needs to eat) so here you can talk about the type of food you like best and the specific dish you like. I love Italian food and in particular I love pizza! Be able to explain why you like each type of food and dish and you can “spice up” your vocabulary with words and phrases like cuisine, ingredients, flavour, herbs and spices etc.

Friends – difficulty = ** / frequency *** - everyone has friends, your peer group from school or university. Do you have a best friend? Do you get on well with your colleagues? Or are the people in your life really little more than acquaintances? A good candidate will be able to explain all the vocabulary I have highlighted and be able to give some detail to their answers

Homelife – difficulty = * / frequency ***** - Where do you live? What kind of place is it? In what area? What is there to do around your home area? Some simple questions that should be easy to answer for most candidates as they are very general questions used in simple conversational English. Be able to talk about your house, how many storeys it has and whether it is a detached house or a bungalow or something else. Look at the local facilities and amenities in your neighbourhood.

Media – difficulty = **** / frequency ** - Quite a difficult topics which covers many different things such at television, radio and the Internet but can also move into things like advertising and marketing. Good key words like markets, segmentation, integrated communication, audience penetration  etc. These concepts and ideas could make candidates stand out if they are asked questions about the mass media and media communication.

Money and economic matters – difficulty = **** / frequency * - if you have any knowledge of economics, accounts or finance; this might be an easy topic for you. Talking about supply and demand and how people allocate money to different things are all useful ideas to be able to discuss. You could really shine if you can talk about things like utility, elasticity and other more difficult concepts.

Music – difficulty = *** / frequency *** - this might fit into leisure topics of things you do to relax in your spare time (and even your favourites) but you candidates should think about their favourite types of music and the songs they especially like. Be able to go in to a little bit of detail about things like tempo, melody and lyrics.

Political / legal – difficulty = ***** / frequency * - there is no doubt that talking about political and legal matters is very difficult and requires some very special vocabulary. These are big topics that cover some very important issues like taxation, political representation, democracy and power.

Sport – difficulty = *** / frequency *** - what sports do you like? Do you like to be a participant or do you just like to be a person what watches? Take a look in the English language newspapers (sports sections) or watch some sport on TV (in English) and get to grips with some of the special vocabulary for the sport you like e.g. Football – supporter, striker, sweeper, midfield, offside.

Technology – difficulty = **** / frequency *** - I love computers, in fact I used to be a systems architect and consultant. It can be a difficult subject for those who are not tech-savvy. Look at subjects like networking, cloud computing, living and working in the digital age.

Travel – difficulty = ** / frequency **** - whether it is getting away and going on holiday or your daily commute to work; how do you do it, how often and with who? What things do you like and dislike about travelling. Perhaps air travel is the best or maybe even cycling? Perhaps you might even prefer to travel by foot? Make sure you can talk about planes, trains and automobiles!

Work – difficulty = ** / frequency ***** - If you do have a job or career, this should be easy for most candidates to discuss at length. Think about your job responsibilities; how you got your job, your career path and bring in some business vocabulary to really shine like subordinates, colleagues

In future posts, we will look at some general questions that might be asked for each topic!

I always welcome any comments or questions, so please comment below if there is anything you would like to  know!