IELTS

IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions by Topic: 120+ Practice Questions

8 min read

Part 1 of the IELTS speaking test looks easy. Short questions about familiar topics — your home, your job, your hobbies. Students often skip it in favour of practising the harder parts.

That's a mistake. Part 1 sets the tone for the entire test, lasts four to five minutes, and is where examiners form their first impression of a candidate's fluency and naturalness. Students who give one-sentence answers or sound robotic here start at a disadvantage that's hard to recover from.

The fix is simple: practise a wide variety of Part 1 questions until extended, natural responses become automatic. Here are 120+ questions organised by the topics that appear most frequently.

YapYapGo includes a complete IELTS Speaking mode covering Parts 1, 2, and 3 — with automatic pair shuffling so every student in your class practises simultaneously. But whether you use a tool or just read these aloud, the questions work.

Home and accommodation

Do you live in a house or an apartment?
What do you like most about where you live?
Is there anything you would change about your home?
How long have you lived there?
Do you plan to live there for a long time?
What is your neighbourhood like?
Do you know your neighbours well?
Is your area quiet or noisy?
What kind of home would you like to live in the future?
Is it better to rent or buy where you live?

Work and studies

What do you do — do you work or study?
What do you enjoy most about your job or studies?
Is there anything you'd like to change about your work or course?
Why did you choose this job or field of study?
What do you plan to do after you finish your studies?
Do you prefer working alone or with others?
What was your first job?
Would you like to change careers in the future?
What skills have you learned from your work or studies?
Do you think your job will exist in twenty years?

Hometown

Where is your hometown?
What do you like about it?
Has your hometown changed much since you were a child?
Would you recommend it to visitors?
Do you think you'll always live there?
What is the best thing about your hometown?
Is there anything you dislike about it?
Is your hometown a good place for young people?
What is your hometown famous for?
How has transport in your hometown changed?

Daily routine

What does a typical day look like for you?
Do you prefer a fixed routine or a flexible schedule?
What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Are you a morning person or a night person?
Has your daily routine changed recently?
What part of your day do you enjoy most?
Do you think routines are important?
How do you usually spend your evenings?
Do you have a routine for weekends?
Would you like to change anything about your daily routine?

Free time and hobbies

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Have your hobbies changed since you were younger?
Do you prefer indoor or outdoor activities?
Is there a hobby you'd like to try?
How much free time do you have each week?
Do you prefer spending free time alone or with others?
What did you do last weekend?
Is there a hobby that's popular in your country?
Do you think hobbies are important for adults?
Have you ever given up a hobby? Why?

Technology

How often do you use your phone?
What apps do you use most?
Do you think people spend too much time on their phones?
How has technology changed your daily life?
Do you prefer reading on a screen or on paper?
What technology could you not live without?
Do you use technology for learning?
Have you tried any new technology recently?
Do you think older people find technology difficult?
How do you feel about social media?

Food and cooking

What kind of food do you enjoy?
Can you cook?
Do you prefer eating at home or in restaurants?
Is there a dish from your country you'd recommend?
Has your diet changed as you've got older?
Do you think people in your country eat healthily?
What food did you eat as a child that you still enjoy?
Do you ever try food from other countries?
How often do you cook for yourself?
What's the last meal you really enjoyed?

Travel and transport

Do you enjoy travelling?
How do you usually get to work or school?
Do you prefer travelling by car, train, or plane?
Where was the last place you visited?
Is there a country you'd like to visit?
Do you think public transport in your city is good?
Have you ever been on a long journey?
Do you prefer travelling alone or with others?
How important is travel for learning about other cultures?
Would you like to live abroad?

Weather and seasons

What's the weather like where you live?
Do you have a favourite season?
Does the weather affect your mood?
What do you usually do in summer?
Do you prefer hot or cold weather?
Has the weather in your area changed in recent years?
What kind of weather is best for outdoor activities?
Do you check the weather forecast often?
What season do you like least?
Would you prefer to live somewhere with a different climate?

Health and fitness

What do you do to stay healthy?
Do you exercise regularly?
Do you think people in your country are generally healthy?
Have your health habits changed recently?
Do you prefer exercising alone or with others?
What sport or exercise do you enjoy most?
How important is sleep to you?
Do you think schools should teach more about health?
What's the most popular sport in your country?
Have you ever tried a new fitness activity?

Shopping and money

Do you enjoy shopping?
Do you prefer shopping online or in stores?
What was the last thing you bought that made you happy?
Do you think people spend too much money on things they don't need?
Are you good at saving money?
Do you compare prices before buying something?
Has the way people shop changed in your country?
Do you ever buy second-hand things?
What would you do if someone gave you a large amount of money?
Do you think children should learn about money at school?

How to use these questions in class

Reading these aloud one at a time works, but it's slow — and only one student answers at a time while 29 others listen. The research is clear that pair practice is far more effective: when students practise in pairs, individual speaking time increases from roughly 30 seconds per lesson to 7+ minutes.

The classroom format: Pair students up. Display or read a Part 1 question. Both students answer to their partner, taking turns. After 3–4 questions, shuffle pairs and continue with new questions. Timing: Part 1 questions should get 30–60 second answers. If students are answering in one sentence, coach them to extend: give the answer, add a reason, give an example. "Yes, I enjoy cooking. I find it relaxing after work, and I've been experimenting with Thai food recently."

Tool tip: YapYapGo has a dedicated IELTS Speaking mode with hundreds of Part 1 questions organised by topic, plus Part 2 cue cards with prep+speak timers and Part 3 discussion questions. It pairs students automatically, tracks what each class has already practised, and works with any class size. Free to start.

Why Part 1 practice matters more than students think

Students who practise Part 1 extensively develop something that's hard to teach directly: naturalness. Their answers stop sounding rehearsed and start sounding like actual conversation. Examiners notice this immediately — it's the difference between band 5 ("produces simple responses") and band 7 ("speaks at length without noticeable effort").

The key is variety. If a student has answered 200 different Part 1 questions, they've built a flexible repertoire of personal anecdotes, opinions, and vocabulary that they can deploy spontaneously. That flexibility is what the band descriptors mean by "fluency."

Sources:

IELTS.org (2024). Test Statistics. — Over 4 million tests annually.
IELTS.org. Speaking Band Descriptors (public version). — Band 7 requires "speaks at length without noticeable effort or loss of coherence."
Roediger, H. & Karpicke, J. (2006). Test-Enhanced Learning. Psychological Science. — Retrieval practice improves retention by ~50%.
Long, M. & Porter, P. (1985). Group Work, Interlanguage Talk, and Second Language Acquisition. TESOL Quarterly. — Pair work multiplies speaking time.

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