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?
Friends and social life
- How do you usually spend time with friends?
- Do you prefer a few close friends or a large group?
- How often do you see your friends?
- Have you stayed in touch with childhood friends?
- Do you find it easy to make new friends?
- What qualities do you value in a friend?
- Do you prefer meeting friends in person or online?
- Has the way you socialise changed recently?
- Do you think friendships change as you get older?
- What do you and your friends usually talk about?
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.
