IELTS SPEAKING TEST - TOPICS

‘IELTS speaking topics’ is one of the most searched for IELTS terms on Google and one of the biggest concerns students have in my own classes. Many students are worried about being asked about a topic they are not familiar with and would like to do some background research before the test. Others think they can cheat the test, learn the common speaking topics and prepare memorized answers. One of these approaches is good and one of them can get you a band 0 in the speaking test.

In order to satisfy my students’ curiosity I decided to research IELTS speaking topics over the last few years and establish if there are any patterns or if it is as random as I think.

I looked at all 9 of the Official Cambridge IELTS Examination Papers, the Official Cambridge Guide and spoke to 20 candidates who remembered which topics they were asked. All in all I analysed around 60 past paper and over 200 topics.

I will list them below according to which part of the paper they were on.

IELTS Speaking Topics

Speaking Topics- Part 1

• Games
• Giving Gifts
• Telephones
• Bikes
• Neighbours
• Newspapers
• Flowers
• Television 
• Keeping in Contact
• Laughing
• Cold Weather
• Commuting
• Dancing
• Musical Instruments
• Traffic
• Friends 
• Your Country 
• Colours
• Entertainment
• Clothes 
• Food
• Free Time 
• Your Favourite Place
• Family 
• Festivals
• Visitors 
• Daily Routine
• School Days
• Hometown 
• Films 
• Work 
• Study 
• Buildings
• Sport
• Shopping
• Writing
• Reading 
• Your Home
• Restaurants
• Emails
• Text Messages
• Older People

Speaking Topics Part 2

• Markets
• New Experiences
• A Journey
• Helping Other People
• Surveys
• Restaurants 
• Meetings
• Childhood Friends
• Parties
• Ideas at Work
• Competitions
• Electronic Devices
• A Family Member
• Keeping Fit and Healthy
• Sports
• Choices
• A Celebrity
• A Friend
• Festivals
• Historic Places
• A Hobby
• Bodies of Water
• Websites
• A Teacher
• Films
• A Memorable Event
• Something You Own
• An Interesting Story
• A Special Event
• A Popular Teacher
• A TV Programme
• A Time You Helped Someone
• Photos
• Cooking
• School
• Historical Buildings
• A Song
• Celebrity Culture
• A Surprise
• Schools Subject
• Leadership
• A Disagreement
• A Short Trip
• Something You Would Like To Buy

Speaking Topics Part 3

• Learning New Things
• Travel
• Community Service
• Questions
• Producing Food
• International Meetings
• Influence of Friends
• National Celebrations
• Ideas and Education
• Sporting Competitions
• Technology at Home
• Genetic Research
• Health and Modern Lifestyles
• Games and Competition
• Choices in Everyday Life
• Celebrities 
• Relationship
• Media
• Teaching of History
• Leisure Time
• Water-Based Leisure Activities
• The Internet 
• Education 
• Censorship
• Marriage
• Consumerism
• Family Celebrations
• Education
• Healthy Food 
• Advertising
• Helping Other People
• Being Polite
• Parenting
• History
• Art Classes
• Music 
• Leadership
• Travelling
• Happiness
• Shopping

Conclusions

I think the biggest conclusion we can make is that it is impossible to predict what topic you will get in the IELTS speaking test. There might be common topics for the writing test, but there are certainly no common topics for the speaking test. You should therefore never try to memorise answers and I think it would take you a very long time to try and do this anyway.

You should also notice that there are very few, if any, very difficult topics and I think everyone would have no problem with these questions. Remember that it is a test of your English skills, not a test of knowledge. IELTS is an international test and these topics are chosen so that anyone in the world can give a reasonable answer.

Finally, it was interesting to notice that nearly every topic on this list has come up in my General English class in the last 6 months. All of these topics are covered in most text books in some way and if you have been learning English for a while, there should be no surprises in the speaking test.