Updated Aug. 5, 2018
IELTS Part 2 and Part 3 Topics and Questions
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846. A Skill You Learned as a Child (Sep. 2017)
847. A Subject in School (Sep. 2017)
848. An Event You Celebrated (Jan 2018)
849. A Photo of You (Jan 2018)
850.
FQ = frequent question = a question that has frequently been reported = a question that is probably in the examiner's question book
* = my guess at a question
Notes
I think it is more likely the first line uses the word, "something" rather than, "a skill". "Skills" is more likely to be a Part 3 sub-topic or question. On the other hand, many things learned, apart from learning a singular fact, involve learning a skill.
It is possible to say, "I learned the history of my family",
It would even be possible to talk about learning to talk or learning to walk as a baby!
Although the wording does not seem to include the words, "when you were a child", it seems that the wording allows you to talk about something you learned in your childhood.
Even if the words, "when you learned it" are not included, you should indicate some time or time period when using the past tense.
Learning in General
In general, how do people learn (something)? *
How do people learn skills? *
Do you think people need to learn to work? * See Note 3
What skills (or things) do you think will be more important to learn in the future than they are now? *
How do you think education might change in the future? *
Learning as an Adult
Would you say older people have better
(or more) knowledge than young people
Do you think older people are good at
learning new things
What do you think adults should learn (or, keep learning) after college or school? FQ
(Possibly)
What skills do adults need to learn
What do you think are the benefits of
adult education
Do you think adult education will become more important in the future? *
Learning as a Child
Do you think pre-school education (or,
kindergarten) is important for children
How do children learn things at home?
Do you think children learn when they play?
Past Part 2 topics
about "a subject" or "a course":
School Subjects in Your Country
What subjects do you have in high
schools (or, secondary schools, or middle schools) in your country
Which subjects would you say are the
most useful for people after they finish school
How useful is the study of geography?
Are students able to choose what
subjects to study
At what age should students be allowed
to choose what subjects to study in school
Do you think there should be courses (or subjects) available besides academic subjects? *
Which subjects(s) would you say is the most important for people after they finish high school? FQ
What subjects do you think might
disappear from school curricula in the future
What do you think are the goals (or, is the purpose) of the education provided by schools?
Do you think it's better for high school students to study many subjects, or to just focus on a few?
What facilities do most (high) schools in your country have? *
What physical education (or, sports)
facilities do the schools have
Do students generally have physical education in the classroom or in the playground? See Note 2
Do you think schools need to increase
their
What sports (or physical fitness)
facilities do you think schools should have
(Similar to above)
Education in Your Country
Do you think both parents and teachers should be involved in the creation (or preparation, or planning) of educational policies?
What would you say are the main factors that are considered in the formulation of educational policies in different countries?
Do you think that only learning from a textbook is the best way to learn something?
See also
677,
Celebrations in Your Country
What events do people in your country
celebrate?
What traditional festivals do you have in your country?
Which of those festivals is most important to you, personally?
Would you say national events and the
celebration of them are important
Do you think new migrants to a country should observe (or, respect) the national events of that country? See Note 5
In general. how do people celebrate
these events (festivals)
Do you think celebrating events has a good effect on the economy?
Do people tend to spend more during national holidays (festivals)?
Are there any differences between how celebrations are held today, and how they were celebrated in the past?
Do people usually celebrate together with other people?
Do they celebrate in large groups, or just a few people together?
What's the purpose of celebrating?
In general, would you say celebrations
are important
Do things ever go wrong during a celebration?
Do you think it's important
Do you think having a party is a good way to celebrate?
Some people like going to parties while other don't them very much. Can you suggest why?
Are there any negative things about parties?
Personal Celebrations
Depending on your answer to the first question here, the examiner will ask follow-up questions on such events as weddings, birthdays, the birth of a child etc.
What are some of the important events in
people's lives that they celebrate
Important International Celebrations
Can you think of any events that are celebrated internationally? FQ
For you (or people in your country), are those international events worth celebrating?
Do you think international events such as the Olympic Games are suitable for the host country to display their culture?
How would you compare those international celebrations with the domestic celebrations in your country?
Notes
A group photo that includes you can also be described as, "a photo of you" if you are shown quite prominently and clearly.
It would be best say when it was taken although it would be possible to answer this without saying that.
See also the Part 3 of
Photography in General
Photo-taking Behaviour
Can you explain why so many people take unnecessary photos?
How do (or, how can) people learn to take photos?
Storing Photos
How do you store (save, keep) your photos?
What's the difference between storing photos on a mobile phone and storing them on a computer?
Do you think paper photos will still be used in the future?
Are there any advantages from having a paper photo (or, a printout of a digital photo)?
Why do you think some people (or, older people) like to have a photo of their family on the wall, or in a picture frame on a desk?
Uses of Photography
Would you say photography plays an important role in the news media?
What personal qualities do you think one needs to have in order to be a photo-journalist?
Do you think it's important to have photo-journalists reporting on a war?
Photo-Editing Software
Do you think it's good to use software to make someone look more attractive in a photo than they really are?
The Quality of Photographs
In your opinion, what qualities define a "good photograph" (and what makes a photo "not so good")?
How can the average person take
good-quality photographs
Videos
Do you think taking (or making) videos is (or, would be) a good hobby?
Professional Photographers
What do you think are the differences between taking a photo
yourself, and having a professional photographer take a picture
Would you ever hire a
What kinds of people are more likely to hire professional photographers, and what kinds of people are more likely to take their own photos of events such as weddings?
What qualities do you think a person
needs to have in order to be a good
Photographic Technology
How has photography changed in recent years?
What do you think are the advantages of
digital photography, compared to using a camera that requires a roll of film
Can you explain why mobile phones have a
built-in camera
(Similar to above) Do you think a phone
really needs to have a camera function
How would you compare photos taken on a
mobile phone with those taken using a camera
Do you think people (or, you) need to
have a camera
(Similar to above) Do you think cameras
will be replaced by mobile phones in the future
Describe an activity that you like to do with an older member of your family. *
You should say:
who this person is
how often you are together
what you do together
and explain why you like to do this activity together. *
Notes
The key point is to mainly describe an activity and your relationship with this other person; describing the old(er) person comes second and in fact, is not one of the points on the card.
It might say, "older", not "old". That means, "older than you", such as one of your parents.
Elderly Family Members
Do young people in your country do
many outdoor activities together with
Do you think some young people are
ashamed (or, embarrassed) to be seen with old members of their family (their
grandparents)
Do you respect old people
Would you say old people like spending time with young people?
Do many old people in your country live with their sons or daughters (and grandchildren)?
What do you think are the advantages of having grandparents living with their grandchildren?
What influences can grandparents have
on their grandchildren if they live together
What can children learn from their grandparents?
Does this ever lead to conflict within the family? And does that conflict affect the children?
Do people in your country take care of the elderly members of their family?
How can old people be taken care of if their younger family are too busy to take care of them or living in a different part of the country?
Parenting
Have there been any changes in recent years (or decades) concerning how parents take care of their children?
A few decades ago, the typical family
situation was the father going out to work with the mother staying home to
take care of the home and the children. Now, many mothers go out to work.
How do these mothers take care of their children
(Similar to above)
Nowadays, both parents usually work. How can (or, how do)
they organise time to spend with their children
Who do you think would be better for taking care of (or, looking after) the children of a working mother, a nanny or an old person?
What effects can it have on children if they are left alone?
Do you think they often feel lonely?
Family Activities
Do you prefer to do things with your friends, or with your family?
In general, would you say young people
spend much time with their family
Some young people prefer to spend time on their mobile phone rather than with their family (their parents). Can you suggest why?
How often do families in your country do things with the whole family (parents and children) together?
Do they often go on family trips together?
Would
you say it's important for families to do things together
Different families often have
different activities that they do together. Can you give any examples of
that
Why do some families prefer to do indoor activities together while other families prefer outdoor activities?
Do families in your country often do
outdoor activities together
The examiner probably asks a random question about the usefulness of one or two of the subjects you mentioned.
The word "playground" was reported by a candidate but it's not certain that the examiner actually used that word. A "playground" is generally used to mean the area outside the classroom in a primary school where the children play at recess and lunchtime. To "play" is what children (people under the age of 13) do, for example, when they chase each other around. (You can usually hear a lot of shouting, laughing and similar sounds when you walk past a primary school at recess or lunchtime.) You can also see playgrounds in the community, outside schools. These places usually have equipment such as swings, slides, roundabouts, monkey-bars etc, and maybe a sand-pit for very young kids. A 'playground" is not related to "play a sport".
The word "play", as a general description of what someone is doing, is not usually used when talking about people over the age of 12. However, sometimes the word, "playground" is used in the media or in literature to figuratively refer to a place where adults go to have fun or enjoy themselves. For example, "... St. Tropez, playground of the rich and famous."
"Play a game" (e.g., play basketball, football, chess, poker etc) and "play a musical instrument" are used for both adults and children. In high schools, the place where students play a sport is called, "the sports ground", "the playing field", "the sports field", "the football field" etc.
The place where high school students congregate outside during their recess or lunch break is usually not called "the playground". It is possible that some people at high school call the area the classrooms, "the playground" but these people are just continuing to use their habits of speech from primary school. These places, outside the classrooms, are usually given a more formal name such as, "the quadrangle" or "the assembly area".
An unclear question was reported that included the words, "learn" and "work". It might be a general question about people learning certain skills and attitudes in order to be in the workforce, such as learning general rules for being an employee such as being on time for work, and learning the concept that an employee gives their time and labour in exchange for payment.
On the other hand, the question might be
referring to the necessity of being trained in skills and knowledge necessary
for working. This "learning" or training usually results in someone gaining a
qualification such as a certificate or a degree. In this case, the question
would be something like, "
"Adult education" refers to organized courses or classes for adults. It does nor really refer to the general concept of an adult learning something, such as by reading a book. Some adult education classes or courses are just hobby classes such as classes in pottery making. Others are retraining courses for people who need to, or want to, learn additional skills or knowledge for work, or training for a new career after they have been laid-off from their jobs.
The most common meaning of the verb, "to observe" is "to watch" something or someone. But, when talking about traditions, customs, religious rituals, celebrations, festivals etc. this verb also means "to follow" or "to participate in" such activities, not simply "to watch" other people, the celebrations etc.
To "respect" other people's customs basically means not to show disrespect.
Actually, I think in all languages, mobile phones are described as having "a camera". The usage of "a camera" in this question really means, "a device that is only a camera".
It's hard to even find a shop that sells rolls of film today!
An "outdoor activity" is an activity that is done outside, in the open air, such as in a park, in the open countryside or even just in your backyard, if you have a backyard. On the other hand, to "go out and do things together" means, "to go away from your home and do things together", such as going shopping together, going to a concert together, going to a restaurant together etc. Those activities are not necessarily "outdoor" activities.
More than one person has reported questions about doing "outdoor activities" with family members, including elderly family members. So this is topic for questions here.
However, possibly the following question is also asked: "
This question wording is speaking in general. The words, "the elderly" (= "old
people") do not necessarily mean "elderly members of their family" – it means
old people in general, including such people as elderly neighbours. Of course,
what this person reported as a question might be inaccurate and the real
question might have been, "