http://www.goodluckielts.com/IELTS-speaking-topics-2.html

http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/ibt_speaking_writing/2008/05/40-new-practice.htmlDescribe an artist or entertainer you admire.

You should say:

Who they are and what they do

How they became successful

How you found out about them

And explain why you admire them

1. Who is your best friend? Describe this person and say why he/she is your best friend.

2. What is your favorite place to visit on weekends? Describe it and explain why it is your favorite place to go.

3. What is your happiest childhood memory? Describe it and give reasons to explain why it is your happiest memory.

4. What is your most important possession? Describe it and say why it is so important.

5. Talk about a person in your life who has inspired you. Describe the person and explain why you found him/her inspirational.

6. Where do most like to go to eat out? Describe this place and say why you like it most.

7. Talk about an important national holiday in your home country. Describe it and explain why it is important.

8. What is your favorite book or movie? Describe it and say why it is your favorite.

9. Who do you feel close to in your family (or extended family)? Describe this person and say why you feel close to him/her.

10. Where is a good place to have fun in your city or town? Describe this place and explain why it is fun.

11. Talk about an experience in your life that made you feel embarrassed. Describe it and say why it was embarrassing.

12. What was your favorite subject at school? Describe it and explain why this subject was your favorite one.

13. Who is an important person in your country? Describe this person and explain why he/she is important.

14. Talk about an interesting tourist attraction you have been to. Describe it and say why it was interesting.

15. Talk about a time when you experienced success. Describe the experience and say why it was a success for you.

16. What is your favorite style of clothing? Describe it and explain why it is your favorite.

17. Name a person whom you truly admire. Describe the person and say why you admire him/her.

18. Think of a place that makes you feel relaxed and peaceful. Describe it and explain why it is relaxing and peaceful for you.

19. Talk about a difficulty you have overcome in your life. Describe the experience and say why it was difficult to overcome.

20. What is your most useful study aid? Describe it and explain why it is useful in helping you to study.

21. Talk about a teacher who had a positive influence on you. Describe this person and explain why he/she was so influential to you.

22. Where is your favorite place to study? Describe this place and say why it is a good place for you to study.

23. Talk about a positive experience with learning or using English. Describe the experience and say why it was a positive one.

24. What is your favorite kind of food? Describe it and explain why it is your favorite.

25. Name a famous or influential figure who has inspired you. Describe this person and say why he/she has been inspirational to you.

26. Which place has fond memories for you? Describe this place and explain why it is memorable to you.

27. When have you been happily surprised by something? Describe the experience and say why the surprise was a happy one for you.

28. Describe a resource that helped you to do something better than before. Describe it and explain why it was helpful to you.

29. Describe a person from your countrys history. Why do you think this person was important?

30. Where would you like to go to spend a vacation? Describe this place and say why you would like to holiday there.

31. Talk about something you and your family enjoy doing together. Describe it and explain why you all enjoy it.

32. What is your favorite recreational activity? Describe it and say why you enjoy doing it.

33. Who is the most intelligent person you know? Describe the person and say why you think he/she is intelligent.

34. Where would you most like to live? Describe this place and explain why you would like to live there.

35. What is your favorite season of the year? Describe the season and explain why you like it so much.

36. What custom from your home country are you most fond of? Describe the custom and explain why you are fond of it.

37. Which person are you most likely to go to with a personal problem? Describe this person and say why you would go to him/her in particular.

38. Name a place in your country you would recommend others to visit. Describe this place and explain why you would recommend it.

39. Talk about an event from the past that you would like to relive. Describe the original event and say why you would like to relive it.

40. What is your favorite way of getting around? Describe it and explain why it is your favorite means of transportation.

Are there many things that the old can teach the young or are they hopelessly out of touch by the time they reach a certain age?

What things were you taught by your older family members?

How have they been useful to you in your life?

In most countries, compulsory education is targeted at five to sixteen year olds.

Would it be better to offer it to pensioners who want to learn rather than young people who prefer not to be in school? Explain your opinion.

In Russia, China and many other countries, there is a tradition of choosing leaders who are quite advanced in years.

Do you think that older people make better leaders? Explain your opinion.

One of Britain's best-ever leaders was William Pitt, who became Prime Minister when he was 24 and remained in power for 18 years.

Could this ever happen in your country? Why/why not?

Many elderly people have disabilities which limit their mobility.

Do buses, shops and public buildings in your country provide easy access for the disabled or are your towns and cities designed mainly for the young and able-bodied? Why is this?

Should the elderly be expected to pay for residential care out of their own savings or should appropriate accommodation and nursing be provided by the tax payer? Explain your opinion.

Some people say that men age better than women, and remain attractive longer. Do you agree? Explain your opinion.

Some people say that men never grow up, they just get bigger. Do you agree? Explain your opinion.

Some people say that young women are usually two to three years more mature than young men. Do you agree? Explain your opinion.

In most countries women live an average of five to six years longer than men. Why do you think this is?

In some countries having children is considered a way of "investing in the future", and young people are expected to give money to their parents when they get a job, and then to care for them when they retire.

What are the good points and what are the bad points about this system?

Many countries are facing the problem of an "aging population", i.e. there will soon be more old people than young people.

What problems will this cause?

What can be done to prepare for them?

What do you think is the ideal age for each of these stages of your life: (Explain your opinion.)

What age do you want to live to?

How do you feel about your parents growing older?

If your parents could no longer care for themselves, would you let them live with you or put them in a nursing home?

Are you afraid of getting old?

What is your ideal old age to live to?

Do you prefer to live in the retirement home or live with young people?

Should parents continue to finance their children after the children are 18?

Where do you wish to live when you are old?

Where do you see yourself when you are 70 years old?

Should older people spend their money on themselves, or save it for their children to have after they die?

Where do you wish to live when you are old?

What advice would you give to an older person who wants to feel young?

Some people say that youth is a state of mind, do you agree?

Who do you think is the most beautiful person in your country?

Who do you think is the most beautiful person alive today?

Who was the most beautiful person in history?

Who is the most attractive in your family?

Does beauty affect one's success in life?

Is it better to be physically attractive or intelligent?

Is it better to be physically attractive or wealthy?

Is beauty related to power?

Can you think of anyone who is in a position of power that is not physically attractive?

Do people spend too much time and money on beauty?

How much time should be spent on making yourself look better each day?

Who would you say is beautiful that others maybe wouldn't?

Do you think people should have cosmetic surgery to enhance their looks?

If so what is the minimum age when someone should have plastic surgery?

How popular is plastic surgery in your country?

What is the most popular feature for cosmetic alteration?

Do you think self-esteem affects beauty?

Do you think beauty affects self-esteem?

How important is beauty in your daily life?

Have you ever noticed anyone ever feeling pressured to be more beautiful?

What do you think of the proverb, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder?"

Do you have any proverbs or idioms from your country that relate to beauty?

What do you think "beauty is skin deep" means?

What are some beauty tips that you could share?

Do you think people with many tattoos can be beautiful?Describe a subject you enjoyed studying at school.

You should say:

When and where you started studying it

What lessons were like

What made the subject different from other subjects

And explain why you enjoyed the subject

Describe an important choice you had to make in your life.

You should say:

When you had this choice

What you had to choose between

Whether you made a good choice

And explain how you felt when you were making this choice

Describe a job you have done.

You should say:

How you got the job

What the job involved

How long the job lasted

Describe how well you did the job

Describe an area of countryside you know and like.

You should say:

Where it is

What its special features are

What you and other people do in this area

And explain why you like it

Describe an object you particularly like.

You should say:

What it is and what it looks like

What it is made of

What it is for

And explain why it is special for you

Describe a newspaper or magazine you enjoy reading.

You should say:

What kind of newspaper / magazine it is

Which parts of it you read regularly

When and where you read it

Explain why you enjoy reading it

Describe something healthy you enjoy doing.

You should say:

What you do

Where you do it

Who you do it with

And explain why you think doing this is healthy

Describe a game or sport you enjoy playing.

You should say:

What kind of sport it is

Who you play it with

Where you play it

And explain why you enjoy playing it

Describe someone in your family who you like.

You should say:

How this person is related to you

What this person looks like

What kind of person he/she is

And explain why you like this person

Describe a museum or art gallery that you have visited.

You should say:

Where it is

Why you went there

What you particularly remember about the place.

Describe an enjoyable event that you experienced when you were at school.

You should say:

When it happened

What was good about it

Why you particularly remember this event.

Describe a song or piece of music you like.

You should say:

What the song or music is

What kind of song or music it is

Where you first heard it

And explain why you like it

Describe a festival that is important in your country.

You should say:

When the festival occurs

What you did during it

What you like or dislike about it

And explain why this festival is important

Are young people generally more selfish than their parents and grandparents?

What do you think is the best age to be? Explain your opinion.

Most countries give young people rights as they reach a certain age. For example, British people can legally make love or fight for their country at the age of 16; they can drink, vote and drive a car when they are 18.

Do you think that any of the age limits need changing?

Some people think you should give something to society before you have the right to join it.

Should young people have to do some form of military or community service by law?

Should people of between 50 and 55 be forced to retire from their jobs in order to make way for younger workers?

If people are still able to (and want to) work, should they have to retire when the reach a certain age?

Explain your opinion.

In most countries the legal retirement age for men is five years older than for women, even though women live longer than men on average.

Why do you think this is?

Is this fair, or should it be changed?

How many tattoos are too many?

Would you ever get a tattoo?

Do you have a tattoo?

Do you think people with many piercings can be beautiful?

What kind of body piercing, if any, do you feel are acceptable?

What kind of piercing, if any, do you feel are unacceptable?

What personality trait is the most important for inner beauty?

How do you define beauty, using your own words?

Would you ever date someone who was not conventionally attractive?

What makes one person more attractive than another?

Do you think people from different countries than you see attractive the same way?

Is there someone famous that is considered beautiful, that you think is not?

Are beauty pageants good or bad?

Should children be entered into beauty pageants?

Do you think one gender or group worries more about beauty than another?

Would you want your children to be beautiful or talented?

What are some of the drawbacks of being beautiful?

What do you think about plastic surgery?

Would you ever have plastic surgery?

If so, what would you change?

What do you think of celebrities who get plastic surgery?

Do you think it's necessary to have plastic surgery if you are famous in order to be successful?

Do you think skin color affects whether a person is regarded as beautiful or not?

Do you think that fairer skin makes you more beautiful?

What are some advantages of being beautiful?

What makes someone beautiful in your country?

What differs between that idea and the American idea of beauty?

What do you think "beauty is skin deep" means?

How many different adjectives can you think of to describe a beautiful woman or a handsome man

What do these English expressions mean?

Pretty is as pretty does.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Beauty is only skin deep.

What you see is what you get.

Are you a happy person?

What is happiness for you?

What do you think is the color for happiness?

Do you think that happiness lies within you? Or does it depend upon other people and external things?

Can money buy happiness?

Is happiness a state of mind?

What makes you feel happy?

What are the three most important things for you to be happy?

Is happiness relative, that is, does it have a different meaning for each person?

Are single people happy?

Would you be happier with a soul mate or single?

Does having an animal/pet make you happy?

What is the effect that animals/pets have on people to make them feel happy?

What makes you happy?

When was the happiest time of your childhood?

Can you be happy if you are rich?

Can you be happy is you are poor?

How can you become happy again when you are sad?

Is happiness a goal?

How often do you feel really happy?

Are the people in your country generally very happy?

Are you very happy most of the time?

What makes you unhappy?

What's the most miserable you've been?

How happy are you compared with your friends?

Do you wake up happy every morning?

Do you agree that older people are less happy?

What is there to be happy about in the world today?

What affects your levels of happiness?

Does your happiness change during different times of the day, week, month or year?

What is or was the happiest time of your life?

Do you need money to be happy?

What do you think of the idea of a government Happiness Minister who is responsible for the happiness of the population?

Do you think some nations are happier than others?

What is missing in your life that would make you very happy?

Why are teenagers some of the happiest people in the world?

What was the happiest time in your entire life?

Do you feel that you have to work hard and be miserable now in order to be happy later?What's the strangest language have you ever head?

Do you wish your country has another language instead of the present one?

Do you have pen-friend? If yes, what languages do they speak?

Can you name any languages that are no longer spoken?

What language do the neighboring countries of where you live speak?

What would you do if you had to travel to a country where it's people don't know how to speak neither your language nor English?

Do you think that disappearing languages should be protected or should we just let them fade away?

What languages are spoken the most throughout the world?

Which do you think is the most difficult language?

How many languages do you speak?

Do you know anyone who is monolingual?

Do you know anyone who is bilingual or multilingual?

Would you like to raise multilingual children?

Can you think of some disadvantages of being monolingual?

Have you ever visited a society where most people speak only one language?

Have you ever visited a society where most people speak more than one language?

Does your country have any official languages? What languages are official?

What other languages are spoken in your nation, including minority groups and the languages of immigrants?

Do you think foreign language study should be required?

Do you think foreign language study should start as early as possible, or is it okay to start later?

Do you think all people should be required to study the same foreign language, or do you think there should be some choice?

Why is English used in so many places?

Do you think that a language other than English should be used as an "international language"?

Do you think language affects thought?

Do you enjoy studying grammar?

Do you think studying the grammar of your native language is important?

Do you think studying the grammar of a foreign language helps you to speak it?

What grammar question have you had lately?

When you study a language, do you like to study reading, writing, speaking and listening?

Have you ever had an emotional discussion in a language that you don't speak well?

When you learn new words, is it generally easier for you to remember "silly and useless" words, or "common and useful" words?

If you study a foreign language, do you use a dictionary written in the language you are studying?

Have you ever used a concordance to study language?

Do you have a large vocabulary?

Is increasing your vocabulary important to you?

What techniques do you use to remember vocabulary?

What dialects does your language have?

Do you know the saying, "a language is a dialect with an army"? What do you think this means? Do you agree?

When you are getting an important message for the first time, are you more comfortable hearing it, or reading it?

Is this different for you in your native language and your second/foreign language?

When you produce language, are you more comfortable writing it, or saying it?As a teenager, what do you think you can contribute to society?

At what age should teenagers leave home?

What type of punishment did your parents use when you were a teenager?

Do you think teenagers today have it "too easy'?

Did you have a good relationship with your parents? Why or why not?

What do you think are some important things parents can do for teenagers?

Do you think teenagers today show respect for adults? Teachers?Parents?Brothers and sisters?

What do you think about teenagers who dye their hair blue, green, or another crazy color?

Do you think that wearing uniforms to school is a good idea?

At what age did you leave home?

What would you do if your teenage son or daughter got a tattoo?

What would you do if your teenage son or daughter shaved his or her head?

How do you feel about swearing?

Does it matter if teenagers sometimes use bad language?

What do you think about rock videos today?

What do you think parents can do to help teenagers avoid depression?

Do you believe in anti depression drugs?

Do you think it's a good idea to give teenagers a lot of freedom? (For example, come home when you like)

Do teenagers in your former country have problems with drugs or alcohol?

What can you do to keep your teenager away from drugs and alcohol?

Is teenage suicide a problem?

Why do you think some teenagers do good things and others (in the same family often) do bad things?

At what age should a teenage girl have her first serious boyfriend?

At what age should a teenage boy have his first serious girlfriend?

How old were you when you had your first serious relationship?

What can society do to help teenagers who have problems at home?

Are there more pregnant teenage girls in this country than in your country? Why?

What is the best advice you could give to a teenager growing up in this culture?

Do you think that advertising plays an important role in how teenagers think?

Should teenagers work? Why or why not?

Did you work when you were a teenager?

If you could be a teenager again, would you do anything differently?

Were you teenage years enjoyable?

Do you think it is better to raise teenagers in the city, a small town, or the country?

What is it like to be a teenager in your society?

Would you rather be a child, teenager or an adult? Why?

What are the advantages of being a child?

A teenager?

An adult?

What are the disadvantages of being a child?

A teenager?

An adult?

If you could meet any teenager in the world, who would it be?

At what age should teenagers be allowed to leave school?

At what age should teenagers be allowed to smoke?

At what age should teenagers be allowed to drink?

At what age should teenagers be allowed to drive?

At what age should teenagers be allowed to get married?

At what age should teenagers be allowed to vote?

Do you know any good role models for teenagers?

Do you know any teenagers who don't act like other teens?

Why do you think they act differently?

What do teenagers think about?

What do you/will you remember about being a teenager?

Can teens change the world?

If yes, how?

If not, why not?

What's the difference between teenage girls and teenage boys?

What causes those differences?

Would you rather be stuck in a bus with children, teens, young adults, adults or elderly adults? Why?

When did you start to be a teen?

How did you know that you were a teenager?

Do you still feel like a teen sometimes?

What is the difference between the teenagers of 19th century and the teenagers of the 21st century?

As a teenager, how do you think fashion changed or affected your life?

Among teenage fashion that is prevalent in the world today, which do you think is the the best? The most hideous?The strangest?

How much freedom should parents give to their teenagers?

Should boys and girls be given the same amount of freedom? Why or Why not?

If you were a parent and your teenage child did something wrong, how would you discipline him/her?

What do you think are some of the greatest problems facing teenagers today?

Did you have a happy childhood?

What did you like to do when you were a child?

What did you look like?

Where were you born?

When were you born?

How old were you when you learned to ride a bicycle?

Did you have your own bicycle?

Do you remember who taught you to ride a bicycle?

Did you have a bad bicycle accident?

Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

What was your favorite subject? Why?

What was your favorite game?

Who did you play it with?

Who gave it to you?

When did you like to play it?

Do you remember anything about your personality when a child?

Were you good at making friends?

How did you make friends?

Did you have a lot of friends?

What did you enjoy doing with your friends?

What were some embarrassing situations when you were a child?

Were you a good student?

Did you enjoy going to school?

Did you get good grades?

Did you enjoy doing your homework?

What did you like about school?

What didn't you like about school?

Who was your best friend?

How did you meet this friend?

What did you do together?

Do you still do things with this childhood friend?

What other things can you tell us about your best friend?

Were your parents super protective?

At what age could you go places by yourself?

Did your parents always tell you what to do?

Did you play outside?

What did you like to play?

How long did you play outside a day?

Could you play outside all year long?

Did you play on the streets?

Was it dangerous to play in the streets?

What kind of things did you do in the streets?

Did you ever have an accident while playing in the streets? What happened?

When you were a child, what did you want to grow up to be? Did you want to be a mother or father? A firefighter?A doctor?A scientist?

Can you remember specific things from your childhood clearly?

How old were you at the time of your first memories?

What kind of food did your like?

Did you used to eat anything or were you a picky eater?

What foods did you like eating?

What foods didn't you like to eat?

Did you have any foods you hated?

What was your favorite toy when you were a child?

Who gave you this toy?

Did it have a name?

Do you still have it?

What was your worst punishment as a child?

Where did you grow up? Did you move frequently? If so, why?

Who took care of you when you were little? A parent?A grandparent?A nanny?A daycare center?

How are you similar to your parents? How are you different?

Describe the first memory you have of going to school.

Do you think children today eat too much fast food and don't play enough sports?

What childhood diseases did you have?

Did you have any nickname? Tell us about it.

Were you afraid of anything? What?

What were your favorite cartoons and TV shows?