Originally published 2018. Last reviewed 3 July 2026.
TL;DR — This page collects recently reported IELTS Speaking exam questions and topics from test takers worldwide. Use these to identify trends, practise with realistic material, and focus your preparation on the most common themes. Updated regularly based on student reports.
Why Track Recent Exam Questions?
IELTS recycles and rotates questions across test centres worldwide. By studying recently reported topics, you can identify patterns and high-frequency themes that are likely to appear in upcoming tests. While the exact questions will differ, the topics and question types follow consistent patterns.
How We Collect This Data
Our database of recent exam questions comes from verified test-taker reports submitted through our community channels. We cross-reference multiple reports from different test centres to confirm accuracy before publishing. Each entry includes the approximate test date and the region where it was reported.
Recent Speaking Topics — 2026
Below are the most frequently reported speaking topics and question types from recent IELTS exams. Topics are grouped by theme and ordered by frequency of appearance.
Part 1 Common Topics
- Daily Life: Morning routines, cooking habits, neighbourhood, transportation preferences
- Hobbies: Reading, music, sports, gardening, photography, social media use
- Work/Study: Current job/course, future career plans, favourite subjects, work-life balance
- Technology: Smartphone usage, favourite apps, online shopping habits, social media
- Nature: Weather preferences, favourite season, outdoor activities, parks and gardens
Part 2 Cue Card Topics
- Describe a skill you learned recently
- Describe a place you visited that impressed you
- Describe a person who has influenced you positively
- Describe a time you helped someone
- Describe an important decision you made
- Describe a book or film that changed your perspective
- Describe a traditional festival in your country
- Describe a goal you want to achieve in the future
Part 3 Discussion Themes
- Technology’s impact on education and communication
- Environmental responsibility and sustainability
- Cultural traditions vs modernisation
- Work-life balance in contemporary society
- The role of government in addressing social issues
How to Use These Topics for Preparation
- Identify patterns: Notice which themes appear repeatedly — these have the highest probability of appearing in your test.
- Practise with realistic material: Use these topics to create mock speaking practice sessions.
- Build topic-specific vocabulary: For each common theme, prepare a set of relevant vocabulary and collocations.
- Time yourself: Simulate exam conditions using these topics to build speed and confidence.
Key Takeaways
- IELTS Speaking questions follow predictable topic patterns that recur across test centres.
- Tracking recent exam reports helps you prioritise your preparation on high-frequency themes.
- Focus on building transferable skills rather than memorising specific answers.
- Combine recent topic analysis with structured practice using official IELTS materials.
Module – General / April 2018 / India
Part one:
Do you work or study?
Did you need any training for this work?
Would you need any training in future?
How do you commute to work?
How much time do you spend commuting each day?
Part two:
A good decision made by someone you know.
Part three:
More elaborate discussion on decision making.
At what age should adults make their own decisions?
What are some of the important decisions young people have to make?
How much pressure do the elders in the family put onto the youngsters when it comes to making decisions?
What skills are required to make decisions in the workplace?
Hope this helps 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Saudi Arabia
Academic
April 2018
Part 1 –
Where are you from?
How long have you been living there?
Do you like it?
Why do you like it?
It is raining now – do you think people like rain? why?
Part two –
Tell me about your greatest achievement
How did you do it?
Are you proud?
Are your family proud?
Part three –
What do you think are the achievements that people are usually proud of? why?
What are the most important decisions that people make?
Do you think that the journey is more rewarding than the goal itself?
Has the goal got to be clear?
Why do people fail to achieve their goals?
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Location – India,
Test – General Training
Date – 9th April 2018
Part 1
What is your full name?
Tell me something about your hometown
How long have you been living there?
What is the meaning of your name?
What kinds of names are famous in your culture? why?
Is there any celebration giving names to children?
Do you usually use computers at work or in your study? why?
When did you use the computer for first time?
Do you think computer usage by people has changed in the past few years? how?
Part 2
Say about a time you had positive feedback
Why did you get positive feedback?
When did you get the feedback?
Who gave it to you?
How did it make you feel?
Part 3
The effects of positive feedback
Effects of negative feedback
How can you tell someone that they are not doing well?
Do you think people should be recognised if they do something good?
Good Luck everyone 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Hi, thank you your site is very useful for my studies.
I had my speaking test in India in April 2018.
Part 1
Hometown
Where are you from?
What is famous in your hometown?
Free time
What do you normally do when you are free?
Do you like to stay in your home or go outside?
Why do people like to stay at home?
What did you used to do when you were a child in your free time?
Computers/Technology
How do children use laptops?
is a laptop useful for a child?
should parents give laptops to children?
Part 2
Describe an event that you organised and someone who appreciated you
What was the event?
Who praised you?
When was the event?
Part 3
Should parents encourage children to do new things?
Do you think people can be self motivated?
Do you think appreciation of a child is going to make the upbringing better?
In the workplace what is meant by positive and negative feedback?
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Speaking test – April 2018 in Morocco
General Training
Part 1
What is your full name?
Where do you live and for how long?
Why do you enjoy living there?
Do you respect your appointments?
How do you ensure the people you are going to meet show up?
Part 2
What type of book have you read recently?
What is the topic of the book?
Why did you read it?
What is exciting about this book?
Part 3
What type of books do people read in your country?
Is there a difference between book types for the young/old?
Do boys or girls read more?
Do you think movies based on book stories are good? why?
Which is better – read a book or watch a film?
Good luck everyone 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Hi, I had my test in Dubai and it was General Training. I did it in April 2018.
Part 1
What is your name?
Tell me about your home town
How long does it take you to travel to work?
How do you travel?
How do you spend your time during the journey?
Have you ever been on a boat?
How was that experience and who did you go with?
Will you own a boat in the future?
Part 2
What is your idea of the perfect home?
Where do you want it to be and why?
Would you like to live with your family in the future?
Part 3
What kind of houses do you have in your country?
What kind of houses do people choose to live in?
Do you think a house can reflect ones personality?
Is beauty or functionality important for a house?
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Academic
Vietnam
April 2018
Part 1
What is your name?
Where are you from?
Are you a student or do you work?
What sports do you play? why?
What do you think about the changes in sports now compared to when you were younger?
Part 2
Talk about a business person you admire.
Part 3
Do you want to become a business person?
What kinds of goods would you sell? why?
In your country what type of goods do people sell?
Where would a business person choose to start? renting a shop or buying a house?
Do you think that older business person needs to work hard?
Good luck! 🙂
Module – General Training
Date – April 2018
Location – India
Part 1
What is your full name?
What should I call you?
Do you think exercise is important?
Do you exercise?
How often do you exercise?
Do young people do exercise these days?
What exercises did you used to do in school?
Do you think you will continue to do regular exercise?
Part 2
Any one thing which is not taught in school and university but still needs to be learned.
What is it that you learned?
Where and when did you learn it?
Why do you think its important?
What benefits it gave to you?
Part 3
Do you think there are any age limits on learning?
What do you think of learning for older generations?
Do you think there are any life skills which older people need to learn?
Do you think it is important to continuously learn in life? / why?
I was very nervous for my speaking but i think I did ok. I get my results soon.
General Training
USA / Chicago
May 2018
Part 1
What is your name?
What do you do for work?
Where do you live?
Do you use apps on your phone?
What kind of apps do you use?
Why do you think people use apps?
Part 2
Talk about a famous person in your local area
You should say;
Why this person is famous
When and how you met them
What you think makes them famous
Part 3
What kind of adverts are famous in your area?
Why do you think so?
Why do you think celebrities are famous?
Are celebrities an inspiration to the younger generation?
Some people think celebrities are not to be taken as inspiration – why?
I asked the examiner to repeat a question in part 3 as I didn’t understand at first, the last question.
Academic / May 2018 / Indonesia
Speaking part 1 – hometown, favourite city
Speaking part 2 – outside activities
Speaking part 3 – the role of the parents, explaining the best age to learn both for kids and adults.
22/05/2018 – Academic Test
Pakistan
Part 1 –
Where do you live?
Do you study or work somewhere?
What is your job? What are your responsibilities?
What do you think about plants?
Have you ever planted anything?
What would you think if someone gifted you a plant?
Part 2 –
tell us something about a childhood friend
when you first met
why you liked them so much
why they were such a great friend
Part 3 –
Did technology impact on your friendship?
Who will you consult first if you have to discuss something or need advice – a friend or your family?
What do you think about teenage friendship?
Academic – I had my test in the Uk on the 23rd June 2018
Part 1
do you work? what do you do? what time do you prefer to work?
do you exercise? do you think its important? what sports did you do in school? you think we do enough sports in school? do you think you will do sports in the future?
Part 2
Talk about a popular person you know, when was the last time you saw them? Why are they popular?
Part 3
Why are people popular? does the media help them to be popular? what influence does the media have on popularity?
I had my speaking test yesterday
Date :- 3th Sept 2018.
Task 1 –
Weather?
Type of weather in your country?
What do you love the most of rainy season?
Have you ever dropped any of your plans due to heavy rains?
Do you like rainy season? and Why?
Task 2
Street Shopping
What is the name of the street?
How long have you been to that street?
What did you buy?
Task 3
Street Shopping
Do people prefer online shopping or street shopping?
Why do people prefer shopping alone?
Why do people want company while shopping?
How do recent advertisement influence shopping?
What type of shopping is better online or Street?
I had my speaking test on 13th Dec 2018
Country- Nigeria
Task 1
Do you have cities in your country?
Do most citizens in your country live in cities?
Talk about a city you’ve visited.
Task 2
Website
Talk about website you visit regularly
Task 3
Do you like the internet?
Do you think that the internet is good for children?
Hi, thanks for sharing 🙂 Good luck with your test results!