IELTS Speaking Part 1 New Topics – May 2020

IELTS Speaking part 1 new topics May 2020 – this post will include a full list of possible questions & example answers.

Please review the entire post carefully & don’t forget to practice with other users (for free).

Updates: IELTS Speaking part 1 new topics May 2020

We have a few new Part 1 topics this season to enjoy practising, you may notice some of the previous season’s Part 2 topics have once again switched over the Part 1. Remember you can use Google Dictionary to check definitions of any words by double-clicking them!

Check below for possible questions & example answers.

1. Public transport (Part 2 – previous season)
2. Newspapers and magazines (Part 2 – previous season)
3. Age (Getting older)
4. Insects
5. Fish & fishing
6. Cooking
7. Handwriting
8. Celebrities
9. Water
10. Sleep (Part 2 – previous season)
11. Sky (Part 2 – previous season)

Topics that have been recycled:

1. Laughter
2. Language
3. Numbers
4. Water sports
5. Scenery
6. Pens & pencils
7. Mathematics
8. Science classes
9. Parks & gardens
10. Animals
11. The area you live in
12. Breaks
13. Cakes
14. History
15. Running & walking
16. Haircuts
17. Perfume (back from Sep-Dec season)
18. Concentration
19. Time by yourself
20. Art

Possible questions + Example answers: IELTS Speaking part 1 new topics May 2020

Public transport:

• How often do you use public transport?
• Do many people use public transport in your country?
• Is it expensive to travel by public transport?
• What would you like to change about the public transport in your country?
• Is it better nowadays than it was in the past?

Newspapers & magazines:

• Do you read newspapers or magazines?
• How popular are they in your country?
• Are there any famous magazines in your country?
• Do you prefer to read newspapers or magazines?
• How do you usually read the news?

Age (Getting older):

• How do you feel about getting older?
• What scares you the most about growing old?
• Are you happy with your current age?
• Did you think a lot about being older when you were a child?
• Do you treat older people differently to young people?

Insects:

• Do you like insects?
• What do you usually do when there is an insect in your home/room?
• Are there many insects in your hometown?
• Do you think insects can be useful?
• Are there any special or unique insects in your country?
• Have you ever eaten any insects?

Fish & fishing:

• Have you ever been fishing?
• Is fishing popular in your country?
• Do you have any plans to go fishing in the future?
• How often do you eat fish?
• Do many people own fish as pets in your country?
• Is seafood expensive in your area?

Cooking:

• Do you do the cooking at home?
• What is your best dish?
• Have you ever taken any cooking classes?
• Are there any difficult dishes to cook in your culture?
• Do you prefer to cook at home or eat out for dinner?

Handwriting:

• Do you like your handwriting?
• Is it easy for others to read?
• How old were you when you learned to write?
• Do you prefer to write with a pen or type on a computer?
• How often do you write things?
• Did you write more in school than you do today?

Celebrities:

• Who is your favourite celebrity?
• Have you ever met any famous people in real life?
• Are any celebrities in your country famous in other countries?
• Do you think celebrities are paid too much money?
• When you were younger, did you ever want to be famous?
• Would you like to be a celebrity now you’re older?

Water:

• How often do you drink water?
• Is it safe to drink it from the tap in your country?
• Do you prefer to drink bottled water or water from the tap?
• Did you like drinking water when you were young?
• Are there any famous bottled water brands in your country?

Sleep:

• Do you get enough sleep?
• What time do you usually go to sleep?
• How difficult is it for you to fall asleep?
• How much time do you spend sleeping each night?
• Do you sleep more nowadays than you did in the past?
• In the future, would you like to buy a new bed?

Sky:

• Can you see the moon & stars at night time where you live?
• Is the sky clearer in your hometown than where you live?
• Do you know any good places to look at the sky?
• Do you prefer the sky during the day or night time?
• How often do you look at the sky?

Countryside:

• Would you like to live in the countryside in the future?
• Did you grow up in the countryside or in a city?
• Would you prefer to live in the countryside or in a city?
• How often do you visit the countryside?
• In your country, do more people live in cities than in the countryside?

Scenery:

• Does your hometown have any good scenery?
• Where is the most beautiful scenery in your country?
• Do cities in your country have good scenery?
• When you travel, do you prefer to stay somewhere with a good view or a good price?
• Do you like to take pictures of beautiful scenery?
• How popular is ‘taking selfies’ in front of good scenery in your culture?

Water sports:

• Have you tried any water sports before?
• +did you like it? +why not?
• What kinds of water sports are popular in your country?
• Do you think it is a good way to stay fit?
• How dangerous are water sports?
• In the future, what water sports would you like to try?

Numbers:

• Are you good with numbers? (this has a wide range of meanings, don’t worry! can you do addition? Multiply numbers? Problem-solve using numbers? Remember numbers, etc)
• What’s your favourite number?
• Can you remember your own phone number?
• How often do you need to remember numbers?
• Are there any lucky/unlucky numbers in your culture?

Math:

• Do you like math?
• How important is mathematics?
• Were you good at mathematics in school?
• Did you enjoy studying math?
• Is mathematics difficult?
• Do you prefer to do math in your head or using a calculator?

Laughter:

• Do you usually make your friends/family laugh?
• When you watch TV or movies, do you like watching comedies?
• Are there any famous comedians in your country?
• Do you think it’s important to laugh?
• How often do you laugh about things with your family/friends?

Time by yourself:

• What do you do when you are alone?
• Do you like having time for yourself?
• How important is time alone?
• Do you prefer to be alone or with others?
• When are you usually alone?

Example answers:

What do you do when you are alone?

“Well, I guess it totally depends on my mood, y’know? I’d like to say I make good use of my ‘me-time’ by ‘getting on with’ something productive, but I know that’s not always the case. Like, if I’ve had a ‘hectic’ week at work, I tend to just ‘chill out’ on the bed and ‘endlessly’ scroll through Facebook.”

Do you like having time for yourself?

“Yeah, I ‘treasure it’ because I don’t get as much ‘alone-time’ as I’d like to. With a job like mine, I speak to people for most of my ‘waking hours’, so having a bit of ‘quiet-time’ feels absolutely amazing.”

How important is time alone?

“It’s hard to say, for some people like myself it’s necessary, but I imagine for others…probably not so much, right?. For example, when I need to study for my IELTS test- it’s essential I don’t get ‘side-tracked’, that being said, I need to speak to others whenever I practice IELTS Speaking.” ?

Do you prefer to be alone or with others?

“If I had to choose, I’d definitely rather be with others. There’s nothing wrong with being alone though, actually, every now and then I prefer to. However, I enjoy spending my time with others more, all my most precious memories are shared with mates and the people I love.”

When are you usually alone?

“Hm, more often than not my evenings are spent alone- unless I go to hang out with friends at a Bia Hoi place. Though that’s a rare occurrence nowadays thanks to work and my website. I’d probably say from 7pm onwards ‘most days’, but it depends what’s ‘on my agenda’.”

History:

• Do you like reading about history?
• How important is it to learn about history?
• Do you prefer to think about the past or the future?
• Have you ever visited a museum?
• Are there many historical museums in your country?
• Is history a good subject to learn in school?

Science class:

• Did you like science classes in school?
• Were you good at it?
• How important is it for children to learn science?
• Do many schools teach science in your country?
• Did you prefer doing experiments or doing research in science class?
• How old were you when you started doing science classes in school?

The area you live in:

• What is good about the area you live in?
• Is there anything bad about it?
• Are there many public services in your area?
• If you could, what would you change about the area you live in?
• How busy is your local area?
• Have there been any recent changes to the area you live in?

Example answers:

What is good about the area you live in?

“To be perfectly honest with you, I could talk to you all day about what’s great in Long Bien. It’s in a perfect location for me, though it’s not exactly in the heart of the city, everything I need is just a stone’s throw away. On top of that, there are 2 absolutely huge shopping malls which are pretty well-known throughout Hanoi. Besides that, there are plenty of decent hangouts to chill with mates at, my favourites are Aha cafe & Mimmo’s right by the Red River”

Is there anything bad about it?

“For sure, don’t get me wrong, I do love Long Bien, but it does have its fair share of problems, I guess nowhere is perfect, right? I reckon the worst thing is the fact that you need to cross Chuong Duong bridge or Long Bien bridge… Believe it or not, they’re no way near wide enough for the sheer number of people who cross them each day. As you can imagine, during Hanoi’s world-famous rush hour traffic, it’s a living nightmare, trust me.” ?

Are there many public services in your area?

“Yup, there are loads actually. With it being a military district, there are so many “People’s comity” buildings dotted around all over the place. Plus, there’s a pretty sizeable courthouse, police station and probably a bunch of others I don’t know about. I rarely need to use any of the public services here, but it’s nice to know they’re there if I ever need them. My dad always says “it’s best to have and not need than to need and not have”, you know?”

If you could, what would you change about the area you live in?

“Hm, it’s hard to say actually. Like I mentioned to you before though, the bridges definitely need sorting out someday. At least if I could, I’d fix all of the holes in them, honestly, it’s like they’re falling apart nowadays, it makes it extremely uncomfortable to ride over them. Above anything else, I’d have to say that’d be the first thing I’d improve. There are probably a fair few other things, but I none come to mind immediately.”

How busy is your local area?

“Gosh, that totally depends on the time of day I guess… During the morning rush and evening commute home it’s absolutely heaving, but throughout the day it’s practically empty. Luckily, I work from home so I don’t need to endure the hectic rush hour madness that most people suffer. That being said, it has improved quite a bit, the local traffic police are doing a truly remarkable job of dealing with the traffic.”

Have there been any recent changes to the area you live in?

“Yeah, plenty. I’ve only lived here for the past 4 years, so as you can imagine, the changes I know of are all relatively new. Off the top of my head, it’s pretty tough to come up with any decent examples. Umm, darn it, I just lost my train of thought, sorry. When I’m lying in bed tonight I’m sure they’ll all come back to me, but now I’m drawing a blank, sorry.”

Did you notice what I did with the final answer? ?

Cakes:

• Do you ever eat dessert after eating dinner?
• Is it popular in your country to eat dessert after dinner?
• Are there any special cakes in your culture?
• Have you ever made any cakes at home?
• Did you ever make cakes as a child with your parents?
• How often do you eat cakes?

Breaks:

• What do you usually do during breaks at work/school?
• How often do you take a break from doing something?
• is it important to take breaks?
• Do you prefer to have one long break or multiple short breaks?
• How popular is it to take a nap during a break in your culture?
• Do you like taking breaks when studying?

Art:

• Do you like art?
• Have you ever visited an art gallery?
• +Are there any in your city/town?
• Do you ever do any kind of art at home in your free time?
• Are there any pieces of art in your home?
• Did you study art in school?

Pens & pencils:

• How often do you write with a pen or pencil?
• Do you prefer writing with a pen or pencil?
• Did you start writing in pen or with a pencil first?
• When was the last time you bought a new pen or pencil?
• Have you ever received a pen or pencil as a gift from somebody?
• Have you ever bought somebody a pen or pencil as a gift?