IELTS Speaking Topic # 2- Study

1. Do you work or study?

· I’m currently a student at Queen’s University, Belfast.

2. What do you study?

· I study law because it’s a really well thought of degree and I’m hoping to pursue it as a career in the future.

3. Is it a popular subject at your university?

· Very popular, in fact it’s one of the most sought after courses. I think there are about 350 people reading law at Queen’s. I think lots of student’s parents want them to study law so they can get a good job after they graduate.

4. Do you enjoy studying it?

· It’s such a huge subject that there will always be parts you like and parts you don’t like. I find Human Rights fascinating because it can really make a difference to peoples’ lives. On the other hand, modules like Land Law and Equity are really boring.

5. Do you get along with your classmates?

· Yes, they are all really great. Most people like to socialise together in the evenings and this makes us a very tight group. If you know someone socially, it is much easier to work together in class.

6. If you could change to another subject, what would it be?

· I planned to study medicine, but then when I went on work experience I fainted at the first sight of blood, so definitely not that. I’m a real history buff and read books about World War 2 all the time, so I suppose it would have to be Modern History.

7. Do you plan to use the subject you are studying in the future?

· Yes, I’ve already started to apply for jobs as a lawyer. We normally have to secure a job a year before we graduate and then work very hard to get a high overall mark. After that, I will probably do a Masters in law to become a specialist in one particular area.

8. What is the most difficult part of your subject?

· You have to remember lots of legislation and cases and not only remember their names, but also how the affect each part of the law and how they interact with each other. Physically it can also be exhausting because we have to read very dense texts for a few hours every day.

9. What would like to study in the future?

· As I said before, my favourite type of law is Human Rights, so I would like to do a masters in International Human Rights Law. it’s right at the cutting edge of my field and there are also lots of very high profile cases in the media, so it’s really exciting and something I would like to become an expert in.

10. Why did you choose your university?

· Mostly because it is close to my hometown and most of my friends were going there. I kind of regret it now. It’s a great university, but because it’s so close to home it doesn’t give you much of a chance to experience new things and meet new people. If I were to choose again, I’d study abroad.

IELTS Speaking Topic # 3- Hometown

1. Where is your hometown?

· My hometown is on the south-east coast of Northern Ireland. It’s called Dundrum and it’s about 1 hour south of the capital city.

2. What do you like about it?

· It’s an area of outstanding natural beauty and for me, one of the most beautiful places of earth. It has everything; fantastic beaches, rolling mountains, dense forests and picturesque countryside.

3. What do you not like about it?

· It can be a little bit boring because it’s really tiny. There are only a few small shops and a couple of pubs and that’s it! In the summer, it’s OK because you can enjoy the outdoors but it would be nice to have a few more indoor facilities for the winter.

4. How often do you visit your hometown?

0. Not as much as I should. I only get to visit about once a year now to see my family because I’m really busy with work and it’s quite far away, but I hope to visit more in the future.

5. What’s the oldest part of your hometown?

· There is an old Norman castle that sits on top of the highest hill of the town. It’s a ruin now, but there are some breathtaking views from it and it’s easy to see why they chose that site for a castle, because you can see for miles around.

6. Do many people visit your town?

· Thousands of tourists visit every summer. They come from the capital city mostly to get away from the hustle and bustle and enjoy the peace and quiet. There are more and more international tourists visiting because lots of scenes from the TV show ‘Game of Thrones’ were shot just outside the village.

7. Is there any way your hometown could be made better?

· As I said before, the best thing about the town is its rural beauty and you can’t really improve that. If I had to say something, it would be to improve the roads, they are in a terrible state and cause a few car accidents every year.

8. How has your hometown changed over the years?

· Since I was a child the town has almost doubled in size and population. It used to consist of just one main street, but now there are many new housing developments and apartments next to the water. With all these new people moving in, it has changed the character of the town a little bit, people are not as friendly as before.

9. Are there good transportation links to your town?

· The public transport system consists of just buses that pass through the town on an hourly basis. One bus goes north to the capital city which is really convenient if you need to do any shopping and the other bus goes south where you can switch buses and go across the border to the Republic of Ireland, so you could say we have international transport links which is not bad for a little town like ours.

10. Would you recommend the town to people with children?

1. Yes and no. It is obviously a great place to bring up kids because there are so many things for them to do like swim in the sea, play in the forest and run on the beach. However, the good schools are pretty far away and I remember having to get up really early every morning to catch a bus to school that was 20 miles away.

IELTS Speaking Topic # 4- Your Home

1. Where do you live?

· I live on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, in a district called Tan Phu, about 15 km from the city centre.

2. Do you live in a house or a flat?

· I live in a 3 bedroom flat on the 11th floor of a big apartment building.

3. Who do you live with?

· I live there with my wife and little baby son.

4. Is it a big place?

· It’s pretty big for a flat. It has 3 large bedrooms, one for my wife and I and one for my son when he gets older. It also has a smaller bedroom that I use as a study and to store things in. The kitchen is small but it is part of a big open plan living room, so there is lots of space for the family.

5. What is your favourite room?

· That would have to be my study because it’s the only room that I can get peace and quiet in. When I’m in there my wife knows I’m working, so she leaves me alone and I can concentrate on my work.

6. How is your apartment decorated?

· I don’t like lots of over the top decoration, so I guess you would describe it as minimalist. The walls are all white and the furniture is also either white or black. There are very few ornaments or pictures because again, I like to keep things quite minimal and I hate clutter.

7. Is there anything you would like to change about your flat?

· I would like to have a big balcony. We have a sort of balcony at the moment, but we mainly use it for washing and drying clothes. It would be really nice to have some tables and chairs on a proper balcony, with maybe a few plants, so we could sit there in the evenings and relax.

8. Do you plan to live there for a long time?

· I really like where I live but it is really far from where I work in the centre of town. It takes around 45 minutes to drive there by motorbike and in the hot season and wet season it can be really uncomfortable, so we will consider moving closer to the centre in a year or so.

9. Do you have a garden?

· That’s the best part of where we live, we have a huge garden. It takes around 40 minutes to walk around it. It has a few play parks for the kids, a number of gyms and four small lakes. We are really lucky to have it and I try to go for a walk around it every day, if I have time.

10. Are there many amenities?

· Not really, because it is on the edge of town. If you want to go for a nice meal, use a swimming pool, go shopping or head out for a drink, you really have to drive for about 30 minutes. That’s the major drawback, but if you are organised and buy everything when you are in the centre of town, it’s not so bad.