Describe something important you learned outside school or college.
This test has appeared in 8 seasons · 3 reported by test takers
- Jan–Apr/2026
- Sep–Dec/2025
- May–Aug/2025
- Jan–Apr/2025
- Sep–Dec/2023
- May–Aug/2023
- Jan–Apr/2023
- Sep–Dec/2022
Reported by test takers Forecast only
Part 1
The examiner asks about you and two familiar topics. About 4–5 minutes.
Work or study
- Do you work, or are you a student? (Why?)
- Why did you choose that job or that subject? (Tell me more about that.)
- What do you enjoy most about it? (Why?)
- Is there anything you would like to change about it? (Why?)
Food
- What kind of food do you eat most often? (Tell me more about that.)
- What is your favourite dish? (Tell me more about that.)
- Is there any food you didn't like as a child but enjoy now? (Why is that?)
- Do you think people in your country eat more healthily now than in the past? (Why is that?)
Bags
- Do you usually carry a bag? (Why is that?)
- What do you normally keep in your bag? (Tell me more about that.)
- What kind of bag did you use when you were at school? (Tell me more about that.)
- Would you spend a lot of money on a bag? (Why is that?)
Part 2
One minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes.
Describe something important you learned outside school or college.
You should say:
- what you learned
- when and where you learned it
- who you learned it from
and explain why it is important to you.
Follow-up question after your talk: Should schools teach this as well? / Who taught you that?
Part 3
A broader, more abstract discussion of the Part 2 topic. About 4–5 minutes.
learning outside the classroom
- Can you explain why some important skills are never taught at school?
- In general, which practical skills do young people learn at home?
- How would you contrast knowledge from books with knowledge from experience?
schools and life skills
- Can you explain why many young adults leave school without basic life skills?
- What could be done about life skills that schools spend almost no time on?
- Can you speculate on how much of people's learning will happen online in the future?
Test titles follow test-taker reports and each season's forecasts — IELTS does not publish its papers. "Reported" means someone reported meeting this topic in a dated test. The questions are written by us in the format of the real test.