Describe a skill you learned from an older person.
This test has appeared in 5 seasons · 1 reported by test takers
- May–Aug/2025
- Jan–Apr/2025
- Sep–Dec/2022
- May–Aug/2022
- Jan–Apr/2022
Reported by test takers Forecast only
Part 1
The examiner asks about you and two familiar topics. About 4–5 minutes.
Your home
- Do you live in a house or an apartment? (Why?)
- Which room do you spend the most time in? (Why?)
- What would you like to change about your home? (Why?)
- Do you think you will live there for a long time? (Why not?)
Old buildings
- Are there many old buildings in your city? (Why is that?)
- Do you like visiting old buildings? (Why is that?)
- Do you think old buildings should be protected? (Why is that?)
- Would you like to live in an old building? (Why is that?)
Jewellery
- Do you wear any jewellery? (Why is that?)
- What kind of jewellery do people in your country like? (Tell me more about that.)
- Have you ever been given jewellery as a present? (Why is that?)
- Do you think jewellery is a good gift? (Why is that?)
Part 2
One minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes.
Describe a skill you learned from an older person.
You should say:
- what the skill is
- who taught it to you
- how you learned it
and explain how useful this skill is to you.
Follow-up question after your talk: Would you like to teach this skill to someone else? / How long did it take you to learn it?
Part 3
A broader, more abstract discussion of the Part 2 topic. About 4–5 minutes.
learning from older generations
- Can you explain why some skills are passed on inside families rather than taught at school?
- How would you compare learning a skill from an older person with learning it from a book or a video?
- In general, what can young people learn from people much older than themselves?
traditional skills in a modern world
- Can you explain why some traditional skills are disappearing?
- What could be done about crafts that very few young people want to learn?
- Can you speculate on how online videos will change the way traditional skills are passed on?
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.