Education and schools: IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions & answers

Opening question

Warm-up: close to home

1. Cause and effect

   Why do some students do well at school while others struggle?

   2
   Answer it

   Get it scored
   Sample answerBand 8Main causeAnother causeEffect

   1. Main cause→
   2. Another cause→
   3. Effect

   Home background is probably the decisive factor. A child with a quiet place to study and parents who can help with homework starts with a huge advantage over one who's sharing a cramped room with three siblings. Learning styles matter too, because the conventional classroom rewards students who can sit still and absorb information by listening, which simply doesn't suit everyone. As a result, some perfectly capable children get labelled as weak early on, lose confidence and gradually stop trying, which turns the label into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

   the decisive factor

   the thing that most influences the result

   doesn't suit everyone

   is not right for all people

   a self-fulfilling prophecy

   a prediction that makes itself come true

   88 words · about 38 seconds spoken

Development: society

1. Compare

   How is education in your country different from how it was a generation ago?

   3
   Answer it

   Get it scored
   Sample answerBand 8ThenNowWhy it changed

   1. Then→
   2. Now→
   3. Why it changed

   When my parents were at school, learning was largely a matter of memorising facts and reciting them back, and teachers were figures of absolute authority whom nobody dared question. Today there's far more emphasis on group work, presentations and project-based learning, and students are actively encouraged to ask questions and voice their opinions. That shift came about partly because employers complained that graduates couldn't think independently or collaborate, and partly because the internet made rote learning seem rather pointless when any fact is a quick search away.

   voice their opinions

   say what they think

   rote learning

   learning by repetition without understanding

   a quick search away

   easy to find online in seconds

   87 words · about 38 seconds spoken

2. Opinion

   Do you think exams are a fair way to measure ability?

   4
   Answer it

   Get it scored
   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

   1. My view→
   2. Why→
   3. Example→
   4. But

   Only up to a point, in my opinion. An exam measures how well you perform on one particular day under considerable pressure, which isn't quite the same thing as ability. Nerves, illness or a bad night's sleep can easily distort the result. I know people who were brilliant at coursework and discussions but went to pieces in the exam hall, and their grades never reflected what they could actually do. Exams do have one big advantage, though, which is that everyone sits the same paper under the same conditions, so they're much harder to manipulate than continuous assessment.

   up to a point

   partly but not completely

   went to pieces

   lost control because of stress

   under the same conditions

   in exactly the same situation as others

   98 words · about 43 seconds spoken

3. Pros and cons

   What are the benefits and drawbacks of studying online rather than in a classroom?

   5
   Answer it

   Get it scored
   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

   1. Upside→
   2. Downside→
   3. On balance

   The obvious benefit is flexibility. People can fit courses around a job or family commitments, and someone in a remote village can access the same lectures as a student in the capital. On the other hand, it demands a great deal of self-discipline, and many learners drift away once the initial enthusiasm wears off. You also miss out on the informal conversations with classmates, which are often where real understanding happens. All things considered, online study suits motivated adults rather well, but for younger learners I'd still favour a physical classroom.

   the initial enthusiasm wears off

   the early excitement fades

   miss out on

   fail to experience something good

   All things considered

   after thinking about everything

   91 words · about 40 seconds spoken

Depth: the abstract and the future

1. Opinion

   Should governments spend more on education than on anything else?

   6
   Answer it

   Get it scored
   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

   1. My view→
   2. Why→
   3. Example→
   4. But

   I'd be inclined to say yes, or at least that education should be close to the top of the list. It's one of the few investments that pays for itself, since a better educated population tends to be healthier, more productive and less likely to depend on state support. A number of countries that were relatively poor a few decades ago managed to transform their economies, at least in part, by pouring resources into schools and universities. Even so, it can't be an absolute rule. If hospitals are collapsing or people can't afford food, those needs obviously come first, and children can't learn properly when they're hungry or unwell anyway.

   pays for itself

   earns back more than it costs

   pouring resources into

   investing heavily in

   those needs obviously come first

   those needs clearly take priority

   110 words · about 48 seconds spoken

2. The future

   How do you think schools will change as technology develops?

   7
   Answer it

   Get it scored
   Sample answerBand 8PredictionBecauseBut

   1. Prediction→
   2. Because→
   3. But

   My guess is that lessons will become far more personalised, with software adjusting the pace and difficulty of tasks to each individual pupil. That kind of tailoring is impossible for one teacher with thirty children, but adaptive software can already spot exactly where a student keeps going wrong. What I don't expect to change is the need for a human being at the front of the room. Schools aren't just about delivering content. They're also where children learn to get along with others, and no screen can teach that.

   My guess is that

   I predict that

   keeps going wrong

   repeatedly makes mistakes

   get along with others

   have friendly relationships with people

   89 words · about 39 seconds spoken

3. What if

   If every child had a private tutor, would education improve?

   8
   Answer it

   Get it scored
   Sample answerBand 8If soResultWider effect

   1. If so→
   2. Result→
   3. Wider effect

   In purely academic terms, I imagine it would, because one-to-one teaching is about the most effective method there is. A tutor can spot a misunderstanding the moment it appears and fix it before it snowballs. The catch is that children might become overly reliant on having someone guide them through every problem, and they'd lose the chance to wrestle with something on their own, which is how resilience is built. Socially, it could also weaken schools as shared spaces, where children from very different backgrounds learn side by side and pick up skills that no tutor could ever provide.

   before it snowballs

   before it grows into a bigger problem

   overly reliant on

   depending too much on

   side by side

   together, next to each other

   99 words · about 43 seconds spoken

4. Pros and cons

   Is it more important for schools to teach knowledge or to teach children how to think?

   9
   Answer it

   Get it scored
   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

   1. Upside→
   2. Downside→
   3. On balance

   The case for teaching thinking is strong. Facts can be looked up in seconds nowadays, whereas the ability to weigh evidence, question assumptions and solve unfamiliar problems is what makes someone genuinely capable. The trouble is that you can't think critically in a vacuum. Without a solid foundation of knowledge, there's nothing to think about, and students end up with confident opinions built on very little. So I'd say it's a false choice. Good teaching uses knowledge as the raw material for thinking, and the two develop together.

   in a vacuum

   without any connection to anything else

   a false choice

   a choice between things that are not really opposites

   the raw material for

   the basic substance something is made from

   88 words · about 38 seconds spoken