Reading and learning: IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions & answers

Opening question

Warm-up: close to home

1. Cause and effect

   Why do you think some people read far more than others?

   2
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   Sample answerBand 8Main causeAnother causeEffect

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

   Upbringing probably plays the biggest part. Children who grow up surrounded by books, with parents who read to them at bedtime, tend to see reading as a natural pleasure rather than a chore. Temperament comes into it as well, since some people are simply more comfortable sitting still with their own thoughts, while others crave constant stimulation. The result is that the gap widens over time, because keen readers build up vocabulary and stamina, which makes every new book easier, whereas reluctant readers find it more and more of an uphill struggle.

   rather than a chore

   as something enjoyable, not an unpleasant task

   comes into it as well

   is also a factor

   an uphill struggle

   something that stays difficult and needs great effort

   92 words · about 40 seconds spoken

Development: society

1. Compare

   How have people's reading habits changed since the arrival of smartphones?

   3
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   Sample answerBand 8ThenNowWhy it changed

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

   Before smartphones, reading tended to happen in long, uninterrupted stretches, whether it was a newspaper over breakfast or a novel before bed. These days most of us read in fragments, skimming headlines, scrolling through threads and dipping in and out of articles, often without finishing them. Part of the reason is that the phone is always within arm's reach, so any spare moment gets filled. On top of that, apps are deliberately designed to keep us flicking from one thing to the next, which chips away at our ability to concentrate on a single text for any length of time.

   dipping in and out of

   reading parts of something casually, not all of it

   within arm's reach

   very close and easy to get

   chips away at

   gradually weakens or reduces

   100 words · about 43 seconds spoken

2. Opinion

   Do you think reading for pleasure is as important as reading for study?

   4
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   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

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

   I'd argue it's every bit as important, and possibly more so in the long run. When you read for enjoyment, you absorb language, ideas and other perspectives without even noticing, and because nobody's forcing you, the habit tends to stick. Take teenagers who devour fantasy series. They often end up with a richer vocabulary than classmates who only open a textbook the night before an exam. That said, reading for study teaches a different discipline, namely how to extract and weigh up information, so I wouldn't want one to replace the other.

   every bit as important

   just as important

   in the long run

   over a long period of time

   without even noticing

   without being aware of it

   92 words · about 40 seconds spoken

3. Pros and cons

   What are the advantages and disadvantages of learning from books rather than from experience?

   5
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   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

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

   The great strength of books is that they let you learn from other people's mistakes without having to make them yourself. You can cover centuries of knowledge in a few weeks, which no single lifetime of experience could match. The drawback is that book learning can stay rather abstract. Someone might read everything there is about managing people, yet freeze the first time they have to deal with a difficult colleague face to face. Ideally, the two work best in combination, with books providing the framework and experience testing it against reality.

   learn from other people's mistakes

   gain knowledge from errors that others have made

   face to face

   in person

   work best in combination

   are most effective when used together

   92 words · about 40 seconds spoken

4. Opinion

   Should schools do more to encourage a lifelong love of reading?

   6
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   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

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

   Absolutely, although I'm not convinced that more compulsory reading is the answer. If children associate books purely with tests and comprehension questions, they're likely to abandon them the moment they leave school. Some schools have had real success simply by giving pupils twenty minutes a day to read whatever they like, whether that's comics, sports magazines or novels, with no assessment attached. Of course, schools can only do so much. If there isn't a single book in the house and nobody at home reads, a teacher is swimming against the tide.

   the moment they leave school

   as soon as they finish school

   can only do so much

   have limited power to change things

   swimming against the tide

   trying to do something against strong opposition

   91 words · about 40 seconds spoken

Depth: the abstract and the future

1. The future

   How might the way people read change over the next twenty years?

   7
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   Sample answerBand 8PredictionBecauseBut

   1. Prediction→
   2. Because→
   3. But

   I suspect reading will become even more blended with other media, so a single text might come with audio, video and interactive elements built into it. Younger generations are growing up expecting everything to be multimedia, and publishers will naturally follow the demand. Audiobooks already seem to be eating into print sales, and that trend is only likely to accelerate. Still, I doubt the traditional book will vanish entirely. There will always be a sizeable group who value the quiet, focused experience of reading without interruption, and if anything that may turn into something of a luxury.

   eating into print sales

   gradually reducing how many printed books are sold

   only likely to accelerate

   will probably get faster

   something of a luxury

   rather a rare and special pleasure

   97 words · about 42 seconds spoken

2. What if

   If printed books disappeared completely, what would be lost?

   8
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   Sample answerBand 8If soResultWider effect

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

   If that happened, we'd lose something quite tangible, the physical pleasure of turning pages and seeing a well-thumbed collection on a shelf. More practically, we'd become entirely dependent on devices and file formats, and digital texts can be edited, withdrawn or simply become unreadable when the technology moves on. On a broader level, that could make our cultural record surprisingly fragile. A printed book can survive for centuries in a library, whereas there's no guarantee that today's e-books will still be accessible in fifty years.

   entirely dependent on

   relying completely on

   when the technology moves on

   when newer technology replaces the old

   there's no guarantee that

   it is not certain that

   85 words · about 37 seconds spoken

3. Pros and cons

   Do you think a society that reads a lot is necessarily a wiser one?

   9
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   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

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

   There's certainly a link. Widespread reading tends to produce people who can follow a complex argument, empathise with lives very different from their own and spot when they're being manipulated. Yet 'necessarily' is too strong. What matters is what people read and how critically they read it, because someone can consume endless material that simply confirms their prejudices. So reading creates the potential for wisdom rather than guaranteeing it. It's a necessary ingredient, but reflection and open-mindedness have to come with it.

   follow a complex argument

   understand reasoning with many steps

   confirms their prejudices

   supports the opinions they already hold

   a necessary ingredient

   an essential part of something

   82 words · about 36 seconds spoken