IELTS Speaking · Part 3
Reading and learning: IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions
Last updated 2 September 2026
In short
Discussion questions
The examiner usually opens the discussion with: "What kinds of things do people in your country most enjoy reading?", then works up from concrete to abstract.
Warm-up (concrete)
Why do you think some people read far more than others?
Cause & effect
Development (societal)
How have people's reading habits changed since the arrival of smartphones?
ComparisonDo you think reading for pleasure is as important as reading for study?
OpinionWhat are the advantages and disadvantages of learning from books rather than from experience?
EvaluationShould schools do more to encourage a lifelong love of reading?
Opinion
Depth (abstract & hypothetical)
How might the way people read change over the next twenty years?
SpeculationIf printed books disappeared completely, what would be lost?
HypothesisDo you think a society that reads a lot is necessarily a wiser one?
Evaluation
Useful vocabulary for this theme
Band 7+ language for discussing reading and learning.
- an avid reader
- someone who reads a great deal and enthusiastically
- “I've always been an avid reader, so I get through a couple of books a month.”
- broaden your horizons
- widen your knowledge, experience or outlook
- “Reading widely has really helped me broaden my horizons.”
- get to grips with
- begin to understand something difficult
- “It took me a while to get to grips with academic texts in English.”
- a page-turner
- a book so gripping you cannot put it down
- “The last novel I read was a real page-turner and I finished it overnight.”
- lifelong learning
- continuing to learn throughout your whole life
- “I'm a big believer in lifelong learning, so I take a new course every year.”