Ielts speaking Actual Tests and Suggested Answers

14.1.
 
What is your opinion of modern education (in school)?
What I think about modern education… I guess people are incorporating a lot of 
technology in the classroom. Like at a university right now, you can see that teachers, 
or should I say lecturers, deliver their lessons using computers and projectors, and 
students study with the slides given by their educators. Students may also submit their 
work online instead of handing it in directly like before, and some of them study with e-
books and mobile applications instead of carrying around textbooks all day long. This 
approach to teaching will certainly filter down to secondary school education, too.
14.2.
 
What school subjects do you think are most important (in primary school 
or high school)? (Why are they important?)
I would say Literacy and Math, for primary school children. They help youngsters form 
their basic skills and ability like calculating, analyzing or the ability to express their 

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thoughts. Without these two, children may have trouble communicating and thinking 
logically. Literacy and Math are like the foundation of everything, I think.
14.3. What school subject do you think will be the most useful in adult life (or, 
most useful for society)?
Literacy, as in teaching people how to think critically, how to write a proper piece of 
writing and how to express their thoughts. Subjects like Mathematics, well its advanced 
version only, or Physics or Chemistry will rarely be applied in life unless you really 
understand them and you do some kind of job related to them. Literacy, however, 
assists people in both their normal life and their professional one, particularly in the 
way they speak, write, and think. That’s why I believe literacy is the subject that will be 
of prime importance to people throughout their lives.
14.4. Which subjects do you think should be optional and which should be 
compulsory?
I believe subjects requiring a bit of natural ability should be optional, as not everyone 
can show aptitude for things like music and art. Compulsory subjects should be natural 
sciences and some part of literature which teaches writing or expressing ideas, as these 
can help students form skills like critical thinking, calculating, or analyzing. In some 
countries, languages should be compulsory too, for example some minorities will need 
to learn a second language to be able to communicate with the world.
14.5. What are the advantages of studying computing in high school?
Studying computing in high school is really advantageous to students. Technology, or - 
well in this case - the computer, is used almost everywhere nowadays you know, you 
can see it being a part of almost everything. This is why learning computing means 
giving students a chance to catch up with what’s going on in the world. Computing 
would also assist them in their future careers as more and more jobs nowadays require 
the use of computers.
14.6. In the west, (upper) high school students are allowed to choose many of the 
subjects they study. Do you think that would be a good idea?

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It depends. This would be a good idea for those who already know what they want to 
do in the future, as they could easily choose the subjects that are necessary to realize 
their dreams. Also, leaving students to choose the subjects they study means letting 
them have a say in deciding their future from an early age, which can boost their 
independence and determination. However, this would cause problems to those who
don’t know yet what they want to do in the future, thus stopping them from studying 
their potential favorite or important subjects.
14.7. How are educational priorities today different from those in the past?
In modern society, a higher priority is placed on the education of children than in the 
past. This is simply, in my opinion, a recognition that we now live in a world of work in 
which specialist knowledge and skills are essential for many jobs. So, education now 
gives more priority to the ability to use technology. Students today must be both 
literate and computer-literate.
14.8. What is your opinion on the way languages are taught in schools?
Too passive, I think. Most schools in our country focus too much on teaching grammar 
and vocabulary, thus neglecting speaking, listening and writing. Except for those from 
specialized schools, most students often speak with no intonation, their pronunciation 
of each sound is rarely fully correct, and it’s hard for them to strike up a conversation 
with a foreigner in English due to their poor speaking and listening skills. Most of them 
can hardly come up with a decent piece of writing either.
14.9. What changes do you think will happen in the classroom in the near future?
Studying in the future may include a lot of technology. Right now education technology 
is already on the rise, and I think it’s going to be everywhere in years to come. The role 
of the teacher may be minimized, and in some places the physical classroom may also 
be eliminated and replaced by the virtual one.
VOCABULARY
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