Speaking Part 1 · the eight high-frequency topic banks

Part 1 of the Speaking test is the warm-up: 4–5 minutes of personal questions about familiar topics. Most students under-prepare for Part 1 and over-prepare for Part 2 — backwards. Part 1 sets the examiner’s first impression, and a wobbly start is hard to recover from. This guide gives you the eight high-frequency topic banks: prepared frameworks, not memorised answers.

Bank 1 — Work / studies

Q: What do you do?

“I’m a [job]. I’ve been doing it for [time], and what I enjoy most is [specific].” — name the job once, then answer the unspoken “why” in the second sentence.

Q: Why did you choose this job?

Pick ONE concrete reason. Avoid “it pays well” or “my parents wanted me to” — examiners hear those daily and they don't show range.

Q: Do you like your job?

“Honestly, it’s mixed. I really enjoy [X], although [Y] can be challenging.” — show nuance with ‘although’, ‘though’, ‘on the whole’.

Bank 2 — Hometown

Q: Where are you from?

Name + one defining feature: “I’m from Ho Chi Minh City — it’s the largest city in Vietnam, and known for its street food.”

Q: What's special about your hometown?

Pick a sensory detail: food, weather, a specific landmark. “What I love is the cafe culture — every street has at least three.”

Q: Has it changed in your lifetime?

Use present perfect: “It’s changed enormously, particularly in the last ten years. The skyline has filled with towers, and the food scene has internationalised.”

Bank 3 — Daily routine / lifestyle

Q: Are you a morning or evening person?

Pick one and commit. “Definitely a morning person — I’m most productive between 6 and 9, and I tend to wind down by 8pm.”

Q: Do you like cooking?

“I do, although I’m more of an enthusiastic amateur than anything else. I cook most nights, mostly stir-fries and pasta.”

Q: What do you do in your free time?

Two hobbies, one specific. “I read a lot — mostly fiction — and I’ve recently started running, partly to balance the desk job.”

Bank 4 — Food

Q: Do you prefer cooking at home or eating out?

Both is a fine answer if you commit to a reason: “Honestly, both — cooking on weeknights for the routine, and eating out at weekends for the social side.”

Q: What's a traditional dish from your country?

Name + 1 ingredient + 1 cultural note. “Pho — a beef noodle soup that takes 8 hours of slow cooking. Most families have their own version of the broth.”

Q: Has your diet changed since you were a child?

Use present perfect: “Yes, quite a bit — I’ve cut down on red meat, and I’ve started cooking more from scratch.”

Bank 5 — Hobbies / interests

Q: Do you have any hobbies?

Pick one with concrete texture. “I play badminton with the same group every Wednesday — we’ve been at it for three years now.”

Q: How long have you been doing it?

Present perfect for ongoing: “I’ve been [X] for / since [time].” Don’t say ‘I do for X years’ — common error.

Q: Did you have hobbies as a child?

Past simple: “I used to [X], although I haven’t done it in years.” — ‘used to’ signals childhood habit cleanly.

Bank 6 — Travel

Q: Do you like to travel?

“I love it, although I don’t do as much as I’d like — work makes it tricky to take long trips.”

Q: What's your favourite kind of holiday?

Be specific: city break / beach / hiking / road-trip. Add one reason.

Q: Where would you like to go that you haven't been?

Use second conditional: “If I had the time and budget, I’d love to visit Iceland — the landscape looks unlike anywhere else.”

Bank 7 — Technology

Q: How often do you use the internet?

Honest answer + one specific use: “Constantly — for work mostly, but also for keeping up with news and family chats.”

Q: Do you think you use your phone too much?

Show self-awareness: “Probably — I’ve started leaving it in another room while I’m working, which has helped.”

Bank 8 — Family / friends

Q: Do you spend a lot of time with your family?

Frequency + one example: “Yes, particularly on weekends — we usually have lunch together on Sundays.”

Q: Are you closer to your friends or your family?

Don’t hedge into mush. Pick one, give a reason: “Family, mostly — they’ve known me longer and they tell me harder truths than friends do.”