IELTS Speaking Part 1: Dreams and ambition
The questions
Asked in this order, in one sitting.
- Do you often remember your dreams?
- What was your dream as a child?
- Are you interested in other people's dreams?
- Do you want to realise your dreams?
- Do you consider yourself ambitious?
How to answer it
The set slides between two meanings of 'dream' — what you see asleep and what you want from life — and candidates lose fluency at the switch. Notice which one each question means and mirror the word back. The childhood question wants a small story, not a job title.
What moves the band
- Sleep-dream lexis: vivid, I only remember fragments, it fades within minutes.
- Ambition lexis: driven, I'd rather be content than ambitious, I've got a five-year plan of sorts.
These are candidate recalls. These are questions reported by test-takers after their exams, not official or leaked IELTS material. Wording varies by test version, location and memory. Use them for timed practice — never as a prediction of what you will be asked.
Practise these next
Know the number. Now move it.
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