IELTS Speaking Practice: Art in Education

Yes, I enjoyed art classes in school. I found them relaxing and a nice break from more academic subjects. I particularly liked painting and working with colours.

Useful language:a nice break fromworking with colours

Mostly painting and drawing, but we also did pottery and made collages from magazines. In my last year, I helped design posters for the school play.

Useful language:potterycollages

Yes, because it develops creativity and lets students express themselves in a different way. Not every student shines in maths or languages, and art gives them a chance to succeed too.

Useful language:express themselvesshines in

Yes, I visit galleries a few times a year. The last one was a modern art exhibition, and although I didn’t understand everything, it made me think about art in a new way.

Useful language:exhibitionin a new way

I really like Van Gogh. His paintings are full of energy and emotion, and the thick brushstrokes and bright colours make even simple scenes look alive.

Useful language:full of energybrushstrokes

Not very often, unfortunately. I sketch occasionally when I travel, and I sometimes do digital drawing on my tablet to relax in the evenings.

Useful language:sketchto relax

I think everyone can be creative with practice, even if some people have more natural talent. Skills like drawing can definitely be learned — it’s more about patience than magic.

Useful language:with practicenatural talent

A growing role. Students can use drawing apps, design software and even 3D printers. It opens up new forms of art, though I think traditional skills like drawing by hand are still important.

Useful language:opens up new formsby hand

I’d like to talk about a large mural my class painted on a wall of our school when I was about fourteen.

The project was to design and paint a mural for the wall next to the school entrance, which had been plain grey for years. The theme was ‘our community’, so our design included the local market, the river, people of different ages and the school itself.

We did it in the spring term of my second year of secondary school. It took about six weeks — first we planned the design in art lessons, then we painted after school and on two Saturdays. There were around twenty students involved, supervised by our art teacher, and some parents even came to help with the ladders.

As for how I felt, I was a bit nervous at the start, because I didn’t think I was a particularly good painter, and the wall was huge. But my job was to paint the river section, and once I got started, I really enjoyed it. Working together made it feel less like schoolwork and more like a shared adventure.

It was memorable mainly because of the teamwork and the sense of accomplishment. When we finished, the head teacher organised a small ceremony, and the local newspaper even took a photo. The mural is still there today, and every time I walk past the school I feel proud that I contributed to something so visible and lasting.

Useful language:plain greythe theme wassupervised bya shared adventuresense of accomplishmentvisible and lasting

Art education develops creativity, observation and fine motor skills, but also emotional skills — it gives students a way to express feelings they might not put into words. Group projects build teamwork, and learning to accept feedback on creative work builds resilience. It also introduces students to different cultures and histories.

Useful language:fine motor skillsput into wordsbuild resilience

I think it should be compulsory, at least until the mid-teenage years. Creativity is valuable in every career, and many students only discover a talent for art when they’re required to try it. After that, students could choose whether to continue it in more depth.

Useful language:at least untildiscover a talentin more depth

Art improves visual thinking, which helps in geometry, science diagrams and design. It also teaches patience, attention to detail and creative problem-solving. Studying art history connects naturally with history and literature, giving students a richer understanding of different periods.

Useful language:visual thinkingattention to detaila richer understanding

It has moved from copying techniques towards encouraging self-expression and experimentation. Schools now include digital art, photography and design, and there’s more focus on the process and ideas behind a piece rather than just technical skill.

Useful language:self-expressionexperimentationthe process and ideas

Creativity is increasingly valuable, because routine tasks are being automated while employers need people who can generate new ideas and solve unfamiliar problems. It’s important not only in creative industries but also in marketing, engineering and business strategy.

Useful language:generate new ideasunfamiliar problems

Teachers could use art-based projects across the curriculum — for instance, illustrating scientific processes, designing infographics in geography, or creating comics to retell historical events. Combining art with technology, as in STEAM programmes, is another effective approach.

Useful language:across the curriculuminfographicsSTEAM programmes

In my opinion, not really. Art is often the first subject to lose time and funding when schools focus on exam results in core subjects. Given how important creativity is for the future, I think schools should give it more status.

Useful language:lose time and fundingcore subjectsgive it more status