IELTS Speaking Practice: Home and Accommodation

I live in a two-bedroom flat on the fourth floor of a fairly modern building. It's in a quiet residential area, but it's only a ten-minute walk to the city centre, so it's really convenient.

Useful language:residential areaconvenient

Definitely the living room. It's open-plan, so it's connected to the kitchen, and it gets sunlight for most of the day. It's where I relax in the evenings, and it's also where I study, because the big table by the window is perfect for spreading out my books.

Useful language:open-planspreading out

From the living room I can see a small park with a children's playground, and in the distance a few tower blocks. It's not a spectacular view, but having some greenery to look at makes a real difference, especially in spring.

Useful language:in the distancegreenery

At the moment I share the flat with a friend from university. We get on really well, and splitting the rent and bills makes it much more affordable than living alone.

Useful language:get on wellsplitting the rent

I'd love a bit more storage space. The bedrooms are quite small, so things tend to get cluttered. If it were up to me, I'd also add a balcony, because I miss having somewhere to sit outside.

Useful language:storage spacecluttered

Probably not. It suits my lifestyle right now, but when I finish my studies I'd like to move closer to wherever I end up working, and ideally get a place of my own.

Useful language:suits my lifestylea place of my own

I'd like a small house with a garden, maybe on the edge of a city, so I have some space and nature but can still get into the centre easily. A home office would be a priority too, since so many jobs are partly remote now.

Useful language:on the edge ofhome office

I'd like to describe my aunt's house, which is in a small village in the countryside, about an hour from where I live. I've been visiting it since I was a child, but the visit I remember best was last summer, when I stayed there for a week.

It's an old stone farmhouse that she and her husband renovated about ten years ago. From the outside it looks quite traditional, with thick walls, wooden shutters and a red tiled roof, but inside it's surprisingly modern. They knocked down several walls to create a huge open-plan kitchen and living area with exposed wooden beams and a big fireplace. The best feature, though, is the garden. It's full of fruit trees and vegetables, and there's a long table under a vine where we ate almost every meal.

There are a few reasons why I like it so much. First of all, it has a wonderful atmosphere. It feels warm and lived-in, full of books, plants and photographs, rather than like a show home. Secondly, it's incredibly peaceful. You wake up to the sound of birds instead of traffic. And I think it also says a lot about my aunt and uncle: they did most of the renovation themselves, so every corner has a story behind it.

It actually made me rethink what I want from a home. Rather than something big or luxurious, I'd like a place that feels personal and is connected to nature, just like theirs.

Useful language:renovatedexposed wooden beamslived-inshow homea story behind it

Mainly because house prices have risen much faster than salaries. In major cities, demand is very high, since that's where the jobs are, but the supply of new housing hasn't kept up. On top of that, buyers usually need a large deposit, which is very hard to save while paying high rent. So many young people are stuck renting for much longer than their parents did.

Useful language:kept updepositstuck renting

It depends on your stage of life. Renting gives you flexibility: you can move for a job without the stress of selling a property, and you're not responsible for repairs. Buying, on the other hand, is a long-term investment and gives you security and freedom to make the place your own. For young people who might move cities, renting often makes more sense, while buying suits people who want to settle down.

Useful language:flexibilitylong-term investmentsettle down

Homes have become smaller in cities but much better equipped. My grandparents grew up in large houses shared by three generations, with very basic kitchens and no central heating. Today, people live in smaller households, often just one or two people, but homes are full of technology, from dishwashers to smart thermostats. The way we use space has changed too: open-plan living and home offices were rare back then.

Useful language:better equippedhouseholdssmart thermostats

Yes, I think they have a responsibility to. When housing costs are too high, key workers like nurses and teachers can't afford to live near where they work, which affects everyone. Governments can build social housing directly, or require private developers to include a proportion of affordable homes in new projects. The challenge is doing it quickly enough and in the right locations.

Useful language:key workerssocial housinga proportion of

Quite a lot, I'd say. Natural light and some green space have been shown to improve people's mood and wellbeing, while cramped, dark homes can be stressful. Layout matters too: open-plan spaces encourage families to spend time together, but they can make it hard to find privacy or work quietly, which became very obvious when lots of people started working from home.

Useful language:wellbeingcrampedprivacy

I think so, especially in expensive cities. Co-living, where people have a private room but share kitchens and lounges, makes housing more affordable and can reduce loneliness, which is a growing problem among young people in cities. That said, I doubt it will suit everyone in the long term. Most people still want their own space once they start a family.

Useful language:co-livingreduce lonelinessin the long term