IELTS Speaking: STEM Education

Yes, mostly. I especially liked the practical lessons in the lab, because doing experiments made the theories much easier to understand than just reading the textbook.

Useful language:practical lessonseasier to understand

Chemistry. I loved seeing reactions happen — colours changing, things fizzing — and our teacher was brilliant at explaining why they happened.

Useful language:fizzingbrilliant at explaining

Definitely. We use it constantly without noticing — managing a budget, comparing prices, cooking, or working out how long a journey will take.

Useful language:without noticingworking out

Yes, once in secondary school. My team built a small water filter from sand and charcoal, and we came third. It was a great way to learn by doing.

Useful language:came thirdlearn by doing

Yes, there are a few well-known ones, and their stories are taught at school. I find it inspiring that people from ordinary backgrounds made discoveries that changed the world.

Useful language:well-knowninspiring

All day, really — my phone for messages and navigation, my laptop for studying, and apps for banking and shopping. It’s hard to imagine a day without it.

Useful language:hard to imagine

I think they’re more comfortable with it rather than necessarily more interested. They grow up with tablets, so using technology is second nature, but fewer of them seem curious about how it actually works.

Useful language:second naturecurious about

I’d say the internet. It changed how we work, learn, shop and communicate, and it made huge amounts of information available to almost anyone.

Useful language:available to almost anyone

I’d like to describe a chemistry experiment I watched at a university open day when I was about sixteen.

The experiment was about how temperature affects materials. A lecturer poured liquid nitrogen, which is around minus 196 degrees Celsius, into a container and then dipped a rose and a rubber ball into it. When she took the rose out and squeezed it, it shattered into tiny pieces like glass, and when she threw the frozen ball on the floor, it broke apart instead of bouncing.

It took place in a large lecture theatre at a university in my city, during an open day for secondary school students who were thinking about studying science. There were about a hundred students there, and the lecturer was assisted by two of her PhD students, who explained the safety precautions and even let a few volunteers — including me — help with the demonstration, wearing special gloves and goggles.

It was memorable for several reasons. First, it was genuinely spectacular, and the whole room gasped when the rose shattered. Second, the lecturer explained the science behind it in a really clear way — how extreme cold makes flexible materials brittle — so it wasn’t just a show. And finally, taking part myself made me feel like a real scientist for a moment. That day definitely increased my interest in chemistry, and it showed me how exciting science can be when it’s taught in a hands-on way.

Useful language:shatteredsafety precautionsthe science behind itbrittlehands-on

The emphasis has grown significantly. Governments and schools now see STEM as essential for economic competitiveness, so there are more coding classes, robotics clubs and science scholarships. Many schools have also moved towards more practical, project-based teaching, and there’s more effort to attract girls into these subjects.

Useful language:economic competitivenessproject-based teachingattract girls

If schools focus too much on STEM, subjects like art, music, history and languages may be neglected, even though they develop creativity, communication and critical thinking. Students who aren’t naturally strong in maths may feel less valued. And many real-world problems, like climate change, need both technical and social understanding.

Useful language:neglectedfeel less valuedtechnical and social understanding

Yes, in many countries women are still under-represented, especially in engineering and computer science. Part of the reason is stereotypes — girls are often encouraged towards other subjects from an early age. A lack of female role models and workplace cultures that aren’t very inclusive also discourage women from staying in these careers.

Useful language:under-representedstereotypesfemale role modelsinclusive

Connecting lessons to real life helps a lot — for example, using maths to plan a budget or physics to explain sports. Hands-on projects, games and small-group work let students learn at their own pace. Teachers should also praise effort and progress, so students don’t give up after their first mistakes.

Useful language:connecting lessons to real lifeat their own pacepraise effort

Governments should fund well-equipped labs and train enough qualified teachers, since many schools lack specialists. They can offer scholarships, support partnerships with technology companies, and run campaigns encouraging under-represented groups to study STEM.

Useful language:well-equipped labsqualified teacherspartnerships

They’ll create many new roles in areas like AI, renewable energy and biotechnology, while automating some routine jobs. As a result, workers will need to retrain more often, and skills like data analysis and digital literacy will be valuable in almost every industry.

Useful language:automatingretraindigital literacy

Yes, I think a basic understanding is important, in the same way that everyone learns basic maths. Coding teaches logical thinking and problem-solving, and understanding how technology works helps people use it wisely and recognise risks like data misuse. Not everyone needs to become a programmer, though.

Useful language:logical thinkinguse it wiselydata misuse