Family Vocabulary (IELTS)

IELTS-Style Speaking Test Questions and Answers

Family Vocabulary

It’s important to learn a good range of family vocabulary as there’s a high chance you’ll get questions about your family in Part 1 of the IELTS Speaking test.

The topic could also come up in Parts 2 and 3 as well as being the subject of the Writing, Listening, or Reading tests.

Here are a few things you could be asked about:

Facts about your family

Details of family relationships

Family activities & celebrations

A family member you admire

Changes in family roles

The generation gap

Parental responsibility

The future of the family

Part 1

1) How many people are there in your immediate family?

Four people make up my immediate family – my dad, my sister, and my two brothers. They all live close to me except for my youngest brother who moved away because of his work.

2) Do you get along well with your family?

Most definitely. I used to argue with my brothers and sister a lot when we were. It was sibling rivalry I guess but we get on well now.

3) Which member of your family are you closest to?

I’d have to say my sister but we’re a close-knit family and we all get along just great.

4) How much time do you spend with your family?

We used to go to my parent’s house for Sunday tea every few weeks but since my mother died, my oldest brother, my sister, and I take turns spending time supporting our father. This means that we don’t all get together so often. However, we still have family gatherings on special occasions.

5) When did you last have a family party?

Just a few weeks ago. It was for my father’s birthday. We had a get-together at his house, and we all shared cakes and snacks.

Part 2

Describe a family celebration that you attended.

You should say:

where this celebration was held

why was it held

what you did at the event

and explain what you enjoyed about the celebration.

One of the most memorable family events of recent years was my father’s 80th birthday. We wanted to have a special celebration for him but decided to keep it a secret to surprise him on the day.

My youngest brother, who lives two and a half hours' drive away from the rest of my immediate family, told Dad that he’d come down with his family so we could all go out for a meal together. What we did was invite members of our extended family to come as well without my father knowing. Most of them live a long way away, like in London or Scotland, so we don’t see them very often. They came down the day before and stayed in local hotels.

There was a lot to arrange and it was difficult to sort everything without Dad guessing what we were up to. There were several times when I thought he must know something was going on but was just playing along and pretending he didn’t.

We booked a table at a local restaurant and on that day, my sister decorated it with balloons and other party bits and pieces. It looked amazing. It was a very long table as in the end there were more than twenty family members at the meal. So, as well as my parents and my siblings, there were also nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I think it was probably the most significant family gathering we’d ever had.

We arranged for Dad and Mum to be the last to arrive so that everyone else could be seated at the table waiting for them. I’ll never forget Dad’s face when he walked into the restaurant. He hadn’t guessed what we were arranging and it was a real surprise to him to see everyone there.

We had a lovely meal together but the best thing was spending time with all our relatives. It made me realize what a close-knit family we are even though we don’t see each other very often. I think that Dad enjoyed it too and I hope it showed him how much he means to our whole family.

Part 3

1) In what ways can people in a family be similar to each other?

Both immediate and extended family members often have a lot of similarities. For example, they can look alike. My brother Steve is the spitting image of our cousin, Peter, while my sister takes after our mother in the way she both looks and talks.

Also, relatives may be good at the same things or do similar types of work. Most of my extended family are either teachers or scientists.

Specific interests often run in the family. In my family, we all love the outdoors and nature, particularly the older generation. Younger family members do like to go out walking as well but now that my nieces and nephews are all teenagers, they spend a lot of time on their electronic gadgets.

The final way that people in a family can be alike is in their personality, and especially in their sense of humor.

2) In terms of personality, are people influenced more by their family or by their friends?

In my opinion, personality is mostly hereditary. I think that the main traits of a person’s character are passed down from parents to their offspring. Some people are more like their fathers, others more like their mothers but most of us can recognize the characteristics of both parents in our personalities. For example, I’m quiet like my dad and have my mum’s creativity.

How children are raised also affects the way they think, feel and behave as they grow up. Kids from a happy, stable family background generally have a normal personality. However, an unhappy childhood, which may include some form of abuse, will affect a child’s mental development and character later in life.

This suggests that personality can change so it’s probably true that the people we spend time with as friends and colleagues also influence the way we think, feel and behave. However, I don’t think that they alter our deepest character.

So in conclusion, I’d say that an understanding of personality is quite complex and involves both hereditary and social factors.

3) How has the role of elderly people in the family changed in recent times?

In the past, the older generation was highly respected in most cultures. They were considered to be wise because of all the things they’d learned in their long lives. Elderly family members would have been family leaders, teachers, and spiritual guides to the younger generation. They helped to maintain the structure and stability of the family.

One of their most important roles was to pass on the old traditions and maintain traditional culture. The other vital job they did, especially the grandmothers, was to provide childcare for their grandchildren. They would certainly have played an important role in their upbringing.

In my country, most of this changed when it became normal for adult children to move away to study and get better jobs. Family ties are no longer so strong and elderly people aren’t respected as they once were. Grandparents aren’t the people we usually go to for advice these days. To be honest, many elderly people don’t have a significant role in most families anymore. However, many do still look after the grandchildren if they live close to them.