Monologues in Speaking Tests at the Upper Intermediate level are usually a few minutes (4, 6) and before that you may be given 10 minutes to think about what you want to say – sometimes you can take notes, or do an outline to bring into the exam room, but you can't read them, of course. At other times, they give you the outline (the topic with 3 points to mention), so you don't have to brainstorm on ideas to tackle . These ideas could be jumbled, so before dealing with them, remember to arrange them in the nicest (most logical) order possible.
Check out our Communicative Strategies section for ideas on this and on textual structure. Remember to give a good beginning, with no grammar mistakes – a good intro for the topic. If you cannot think of one, present the outline of the points you are going to address.
I'm adding some ideas to the topics, so you can pick some to practice. Remember to time yourself (e.g. 3 points in 4 minutes).
Review: Can you describe people? In the Flatsharing Dialogues you will find some vocabulary and useful structures for this.
Bullfights / Bullfighting (with audio)
*Cultural or against animal rights?
Beauty
*Fashion and Cosmetics
*Cosmetic surgery (with audio)
This page in under construction! :)
Work / Employment
*Unemployment
*Co-ops: cooperatives
*Volunteer work: charities/NGOs (in Britain what we call in Spain "NGOs" are called "charities", too) - NGO = Non-governmental organizations
*Working to live or living to work?
*Alternative Work Arrangements: Teleworking, Flexible working: teleworking, flexible timetables, etc.
*Work and Gender Issues or Motherhood/Fatherhood
*Meaningful work
Education
*Education in Spain nowadays
*Private and state-run education
*The ICT Question
*Adult education: university, Open Universities, EOI state-run language teaching
*E-learning
*Lifelong learning
Health
*Education in Spain nowadays
*Privately-funded and state-run education (and private schools funded with public money)
*Alternative medicine vs standard healthcare services
Housing in Spain
*Campaigns for good quality housing at reasonable prices
*Social issues linked to housing: living with parents forever, the homeless, flatsharing, buying/renting
*The market: land speculation, prices of property (real estate), prices of rents
*Types of housing options
*Banking policies: mortgages and loans
*Government policies to support housing for all
The Environment
*problems
*measures
*examples in Spain
*consciousness raising on green matters
Social Issues – your ideology won't be assessed, just your English and your language skills in general
Gender Issues – Talk about the situation of women in your country.
[Similar topics: Social advancements in Spain]
*How roles have changed for men and women
*Job opportunities and salaries
*Education
*Violence against women (battered women, ill-treatment, abuse)
*Motherhood
*Housework
*Types of family units
*Women's lifestyles
Immigration Issues – in Spain
*Origin of immigrants
*Reasons for their coming to your country
*Problems immigrants face
*Support they find
*Stereotypes about immigrants in your country
*Clashes among the different communities in Spain
*Collaboration, integration
Homelessness / Being Homeless / Homeless People
*Why people are homeless: family matters, debts, a deep sense of failure and self-destruction, death of ones loved ones, mental illness, unemployment, poverty...
*What's their life like: where you find them, what they are doing when you see them..., places they can go to (to spend the night or find some shelter, to get a proper meal, to get some clothes, social assistance)
*Support/Assistance in your country: La Farola newspaper...
Technology – Technological advancements - ICTs /áisitiis/ – Information and Communication Technologies
*ICTs, blogs, email, the Net, social networks, forums, websites
*As applied in lifelong learning
*Daily life gadgets: mobiles, DVD players, mp3 players, etc.
Leisure Issues
Free Time: activities
Hobbies and Passions
Holidays: In the past, only the wealthy could go on holidays. Nowadays everybody does. Speak about:
-the need of holidays in today's labor/labour system
-holiday periods in your country
-tourism and industry
-common destinations in your country (national, international)
Becoming Independent – Leaving one's parents' home.
*Pros and cons / Advantages and Disadvantages / Consequences and Drawbacks
*Average age to leave the parents' home in your country
*Becoming independent and the Housing market
*When things go wrong and you need to go back
*Housing and lifestyles: flatsharing, squatting, traveling abroad...
*How staying affects your relationship with your parents and your personal relations.
Violence
*biological, cultural?
*wars
*gender violence
*child abuse
*racism
*poverty
*hooligans
*cruelty to animals
*polluting the earth
*fixing the world
Car accidents
*The news, driving and drinking
*consciousness awareness campaigns in your country
*state of the roads
*speeding (speed limits), and other crimes (rules)
More topics:
The Young and the Elderly
The Generation Gap
The Younger Generation
Middle-Aged People
Children
Tourism in your city: what to do, etc.
Places worthwhile visiting in your country
Hypothetical situations:
A world with no electricity
What would you do if you won the lottery?
What would you be like if you were a different sex?
What will you be like in 20 years, do you think?