IELTS Speaking: How to Talk about Holidays

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IELTS Speaking: How to Talk about Holidays

Surprisingly, one topic that seems to confuse a lot of my students is holidays.

A simple question like ‘What’s your favourite holiday?’ often produces some strange answers.

This is partly because in different cultures it can mean different things.

In this blog post we are going to look at three different topics to do with holiday so you will be able to successfully talk about them.

Here are some of my other IELTS speaking Model Answers: friends here, phones here, and school here.

Be sure to avoid the mistakes that most students make on writing by signing up for my exclusive IELTS Ebooks here on Patreon.

Dave

1. To have a holiday:

Meaning: time off from working or studying. This might be a day, a week or even longer.

e.g. What do you like to do when you go on a holiday?

– I like to hang out with my friends/family…

– I like to have a party and invite my family and friends…

– I like to go to the beach…

– I like to travel somewhere new…

– I like to catch up on my sleep and just relax at home…

e.g. Do you like to have holidays?

– Yes, definitely. I like to spend it hanging out with my friends/family…

– Not really. I prefer just to work/study. I think holidays are boring…

2. National holidays

Meaning: a special day/time of the year, related to a festival e.g. Christmas, New Year, or an important day e.g. International Labor Day.

In some countries, people are given time off. This is a national holiday, or ‘public holidays (USA) /  ‘bank holidays’ (UK).

Every country is different. For example people in the UK don’t get a day off for International Labor Day.

And Valentine’s Day isn’t celebrated as a national holiday in the UK or the USA.

e.g. What’s your favorite holiday?

– My favourite holiday is definitely Christmas…

– I really like Lunar New Year…

– I love Valentine’s Day, even though it isn’t a national holiday in my country.

e.g. What are some important holidays in your hometown?

– In my country Christmas and New Year are the most important, but Easter and Mother’s Day are also important.

3. To go on holiday (UK) / go on vacation (USA)

Meaning: an activity when you travel and stay in another place for fun.

e.g. What was the best holiday you’ve ever had in your life?

– In 2010, when I went backpacking across Asia for 6 months…

– Disneyland, Paris…

e.g. Where do you normally like to go on holiday?

– I love going to the beach…

– I like going somewhere quiet…

– I love staying in a resort…

– I love going to Singapore…

– I don’t like going anywhere. I usually have a staycation…

Now it’s your turn! Put your answers in the comments.

What do you like to do when you have a holiday?

Do you like to have a holiday?

What’s your favourite holiday?

What are some important holidays in your country?

What was the best holiday you’ve ever had?

Where do you usually like to go on holiday?

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4 Comments

  2. shiva on July 19, 2021 at 11:37 am

    okkk so i’m here to discuss about my holiday and how i utilize my holiday. if i talk about the Sunday which is national holiday for everyone so yeah l definitely like holiday the first thing which i love to do is that i like to catch up on my sleep and relaxed then after 2-3 hour nap i’m able to do anything so there so many things to do on Sunday or holiday like if i talk about myself so in my free time during holiday i like to do stretching although its my hobby too and i also like to do cooking, for do such these kind of things you need to concentration and if i don’t have a mood to do that so i just pick my phone call my friend to ask that make a plan for an outing to refresh our mood so yeah we go to somewhere near by us where we have never go before because i love to visit new places and love to explore new things and its the best time to take some photos because i’m kind of photoholic and as i have very busy schedule so can’t took time for myself so sunday is just my day i do everything that i missed it so yeah i click pictures so i post it on social media to making sure to my followers that i’m alive … lol
    and if i go to the vocation holiday like for a couple of days like for week or more that this so i would like to visit mountains over the beach .
    because the reason behind it that i love mountains alot . whenever i have a holidays i go to mountains
    you know what i like there most the environment and the nature it is like surrounded by trees and mountains are so pleasant. there so many thing to explore and i love to explore new thing . there i can stay for a month without any interest connection.
    And the most imp thing is that there in no polluted air like in the cities where i used to live . and i do like to visit beachs also but not that much because in beachs it seems like plane area and full of crowd .There are so many people at the same place . And i think there are not so many things to explore and because of sunny day i sacred that if i ever visit to beach so i’ll be tanned so yeas that is tha main reason i donot find it cool to visit there for me .

    • Dave on July 20, 2021 at 10:47 am

      Nice work, Shiva!

      A little long but great level of detail – careful sometime with plurals!

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