Using the table above and the examples I wrote above, write down some ideas about the weather in your hometown. If there are differences, then write about all of those things. If the weather is the same all year round you have to talk about that.
When you have written some ideas down, practice speaking out loud.
I have asked students what can people do in their hometown and I often receive one answer — NOTHING!
There’s nothing to do in my hometown. It’s so boring.
That can’t be true. There must be things for people to do. Even if you don’t like to do these things, other people may enjoy doing these things and that means there are definitely some activities that people can do in your hometown.
Here is a list of ideas to inspire you.
Going to the gym
Playing tennis
Walking in the hills on the outskirts of town
Walking on the seafront of the town
Shopping malls and going shopping
Coffee shops and coffee culture
Eating out and going to restaurants
Going to bars and nightclubs (for older students!)
Dancing in the town square
Visiting the library
Helping charity organisations
Fishing in the local river
Swimming in the swimming pool
Many evening classes in the local community college
Now let me show you some examples
There is a swimming pool in my hometown and many people go there. Whenever I go there, it always seems very busy. I try to go early in the morning to avoid all the crowds.
The pool is really nice and clean. There is an area for the serious swimmers to swim in laps and then there is an area for people and children who just want to lounge around in the water and cool off a little bit.
There is also a diving area with three diving boards. The top board is very high, but I jumped off it once!
We are lucky because in my hometown we have so many restaurants. I think you could go out to dinner every night of the week and still not visit every restaurant in the city.
And the restaurants are all very different in style and cuisine. We have the local food but we also have Indian, Thai, French and Italian. It’s really nice for people to go out in the evening and eat a delicious meal with friends and family.
In my hometown, some older ladies like to go to the town square and do a special kind of dancing. They do it for exercise I think but also they can meet up and chat with each other. So it’s a social activity for them too.
Some people say that the music they play when they do their dancing is too loud. But I think we should just let them do it. They’re not really causing anyone any harm.
Look at the list of ideas I gave you above.
Use these and the examples and write down your own ideas for talking about things to do in your hometown. Practice together with a friend or show your teacher.
The architecture in your hometown means all the buildings. Are these buildings very old and traditional? Or new and modern? Is the architecture boring — if so, why do you think so?
You can use the following words to describe buildings and architecture in your hometown.
Poor | High-rise | Residential |
Wooden | Expensive | Old |
Traditional | Beautiful | Modern |
Luxurious | Spacious | Steel and glass |
Brick | Boring | Ugly |
Many cities these days have a downtown area with many high-rise buildings, all very modern and expensive. The suburbs of the city might consist of smaller houses and buildings or low-rise buildings — this is where the people usually live.
Let me show you some examples
Bath is a very old city, and the architecture is very old. Most of the buildings in the centre of the city are over 200 years old. I think there is a law to protect these buildings and houses. They look nice because they all have the same colour, made out of a special sandstone found in the local area.
But once you leave the city centre, the architecture changes. The houses are more modern in the suburbs. This is where people live.
The downtown area of my city is filled full of high-rise buildings. They are all very high and look very modern. It feels so busy walking around this area surrounded by such high buildings. Some of the buildings are so high that you can walk on one side of the street and be in the shade from the sun.
I live in a very quiet village in the countryside. All the houses are pretty old and there is no real special architecture. People just need a place to live and the local post office to buy some things. There is an old church though, and it looks very nice from the outside. I don’t know how old it is, but it looks very old.
Write down your own ideas about the buildings in your hometown. When you have enough sentences speak them out loud with a friend or classmate.
Your hometown doesn’t just consist of the actual town itself. When talking about your hometown you can also talk about the surrounding area of the town or city where you live.
This is especially true of a smaller town.
Your town may be surrounded by countryside.
What is in the countryside?
Are there farms and little villages?
Are they developing the land and building more houses or factories?
There must be something in this area, now is the time for you to talk about it.
There might be hills or mountains in the surrounding area of your hometown. Or maybe you live near the sea in which case you can talk about that.
Whatever exists just outside your hometown you can talk about it in the IELTS test. This is all part of the description of where you live and the examiner wants to hear about it.
I’ll give you some examples:
The surrounding area of my hometown is just countryside. Some small villages with just a few people living there. There is a new factory that makes tyres just outside my town. I think many people from my hometown work there now.
If you go south of my town, there is a big lake. I have gone past this lake and seen people fishing there.
All around my hometown are hills. It’s like my entire town is in a big hole in the ground! But it’s nice to see all the hills around the town. In the summer, they all look so green and in the winter, if it snows, all the hills are covered and everything looks white.
What is in the surrounding area of your hometown?
Take a few minutes and write down some ideas and thoughts. You must have seen what is just outside your hometown. Talk about this for a few minutes if you can.
If you live in a very small town, then chances are you may have only one bus an hour that takes you to the nearest big town. Or no bus at all.
In a bigger town, you could have several bus services taking people to different parts of the town. Or to other towns and the nearest big city.
You might have a train service. You might live in a big city and have a subway system.
The fact is that every town and city has a public transportation system — even if it is only one bus an hour.
These are the main kinds of public transportation:
Taxi (not really public but let’s put it in there)
Other lesser-known systems:
Shared bike (many cities use this these days)
The best way to talk about this is to look at the following questions and answer them:
What is this public transportation system?
Why do you use it?
Why do other people in your hometown use it?
Is it convenient?
Is it cheap/expensive to use?
How many lines does it have? (for bus and subway)
Is it crowded during rush hour?
And here is some vocabulary you might use when talking about public transportation:
Miss | Stop | Exit |
Line | Change | Commuters |
Fare | Catch | Delay |
Ticket | Pass (a special card) | Passengers |
Leave | Cancel | Run |
Unreliable | Rush hour | On-time |
When talking about the public transportation system in your hometown, in the IELTS test I advise you to talk about the most common or most popular public transportation system. If you try to talk about some public transport that is less known or used, you could run into trouble.
That means that you should only really talk about the bus, the subway or the train.
You can add at the end of your talk that there are other kinds of public transportation in your hometown.
Something like this:
…we also have many taxis, and a ferry that takes people over the river, but I have never used it. I only use the subway as it is the most convenient.
Shall we look at a couple of examples?
In my hometown, we have a new subway system. It is brand-new, so it is very clean and modern-looking. There are only three lines so far but there will be more lines in the future.
It is so much better than the bus. Much quicker and much more convenient. We don’t have any traffic jams now!
Some people complain and say that it is more expensive than the bus. It is a little more expensive but I think it is worth it for the convenience and the speed.
During rush hour it is a little difficult to get a seat but if you arrive early, you can find a seat no problem. I really love the subway in my hometown, it just makes going to school so much easier.
We have a bus system in my hometown. There are plenty of buses to take you wherever you want to go. But if you use the bus during rush hour, then you will definitely get stuck in traffic. There’s just no escaping it.
Sometimes I use a shared bike. These are easy to find and they are cheap to use. If it’s raining, I don’t use the shared bike but most other days I do.
You want to try?
Look at all the vocabulary and make sure you know the meanings of the words and then make sentences of your own.
Then think about the public transportation systems in your hometown and which one is the most common for people to use.
Write down some ideas in your notebook and make sentences.
Then with a friend speak them out loud.
Practice every day!
Do you have many shops in your hometown? Are there just a few local shops or do you have a giant shopping mall with all the latest fashion brands?
Every town has at least one shop to buy something.
These are the main kind of shops you might have in your town:
supermarket | greengrocer | baker |
butcher | fishmongers | florist |
wine store | drug store | convenience store |
book store | pet store | candy store |
As I have said before, let’s look at some questions and you answer them one by one.
What kind of shops and stores are there in your hometown?
What can people buy in these places?
Where are all the shops and stores?
Are they expensive?
What kind of people go there?
And then let’s look at some examples
I live in a big city and there are many shopping malls. There is one big shopping mall near my home and it is very popular with people, especially young people.
Younger people like to go there because it looks very fashionable and modern. All the shops are mainly selling fashionable clothes and there are two cool coffee shops on the first floor where you can sit and drink coffee.
The shopping mall huge. It is on five floors. On the top floor, there is a cinema and in the basement, there is a supermarket but it is a little expensive I think. I don’t go there. I only go to the clothes stores and shoe stores with my friends. We can’t always buy something we like but we like to look!
If I go to the mall with my friends, we like to drink coffee after we have looked all around the stores.
There are many small shops and stores in my neighbourhood. These shops are not very fashionable but they are very convenient and they sell many useful things that we might need in the house or in our daily life.
One shop we always use in the nearest convenience store. It is open until very late and opens very early in the morning. If we run out of things that we need then we can always go to the convenience store and buy what we need.
I see many of my neighbours there and my father always goes there in the morning to buy cigarettes.
The shop sells newspapers, snacks and sandwiches, soft drinks and ice cream. Every time I go there, they always have customers inside.
Now it’s your turn.
Look up the vocabulary and make sure you understand what all the words mean. Make your own sentences if you wish.
Then look at the questions above and the examples. This can help you to form your own answers. Write down all your ideas and put them into sentences in order.
Then practice speaking out loud.
You will not need to talk about all of the above topics about your hometown in the IELTS test.
If you were to talk about your hometown using all the topics included in this guide you would be talking for about 30 minutes!
The reason I included all the topics above is so you can answer any question the examiner fires at you in the IELTS test. If he asks you to talk about shopping or public transportation in your hometown, then you should be prepared. If he asks you about food or customs in your hometown, no problem for you.
Just go through all the steps and you can find out how to talk about your hometown no matter the question.
And as always — let me know in the comments below!
30 thoughts on “how to talk about your hometown in english”.
It is so important to cover these areas used for IELTS tests because they are the ones that often catch students off guard. I especially liked the study charts as they ground students with vocabulary and observation points. The ideas also triggered memories of towns I’ve visited. Travel really helps as it gives you things to compare your town with. For example I visited a tiny town in Sweden and it was like a charming hobbit town with wondrous new customs and scenery quite unlike my own tiny hometown.
That is a great idea, Leona. I forgot to add that to the article… I used to ask students to compare their hometown to the big city we were living in and talk about the similarities and differences. It gives them a lot more to talk about, and in the IELTS test that really helps. How was Sweden? I’ve always wanted to visit.
It is amazing lesson and explanation. I can share this lesson to my students, even they are beginners. And I use this subject as my reference in teaching. I hope you don’t mind. Thank you very much. Wish you all the best.
Hi Nani! I’m very glad you like this lesson plan. Feel free to use it in your class. If you want to download the lesson, you can get it here: https://gumroad.com/l/howtotalkaboutyourhometowninenglish Thank you Nani.
Awesome tips, thanks a lot and congratulations!
Hi Carlos, many thanks! I am glad it was helpful.
Hello my name is Ronald, Great work David!
Hi Ronald! Many thanks. I appreciate it. Keep coming back!
Hi David. I really liked the content of the page. Hugs. José Roberto (Univesp)
Hi José! I am glad you liked it. Many thanks!
Great compilation of tips! I enjoyed a lot! My university teacher choose your article as a base text this week. Congratulations, as your compilation is helping so much students. Cheers from Brazil.
Hi Marcos, many thanks! I am glad you liked it. Please say a big thank you to your university teacher for suggesting this article. I am so glad it is helping the students. Cheers!
Hi David, My name is Claudio, I’m from Brazil and I thank you for the tips and suggestions.
Hi Claudio, many thanks for reading. I really appreciate it. Keep coming back!
Esses topicos ajudam muito pois vejo muitas pessoas quando deparam com americanos ou travam por medo ou por náo ter dialogo …
These topics help a lot because I see a lot of people when they encounter Americans or they stop because of fear or because they don’t have a dialogue …
Many thanks,Franklin. Much appreciated.
Thanks so much, the essay really had it all. all the information and the ideas.
Thank you Iten! I am glad it could help you.
Thank you so much. I can say that one thing, I am really keen on your English lessons and explanations and you know it’s marvellous . I think it is really fail to express your helps for me ?
Hi Durdona! Many thanks, I am glad it is of some use to you. Keep working hard and you will succeed.
Hi, I’m Marli Congratulations on your page.
Thank you, Marli! Please come back soon!
Perfect …Thanks alot
You are welcome, Azadeh!! Many thanks for reading!
You are the best. Thank you very much. I’m beginning to self study and your essay helps me so much.
Thank you very much, Farnoush! I am very happy to hear that!
Comprehensive and very informative????????
Many thanks for reading, Farshid! I appreciate it!
Thanks a lot.I appriciate it…….
You are very welcome, Swetha!!
Questions about your hometown.
Hometown – B1 Level ESL
23 questions to discuss with your teacher or partner about your hometown.
My Hometown – B1 Level ESL
My hometown – reading comprehension, pollution b1/b2 conversation.
Share this page
Subcribe & Follow
Write an essay about your hometown.
Based on the text and questions above, describe your hometown and write what you like and dislike about it.
More articles to read.
Fake News and the Media C1 Level Speaking questions on Fake news and the media. What is the main purpose of a news company? Do
Time Travel ESL Speaking Questions B1 and B2 Level Speaking – Time Travel ESL Speaking Have you seen any time traveling movies? Suggestions: The Girl
Home / Essay Samples / Life / Hometown / The Natural Beauty of My Hometown: a Special Place
Pages: 1 (657 words)
Views: 1089
--> ⚠️ Remember: This essay was written and uploaded by an--> click here.
Found a great essay sample but want a unique one?
are ready to help you with your essay
You won’t be charged yet!
Forgiveness Essays
Ambition Essays
Tolerance Essays
Honor Essays
Suffering Essays
We are glad that you like it, but you cannot copy from our website. Just insert your email and this sample will be sent to you.
By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.
Your essay sample has been sent.
In fact, there is a way to get an original essay! Turn to our writers and order a plagiarism-free paper.
samplius.com uses cookies to offer you the best service possible.By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .--> -->