Describe a subject you enjoyed studying at school.
You should say:
- what subject it was
- what class you were then
- how interesting it was
and explain why you enjoyed studying this subject at school.
[Instruction: You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Sample Answer 1
I am not sure how many of us have actually enjoyed studying geography in our high schools, but I surely did. In fact, I enjoyed it a lot more than other subjects, and today here, I am going to talk about how interesting the subject really was, or why I really enjoyed it so much.
Now, I don’t need to introduce the geography subject since we all know what it is all about. But, just for the purpose of reference, geography is a field of science that is exclusively devoted to the studies of the earth, lands and its features, inhabitants and the different kinds of phenomena of our planet earth.
Of course, I was already fascinated about the geography of the world after learning about it in a children’s book – a book which was given to me as a gift by my grandfather when I was only 5 years old – before I even started going to my school. So, when I started studying this subject in 7th grade, I knew that I was going to enjoy it even further. Besides, the teacher, who was teaching this subject, knew perfectly well how to make this subject interesting to young boys like me with his touches of humour and wits. However, the subject became even more interesting when my teacher very nicely explained that all places and spaces have a history behind them – a history which is full of many interesting stories and adventures.
Anyway, I enjoyed this subject in high school because I found it really fascinating on multiple levels: first one, of course, is, it doesn’t only look at the physical structure of the planet, but also the social structure, as in how we affect our environment, and in turn, how it affects us. Secondly, it taught us to think more intelligently about complicated and controversial issues like global warming, human migration and food security. Finally, I also learned that geography helps us find many of the natural resources, which are used to build our civilization today, easily.
Sample Answer 2
To be honest, I found school pretty challenging for a number of reasons. We moved house quite often back then, so I had to adapt to different teachers, learning expectations and to make new friends. However, the subject which I was always passionate about and determined to succeed in was French.
I started lessons when I was quite young, which is common in the UK, as learning languages is actively encouraged, but the standard and expectation was relatively low so lessons revolved around role plays asking for ice cream or bread! Our lessons involved a lot of writing and dictation which was hard, and I did struggle to see the point of this as what I really wanted to learn was how to communicate and be understood. Our vocabulary was based around the family, food, travel and school so It was quite useful but not the sort of things that children really want to talk about.
I was motivated as I had already visited France on holiday and so I could see for myself the possible benefits of being able to communicate and make myself understood. The breakthrough for me came when I was around 15 with a teacher called Mrs. Green.
She was half French herself, so she spoke beautifully and was rather glamourous too and her lessons were filled with laughter, games and stories although she was very strict as well. We were all expected to study hard and to succeed in exams. She was inspiring though because she loved her subject.
Personally, I have always enjoyed listening to languages, to the intonation and sound even if I do not understand. Once I could use the French I had learnt in school when I visited France and later studied there, the language came alive and all that hard work as a youngster paid off!
Sample Answer 3
“I’ve taken a lot of subjects in school, but I have to say, history was my favorite subject. I’ve realized how vital it is for us to understand our past in order to construct a better future. I was so enthralled by my experience of reading and learning history that it became my university major. Learning about the past provides us with important information about our country, our heritage, the world we live in, and the human race as a whole.
When I was in seventh grade, I decided to take history seriously for the first time. I became really engrossed in it that I started reading history books by various authors. I learned about the ancient world, how social and economic situations were at the time, and how events throughout history influenced the world. I had the chance to apply what I learned from my history textbooks, which was not the case for a few other courses we were studying at the time. I developed an odd love for it and attempted to study as many history books as I could at the time, which is a bit surprising because the majority of my classmates at the time found the subject too difficult.
After I graduated from high school, I decided to major in history, which has tremendously shaped the way I view the world, as well as the past and future. Reading and studying history was like taking a journey through time and generations, which piqued my interest. And to tell you the truth, it still does. It’s still something I love to learn and know more about.”
Sample Answer 4
There There were three subjects I particularly enjoyed at school, English, geography and P.E. but if I had to choose a favourite, I guess it would be geography.
I suppose you start learning about the natural features around you and other countries in primary school but geography first appeared on the curriculum as a specific subject in secondary school. I’d been fascinated with other places and cultures for as long as I could remember. My dad had travelled a lot and had a large map on the wall with pins in all the countries he’d been to. I loved looking at it so perhaps that’s where my interest in geography first started.
The geography classroom was great; full of globes, atlases and books about places that were very different to where I lived. We had a nice teacher called Mrs Rose who used lots of pictures and maps in her lessons. This was perfect for me as I’m a visual learner. If Mrs Rose had just talked all the time, as some of our teachers did, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the subject so much or learnt so easily.
I even liked doing geography homework. I can remember sitting at my desk at home spending hours carefully drawing maps and adding all the features. When my mum took me to the library on a Saturday morning, I’d look for adventure stories set around the world or books on how people live in other countries.
When I reached the sixth form and had to choose just three subjects to study, geography was one of them, although I actually failed my final exam. My family moved house yet again just before I took it and I was very unsettled. I had a private tutor for a few months then retook the exam and got a good grade.
At university, I trained as a teacher myself. I chose primary education so taught geography along with many other subjects. However, during one of my training placements, the headteacher asked me to spend three weeks teaching the subject to every class in the small village school, from 5 year olds up to 11 year olds. It was one of the happiest times in the whole of my career even though I hadn’t even got my teaching qualification yet.
Sample Answer 5
To be honest, I found school pretty challenging for a number of reasons. We moved house quite often back then, so I had to adapt to different teachers, learning expectations and to make new friends. However, the subject which I was always passionate about and determined to succeed in was French.
I started lessons when I was quite young, which is common in the UK, as learning languages is actively encouraged, but the standard and expectation was relatively low so lessons revolved around role plays asking for ice cream or bread!
Our lessons involved a lot of writing and dictation which was hard, and I did struggle to see the point of this as what I really wanted to learn was how to communicate and be understood. Our vocabulary was based around the family, food, travel and school so It was quite useful but not the sort of things children really want to talk about.
I was motivated as I had already visited France on holiday and so I could see for myself the possible benefits of being able to communicate and make myself understood. The breakthrough for me came when I was around 15 with a teacher called Mrs. Green.
She was half French herself, so she spoke beautifully and was rather glamourous too and her lessons were filled with laughter, games and stories although she was very strict as well. We were all expected to study hard and to succeed in exams. She was inspiring though because she loved her subject.
Personally, I have always enjoyed listening to languages, to the intonation and sound even if I do not understand. Once I could use the French I had learnt in school when I visited France and later studied there, the language came alive and all that hard work as a youngster paid off!
Sample Answer 6
The subject I’d like to describe is World History. It was a subject taught in highschool. About one hour is allotted everyday to learn about significant historical events. For some of my classmates, it was a boring subject but I enjoyed it a lot.
I remember that our teacher distributed a syllabus on our first meeting which served as a guide on the topics that will be discussed each week. We were assigned to read several books and other reading materials. We talked about famous people, from warriors to philosophers to artists. We discussed the wars that happened in the past. We also talked about religion, traditions and customs of the people during the ancient time.
As a subject, it required us to memorize a lot which was a disadvantage for me and my classmates at that time because it consumed much of our time. Nevertheless, history really intrigues me. I am always curious about how humans lived in the past. I have always been interested to look into how history turned us into the present generation. It fascinates me.