APIEIELTS Speaking: Childhood and Memories
Childhood and memories
Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.
🧸 Unit: Childhood and Memories
Learn key words and natural speaking patterns. Talk about your past with confidence.
📌 How to use this lesson
For Teachers:
1. Guide students through word warm-ups before speaking tasks.
2. Time the 1-minute prep strictly for Part 2. Focus feedback on natural speaking, not hard grammar.
For Learners:
1. Record yourself speaking out loud first. Do not look at the sample answers yet.
2. Open the Model Answer after you speak. Pick 2 or 3 bold phrases for your next try.
Module 1: Build-up — Words & Patterns
Review 10 core words and match common phrases. Practice 4 natural sentence patterns. Then, test your LEGO trivia knowledge.
Word Bank (10 Target Words):
1. Choose the best word to complete the sentence:
My brother and I used to ___ that our bed was a pirate ship.
2. Choose the best word to complete the sentence:
My parents were quite ___. They never let me stay out past 8 PM on school nights.
3. Fill in the blank with one target word:
My favorite childhood ___ was a wooden train set from my grandfather.
4. Fill in the blank with one target word:
I work long hours now. I really ___ the simple days of being a student.
5. Choose the best word to complete the sentence:
I was a bit ___ in primary school. Once, I hid the teacher's chalk under the desk.
🔗 Collocation Matching (6 Essential Pairs)
Match each spoken phrase on the left with its meaning on the right:
💬 4 Everyday Sentence Patterns for Past Memories
Learn these four simple openings. They help you speak naturally without hard grammar rules.
"When I was little, I used to..."
👉 "When I was little, I used to ride my bike around the neighborhood until sunset."
"We would... every day."
👉 "My friends and I would play football in the empty lot behind my house every day."
"One of my best memories is..."
👉 "One of my best memories is going camping by the lake with my family during summer."
"I still remember..."
👉 "I still remember how excited I felt when my parents bought me my first LEGO castle."
LEGO Fun Fact 1
When did the Danish company first release plastic connecting bricks? They were first called "Automatic Binding Bricks".
LEGO Fun Fact 2
When did the LEGO Group apply for a patent for the stud-and-tube brick?
Module 2: Practice — Part 1 & Part 2 Speaking
Practice real speaking prompts. Record your voice and check the scoring rules. Then, read the short model answers.
Part 1 Prompt
Where did you live when you were a child?
[Bài tập luyện nói]
"Well, I grew up in a quiet small town. When I was little, our house had a large backyard. I used to spend hours playing outdoors with my neighbors."
Useful Phrases:
• I grew up in: A natural way to say where you lived during your youth.
• When I was little: A simple conversational time phrase replacing 'In my childhood'.
• I used to spend hours: Shows a repeated habit you enjoyed in the past.
Part 1 Prompt
What did you like to do after school when you were little?
[Bài tập luyện nói]
"Usually, right after finishing my homework, I would run to the outdoor playground. My best friend and I loved playing pretend games like cops and robbers until dinner."
Useful Phrases:
• Right after finishing...: Connects your actions smoothly in time.
• Outdoor playground: A precise collocation for a park with play equipment.
• Pretend games: Simple everyday term for imaginative play.
Part 1 Prompt
Do you still have any toys from your childhood?
[Bài tập luyện nói]
"To be honest, yes! I still keep a stuffed bear on my shelf. It means a lot to me because my grandmother gave it to me. I just can't bear to throw it away."
Useful Phrases:
• To be honest: Natural filler to introduce a genuine answer.
• It means a lot to me: Describes an item that brings back special emotional memories.
• Can't bear to throw it away: Natural idiom meaning you cannot bring yourself to discard it.
Part 1 Prompt
Did you play outside a lot when you were a child?
[Bài tập luyện nói]
"Definitely! Back then, we didn't have smartphones. We would stay outdoors all afternoon. I have a vivid memory of hurting my knees while climbing trees. I really miss the old days."
Useful Phrases:
• We would stay outdoors: 'Would' used cleanly for habitual past actions.
• Vivid memory: A clear, memorable mental image from childhood.
• Miss the old days: A friendly way to express nostalgia.
A Childhood Toy or Game
Describe a toy or game you loved as a child.
You should say:
- what it was
- how you got it or learned it
- what you used to do with it
- and explain why you loved it so much.
Click below to record your 1–2 minute response:
[Bài tập luyện nói]
"Well, I'd like to talk about my favorite childhood toy. It was a box of colorful LEGO bricks. I still remember the day my father bought it for my eighth birthday. I was so happy that I opened it right on the living room rug.
Almost every weekend, my older brother and I would build tiny houses and race cars. We loved making up stories. We enjoyed pretending we were builders making a big city.
Looking back, my best memories are those rainy afternoons. We'd, um, build weird spaceships with the pieces. Honestly, I felt I could make anything. That's why I loved it."
Useful Spoken Phrases Explained:
• I still remember: Use it to start a story from the past.
• I would build: Use would for something you did often.
• Pretending we were...: Use it for make-believe games.
• One of my best memories is...: Use it to introduce a happy memory.
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