Recently, art is a very popular and hot topic in IELTS Oral English.  And most of the students are having a hard time to answer questions related to it because most of them do not have any knowledge or idea about it. Actually, art is a creative way of expressing oneself and it is also the highest expression of every culture. There are many kinds of arts such as literature, visual arts, music, dance, and drama.

All of these kinds had become part of the IELTS Oral English questions today.

For example:

1    Is beautiful handwriting important nowadays?

2    What kind of music do you like?

3    Should children learn to draw or paint?

To be able to deal with these topics and questions, students should know variety of information about art such as:

l         Art helps people to understand and empathize with the living conditions people have endured at various times and places

l         Art provides an opportunity to create and do, which can be a refreshing break from studying or working.

l         Art teaches how to interpret different forms of communication. It teaches how to understand figurative things and the meanings of color.

l         Art provide opportunities for self-expression

l         Art can improve academic achievement -- enhancing test scores, attitudes, social skills, critical and creative thinking.

After knowing different meanings and knowledge about art, students now have adequate information to use in answering the question in IELTS Oral test. Below are the examples of question and answer of the test with the topic of ART.

Part I

1    Do you like arts? Why?

Absolutely, this is because art is a link to the past. It provides an enjoyable perspective from which people can examine the history. And also, art encourages imagination. It shows people how they might express their own feelings and experiences through different kinds of arts such as painting and drawing.

此问题主要是让考生回答自己是否喜欢艺术并且告知原因，范例提到的是因为艺术是与历史链接的纽带，考生也可从它能激发人们的想象力，同时通过不同的艺术如油画等有助于让人们表达自己的感觉与体验。

2    What kind of art do you like?

I don’t have any particular favorite when it comes to art because I am appreciative of each work of art that I see.   I like looking at abstract and colorful paintings as much as I like looking at portrait paintings.  I also enjoy looking at clay sculptures the same way that I enjoy looking at ice sculptures.   Each work of art has its own reason, background and history.

这个问题主要考察的是考生对艺术的认识，即自己喜欢哪一种类型的艺术。考生若无非常特别喜欢的类型，则可以从广泛的方面出发去表达，如范例中作者因为对于每一项的艺术作品都是从欣赏的角度出发，因此并没有特别喜欢的，如其对抽象画和肖像画是一样的喜欢，对泥塑和冰雕也是一样的欣赏。原因是每项艺术的都有它的背景以及历史文化。

Part II

Describe a sculpture you have seen.

What kind of sculpture it is?

Where did you see it?

Did you like it?

Explain why you think this sculpture is special

I could never forget the ice sculptures of the different Disney characters that I saw way back the early nineties.    I saw the beautifully done sculptures inside a newly opened amusement park.    We were entering a snow zone area in the park that was why we wore winter coats at the entrance area, but I never expected to see the Disney characters in there.  I was surprised and in awe of everything that I saw in that area that my mouth swung open without me noticing it.   The charming gentleman beside me had to embarrassingly tell me to close my mouth.   We entered the snow zone area in batches of 10 so I ended up going in with strangers as my friends were all counted in the next batch.     I was expecting snowman, snowballs, hollow block style ice and the like but I never expected to see such creative sculptures.   I not only like it, but I really love it.   Perhaps I would not have appreciated it that much if it were not an ice sculpture.   The fact that I am a big fan of Disney characters is another factor why I appreciated it more.  Also, it was really my first time to be able to see such beautiful masterpieces.  I could just imagine how meticulously those figures were done.   I kept on thinking how it would look like if the whole thing melted.   I was wondering how many degrees Celsius it took to preserve the whole thing.    That was the first and the last time that I was able to see ice sculpture.   But just last month, as I passed through the open area of our school campus, I saw some students from one of the school organizations conducting ice sculpture seminar.  I could not believe my eyes and my luck as I saw it.  I stared in disbelief, but this time, I was mindful not to let my mouth left opened wide again.   I almost volunteered myself to join the organization so that I would be able to try making my own ice sculpture.  As I was approaching the organization head, I realized that I may love art, but apparently, art does not like me so I headed to the opposite direction instead.

Part 2要求描述的是曾经见过的一尊雕塑，考生应从雕塑的类型，在哪里见过它的，是否喜欢以及解释你认为此雕塑很特别的原因等方面出发讲述。如范例中作者阐述另她印象最深刻的是不同角色的迪斯尼冰雕，地点是在一个开放性的展览馆里，接着讲述她们进去的过程以及当时的心情，在描述过程的时候作者提到她看到了雪人，雪球等，以及另她更加欣赏其的原因是她是迪斯尼的超级粉丝，此次冰雕也是其见过的最杰出的作品，并且另作者感叹与激动的是学校里巧好有一个冰雕研讨会的机构，作者也加入了此机构并且尝试着制作自己的冰雕，这让她感受到自己是多么热爱艺术以及艺术的重要性。

Part III

1    Why do you think art is beneficial to children?

该题要求考生回答认为艺术对小孩有益的原因。考生可从艺术可以潜意识地让孩子表达他们的想法和情感，还能促进他们的创造性等方面出发描述，再进行扩展，如开发孩子的左右脑等，再进行总结它是对于人的大脑开发是有益处的。

Art is definitely beneficial to children because it is where they can subconsciously express their hidden thoughts and emotions.   It not only allows them to express themselves, but it also enhances their creativity.   If a child uses his left brain more,  doing art and music allows him to use his right brain.  It is definitely a lot better if children utilize their time by doing art than by watching too much TV or playing too much video games.   Art is healthy for both the mind and the emotion of any child or adult.

2    Do you think the government should invest more funds in building art museums?

Government should encourage their country’s citizens towards arts appreciation.   Investing more funds in building art museums would mean attracting more and more tourists which would be helpful to the country’s reputation and economy.  Through art museums, the country’s culture is introduced thus they educate not only the local citizens but the foreigners as well.    Art museums must be well preserved and kept clean at all times.   If there is a need to, it would be good if the government can upgrade or improve existing art museums for their betterment.

该题属于社会现象题，问的是政府是否应该投入更多的资金在建筑博物馆上。考生可从客观的角度进行分析，如投入资金在建筑博物馆上就意味着会吸引更多地旅行者来观光，也有助于促进国家经济的发展和文化的传播，假如有这个需要的话，国家可改善现有的博物馆，使其更好。