Quick answer
The Experiences theme covers the events and journeys that shape a life: leisure, travel, life stories, rites of passage, customs and migration. These 15 questions are original Nektar practice questions in three steps: describe, justify and evaluate. They are not official IB questions. Your teacher asks their own questions in the individual oral, so use these to practise the kinds of answers you will need.
Where theme questions come up
In the current course the individual oral has a presentation, a follow-up discussion about your stimulus and a general discussion that moves to at least one other theme. You cannot know the questions in advance. You can practise the moves: describing, giving an opinion with a reason, comparing and evaluating.
The timing guide shows how long each part lasts.
Step 1: describe and explain
Tell a short story with a beginning, a change and a result.
- Describe a journey that changed the way you see your own town.
- Which tradition in your family would you most like to keep?
- What has been the most important milestone in your life so far?
- How do you usually spend your free time, and what does it give you?
- Describe a moment when you felt like a stranger in a new place.
IB English B in Nektar
Practise IB English B in the Nektar app.
Choose SL or HL, work through reading, listening and vocabulary lessons, and get feedback on Paper 1 writing and individual oral responses. Keep official IB material for your checkpoints.
Step 2: compare and justify
Weigh two sides before you choose one.
- Do we learn more from travel or from books?
- Are traditional celebrations losing their meaning for young people?
- Is a gap year a valuable experience or a delay?
- Do difficult experiences teach more than successful ones?
- Is tourism good for the places people visit?
Step 3: evaluate and connect
Link the theme to another theme or to an English-speaking culture you have studied.
- How does moving to another country change a person's identity?
- Should a community adapt its customs to welcome newcomers?
- How has technology changed the way people remember important events?
- What rite of passage is typical in an English-speaking culture you know, and what does it show?
- Who benefits most when students study abroad: the student, the host country or the home country?
A frame for a strong answer
Answer the question in your first sentence. Add a reason, then a specific example from your own life, your school or something you have read. Finish with a limit or a second point of view. Four sentences in that order take about thirty seconds and give the teacher something to follow up.
Record three answers from different steps and listen back. Check whether you answered the question that was asked, whether the example was specific and whether you repeated the same few words. The Experiences vocabulary list gives you alternatives.
In the Nektar app you can record individual oral responses at SL or HL and get feedback on language, message and interactive skills. It is practice feedback, not an IB mark.
- Direct answer
- Reason
- Specific example
- Limit or other view
Frequently asked questions
Are these official IB English B oral questions?
No. They are original Nektar practice questions. In the individual oral your teacher asks questions based on your stimulus and your answers.
Should I memorize answers to these questions?
No. Memorized answers break down when the question changes slightly. Practise the answer frame with different questions instead.
Can I use these questions for Paper 1 ideas?
Yes. Many of them work as starting points for an opinion column, a speech or a blog post on the Experiences theme.
IB English B in Nektar
Practise IB English B in the Nektar app.
Choose SL or HL, work through reading, listening and vocabulary lessons, and get feedback on Paper 1 writing and individual oral responses. Keep official IB material for your checkpoints.