Talking about hobbies and interests is a frequently asked questions in the Duolingo English Test, IELTS, interviews and general conversations. Here is a detailed discussion on how to answer questions about hobbies and free time. You will also find answers to all possible questions about what are your hobbies and interests.
Questions and Answers about Hobbies and Interests
Different Ways you can be asked about Hobbies or Pastime
- What are your hobbies? How would you define a hobby?
- Do you have any hobbies? What are your free time activities?How do you like to spend your free time?
- Do you think hobbies are an important part of a person’s lifestyle?
- Do you think hobbies tell us about someone’s personality?
How to talk about hobbies or free time?
- Be well prepared before any proficiency test to answer this question because it is a frequently asked question.
- Your answer can be crucial to your success in an interview so relate your hobbies to your job.
- Talk about hobbies that are interesting, educational, and pleasant for everyone. Don’t talk about controversial stuff.
- You can talk about how your hobby has improved your personality or your lifestyle.
- Talk about it passionately.
Kinds Of Hobbies Or Interests To Talk About
If you are asked to talk about what are your hobbies or free time activities, here is a list of hobbies you can get ideas from:
- Creative hobbies (Cooking and baking ,Home decoration, Art and craft ,Photography)
- Professional development or skill learning (reading,Taking online courses, learning a new language, writing or blogging)
- Gardening
- Travelling
- Social work or community service
- Playing music or dancing
- Playing Sports or games
- Stamp collecting
- Biking
- Volunteering
- Hanging out with friends
- Exercising or working out/ yoga
- Learning new languages
How to start for What are your hobbies answer
What do you do?
Examples of how to start your answer…
I like playing football in my spare time.
I love biking when I am free.
I absolutely love to read fiction when I get some free time.
I spend my leisure time watching movies.
Why do you like doing it?
I like doing it because it is a lot of fun.
I play football because playing it keeps me in good health.
How often do you do it?
I usually play football in the evening everyday.
I go biking every weekend.
I write my blog at least twice during the week.
How long have you been doing it?
I have been doing it since my childhood.
I started it with my friends when I was in high school.
My brother got me into community service and volunteering three years ago.
I have been doing yoga for five years now.
Example Q & Answers for ‘Talk about Hobbies and Interests’
1. What are hobbies? How would you define a hobby?
Hobbies are activities we pursue in our free time. A hobby is not an obligation or responsibility. It is something we do when we want to feel relaxed and enjoy our time. For some people a hobby is a simple activity like cooking, baking, reading or watching movies. For others, it means engaging in a educational or productive skill like learning a new language, photography, writing or blogging etc.
2. How do you like to spend your free time? Do you think it is important to have a hobby or pastime?
I always like to spend my free time in a productive and fun way. That is why I like to cook when I am free. I try recipes of different countries. Besides that, I also learn from cooking shows on television and YouTube. Cooking is also a useful hobby for me because I can cook and refrigerate the food at the weekend. It saves me from worrying about my lunch or dinner during my busy schedule during the week.
If I talk about the importance of hobbies, I would say, they are definitely important. You can’t stay busy all the time with work or study. As a student, I can say that it is very necessary to keep work life balance, and hobbies provide us that opportunity.
In fact, hobbies and pastimes rejuvenate us and refresh our minds. They eradicates boredom and give us a chance to do something we really like. In addition, research has also proved that hobbies improve our mental health by making us feel relaxed and happy.
Moreover, creative hobbies like reading, arts and crafts, language learning, home decoration etc help us develop new skills.Therefore, I think it is really important to have a hobby or pastime.
3.Travelling:
Do you like to travel? Why do you think travelling is a useful hobby?
I love to travel in my spare time or whenever I get a long break from my studies, that is usually during summer vacation or winter break. Sometimes, I visit the parks and historical places in my own hometown.
There are some far off resorts like Thousand Islands and Banff National park. I have not visited them so far but I am planning to visit them too with my friends. Beside picnic spots, I also like to visit new cities and places. Travelling gives me an insight into the culture and lifestyle of people living in other places. I believe that people who are living in the same country but different province or city have different cultural aspects.
Coming to the second part of the question, I definitely think that it is a useful hobby.It is always exciting to get new information and facts about different places.
Besides the excitement that travelling provides, it also gives me a break from my tough study routine. I feel so much refreshed and ready to work again when I come back from a trip.
( You should be able to name a few picnic resorts in your hometown or another place you have visited or are planning to visit in future. That will make your answer sound credible.)
4. Arts And Crafts As A Hobby And Pastime
What Is Your Favourite Pastime? Do You Think It Has Added Value To Your Everyday Life?
Making pieces of arts and crafts is one of my favourite pastimes.I have been engaged in this hobby since my childhood. In fact, this hobby is very interesting and rewarding. I never feel bored when I am making a new piece of craft like handmade jewlery, decoration items like glass paintings, rock paintings and paper cards for various occasions. My family and friends always appreciate my work and encourage me to do it professionally. When I feel bored, I get new crafts making ideas from the internet.
Beside that, Visiting my local crafts shop is also one of my favourite thing to do and I always keep adding something new to my crafts box. I would also like to add that I have decorated my house myself with a lot of handcrafted stuff.
Answering the second part of the question, my interest in arts and crafts has surely added value to my life. I feel like I am doing a productive thing that is bringing me joy and personal satisfaction. I also believe that I spend a quality time doing something that is valuable for me and the people around me.
5.Do you think one’s choice of hobbies and interests tells something about one’s personality?
I think that one’s choice of hobbies tells a lot about one’s personality.For example, if one is interested in arts and crafts,it show that he or she is a creative person.In the same way if someone is interested in sports and games, it shows team spirit and an outgoing nature. One’s involvement in yoga and workout means that that person is health consious.
A person who wants to learn new languages or even technical skills is a progressive person who wants to improve his skills/ up-skill and seeks to learn new and interesting things.One more hobby is social work or community service. A giving nature is highlighted if one does social or community work.
