Hobbies and Interests

In this hobbies vocabulary lesson, you will learn how to talk about what you enjoy doing in your free time, including both indoor and outdoor activities. I have made some flascards to help you build your own sentences.

1. Indoor and outdoor activities

Indoor activities

Indoor activities are things you do inside a building, like your home, a gym, or a sports hall. They include stretching, lifting weights, doing yoga, or any form of exercise using gym equipment machines.

Indoor activities don’t always mean exercise. You can also read books, play video games, cook, do crafts, etc. Anything you enjoy doing inside counts as an indoor activity.

What do you like to do in your free time? I like to play the guitar when I don’t have things to do. Talking about likes and dislikes with your friends is a good way to practise your English vocabulary.

Painting enhances cognitive skills in children. It encourages them to think creatively. When children paint, different parts of the brain (motor cortex, visual cortex and the parts associated with emotions) are activated.

Playing a musical instrument helps the right and left sides of the brain connect more strongly. When you play an instrument, your visual, auditory, and motor systems all work together. This can boost your memory, focus, and body coordination.

Some indoor activities can be done outside. For example, you can read a book on a park bench, do yoga in your backyard, or knit under a tree.

Fixing things can be a relaxing activity at home. You can mend your clothes, change a light bulb, replace a doorknob, clean a dryer vent, etc.

Do you like to play chess? I don't know how to play chess, but I wish I did. Research shows that playing chess enhances cognitive functions. It helps you make quick decisions.

Outdoor activities

Outdoor activities are things you do outside of a building, like playing soccer in a park, going for a walk, or having a picnic.

If you like fishing, you need to follow certain local rules. For example, in England and Wales, you are not allowed to fish for coarse fish on rivers between 15 March and 15 June. In stillwaters, you can fish for coarse fish, eels, rainbow trout and brown trout throughout the year.

Some outdoor activities require safety precautions. For example, if you plan to go rock climbing, always wear a helmet, check your harness carefully, and make sure all ropes and anchors are secure before you start.

I like to go kayaking with my friends to get away from it all. It makes me forget my daily routines.

Running is good for your body and mind. It improves cardiovascular health by strengthening your heart and increasing your lung capacity. It is a great way to manage weight. Well, I'm not a huge fan of running, though. I'm more into martial arts.

Running dates back in ancient times, when our ancestors were being chased by predators or hunting. Its competitive form started in 776 BCE.

Skiing began as a practical way to travel over snow in ancient times. The earliest skis (made of long wooden planks) were found in northern China around 8,000 BC.

Paragliding started during World War I when observers used a parachute attached to a submarine to observe the enemy at a high altitude. In the 1950s, people began creating parachutes that could be turned and controlled. In the 1960s, a man named Domina Jalbert designed a special type of wing that looked more like what we see in paragliding today.

The word "paraglider" appeared around that time, and the activity slowly became a sport. By the 1970s, people around the world were flying for fun, and the first big competition was held in Austria.

Today, paragliding is a popular sport that people enjoy in many countries. I’ve never tried paragliding before. I wonder how it feels up there. It might be scary, isn’t it?

There are many common stereotypes about golf, but most of them are not true. Many people see it as a sport for the rich, but golf has become more open and affordable. Many people also think that it’s for old men. These clichés prevent many people from joining existing groups.

2. Talking about hobbies and interests

You can use the following expressions to talk about hobbies and interests in English.

I enjoy reading.

I’m really into hiking.

I’m passionate about painting.

I’m a big fan of jazz music.

I’m keen on tennis.

I’m crazy about football.

In my free time, I like to play the guitar.

I spend my spare time gardening.

These are ways to express something you don’t like.

I’m not a big fan of horror movies.

This is an informal way to say you don’t like something.

Cooking is not really my thing.

This is a strong way to say you really dislike something.

I can’t stand horse riding.

3. flashcards

I have made these colourful flashcards to help you talk about things you like to do in your free time. Each card shows pictures and simple phrases. Use them to build sentences using the expressions you have learned in the previous section.

4. Difference between hobbies and interests

Hobbies are things that people enjoy doing in their free time.

Interests are the things that you are curious about or enjoy learning more about. For example, you can have an interest in politics, art, technology, or fashion.