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Cue card: A person who took a decision for you

January 17, 2022 Pooja Ph.D. CELTA

IELTS Speaking Cue card: A person who took a decision for you

Describe a person who took a decision for you recently
You should say:

Who this person is?

What decision he/she took?

When he/she took this decision?

And explain how you felt about the decision.

Sample answer

Decisions are an integral part of everyone’s life. Sometimes we rely on others for making a decision. Today, I’m going to talk about one such time.

I’m a final year student of Bachelor of Technology at Delhi University. Thanks to its outstanding teaching methods, my university has an excellent reputation among employers. Every year many renowned companies conduct campus interviews in the University for recruiting fresh graduates. Right from their freshman year, students look forward to these interviews and being placed in their dream jobs.

In last month’s campus interviews, I did really well. I was hoping to be selected by at least one company. To my surprise, I received two offer letters, one from Wipro, an Indian IT Company and the other from Siemens, a German Company. I was puzzled. I didn’t know what to do. So, I decided to discuss the matter with my dad. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the real employment world of information technology.

We had a long healthy discussion. He explained the pros and cons of working in Indian and foreign organizations. In the end, he suggested me to join Siemens. In a way, he took this decision for me, but I wouldn’t say that he forced me to accept his judgement. It was my firm faith in his ability and vision which inspired me to follow his words.

Feel free to call for suggestions and queries.

IELTS Band 7 Dehradun
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IELTS Speaking Test # Skill, you have learned successfully

January 13, 2022 Pooja Ph.D. CELTA

IELTS Speaking Test
The speaking test in IELTS consists of three parts.
Duration 11-14 minutes
One examiner + one candidate
Part 1 (4-5 minutes): The examiner asks a number of questions about familiar topics such as the candidate’s studies/work, hobbies, interests etc. Normally 8-9 questions are asked in this part.
Part 2 (3-4 minutes): The examiner gives you a topic to talk about. The topic is written down and includes some bullet points to guide you. After a minute’s preparation, the candidate speaks for two minutes on the topic provided by the examiner.
Part 3 (5-6 minutes): The examiner and the candidate discuss some general questions based on the theme of the Part 2 topic.
In this post I will focus on Part 2 and Part 3.

Part2 Cue Card

Describe a skill (for example, driving, speed reading etc.) you have learned successfully
You should say:

What skill you have learned?

Why you learned it?

Who helped you learn it?

and explain what helped you to become good at the skill.

Sample Answer

Skills play a defining role in our life. They make us more efficient and productive. Today, I am going to talk about a skill that I learnt successfully.
Two years ago, I learnt how to drive a car. I live in the countryside and my workplace is about 20 km away from my home. When I started working, either my father or my sister used to drop and pick me up at the office every day. But, after a while, this daily duty became an unnecessary burden for them as they have their own jobs. In general, I am a confident person but this dependency on others affected my self-esteem. So, I immediately decided to take driving lessons.
There is a well-known driving school near my home. I contacted the school and took two months’ training. The trainer was very friendly. He always gave clear instructions and prepared me really well for the driving test. Later, I successfully passed the driving test and obtained my driving license.
Driving is a skill which takes a lot of time to master. But, once you overcome the fear of driving on crowded roads, it gives you immense satisfaction and pleasure. The same thing applies to me. To improve my car driving skills, I drove daily to my office and to other nearby locations. I used to make mistakes at the beginning but I always took a note of them and tried not to repeat them.
In short, my commitment, perseverance and dedication helped me become a skilled driver.

Part2 Part 3 Follow-up questions

Skills and everyday life
Q. 1 Can you compare the skills that are important nowadays with the skills that were important 20 or 30 years ago?
Sample answer: Twenty/thirty years ago, traditional skills like weaving, knitting, sewing and earthenware pottery making were an integral part of people’s lives. But, nowadays, computer, management, language, and data analysis skills are given more importance.
Q. 2 What skills are valued most in your country?
Sample answer: My country is a developing nation and there are many sectors such as banking, manufacturing, information technology and tourism etc. In almost every sector, basic computer skills and communication skills are of utmost significance.
Q. 3 What kind of skills might be important in the future?
Sample answer: This is an interesting question. Considering the amount of data generated every day, I think that in the future the demand for research and data analysis skills will rise considerably.
Skills and training
Q. 4 What qualities does a good trainer need to have?
Sample answer: In my opinion, a professional trainer should have a wide range of skills. Firstly, he/she should possess an in-depth knowledge of his field. Secondly, he/she must be friendly, punctual and impartial. Thirdly and most importantly, he/she should lead by example.
Q. 5 Why should companies invest a lot of money in training?
Sample answer: Training programs are vital for the growth of a company. A company with the trained staff is more likely to outperform its competitors. Regular training sessions upgrade the knowledge and skills of employees which in turn leads to higher productivity and profitability. For this reason, many companies spend a major part of their annual budget on different types of trainings.
Q. 6 Do you think schools and universities prepare young people well for the future employment?
Sample answer: Not really. I think that secondary schools and universities in most parts of the world focus too much on conventional academic subjects like mathematics, science and history etc. Professional skills are often neglected. This imbalance between theoretical and practical knowledge has a negative impact on the future job prospects of young people.

Feel free to call for suggestions and queries.

IELTS Band 7 Dehradun
Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun

email: info at ieltsband7.com

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IELTS Cue Card # Describe a worth watching theatrical performance.

January 12, 2022 IELTS Research

IELTS Speaking Task Cue Card

Describe a worth watching theatrical performance.

You should say:

What the performance was about?

Where it took place?

How was the acting and quality of the production?

And explain why it was worth watching.

SAMPLE ANSWER-

Indian theatre is one of the ancient forms of the Asian theatre that has prevailed since centuries. The modern theatre of my country mainly consists of university drama communities that generally have a message to deliver to the spectators. The play that I watched was about a response to a violent gang rape and subsequent death of a student in 2012 in Delhi. This rape case shocked the whole country and people greatly sympathized with the victim and the family.

Recently, on my visit to Delhi, my cousin took me to attend a theatrical show that was being organized in his University. I was more curious to watch it when he told me about the theme of the play.

The play’s name was ‘Nirbhaya’ which symbolizes ‘fearless’ in Hindi. The play was written and produced by a renowned South-African playwright and the entire cast and backstage workers were Indian. This play mainly aimed to break through the silence among women who have suffered gender based violence. The quality of production and the whole performance was remarkable and it could easily be observed by the audience’s expression and applause.

I consider that this theatrical show was a thought-provoking one as it delivered the message of societal change that is much required in our community. It was a compelling depiction of the awful truth that an innocent student had gone through when she boarded a bus with her male friend in the busy streets of Delhi. The hard-hitting truth clearly shows that we could not be silent anymore. Lastly, it was the most powerful and emotional theatre play that I’ve ever seen.

(270 words)

Feel free to call for suggestions and queries.

IELTS Band 7 Dehradun
Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun

email: info at ieltsband7.com

IELTS online simulator

IELTS BAND 7 Home page

IELTS Speaking # Describe someone who learned a foreign language?

January 11, 2022 IELTS Research

IELTS Speaking Task Cue Card

Describe someone who learned a foreign language?

Who this person is?

Which language did he/she learn?

How did he/she learn it?

And explain what you think about this language and its benefits.

Sample Answer

In this swiftly advancing time, being bilingual or multilingual has become mandatory. Someone who just knows their mother tongue faces a lot of challenges mainly in their professional lives. This cue card topic brings to my mind a colleague who learned French in order to get better placement opportunities abroad. I remember making fun of him for joining an Institute to learn a foreign language. It was later when a job preferred candidates who were multilingual that I realized the significance of learning a second language.

Apart from English, French is a widely used language for international communication. My friend, Saumya received an offer letter of a multinational company in Canada and learning French proved an asset for her career.

Learning a new language enriches the mind and helps us interact with foreign natives, both personally and professionally. Recently at a wedding ceremony, I met Saumya and she told me about her professional achievements after learning a foreign language. I was surprised to look at her talking over the phone so fluently in French to her work colleagues back in Canada. She even told me about her plan to learn Spanish in the near future.

From my point of view, being multilingual is really beneficial when it comes to our future. Taking Saumya’s example, she got the opportunity to travel across the world and attend international conferences mainly because of her command over a second language. I personally admire the French people mainly for eloquence with which they speak, the sophistication with which they carry themselves and a sense of nobility that they possess. Being an internationally recognized language, French has numerous advantages. More importantly, not only French but learning any second language will always be fruitful.

DIFFICULT WORDS-

Bilingual– speaking two languages fluently

Multilingual– able to use several languages especially with equal fluency.

Eloquence– fluent or persuasive speaking or writing

Asset– a useful or valuable thing or person