Pooja Ph.D. CELTA, Author at IELTS BAND7

IELTS Speaking cue card: A friend who cleverly solved a problem

June 20, 2022 Pooja Ph.D. CELTA

IELTS Speaking cue card: A friend who cleverly solved a problem

Talk about a friend who cleverly solved a problem
You should say:

Who he/she is?

What the problem was?

What solution he gave?

And explain why you think his solution was clever.

IELTS Cue Card solved a problem

Sample Answer

We come across many problems in our day-to-day life. Some people can find workable solutions while others may seek help for tackling their problems. Today, I’m going to talk about a close friend who gave an effective solution to my problem. His name is Rishabh Agarwal. He is from Haryana. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

I’m the manager of a primary school in Mumbai. It rains heavily in Mumbai in the rainy season which lasts from mid-June to early October. School kids cannot play any outdoor games during these months because playgrounds become slippery and muddy. The long rainy season affects children’s health and moods as well. It’s also not possible for kids to be in sport halls all the time. I discussed this problem with Rishabh and asked for his advice to handle this situation.

He came up with a clever idea of having pedals installed in school desks so that kids can pedal in classrooms. I loved his creative idea and thought of implementing it in our school. Within a month pedals were installed in five classrooms. It was an experiment to check kids’ response. To our surprise, children started using pedals regularly and the overall outcome was very positive. All students became physically active and their fitness and health levels improved dramatically. In studies too, kids did considerably well.

In my view, Rishabh’s solution was very clever for two main reasons. First of all, it was very practical. Secondly, it was not expensive. If the school had to spend a lot of money on this solution, I think it wouldn’t have been approved by the management committee. Sometimes a complex problem has a simple solution, we have to just strike the right note. I think those who use their knowledge in a practical way are better problem-solvers.

Some more ideas for this cue card

You were getting sleepless nights. Your friend recommended making your own tongue twisters and automatically falling asleep in the process.
Water glasses in your kitchen were full of hard water stains. You asked your friend for advice, who recommended mixing vinegar in your cleaning liquid. Amazing results.
Your child/nephew/cousin dropped their curry on a newly painted wall in a temper tantrum. It was looking ugly. Your friend helped you out by creating a swirly crème and brown design on the wall. It looked professional.

Another Similar Cue Card

Describe when a person solved a problem in a smart way.
You should say:

What was the problem?

Who solved it and how?

And w

hy do you think it a smart way?

SAMPLE ANSWER TWO:

We encounter so many problems in our everyday activities, which need only a spark of an idea to tackle with them. But, often, due to the lack of right reasoning along with the panic in our heads, the problem appears to be a herculean task and we fail to find the right solution. Similarly, I can recount an incident, when the sheer smartness and instantaneous wits of my friend helped tackle the situation in an unnoticed, humorous manner. During my school days, I used to take part in dramatics and had also won a few accolades in it. So, once, during an act in a very lengthy play in an Inter Public School Drama Competition, I met this forgetfulness of my dialogues. As it was a very crucial act, my forgetfulness could have brought embarrassment and eventually the poor scores to our school team.

It was then, when my friend and co actor Aditya came to my recue on the stage. In that act, there were a number of dialogues coupled together, which I had to speak in one go. My friend was acting as a villain in that play. I recited the initial lines glibly but then, suddenly, I lost the memory of my successive dialogue and began fumbling. Generally, it takes a few seconds lapse for the immersed audience to acknowledge the forgetting error in actors in a play; but once it happens, it results into a sarcastic laughter from their side and a total collapse of the successive act. So, before that could happen to us, my friend Aditya, who was there with me in that particular act, sprung up with a boisterous laugh, characteristic of a typical villain. He instantaneously gazed into my eyes, as if giving me the time to recollect the dialogues. Within a flash of time, I was able to remember my part. Once he got the affirmative gesture from me, he discontinued laughing and I resumed with my dialogues.

Well, the spontaneity, with which my friend came up with this additional laughter act, was equivalent to the drop of a hat. He not only disallowed the audience to take cognizance of that error, but, additionally, he also won brownie points for his sudden laughter. I think that was the only best thing to do at that time, which he did. I was highly impressed with his outstanding wits and presence of mind.

STRONG WORDS

Word	Meaning
Glib	smooth, in a flow: Student gave glib excuses to the teacher for his late arrival in the class.
Boisterous	loud and cheerful: Children often exhibit boisterous laughs rather gentle smiles.
Fumble	act/speak clumsily: Writing essays in a fumbled manner doesn’t give clarity in the text.
Prodigious	very big extent: Internet network worldwide is very prodigious.

Follow-up Questions

Q. 1 Why can’t most people act smartly amidst problems?

Sample Answer: I think, when a person is stuck in a problem, they usually ponder over the problem only, which makes it appear prodigious. This leads to the panic in their minds and an overall confusion which results in a further distance from the solution. Their hearts start sinking and minds go blank of knowledge which results in the total surrender to a problem.

Q. 2 How should one handle a problem?

Sample Answer: I think, one should not perceive the problem as a true problem. It should be considered as a little glitch only, in the path of accomplishment. One should treat it lightly and focus on the ideas to find a way out. Earnest efforts put together with a smart approach can make any problem go disappear.

Q. 3 Are problems good or bad to a person?

Sample Answer: By the first look, any problem appears to be the worst adversary to the person. But, actually, they serve as a mean to learn new skills and better coping mechanisms. It was the problem only, that gave birth to new inventions and innovations. For instance, problem of not having light in the night gave birth to Edison’s invention of light bulb. Every wrong path actually leads to a reduction of the total no. of paths and finally we are left with the right solution only.

IELTS Band 7 Dehradun
Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun

9634777700

7249900007

IELTS Band 7 Saharanpur
Parsvnath Plaza, Saharanpur

email: info at ieltsband7.com

IELTS online simulator

Cue Card: An interesting person from a foreign country

June 11, 2022 Pooja Ph.D. CELTA

IELTS Speaking Cue Card: An interesting person from a foreign country

Describe an interesting person from a foreign country.
You should say:

Who he/she is?

Where he/she is from?

How long you have known him/her?

and explain why you think he/she is an interesting person.

IELTS Cue Card An interesting person from a foreign country V2

Sample Answer

Today, I’m going to talk about a foreigner who I think is extremely interesting.

I work as a software developer in a multinational company called Capgemini. At present, we’re working on an international project and there are many foreigners in my team. I’ve a healthy relationship with all of them but I particularly like my team leader.

His name is Martin Henze. He is from Germany. Martin has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Technical University of Munich. I first met him in April 2015 when I went to Munich for attending a conference. It’s been almost three years since then.

In my view, Martin is a captivating person. He has many personal and professional attributes which make him special. Professionally, his in-depth knowledge of computer programming and problem-solving skills differentiate him from others. He also has effective communication and presentation skills. His excellent rapport with his colleagues and leadership skills can’t go unnoticed.

Personally, Martin has a pleasing personality. He is very kind and generous. He never shows off his seniority and treats everyone equally. All of us can share our views freely with him. If anyone has a suggestion to improve something, he always listens to them. In my view, developing all these skills is not at all easy. One has to work really hard to develop them and be like him. In short, Martin is my professional role model.

IELTS Band 7 Dehradun
Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun

9634777700

7249900007

IELTS Band 7 Saharanpur
Parsvnath Plaza, Saharanpur

email: info at ieltsband7.com

IELTS online simulator

Cue card: A language lesson you enjoyed

May 19, 2022 Pooja Ph.D. CELTA

IELTS Cue Card Talk about a language lesson you enjoyed

Talk about a language lesson you enjoyed
You should say:

When it was?

What it was about?

What you did in the lesson?

And explain why you enjoyed this lesson.

A language lesson you enjoyed

Sample Answer

I’ve always had a deep fascination with languages. It certainly stems from the skills of my school teachers who made our lessons memorable. Today, I’m going to talk about a language lesson I loved.

I was in 8^th class. Our school provided classes in many foreign languages like German, French, Japanese and Italian etc. I opted for Japanese because my father recommended it to me. My first Japanese lesson was so much fun that I still remember almost everything about it. When our teacher entered the class, she greeted us in Japanese. She didn’t translate it in English or our local language. Initially, we were puzzled but then she drew the sun and two kids on the blackboard. We understood the meaning and all of us repeated the greeting after her. Then, the teacher opened a big box in which she had kept many things like chocolates, cold drinks, tea and a bottle of milk etc.

She started taking them out of the box one by one. She was saying the name of each item in Japanese and we were listening to her and repeating after her. Later on, the teacher just showed us the objects and we were supposed to recall their names. Everyone was actively participating in the lesson. In the next stage of the lesson, the teacher taught us how to order milk, tea or coffee in a Japanese café. She divided us into two groups. Some of us became customers while others became waiters. We practiced all the words that we learned in the lesson in a very interactive way.

Not only me but all my classmates enjoyed the lesson. I found it very interesting because of the way it was delivered. The teacher created a friendly and stimulating learning environment. Its pace was also perfect for our age group. If we hadn’t been involved in the lesson, it would have been a boring lesson. All in all, I can say that this first-class boosted our confidence immensely and motivated us to learn Japanese.

Another Similar Cue Card

Describe a thing you did to learn another language.

Which language did you learn?

What was that thing, you did to learn the language?

How did it help you and how you felt?

And do you recommend that thing for every language?

SAMPLE ANSWER TWO-

Language is among the greatest inventions of mankind. Just imagining a world without languages seems to bring chaos and haphazardness all around. Social order and stability is ensured by this medium of communication. If we just observe our past, it is wondrous to note that we learnt our mother tongue without any formal medium of instruction. It is an automatic natural process set in motion by environment. Although I never intended to become a philologist, but I had this inertia for different words and meanings. I knew English well and I had this penchant for Spanish. So, in my college days, I decided to learn Spanish.

I joined a language academy, where they take up a language from the very basics. With appropriate syntax, pronunciation and meaning understanding of most common Spanish words in academy, I built my fundamentals strong. Thereafter, a stage of stagnation arrived in my progress and I was not improving my spoken Spanish, in particular. It was then, when I decided to stay in a Spanish colony in our city, for few months. Getting surrounded by Spanish diaspora all the time, listening to the language Spanish only whenever a word is spoken and interacting in Spanish only, were the true game changers.

This idea of living among Spanish people was an instantaneous hit. Within a span of just three months, I was conversing in Spanish without any great efforts. To add to it, I even grasped the uncommon classical Spanish vocabulary. The result of the uniform harmony with the Spanish language in my overall environment, while living in Spanish people, was very fruitful. The shopkeepers and watchman in that colony were Spanish too, which necessitated me to even think in Spanish. I felt extremely happy witnessing my gradual but consistent improvement in Spanish.

I would like to recommend my test and trial approach with the learners of any language. Staying in airs stuffed with a particular language all around you, automatically brings you in sync with that. No doubt, academy is something mandatory, but apart from that, my idea for learning a language is very effective, especially the spoken one.

STRONG WORDS

Word	Meaning
Penchant	special bent/liking: My friend has the penchant for old classic movies.
Haphazard	disorderly: students in college generally keep their room haphazard.
Diaspora	scattered population with origin somewhere else: America is truly cosmopolitan in a sense, to have diaspora from so many nations

Follow-up Questions

Q. 1 Is learning a new language difficult after an age?

Sample answer: I can’t answer this with confirmation without actual evidences. Definitely, after an age learning appetite decreases to some extent. Learning a new language might not sound as exciting and hence motivating to a grown up man as to a young boy. This lack of interest, apart from the work pressures faced by an adult may hinder his learning process.

Q. 2 What factors make a language interesting to learn?

Sample answer: It is the accent, smoothness, tone and pitch primarily, which creates impression for a language. Apart from them, glory and status of the nation, to which a language belongs, also generates fan following. Influence of a language created by its major presence all over the globe is a big influence.

Q. 3 Can deepest emotions be conveyed by a language?

Sample answer: I would say speech itself comes with a limitation. Use of any language can definitely easen the process of emotions’ description, as done in poems, plays and other fiction. But, I still believe that language do not have the absolute adequacy to display all the emotions, in complete.

Q. 4 What are the advantages of learning a new language?

Sample answer: Learning anything new, in itself is a fun process. Language learning comes with the spoken, written, hearing and speaking tasks involved in it, therefore it further broadens our pleasurable experience. It is always an advantage staying in a country, if we are averse with its native language. This brings a sense of assimilation in an earlier differently looking ethnicity. It also enriches our experience of different civilizations and cultures.

IELTS Band 7 Dehradun
Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun

9634777700

7249900007

IELTS Band 7 Saharanpur
Parsvnath Plaza, Saharanpur

email: info at ieltsband7.com

IELTS online simulator

IELTS Speaking Cue Card: A special cake you had

May 5, 2022 Pooja Ph.D. CELTA

IELTS Speaking Cue Card: A special cake you had

Describe a special cake you had

What kind of cake it was?

When you ate the cake?

Who you ate the cake with?

And explain why you think this cake was special.

IELTS Speaking latest Cue Card Describe a special cake you had what kind of cake it was and explain why you think this cake was special

Sample answer

I do tend to have a bit of a sweet tooth and it just so happens that cakes are my all-time favourite treats. Today, I’ll talk about an absolutely delicious cake that I had some time back.

Last week I went to Mussorie with my family. Naturally the journey from Delhi to Mussorie was quite long and it left us exhausted. So, we decided to go to a cafe for refreshments. After strolling about and absorbing the general atmosphere, we came across a cafe named Lovely Loaves. It seemed to be quite an old cafe. We went inside. It was a quiet place with a certain antique charm. Their menu offered a wide range of coffees, sandwiches and other sweet assortments. I ordered a cappuccino with a slice of mixed fruit cake to the side. My parents chose to order sandwiches.

At first glance, the cake was lovingly decorated with almonds, cashews and hazelnuts, it had some sort of brown sugar powder sprinkled on the frosting. From the side, you could see the cream filling and the little fruit pieces. Every savoury little bite was infused with the rich warm flavour of fresh fruits, filled with fluffy vanilla sponging. The treat was sinfully divine, in fact I adored it so much I asked for another piece. My parents too each took a forkful from the gourmet treat. They loved it as well and were inclined to order one of their own too.

I felt that that cake was special and that it had a certain warmth to it, a quality which is not found in many things nowadays. The love which it was made with, made sure that the quantity and quality of each ingredient was just-right. From the crumbly flakiness of the sponge to the blissful sweetness in the drizzled frosting, the cake was and will be one of the best things I have ever eaten. When I go back to visit Mussorie, I will without a doubt revisit Lovely Loaves.

Another Similar Cue Card

Describe a special cake you received from others.

When did you get it?

Who gave you, where and why?

What made it special?

And how did you feel?

SAMPLE ANSWER TWO-

Cakes are usually presented on special occasions as a token of dessert, for wishing good and healthy for someone. They are specially ordered from the bakeries as per their appearances, sizes and tastes. I used to get cakes mostly, on my birthdays, till, when I was a young boy. On my 10^th birthday, I received a special cake from my parents.

Although, it was presented jointly by my parents but later my father informed me that it was my mother’s exclusive choice. I was surprised to see the size and outlay design of the cake. It was a 3 storeyed chocolate and vanilla cake with my favourite cartoon star impostered on the top of it. My 10^th birthday was celebrated in a famous hotel of our city. It was there, that I received my birthday cake as a beautiful present, after all the guests arrived. Usually I used to get a normal sized chocolate cake on my birthdays, but my mother told me that it was special this time because I had entered the double digit zone of my age. This transition made it commemorative, to be occasioned with the special cake.

The very outlook, the way it was designed, with my favourite star standing tall on it, gave it a dazzling view. I was oblivious of this this special gift, therefore, I screamed out of joy and surprise as soon it appeared in front of me. I felt like wrestling with my hero on the cake, there and then. I just kept on looking at it in bewilderment, till I finally cut it in pieces. Delicious chocolate and vanilla turned it into a mouth-watering treat. That night, I even saw that magnanimous cake in my dreams.

STRONG WORDS

Word	Meaning
Commemorate	remember, celebrate: Gandhiji’s birth anniversary is commemorated on 2^nd oct every year.
Dazzling	eye catching: I wore a dazzling suite on my brother’s wedding.
Bewilderment	great surprise: I was bewildered to know about the size of ancient mammoth.

Follow-up Questions

Q. 1 Why do you think cake is presented on special occasions?

Sample answer: It was a trend that was set by Britishers in colonial India. It is not a native dish of India and was introduced by them. Later, Indian bakeries flourished and we started making our own cakes. The sophistication involved in baking and the sweet fluffy texture of a cake make it an ideal choice for desserts on any special occasion.

Q. 2 Do children miss something on their birthdays in the absence of a cake?

Sample answer: Yes, Indeed. Cake is the first thing that comes to mind when we think of celebrating a birthday. Candles are placed and lit on this special platform, which are then extinguished by celebratory puff of the birthday boy. So, cake, in a sense occupies the centre stage on this occasion. Therefore, children will definitely complain and miss this treat, if it is absent on their birthdays.

Q. 3 On what other occasions do you take something special to eat?

Sample answer: Well, we, the family, makes it a point to visit a good restaurant on our birthdays and anniversaries. Apart from that, whenever I feel the special appetite of eating something delicious, I request my mother and she will prepare those dishes for me. Sometimes, we visit the restaurants even on weekends, to have a fun outing and tasty food.

Q. 4 Do you consider eating outside a healthy habit?

Sample answer: No, not at all. Outside, in stalls, restaurants or even in hotels, the quality of food prepared is not up to the mark, considering its nutritious and healthy indices. Oil, flour, sugar and so many other ingredients used in food are of genuine brands at home but one cannot verify them at an eatery outside. Eating outside on a regular basis, especially the fast junk foods, can bring a detrimental effect on our health.

IELTS Band 7 Dehradun
Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun

9634777700

7249900007

IELTS Band 7 Saharanpur
Parsvnath Plaza, Saharanpur

email: info at ieltsband7.com

IELTS online simulator