IELTS Speaking Cue Card # Describe something useful you learned from a member of your family.
IELTS Speaking Cue Card
Describe something useful you learned from a member of your family.
You should say:
- What you learned?
- How this became useful later in your life?
- Have you taught it to someone?
and explain why it was important for you.
(Download CUE Card)
SAMPLE ANSWER-
Family members are said to be the first teachers in an infant’s life. There are innumerable family values and skills which a child can learn to thrive in life. Here, I’d like to tell about the most important lesson I learned from my parents about never to waste your talents. They taught me this lesson because they’d made the same mistake and didn’t wanted me to take the wrong step in the future.
My father is a natural singer, he loves singing but my grandparents underestimated his ability and never recognized his true personal talent. Ultimately, he had to join the family business thereby leaving his passion behind. Similarly, my mother had a passion for fashion but she sacrificed her interests for her in-laws. I was in my university days, stuck in a dilemma when my parents gave me this negative example so that I could find the right path for myself.
Though I haven’t personally taught this to someone, whenever my friends are confused about something, I advise them to follow their dreams. My parents always taught me that life is too short to repent your actions.
This lesson is very meaningful to me because I pursued engineering but my heart was never in it. Later, I gained the courage to leave the course and start my own business. Because one should chase their passion instead of worrying about society’s criticism and mock. My business of wedding planning is running successfully and I owe this achievement to my parents.
(250 Words)
Another Similar Cue Card
Speak about a skill that you learnt from older people.
- What was that skill and from whom did you learn it?
- How did you learn it?
- Did you find the skill helpful and how?
And Have you imparted the skill to anyone afterwards?
(Download CUE Card)
SAMPLE ANSWER TWO-
Learning is a process in which you train yourself with a set of skills in a consistent manner over a period of time. It is an unending ever evolving process. To claim that I have learnt everything, is a vicarious affirmation made out of personal ignorance. Elders contain the virtue of experience which encompasses the skills imperative for leading a healthy lifestyle. I learnt the art of patience, how it is nurtured and preserved within oneself. I learnt it from my father.
I always sit with my retired father in the evenings, after a long day of work, full of conflicts and discontentment. Additionally, I discuss with him, the confluence of several variables in my work which make the things unpredictable and desired outcomes may be suffered because of this. My father would then instruct me about wisdom and associated virtues. He would lay emphasis on patience, how upkeep of patience will allow me to stay calm and happy even in troubled waters. At first, I found it difficult to hold patience in my rough moods. But with repeated practice and proper internalization, I became the master of my will.
Indeed, practicing patience in everyday life is an art that helped me immensely. Unfavourable outcomes, not meeting desired results in stipulated time and not receiving what is expected out of someone or something, were few common recurring experiences, which used to agitate me with remorse and chagrin. After cultivating patience in my daily routine, my perspective towards failures shifted upside down. Acceptance for every event grew multifolds and a subtle pleasure became a part of myself. I feel good about myself and everything around me.
As such, I have not imparted the skill to anyone formally. But, yes, I informed few of my friends about the radical changes induced in my behaviour and mannerisms because of my embracing the patience and anxiety free attitude.
STRONG WORDS
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Confluence | convergence, junction: Allahabad is the confluence point of Ganges and Yamuna rivers. |
| Chagrin | humiliation: Much to my chagrin, I failed in IELTS test. |
| Vicarious | proxy, imagined: Winning someone by force and intimidation is a vicarious victory. |
Follow-up Questions
Q. 1 How does a child acquire a skill?
Sample answer: In first stage, child is instructed step by step the procedure of the activity. Then he is asked to practice the skill with focused attention and in the last step when he develops dexterity, he can continue with the task even with divided attention. For e.g.: while teaching him how to write, first of all, we would teach him how to hold a pencil and how to mark it on paper. Later on, with practice he can be master at this skill.
Q. 2 Which skills are weakened and which strengthened in older age?
Sample answer: In old age, physical faculties lose their strength and vitality. Because of this, physical skills like rope climbing, jumping, running etc. are diminished. On the other hand, with the vast experience and wisdom, skill of decision making and judgment16 becomes stronger over the time.
Q. 3 How does the environment help in learning skills?
Sample answer: Environment is our silent teacher. It teaches us almost everything. Even the learning from the parents and friends is an environmental learning. A child grown up in a wild habitat will be far superior than an urban child, in skills necessary to survive in wild. Boat making skill, Tree house skill, hunting skills and so many other proficiencies are learnt by Mowgli, because of the environmental teachings.
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