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IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card.

Describe an important social change in your country.

You should say:

• what it is/was
• how it has happened
• how long it took

and explain the effects it has had on the people in your country.

Model Answer 1:
Sociologists define social change as changes in human interactions and relationships that transform cultural and social institutions. Social changes are inevitable because we human, by born, are prone to finding new ways and ideas to keep us moving “forward”. Not to mention, some of these changes have slowly crept into our society also.

Anyway, one of these social changes, which I am to talk about here, is related to the ill-treatment of elderly people and their overall position in our society. I remember very well when I was growing up as a child, that people around me, regardless of their social status and ideologies, used to treat elderly people with the utmost respect by making ways for them, by leaving seats for them, as well as by communicating with them in a very mild tone. Even in my own family, I remember that my parents, uncles and aunts used to seek all kinds of advice from my elderly grandparents. In return, my grandparents also used to freely offer their opinions whether the advice-seeking persons liked them or not.

But, unfortunately, today I don’t really see this kind of nice and polite treatment of the elderly people in our society. Instead, today we see these elderly people getting treated very poorly, not only by the other people in their society but also by their very own family members. In fact, today, many people in my society can be seen sending their elderly parents or grandparents to “retirement home” or “senior citizens home” because their children don’t have any time to take care of them.

Of course, this social change hasn’t happened overnight, rather it has happened slowly over the last 3 decades or so. But, whichever way this change has crept into our society, it has certainly made our society more “selfish and cruel” than ever before. Besides, it also has created some new economic reality where elderly people are seen as some “burden” for our society, as far as its financial obligation is concerned.

Sample Answer 2:
Thank you, sir/ madam, for this wonderful topic. I live in India and this country has gone through numerous social and political changes in the last 100 years which are all so remarkable and historic. Social changes are basically social progress or the evolution of socio-culture. Positive social changes move society forward and this takes time. The most significant social change I have witnessed is the 'Gender Equity' and for this candidate task card topic, I would like to talk about it.

It took a long, it happened slowly and it had cost many innocent lives but this social change happened for good. Women in India had no voice, no participation in the key positions, no role in the decision-making, were treated mostly like slaves and had been the victim of clear discriminations by the male-dominated society. The history of the brutality to women, discrimination and helplessness of Indian women was unfathomable.  It was not more than 60 years or so when women empowerment, education and right were only dreams that no one dared to dream. A female child was considered to be a curse to a family and the life of a typical Indian woman was not better than the life of a slave; in fact, in some cases worse! Burning or Burying alive the Widows of Hindus was a black chapter in our history that was abolished in 1829 by the British authority.

This is no longer the truth- Indian women now have an equal right and have the freedom to work in any sector they like. Many powerful positions are held by women now and the evil acts and ignorant belief regarding women have almost vanished. Parents these days educate both their male and female children and this is indeed a very positive sign.

I think it is really hard to say how long it took. I believe it took several centuries! However, the good thing is, it finally happened and our generation has witnessed it.

How it happened?  - I would say education, globalisation, and humanity played the most crucial roles in making it happen. Great people like Madhusree Dutta, Shruti Kapoor, Manasi Pradhan, Mamatha Raghuveer Achanta and Idrees Ul Haq  have contributed through their activity and voice to make it happen.

Education has broadened people's mind, has eradicated many superstitions and helped people become more rational and logical. Globalisation helped us compare our social conditions with that of many developed countries and have eliminated many false feeling of pride we had. Finally, humanity revived and made us more human and less animal to treat everybody equally regardless of their sex, colour and religion. There are still some discriminations but the progress has already been made.

This single sociocultural evolution has tremendous effects on people and the society in India. Both male and female are getting equal opportunities in education, job, politics and other sectors and their combined contribution have helped a lot for the advancement of the country- economically and socially. This is further accelerating the education, industrial and agricultural productions and economic progress. The social unrest, domestic violence and overall crime have dropped and that ensures a better living standard for all. Equal participation in job ensures better productivity and more reserve of the foreign remittance. Women's participation in education, law-enforcing force, army, politics, business, factory and in other sectors have established us as an emerging superpower in the world and this had all been possible due to the social progress in equal opportunity.

Sample Answer 3:
Canada is one of the most developed countries in the world. It provides a good number of facilities to its citizens. The public health coverage is a great social change for the country. It is helping a large number of citizens to get scopes in dealing with their health issues. I would like to thank you for this nice cue card topic and the opportunity to let me talk about a remarkable social change in my country.
 
Earlier, the citizens and people of the country had to spend from their pocket or had to rely on the employers for health care. And it had some detrimental impacts on society. They were unable to bear the health insurance or other health care facilities by them. In fact, it was a bit difficult for ordinary people to bear the expenses. But with the change of time, the government of the country has brought some changes in the health care system. With the adoption of some social policies, the issue of health care received much priority, and this has brought an important change in society.    

The change in health care did not come overnight. It began at the beginning of the 1960s. At present, this is on the top of the list and we, all the Canadians, are proud of it. In the beginning, the health care system was under private initiatives. But the government took steps to make it public and thus affordable to all. Before the launching of this program, it was a profitable issue to the related people. But after the launching of this social program, the public-funded health care brought a huge social change. Now the ordinary citizens can have the right medical and health care facilities they are in need of. Now the Canadians have comprehensive health insurance and this is automated. The expenses are met from the public health coverage plans. As a result, they do not need to pay any more for health care services.     

This is really a great social change. It took a long time to be established. Initially, it was almost impossible to formulate such a policy where people will have not to pay for their health care services they receive from the service providing organisations. After the initiation, the model was followed by the different provincial governments. Usually, the government bears almost all the necessary costs for the health care of its citizens. But sometimes the people also need to pay a minimal amount of money to support the service or they need to pay a monthly premium for the overall services they receive. But in reality, it is really an expensive issue. So, it took a notable amount of time to be established perfectly.      

This change has some positive impacts on society. Firstly, now the number of diseases and disabilities is on the decrease. People can opt for a wide variety of health and medical care facilities. They almost need not pay any cost except the monthly premium instalment for the services they have availed or any other supplementary services if they are in need of. As a direct result, the Canadian citizens are healthier and the average lifespan has also increased to a great extent. They are able to move freely without diseases and disabilities. They do not need to worry about health care in both individual and family level. The government is to provide the necessary services. In fact, this is a kind of inner satisfaction that helps to work without worries which contribute to increasing the GDP.
 

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