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

Describe an instance when you spoke with someone in a foreign language for the first time.

You should say:

• when it was
• with whom you talked
• what language you used

and describe how you felt about it.

Model Answer 1:
To me, being able to speak or communicate in a foreign language is a very intriguing subject. Anyway, I happen to know only one more foreign language, in addition to English, and today, I would like to share my experience of using this language for the first time.

The foreign language, I am talking about, is the Japanese which I used to learn as a young university student about 7 years ago. The reason, of course, behind learning this language was that I wished to go to Japan after finishing my graduation and get higher education. But, then I had to change my plan because my parents just didn’t agree with it. So, with that change of plan, my motivation for learning the Japanese language also got diminished. But little did I know back then that one day, I would need to speak in this very language in my own home town!

Well, to tell exactly what had really happened, I saw a few Japanese tourists doing some grocery shopping at a supermarket where I also was present. At one point, one of them approached me and asked me if he could use my phone to call his friends, staying at the same hotel with them. Suddenly, I asked them if they were Japanese in their own language. In response, he seemed so excited, apparently because I was talking in the Japanese language. I also got excited and told him to use my phone as long as he needed in the Japanese language. The conversation was brief, but I remember it to this date.

Well, I felt very excited and emotional when I got the chance to use the Japanese language for the first time. In fact, I thought that all of those valuable efforts and time of mine, after all, in learning that foreign language didn’t go in vain. However, I also regretted the fact at the same time that I didn’t learn the language even more so that I could feel more confident about my Japanese language skills.

Sample Answer 2:
Oh my, I have a feeling this is going to be a slightly embarrassing anecdote, but we all have to start somewhere experimenting with using another language ‘for real’ for the first time! Even though I blush at the memory, on balance it was also a lesson in how most people are a lot more forgiving than you might think, as long as you ‘show willing’ and at least make an effort to communicate in a friendly and sincere way!

So, I’ll tell you when it was, who I was speaking with (though it might be overstating things a bit to say it was a conversation), what the language was and how I felt about the interaction.

So, the situation was that I went to Vietnam to work as an English Teacher. I’m ashamed to say that even though I was going to help students improve their use of English as a foreign language, I myself am really terrible at learning and speaking other languages. I hope that this fact might make me more sympathetic to my students. I really do understand how hard it is to learn an unfamiliar vocabulary that sounds strange and even feels peculiar as you try to form the words in your mouth and move your tongue in odd contortions to create new sounds. This adventure was over a year ago now, but I remember it all very clearly. Anyway, I went to Vietnam speaking absolutely none of the language at all. I did have a guidebook, and tried to learn some ‘useful phrases’ in advance using that. However, I found out very quickly that learning Vietnamese was considerably more challenging than I’d anticipated – and that’s saying something, as I was quite fearful of the challenge before I went. The problem for me, is that Vietnamese is a tonal language, and as my first language is English (which isn’t)  I just didn’t have an ear sensitive enough to pick up the difference between how what seemed to me to be essentially the same word, might be uttered in 6 different ways to convey 6 distinctly different meanings. It was all very alien. However, where I was working very few people spoke any English, and I felt it was very rude of me not to make an effort to communicate in Vietnamese, however poorly.  My arrival coincided with Vietnamese New Year, and I did learn to shout out with enthusiasm a poorly pronounced version of ‘chúc mừng năm mới’ as I interacted with local people around that time. I fear my expression was rather ugly and inexact, but the context helped – it was pretty obvious what I was trying to say, and this, coupled with the festive atmosphere meant if I uttered it then usually I got a friendly wave and response in kind. 

Where I was living, there weren’t any real cooking facilities, so I had to go out to eat all the time at local places. I am vegetarian, which was more uncommon than I expected in this part of Vietnam, so I set myself the task of learning to order a basic vegetarian noodle dish and an accompanying mango smoothie (because they were completely delicious and you can’t get anything like that in my county); along with a white iced coffee. I wanted to do so with courtesy and say ‘hello’ and ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to the staff at whatever eatery I ended up in. A kind colleague where I was working helped me by telling me what the phrases were, and how to pronounce them correctly. I’m not sure I could, to be honest, but I wrote the words down carefully in a way that I hoped would mean I’d be able to read them out later. If I took my time, I thought I might be able to approximate the correct pronunciation and so I could be understood. So it was, one day I took myself off to a new restaurant, and carefully used my prepared speech to order a meal. The Vietnamese waitress was absolutely lovely. I could tell she was struggling a bit to understand what I was saying, but after a few attempts, she laughed in recognition. She was really delighted that I ‘could speak Vietnamese’. Of course, I couldn’t really, but she told me (in very good English) that most overseas visitors didn’t make any effort at all to use her language, so terrible as my attempt was (my words not hers) she was happy to help and rewarded my efforts with a huge smile of appreciation. She was too polite to really correct my pronunciation, but in a way, it didn’t matter. We still managed to communicate, and I think it helped build up some rapport. I got the meal I wanted (including my delicious mango smoothie and iced coffee afterwards) and I felt like I’d made a significant breakthrough. I stuck out a bit in the community to be honest, as I was the only foreigner working in the area. This meant that all the local restaurants and street food stalls learned quite quickly what I liked to eat and order and probably brought it anyway without me having to really ask correctly. However, that isn’t the point. I do think it’s important to try and communicate in the native language of your host country. It also helped remind me how self-conscious my own students might feel in uttering unfamiliar English words publically, in front of me, a native speaker- although there was really no need, I would only ever applaud their efforts in trying. Trying to learn just a tiny bit of Vietnamese was quite humbling for me. I was just so bad at it!. In the many weeks, I was there, I don’t think I ever really progressed all that much, but I do have increased respect for anyone who can acquire even the most basic competence in another language let alone become fluent in communicating.

So how did I feel? Well, a bit self-conscious because I wasn’t very good, but I also felt pleased with myself for at least having tried. I And, I suppose in literal terms I succeeded too, as I did get the meal I wanted!  hope my efforts made me a better teacher, and perhaps a better guest in Vietnam too.

The ability to speak another language is an extraordinary gift and talent. For some lucky few, language acquisition comes easily, the rest of us have to put in a lot of hours and blood, sweat and tears to get to that point. However, the reward in being able to connect with other people and cultures from all over the world is priceless. I don’t think I’ll ever be fluent in Vietnamese, but I hope that whatever countries I may be lucky enough to visit in future I will always be brave enough to learn to say (and use) simple but important phrases like  ‘please’ and ‘thank you’… Having said that, though, it’s worth remembering that personally if in doubt I’ve always found nothing communicates more effectively than a wide smile, open body language and a willingness to laugh at yourself. Some things it seems are indeed the same the world over, a winning smile is surely one such thing!

[Written by - Lucy Marris (2016):  Careers Adviser (UK), TEFL teacher (Vietnam)]

Sample Answer 3:
Travelling is a great source of entertainment but most of the time I turn the fish out of the water while travelling to unknown places. Last month I went to Quebec in Canada. I had to use the French language to communicate which was uncomfortable for me.

I am a college student in Canada and have just finished my first-year studies. From this regards, I am a Sophomore now. Before starting the second phase of the college, I planned a trip to Quebec. I had only three days to make the trip. So, I made it in the last three days of October. I went to see the most visited attractions in the state and enjoyed them. Besides, I took some pictures of the most beautiful and famous places. The foods were really attractive and I was glad about the serving process. But I struggled with the language.   

In fact, I am not a smart traveller. I made mistake always to get the things done right before the tour. So did I for this trip. I forgot that my host was French. Mr Austin was my host and a business mate of dad in Quebec. So, I did not book any hotels for staying there. He was a foreign businessman in Quebec and established himself as a reputed man there. But he felt uncomfortable to speak English. So, I was confused about communication with him. But uncle Austin was a man of great heart. He was a divorcee, lived alone in a large house. His daughter lives with his wife, in another state. His house is well decorated while his domestic help takes care of the home. So, he is free of troubles for caring for the large house. In fact, he is quite comfortable with this life.    

Being a French by birth, Mr Austin is unable to speak clearly and most of his pronunciations are incomprehensible to me. So, I decided to use the French language. Though I learnt the language in my school, I have forgotten most of the parts of the French language. So, it was a bit difficult for me to speak with my uncle Austin. Actually, my French language skills were not up to the mark and I just expressed my emotions with some selected words. He knew about everything going in the city and took me to the places I desired to go. I could not complete my thoughts for my weakness in the language but he understood everything.

I had a mixed feeling about the events when I used the language. Firstly, I was unable to speak the French language fluently like native speakers. It took time for me to translate English into French and then deliver the speech. So, I was a late speaker. I understood most of the French instructions but was incompetent to express myself. However, it was a fresh experience for me. I used my French language skills to speak with a native for the first time in my adult life. In fact, I never talked to any French national before. With the preliminary skills, I had to pass the days at his home. But I think if I were in a hotel in Quebec, I could have missed the experience.
 

More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:

Topic: Talk about an instance when you spoke with someone in a foreign language for the first time.

1. Travelling is my hobby and I also try learning new languages whenever I stay somewhere for a long. Recently I went to Vietnam and had to use the local languages. I went shopping at a street market and used the language with the local sellers. I felt excited because I was not proficient in the languages. I learned the language a few months ago and applied it for the first time here. And it was an important decision for me to know the language. I was happy that the sellers could not charge me more as a tourist.

2. Meeting with Chinese people is easier if you know their language.  Last month I had to attend a Skype meeting with a Chinese client. Mr Shang Fu is my client in my office for the past five years but I did not have conversations with him before. So, I used the Mandarin Chinese (that I learned) to continue the meeting. It was an exciting experience for me. In fact, I did not think that I would use this foreign language and speak like a pro.

3. I had to visit Russia last month and I used the local language of the country. I spoke with a good number of people and had set a detailed plan to establish a new outlet for my business there. I used the Russian language to communicate with them because I learned the language a few months ago and did not have chances to apply it before. In fact, I was too thrilled to use the language here. My three-month course became successful.

4. Speaking Spanish was upsetting for me but I overcame the matter. I had to use the language with a businessman in Spain while I was there for some official purposes. I used the Spanish language to make him understand that he should take a lower rate for the products I purchased from him. I was worried if I could convey the message accurately or not. Finally, I was able to realize the matter and with the poor Spanish language skill, it was hard for me to do the work. In fact, this was the first time for me when I used the language with a native speaker.

5. Speaking the Arabic language appeared the toughest task for me. Recently, I went to Saudi Arabia for some business needs and was in trouble as the business partners were unable to communicate in English. So, I had to use Arabic for conversation. I had some ideas about the language but I was not proficient in it. Hence, it was hard for me to meet both ends. Actually, I continued my conversation with a limited vocabulary and this was shocking for me to learn that they pronounce the words from deep of their throats. It was the very first real-life application of the language for me. So, I also felt thrilled when I finished my discussion.

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