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

Describe a time when you moved to a new house or school.

You should say:

• when it was
• where you moved to
• who you moved with

and explain how you felt about it.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer 1:
I have always been fascinated by the idea of moving to a new place or a new house. But, little did I know that one day my family would sell our old house and buy a new one because of moving to a new city.

It all happened about 15 years ago from now when my father decided to change his long time profession and move to a less crowded small town. Initially, of course, I wasn’t very much in favour of moving to a small town (because I actually loved living in a big city since I grew up there and everything was so familiar to me), but when my whole family, including my parents and elder siblings, explained to me about the benefits of living in a small town, I reluctantly agreed with them.

By the way, I wasn’t in favour of selling our old house either, because I really liked its design and size, but, again, my whole family convinced me otherwise by saying that they would need to sell the old house in order to get the additional cash for buying a new house. Anyway, now, it was time to visit the new city and look for our new house. So, my whole family, including the little me, travelled to the new city and started to look for a house, only to find out it wasn’t that easy to buy a new house as good as our old one. Finally, after a marathon try of one whole week, we luckily found a house that we could buy. Now, all was left to do was to just pack our luggage and old furniture and move into our newly-bought house.

Anyway, moving to a new house, at a completely new and strange place, was a whole new experience for me – an experience which I was never really prepared for. But, I tried my best to get used to the idea while trying very hard to forget about our old but nice house.

Sample Answer 2:
My father works for the Nigerian government and thus we needed to shift in the new house frequently. It was 2012 when we moved into a new house in Abuja. Before moving to this house, we were in Benin city in Nigeria. I liked the house in Abuja and it was well furnished and spacious than the former house in Benin City. This is a pretty nice cue card task for me and I will answer the other questions in brief.   

We moved to Abuja as my father was transferred to this city with his responsibilities on a government job for collecting revenue for the government. It was impossible for him to continue the office between the two cities. So, he shifted with the other family members in Abuja and arranged for a new home for us. We also were happy with the new home, particularly for the extended space.

I moved with my parents and two other siblings. In fact, we were mentally prepared from the moment we heard that father got a transfer. In line with shifting the house, we also had to change our schools. It was really a trouble for us, especially for our father. Almost every year, he had to manage seats for us in a new school where he intended to shift. Besides, it was really expensive as well to move the furniture and other home appliances from one city to another.  

Initially, I felt irritating to move house from one place to another. But after a couple of years, we all were habituated. But now I do not have any such problems as I am a university student now and live in the dormitory. My family is still living in Abuja and my dad will retire soon. So, I am feeling relaxed a bit now.

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

Topic: Describe a time when you moved to a new house or school.

1. At the end of winter in 2011, I moved to a new school named Kingsford School. My family moved to Scotland and so I had to change my school. I moved there with all the family members. It was a bit difficult for me to adjust to the new environment of the school. I had studied in my last school for the past five years.

2. Last summer, my family shifted to a new house in Austin. The house was located in near the Colorado River. My parents and siblings also accompanied me there. It was a new experience. The house was large and spacious. Moreover, there was a moderate garden in front of the house that increased the look.

3. Since our old building was damaged by a strong earthquake last winter, my family moved to a new address. It was located near the Rhine River. I moved there with my family consisted of three other members. It was a bit terrible to shift to a new location. Shifting all the furniture and other necessary materials was troublesome indeed.

4. After completing the junior level education, I was admitted to Azabu Senior High School. The school was located in Minato in Tokyo. I had to move in this school as the previous one had only junior grades. It was a different feeling. Actually, all the other students and teachers were unfamiliar to me. But I did not feel like a stranger for their warm behave and supports.

5. Heraklion is a wonderful city and my family moved here in November last year. We moved to the centre of the city and bought a new house. My dad intended to open his own business in the city and so, he bought a nice house with spaces below to continue his business. I felt excited when I heard that we were going to shift in Heraklion. In fact, I was in love with the sea beach and the scenic locations of this city in Greece.  

6. My mom got shifted in her new job in Perth in September last year. Accordingly, I also had to shift with her. I got a new school and a new residential address after the shift. I live with my mom and she had been caring for me after my dad’s death. She is a university teacher and changes her universities frequently. But it is always nice for me to move to new locations and meet new people.

Your preparation for the cue card topic - "Describe a time when you moved to a new house or school." would help you to talk about the following topics as well:

1. Describe a time when you had to leave a place where you lived for a long.
2. Describe a school you have read in for a while.
3. Describe a time when your family shifted to a new place.
4. Describe an experience that made you sad.
5. Describe a time when you made a new friend.

• IELTS Cue Card
• Candidate Task Card

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