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Written by IELTS Mentor

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

Describe an interest or hobby that you enjoy.

You should say:

• how you became interested in it
• how long you have been doing it
• why you enjoy it

and explain what benefits you get from this interest or hobby.

Model Answer 1:
In the past, I tried a number of hobbies, but I just couldn’t stick with them for too long, probably because of the age factor. But, at this point in my life, I must say that I have found a hobby which I could probably enjoy for the rest of my life without ever getting bored.

The name of this particular hobby is called “internet surfing and collecting information from it”. Yes, you heard it right. My favourite hobby nowadays is surfing the internet. I also think that more and more people should consider surfing the internet as their hobby because there are just so many interesting things to learn from the world wide web that it is almost impossible to get a better view of the world in which we live without surfing the internet. For this reason, I have become quite interested in it.

At least, I have been doing this for the last five years or so, and I just love it. Besides, what could be a better hobby than learning about the world around us with just a click of a mouse? The best thing about this hobby is that I can enjoy it anytime from the comfort of my home.

Anyway, I enjoy this hobby because it stimulates my mind and brain unlike anything else. Besides, the wealth of information, I receive from the internet, helps me make many informed decisions which otherwise wouldn’t be possible that easily.

It offers a plethora of benefits. Well, do you want to learn about a unique aspect of a particular culture or tradition? Well, the internet has it whether you want just some written/text information or an actual video of it. You are interested to learn about the recipes for some delicious foods? The internet will provide you with tons of videos on it for you. Like these, there are so many things that we can learn by surfing the internet if you really have the intellectual acumen to put all the information in the proper context. Now, why would I think of going outside to enjoy some hobbies while I can do it right at my home with my family members and loved ones?

Sample Answer 2:
Today I am going to talk about a hobby I particularly enjoy when I am at home in the UK. I will tell you what the hobby is; how I became interested in it; how long I have been doing it; what benefits it offers; and why it is important to me.

Well, my hobby is running!  I know I do not really look like a runner, and it is true I am not very fast, but this is still the activity that I like to do in my spare time.

I have not been running for very long.  I started running just 28 months ago, as I decided I needed to get fit, and I thought it would be a cheap way to exercise.  I did not expect to enjoy myself. Near to where I live, there is a park.  It is very beautiful with trees and streams.  Each Saturday a large group of about 500 people meet at 9.00 a.m. in the morning and go for a 5 km run together. This event is called Parkrun, and it happens in over 300 different places in the UK each week. I was nervous when I first went but found the group was friendly and encouraging.  Now I go every week, and I even have trained for some longer races 10 km and my longest was 20 k.m.!

I have made lots of friends through running and it is a great benefit of this hobby.  However, the best surprise was that when I went to my local Parkrun, I met someone I had not seen for over 30 years! It was an amazing experience!  We had been at school together but did not keep in touch.  We had both moved to the new city of Sheffield and did not realise we lived so close to each other.  Now I run with this friend every week, and we go for breakfast each Saturday after our run.

Running is important to me because it keeps me fit, has helped me make new friends, and has shown me that I am not too old to try new things!  I hope you all find activities that you enjoy doing in your spare time!

Model Answer 3:
Blogging is an interest or hobby that I really enjoy and have been doing it very passionately for the last 3-4 years. A blog is basically the short form of 'weblog' and it lets bloggers write on topics they like. It is very similar to a website, and the blog posts I write are open for anyone to read using the internet. I became interested in this hobby because I thought blogging is an excellent way to jot down my thoughts on various topics, express my opinion and make a community of like-minded people.

My blog is not being collaborated with anyone at the moment. Currently, I am updating it alone, but I have a plan to share this with some of my friends who also have an interest in writing and blogging. I enjoy blogging because it gives me immense pleasure, allows me to express my opinion and helps me make new friends every now and then.

The blog I maintain is hugely important and beneficial for me. It helps both me and the intended readers. It helps improve my writing skill as it requires lots of content writing. It also helps me explore relevant topics that improve my knowledge. To upload the images I take with my camera, I had to sharpen my photography sense as well. Sometimes I write on how-to and tutorials which are helpful for people looking for it. Sometimes I write about books I read, movies I watch, and new things I learn; and that helps me observe those from a different perspective. People can comment on the articles I add and thus I have got many others on my blog who shares similar interests that I have.

For writing blog posts, I need to explore different topics and thus this habit helps me increase my knowledge on different topics. And this aspect of this hobby is quite beneficial to me. 

Part 3: Details Discussion

Discussion topics: The social benefits of hobbies

Q. Do you think having a hobby is good for people’s social life? In what way?
Answer: Many people say that we humans are social beings, meaning we generally like to remain in the company of other people. From that point of view, hobbies certainly are a good way for fulfilling people’s social life since it allows like-minded people to socialise with others and enjoy some quality time together whether they are riding a boat on a lake, cycling, playing soccer, or just strolling around the city on a beautiful afternoon. So, having a hobby, enjoying it alone or with others, is, again, a good thing because it allows them to present in a positive light in front of others.

Q. Are there any negative effects of a person spending too much time on their hobby? What are they?
Answer: Everything excessive is a bad thing, and therefore, we can say that spending too much time on hobbies too is bound to have some negative effects on a person. One of those negative effects would be that he probably wouldn’t spend enough time taking care of his/her family members in a proper manner. Another negative effect would be that it would put some unnecessary strain on a person’s mind and body, thus probably making him or her sick as well. For example, fishing is a great hobby, but if we spend too much time fishing under the hot sun the whole day, it can make us sick, sooner or later. 

Q. Why do you think people need to have an interest or hobby?
Answer: Many of us may not appreciate or understand the importance of hobbies in our life, but the truth is that having hobbies can actually help us in different ways. To begin with, hobbies can always challenge us to do different things in different ways and thus helping us develop new skills and abilities. Having hobbies can also free up our minds and bodies from the negative stress and feelings of our regular duties and responsibilities, both at work and in families. Finally, it can help us to be productive in our life with our newly-found energy, confidence and self-esteem due to excelling and enjoying some hobbies.

Discussion topics: Leisure time

Q. In your country, how much time do people spend on work and how much time on leisure? Is this a good balance, do you think?
Answer: The majority of the people in my country, like many other developing nations in the world, have to spend a lot of time (10-14 hours a day, on average) earning their livelihoods. As a result of this, they are always in short of their leisure time, despite their best efforts and intention. In a way, it is a good thing, financially, for them because it allows them that little, but extra luxury and comfort, but as far as the question of maintaining a good “work life-leisure time” balance is concerned, the situation doesn’t exactly look very promising because they have only a little time to spend on leisure. 

Q. Would you say the amount of free time has changed much in the last fifty years?
Answer: Yes, I would definitely say that the amount of leisurely or free time has “decreased”, in the last fifty years, specifically, in my country. This change has been confirmed by many of my elderly family members who complain that nowadays, people have to work too much and too long because the living cost has sky-rocketed in the last 5 decades. And to meet the demand of that additional living costs, people are left with no other choice but to work extra-long hours. Besides, people are working extra-long hours also because they need additional money to buy that extra comfort and luxury in life.

Q. Do you think people will have 'more' or 'less' free time in the future? Why?
Answer: Nobody can really tell for sure what is exactly going to happen in future, but we can still make some predictions. And the prediction is that we are going to have lesser and lesser free time in future – free time that we use to socialise with our families and friends, as well as the time, we use, to enjoy those little things in life. We can easily predict such a future because we have already seen in the last 5 decades or so how busy we really have become in doing those “trivial” things of very little or almost no importance in the greater scheme of things, and there is no indication that future is going to be any different.

Tips for answering this cue card topic:

For this cue card topic, try to talk about a hobby or interest that you have, and which is usually interesting. First, say the hobby or interests you have, and then give a brief description of this hobby. If this is an uncommon hobby, give a little background of this hobby and then say what it involves. Now say how you have become interested in this hobby. 

For the second question, you can either say that you have had this hobby for a very long time (from your childhood) or you can say you have recently taken up this hobby. Some hobbies are related to childhood and some hobbies form when people get adults. Mention when you took this hobby and give a very brief description of how you started it. If this is a hobby that you solely do alone, mention that you do it alone and sometimes you share it with others if they are interested in it.

Now explain why you enjoy this hobby. Give two or three reasons here. The final question expects you to be able to describe the benefits of the hobby you are talking about. Some of the common benefits of a particular hobby can be defined as follows:

1. I enjoy doing it and this is something I cherish. So, it motivates me.
2. This is an educative hobby and because of this hobby, I have learned many things that were quite impossible to learn in other ways.
3. I value this hobby and it is something that I enjoy from my heart.
4. The time I spent on this hobby is worthy of it.
5. I have been doing it for a long time and a passion for it has grown inside me.
6. This hobby reminds me of my childhood and I particularly enjoy that.
7. I can share this hobby with others and this is a good way of enhancing relationships and friendships.
8. I learned it from my father and that’s something I really love.
9. I think the time I spend on it is better than playing video games.
10. I love doing it and that’s the most important to me.
11. It helps me earn money and widen my networks. 
12. It removes my boredom and helps me enjoy the time I spent in it. 
13. It enhances my knowledge and helps me learn new things every day.
14. I have turned this hobby into something that generates a steady income for me.

Some of the interesting hobbies you can talk about:
1. Blogging.
2. Coin collecting.
3. Painting.
4. Electronics.
5. Origami
6. Embroidery
7. Knitting
8. Sculpting
9. Sudoku
10. Wood carving
11. Fishing
12. Kiteflying
13. Mountain biking
14. Photography
15. Art collecting
16. Judo
17. Programming
18. Fishkeeping
19. Reading
20. Travelling
21. Dancing, etc.

Whatever hobby you prefer to talk about, give an interesting description of this hobby and your involvement in it to make it a great speech.

• IELTS Cue Card
• IELTS Speaking
• Candidate Task Card

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