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Written by IELTS Mentor

IELTS Speaking Test # 67

Part 1 - Introduction & Interview

Q. What's your name?
Answer: My full name is Rabid Hassan, but people call me by my nickname, which is “Rabi”, most of the times.

Q. Where do you come from?
Answer: I come from a very beautiful and friendly South Asian country called “Bangladesh”, and I live with my parents in one of the major and divisional cities in my country called “Rajshahi”.

Q. What did young people do in their free time there?
Answer: As far as I can remember, young people in my country, during their “free time”, mostly used to play different kinds of sports, hang out with friends, as well as watch TV and movies, which, by the way, they still do. They also used to spend a great deal of time with their families, taking care of them and looking after them, during their free time, but they seldom do that today.
 

Now let’s talk about "sports"...

Q. How popular is sport in your country?
Answer: Sports, especially football (soccer) and cricket, are very popular in my country. In fact, they are so popular, especially among the young people, that they don’t mind watching them very late at night even if it means missing their works or classes sometimes. And it is even more so when sports “superpowers” clash with each other.

Q. Do most people play sport or watch it on TV? Why?
Answer: I would say that most people in my country would rather prefer to watch sports on TV, instead of actually playing them as watching them on TV is more convenient. Besides, not most people in my country have the time or the opportunity to play sports, even if they have the desire to do so, but it’s just practically not possible because we just don’t have the required facilities and infrastructures to accommodate so many of them. However, many children and youngsters play football and cricket during the afternoon each day.

Q. Did you do any sport when you were a child? Which sports?
Answer: Yes, I did play a number of sports when I was a child. Cricket, soccer/football and volleyball, just to name a few of the sports I used to enjoy the most. However, I also used to play badminton and chess with my cousins when I didn’t have the opportunity or the partners to play the other sports.

Q. Do you play any sport now? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: Yes, I do play some sports like football, cricket and badminton still today because I like to remain physically active whenever I get an opportunity. Of course, I don’t get much time or opportunity to play those sports as often as I possibly could enjoy, but still, they help me rewind from the stress of my works from time to time.

Q. Is sport important for people today? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: Yes, sports are still important for people today just as they were in the past. Sports always help us break the shackles from our daily monotonous working life in order to provide us with the much needed physical and mental boost to carry on with our lives. Besides, sports are especially important for people, who spend long hours behind their desks at offices, if they want to fight obesity and other deadly diseases. Finally, team sports teach us how to work together and devise strategies to reach our goal.

Part 2 - Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card

[The topic for your talk will be written on a card which the examiner will hand you. Read it carefully and then make some brief notes.]

Describe a person whom you have met recently and liked.

You should say:

• who this person is
• how you met him/her
• what he/she does for a living

and explain why you liked this person.

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

Model Answer:
We meet new people almost every day in our daily lives. While we like some of them for some interesting and unique reasons, the same can’t be said about most others. Anyway, today I would like to talk about one such person whom I have recently met and liked. He is a “Carpenter”.

I met “Khalil” (the carpenter) at my home when he came to make some furniture for our newly-renovated home at the request of my father. Anyway, from the conversation between my father and Khalil, I became sure of this much that my father knew him well enough to offer him a very “lucrative” work contract. So, the next day, the work began with some initial, but very articulate enquiries on the part of Khalil, on what kinds of designs we would prefer on our furniture. But, his enquiries didn’t stop there as he also went on to find out what furniture would be placed in which rooms or which area of the home. Initially, I didn’t really make much of his enquiries and enthusiasm, but as the time progressed and got to watch some of his woodworks from up close, I actually became a “fan” of his styles. And, finally, when the works were all over after almost one month, I suddenly found that some of the most beautifully-made furniture, I have ever seen in my life, are decorating our home interiors.

Anyway, I liked this person, not only because of his beautiful woodworks but also because of his skillful way of approaching his entire work project. In fact, I was just so “amazed” to see how a “carpenter”, with no formal qualification in “carpentry”, was able to present his “artworks” so skillfully and beautifully in perfect match with the interior design of our home. Besides, I liked him also because of his great sense of “self-respect”, which didn’t allow him to accept any kind of “favour” from us, even if he was not a very “financially off” person. Finally, I also liked him because of his “graceful” behaviour even when things were really difficult for him at times.

Rounding off Questions:

[At the end of your talk, the examiner will ask one or two brief questions to signal that it is time to stop talking.]

Q. Do you think you will see this person again?
Answer: Yes, I certainly think that I will see this person again, not because of the values he provided for his works and money, but because of his “graceful” behaviour and attitude, shown by any good human. He lives in the same city where I live in and its only natural to assume that we will meet someday soon.

Q. Do you like meeting new people?
Answer: Yes, I do like meeting new people because we never know if they will become some of our best friends in future. Besides, meeting new people also helps us learn new things in life.

Part 3 - Two-way Discussion:

Let’s think about friends and friendship generally...

Q. How do people usually meet new friends where you live?
Answer: I live in a country which has one of the highest population densities per square mile. So, it is not really difficult to meet new people or friends where I live. However, to be more specific, we meet new friends at our works and schools, as well as the stores/shops and restaurants we visit in our daily lives. Besides, people in my country are generally friendly, so even a slight chance to speak or communicate with others, especially when travelling by bus or trains, could help someone to meet new friends.

Q. Is it easier for adults or children to make new friends? Why?
Answer: No, it is not necessarily easier or any more difficult to make friends whether we are talking about children or adults. It all depends on the location, time and the circumstances in which we meet. For example, if we meet someone at a hospital, who is trying to get his treatment, he just may not be interested to have any meaningful conversation, let alone becoming a friend. However, if we meet the same person at a café or stadium, enjoying some good times, the chances are that he or she will be more than ready to open up and even possibly become friends.

However, it is generally true that children make freinds faster than adults do mostly because in our tender age, we are less prone to judge a person first before opening up ourselves to this person. 

Q. How are relationships with friends different from relationships at work/college?
Answer: Relationships with friends are usually “informal”, where pretty much everything, from laughing to joking to arguing, goes, no matter what time of the day it is. On the other hand, relationships at works are a bit “formal” where one has to exercise a certain degree of “caution” and “reservation” while communicating or doing things, simply because the environments at works or colleges are more structured, and they have rules to follow. Besides, relationships with “friends”, more often than not, would allow a person to have some emotional comforts during the time of distress while the same might not hold true for the relationships at works or colleges.

Q. Is it possible for people to be close friends with their boss or teacher? Why/Why not?
Answer: No, in my opinion, it is not possible for people to be “close friends” with their bosses or teachers unless, of course, they define the idea of “close friends” in a different manner, mainly because there is always an uncomfortable “power” aspect to it. Besides, responsibility and “friendship” can’t always mutually inclusive to each other because it might hurt “performance” of the concerned parties.

Now let’s consider the importance of friends...

Q. Some people think that friends can never be as important as family. Do you agree?
Answer: Well, I agree that friends can never be as important as family primarily because of the “blood relationship”. Besides, family members are the ones with whom we live most of the times under the same roof, especially, when we are growing up. Therefore, the emotional attachment, which we enjoy with our families, is never the same with friends, no matter how “close” they are. Finally, it is usually the family members most of the times, who come to our help and rescue, when we are in trouble. So, it is only natural to expect that friends can never be as important as family.

Q. How are responsibilities towards friends and family different?
Answer: Well, in my opinion, we have the same kind of responsibilities towards the "family" and "friends". We all should care for the family and friends in the same just as we should stand by our families and friends when they are in need. However, the only difference is that families should always have priorities over our friends when we have some “shared” responsibilities towards them.

Q. Will the relative importance of friends and family change in future societies?
Answer: No, the importance of friends and family, relative or not, won’t change in future societies. However, how we relate to them, how often we meet them, or how much time we choose to spend with them, will certainly change in order to cope up with the changing nature of our lives and the environment around us. Besides, we just can’t live alone for long without any company or people around us, and, depending on how we look at this social dynamics, “families” and “friends” seem to be the only people around us with whom we love to spend our time.

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