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Written by IELTS Mentor

IELTS Speaking Test # 68

Part 1 - Introduction & Interview

[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]

Q. Are you a student or do you have a job?
Answer: I am a post-graduate student at one of the prestigious universities of my country, majoring in Management Information System, and I am hoping to finish it in the next year, if not before.

Q. What qualifications do you hope to get from your studies?
Answer: I am hoping to get a Master’s degree (MBA) in Management Information System (MIS) once I finish the course.

Q. Do you meet many people in your studies? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: No, I don’t really get to meet many people at my university, apart from the usual and familiar crowds like other students, teachers and staffs, mainly because I stay pretty occupied with my classes, project works and other types of curricular activities.

Or,

Q. Are you a student or do you have a job?
Answer: I have finished my graduation a few years ago and have been working ever since. Currently, I am working as a Senior Executive in a large multinational company.

Q. What qualifications did you have to have for your job?
Answer: I had to have a minimum Bachelor degree in Business to hold my current job. Apart from that, I also needed to have a high school certification with a science background because of the special nature of my job.

Q. Do you meet many people in your job? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: No, I don’t really get to meet many people at my job primarily because I don’t really have the opportunity to work with my business clients or customers directly. Besides, my job nature wouldn’t exactly allow me to meet many people outside of my regular job roles such as preparing daily reports and managing junior office staffs inside the office premise.

Now let’s talk about clothes...

Q. What kind of clothes do you wear for work/college?
Answer 1: I mostly like to wear regular jeans, a pair of sneakers, and t-shirts (with or without “collar”) at my college unless, of course, I am doing some formal project presentations in front of my teachers, in which case, I try to wear a nice full sleeve shirt and a proper looking trouser/dress pant.

Answer 2: I have to wear formal shoes, formal shirt with collar, and a formal trouser/pant at my job unless, of course, I am attending some sports event or official parties at my work. Blue jeans and t-shirts are what I like to wear at work when I am attending any fun event.

Q. Do you prefer wearing formal or casual clothes? [Why?]
Answer: I prefer to wear casual clothes primarily because it takes much less time to put on. Besides, they seem to feel more comfortable, especially, during the hot and summertime. Finally, I like to wear casual clothes also because they usually require less time, energy and cost for their “maintenance”, as opposed to the formal dresses. However, I always follow the dress code of an event and try to dress myself accordingly.

Q. Do you like to get clothes as gifts from friends or family? [Why/Why not?]
Answer 1: Of course, I like to get clothes as gifts from my friends and families (who wouldn’t like “gifts”!?) because the gifts would always make me feel very special, happy and cared for.
 

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 family event you are looking forward to.

You should say:

• what the event is
• where it will be held
• what you will do at this event

and explain why you are looking forward to this family event.

[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:
Time flies really fast, I mean, really, really fast. So, when my brother reminded me the other day that he was going to celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary in a few weeks of time, I just couldn’t believe him for a moment! How could it already be 20 years when it feels like he got married only a few years ago!!

Anyway, the wedding anniversary is to be held at our own house – a big house that is - and all of our friends and relatives are invited to attend this great family event. Many things, such as buying perfect gifts for the couple, taking them to special dinner, taking special pictures of the couple, and preparing special anniversary cake, are planned to make this family event a successful and enjoyable one. Some of my amateur guitarist friends are also planning to play some romantic music, the favourite ones of the anniversary couple, at the event.

However, as for me, I want to do something really special in order to surprise my brother and sister-in-law – I want them to visit a beautiful place on their 20th wedding anniversary. For this, I, along with some of our close family friends, have already bought two round-trip flight tickets, and we want to present them as a “special gift” to my brother and sister-in-law for their next holiday trip.  

Anyway, I am really looking forward to this special family event because my elder brother and sister-in-law are truly some loving and special people, who have done a lot of things to keep our extended family happy through thick and thin. So, they do deserve this little attention from us. Besides, this particular wedding anniversary would help the couple to renew their love for each other even more strongly, especially, when they are forced to embrace the ‘painful possibility’ of remaining “childless” for the rest of their lives.

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. Did you help to plan this event?
Answer: Yes, I did help my family to plan this event in whichever capacity I could, especially, with the idea of buying gifts. But, as for the other ideas, let’s just say that they didn’t stand a chance with those of my mother and younger sister.

Q. Does your family often have special events?
Answer: Yes, in my family, we have these kinds of special events often because, thankfully, I have a very loving family which loves to celebrate life whenever an opportunity is presented with. Be it any kind of religious festivals, birthday party or just a simple family get-together party, my family is ready to make some time to celebrate these special events.

Part 3 - Two-way Discussion:

Let’s talk about family celebrations...

Q. What type of special occasions are generally celebrated in your country?
Answer: My country, with its diverse people, cultures and religions, loves to celebrate whenever there is a scope for it. However, if you want me to be more specific, we celebrate different kinds of religious festivals, New Year day, birthdays, wedding ceremonies, wedding anniversaries, harvest festivals, and other festivals of national significance in order to unite the country in the common cause of developing patriotism.

Q. How important is it for families to celebrate occasions together? Why?
Answer: In my humble opinion, it is very important for families to celebrate any kind of occasions together because it generally helps create a stronger bond among the family members. Besides, in our modern and busy life, we don’t always get a good chance to unite with our families at a time of our convenience. Therefore, whenever there is an occasion for celebration, it provides us with an “excuse” and “opportunity” to get together with our loved ones with whom we might not have met in a long, long time.

Q. Are family occasions as important today as they were for former generations?
Answer: Unfortunately, family occasions today are not as important, as they were during the time of our former generations, mainly because life has become way more complicated and busier than what it used to be in the past. Besides, the ideas and methods of relaxation and “leisurely activities” have also changed today, courtesy to the technological advancement, where family occasions are just not a priority anymore for many.

Let’s think about any recent social changes in your country...

Q. How has the role of elderly people in the family changed in recent times?
Answer: Where I live, elderly people have always played an important role in family life, but in the recent years, many have had increased responsibility for their grandchildren due to changes and issues in families and society. However, unlike in the past, elderly people today aren’t exactly held in high regard simply because they have become too frail to earn and put food on the table. Besides, gone are those days when elderly people were usually looked upon to serve the role of leaders, teachers, and emotional-spiritual guide in a family because of their wisdom and experience.

Q. Who has more power and influence in the family today, young people or grandparents?
Answer: I would say that, for better or worse, young people today, in general, have more power in the family than grandparents because of the drastic changes in the attitude and lifestyles. Young people today are more driven, and they want more from their lives, unlike their grandparents. Besides, young people today are generally more educated and have access to all kinds of information in order to make their lives more comfortable and meaningful. Therefore, it is only natural that young people today have more power and influence in the family than their grandparents.

Q. In the future what kind of units or groups will people live in? Why?
Answer: I think that people will live in smaller units in the future, such as a “unit of only husband and wife”, while leaving their children to childcare facilities, because they wouldn’t want to deal with “child troubles” after working such a long hour every day. So the nuclear family would become even smaller than they are these days.

On the other hand, It is also possible that people will live in a “multi-family” unit or “multi-generational-family” unit (different generations of the same family tree living together under the same roof) in order to cope up with the soaring rental costs and utility bills. However, it would all depend on the finances and personal circumstances of an individual and the trend in society in the future.

Q. What impact have modern lifestyles had on neighbourhood communities? Why?
Answer: Modern lifestyles have had mostly negative impacts on our neighbourhood communities because we have become too busy and self-centric to even exchange greetings with them, let alone visit them when they are in some desperate need of help. As a result, people in the neighbourhood communities have a very fragile sense of safety and security, residential satisfaction and community identity along with very minimal civic participation and mental well-being.

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