IELTS Speaking Samples and Answers
IELTS Speaking Test - Sample 87
- Details
- Written by IELTS Mentor
IELTS Speaking Test # 87 [band score 8/9 level sample]
Part 1 Topic: "Television".
Part 2 Topic: "Describe a friend of your family you remember from your childhood".
Part 3 Topic: "Friendship" & "Influence of friends".
Part One - Introduction
[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]
Television:
Q. How often do you watch television? [Why/Why not?]
A. I don’t really watch television that often unless I want to know about some specific news or incidents, mainly because I have to stay occupied with my office works and other things most of the times, which are more important to me and my family than watching the television. Since I like to spend time with my family by having conversations with them or doing some fun stuff together, I do not get much time to watch television.
Q. Which television channel do you usually watch? [Why?]
A. I like to watch mostly educational channels, whenever I get a chance, such as “Discovery” and “National Geographic” primarily because they seem to provide some authentic and interesting information on the subjects and things, such as space science, that arouse my curiosity.
Q. Do you enjoy the advertisements on television? [Why/Why not?]
A. No, I don’t really enjoy watching advertisements on television mainly because they seem to create some kind of “illusion” in the minds of their viewers about the products in order to “force” the viewers to buy them. Besides, I don’t enjoy the advertisements because they also seem to be the “waste of time” and distraction from my attention to an interesting programme.
Q. Do you think most programmes on television are good? [Why/Why not?]
A. No, I don’t really think that most programs on television are good mainly because they are used as some kind of “propaganda” most of the times in order to “brainwash” their viewers. Needless to say, these kinds of programmes create more division among people than uniting them for a common good cause. However, there are obviously really interesting, educative and entertaining programmes that we love to watch.
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 friend of your family you remember from your childhood.
You should say:
- who the person was
- how your family knew this person
- how often this person visited your family
and explain why you remember this person.
[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.]
Click here for the answer to this Cue Card Topic:
Part 3 - Two-way Discussion:
Discussion topics:
Friendship:
Q. What do you think makes someone a good friend to a whole family?
A. Becoming a friend to a singular individual is relatively easy, but becoming a good friend to the whole family of that individual is rather difficult as it involves understanding each and every member of that family differently. Anyway, one can be a good friend to a whole family if he/she is passionate about standing by them and helping them during the time of their needs, such as sickness and stress, no matter how difficult they may be. Besides, he/she has to be really respectful to the beliefs and views of that family, no matter how different they are from his/her own views and opinions if he/she wants to become a good friend of them.
Q. Do you think we meet different kinds of friends at different stages of our lives? In what ways are these types of friend different?
A. Yes, I do think that we tend to meet different kinds of friends with different kinds of personalities and traits at different stages of our lives. For example, when we are children, our friends are usually ‘care-free” with no particular roles and responsibilities to worry about in general. When we become young adults and ready to begin our careers, we meet friends who are more serious about their lives and career than any other things in life. Then, as we grow older and become parents, we tend to become more friendly with those people who are usually family-oriented and serious about raising their children. We change with our age and our expectations from our friends may vary as we grow and it is quite natural that we meet different types of friends in different stages of our life.
Q. How easy is it to make friends with people from a different age group?
A. In my opinion, it is not really easy to make friends with people from a different age group as it involves keeping up with different kinds of personalities and priorities most of the time, if not always. For example, a mature and family person in his mid 40’s will find it really difficult to keep up with the more upbeat and “adventurous” personalities of a young adult, in his mid 20’s, who is living his “dream life”. So, again, it would require a lot of compromising and understanding if anyone wants to befriend somebody from different age categories.
Influence of friends:
Q. Do you think it is possible to be friends with someone if you never meet them in person? Is this real friendship?
A. It all depends on how someone defines “real friendship”. But, in my humble opinion, it is not really possible to become a real friend with someone if I never meet him or her in person. Of course, it helps just to talk to someone in order to find out if we share the same interests, but without the opportunity to actually carry forward the friendship in real-life situations, I don’t really see how a ‘meaningful friendship’ is born and grow over time.
Q. What kind of influence can friends have on our lives?
A. Friends can have a tremendous influence on our lives by shaping our views and opinions of this world and the things around us more often than not. In fact, sometimes, things like what we eat, what movies we watch, what type of music we listen to, how we like to dress, or what kinds of lifestyles we choose to live are determined one way or another by our friends. Therefore, it is absolutely important that we choose our friends carefully as they not only help us build our lives, but also destroy them.
Q. How important would you say it is to have friends from different cultures?
A. I would say that it is very important to have friends from different cultures and backgrounds as they would help us open our eyes and minds to many of the diversities of our world. And, the more respect and appreciation we have for people of different cultures and backgrounds, the easier will it become for us to free this world from prejudice, hatred and animosities that have only divided us more and more for centuries.
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