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Written by IELTS Mentor

IELTS Speaking Mock Test # 35

Part 1 - Introduction & Interview:

Q.  Good morning. My name is Sarah Paulin. Could you tell me your name, please?
A.  Good morning, Madam. I am David Henry. You can call me simply "David" if you do not mind.

Q.  Please show me your identification/ passport?
A.  Oh, sure. Here are my passport and ID card.

That's fine. Thank you.

Q.  Do you work or study?
A.  Well, I am a student. I am in my 10th semester at my university and expecting to finish my graduation within a year.

Q.  What subject are you studying?
A.  I am an undergraduate student at a local university in Indonesia and my major is "Public Relation".

Q.  Why did you choose that subject?
A.  I picked this subject because I love to communicate with people and solve their problems. The demand for this subject in the job market is high and I would love to have a great career in the field I feel passionate about. I wish to work as a "Public relations officer" at a reputed organisation after I finish my graduation.

Q.  Are there things you don't like about it? 
A.  Umm... the number of courses in a semester is sometimes overwhelming and I need to submit too many papers to our course teachers each semester. This is perhaps the only thing I do not enjoy about this course.

Part 2 - Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card:

Topic:

Describe a friend with whom you like to spend your time.

You should say:

• when and how you two met
• how often you see this friend
• what kind of personality your friend has

and explain why you like to spend time with this friend.

[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.]

Sample Answer:
I met "Irene" at the university when she sat beside me on the very first class of my third-semester and that would be around three years ago. She was a transferred student from China, and she was, and still is, a very nice young lady and loves to socialize with others. She is one of the most benevolent and amiable persons I have ever met and I love to spend my time with her.

These days I meet and talk to Irene almost every day at the university and she has become one of my closest friends for her friendly and kind nature. In fact, I meet her even on weekends as she lives nearby. When we meet, we primarily talk about our studies, career plans and our life. Sometimes our conversations are about politics, movies, music, world history and our family and friends. I often learn fascinating information from her that she shares with me and I love the way she can tell an ordinary story in an extraordinary way.

To be frank, Irene seems like an easygoing person at first, but in reality, has a strong personality. She is a loyal friend and a talented girl and she never offends someone intentionally. She also strongly feels about helping others whenever possible and I am really proud to have such a great friend.

I love to spend time with her because she is one of my best friends and I like the way she values others' opinions and views. We have so many common interests and hobbies, and it seems like I never run out of topics to talk to her. Moreover, she is a trusted friend and I can tell her anything without worrying about what she would think about me or how she will receive it. She is the kind of friends we love to have in our lives and treat like a family member.

Part 3 - Details Discussion:

Q.  How much people in your country value friendship?
A.  Friendship in Indonesia is highly admired. In fact, friends are the most intimate people after the family in our country. They stand by each other’s’ side both in happiness and sadness. They care for each other and share a great deal of information with them. Besides, the relationships are based on some great virtues like trust, honesty, empathy and so on. So, Indonesians consider friendship a true blessing in life.

Q.  Is it easy to make friends nowadays as compared to the past?
A.  I believe that it is comparatively easy to make friends these days than the past when technology and the mode of communication had no or little existence. In this modern era, we have social media websites where we can make new friends within minutes. For example, Facebook is a website where people send requests to each other and become friends in no time. Besides, keeping in touch with friends has become easier with the online communication system and we can make friends who live far away from us.

Q.  It is often said that a good friend is like a family member. Do you agree? Why/why not?
A.  I completely agree with the notion, and in our culture, a good friend is like a family member. Friends are part of our life, and we share our moments with them regardless of happiness or sorrows. They are the people who love to be with us all the time and with the passage of time, they become intimate with us. We love sharing each and every event that takes place in our lives with our friends. The power of sharing, common activities and other things create the bond stronger. Gradually, they take a large part of our heart and become a family member.

Q.  What are the differences between real life-friends and online friends?
A.  Well, there are a few differences between virtual friends and real-life friends. We meet real-life friends in person and have regular conversations with them while it is nearly impossible to meet an online friend who lives in another part of the world. Virtual friends are often unable to accompany someone but real-life friends can meet us when we need them. Besides, the availability of online friends in times of necessity is not guaranteed. Furthermore, sharing everything with an online friend is unexpected and may result in bad experiences. But sharing problems or issues with real-life friends might help us find a potential solution.

Q.  Can people from different cultures and countries become good friends? Why/why not?
A.  Well, this is a critical question to answer. I believe, friendship starts and grows when some fundamental aspects match between two people and they spend time together. So, people from different cultures might be friends if they have certain similarities and have interesting conversations. I think the similarities should be lingual, mental, and intellectual among others. For instance, without knowing a language, it is impossible to communicate with someone and become a friend. Besides, if there is a lack of mental maturity or adjustment, two people from different cultures can't become friends. Having said that, I personally know many people who come from totally different countries and yet they are good friends. 

Q.  Do you think a female's expectation for a friend is different than that of a male? How?
A.  Umm… Yes, some differences are visible among boys and girls in terms of their expectations from their friends. Men mostly want to share their interests and have enjoyable conversations with their friends. They like friends who are intellectually similar to them and are ready to do interesting things together. Men love to talk in an interactive manner and appreciate the participation of friends on their favourite activities including sports.

On the other hand, females are a bit different here. They are generally fond of friends who are caring and kind in nature. They also love to talk and share very personal information with good friends and love to talk about their family and future plans.

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