IELTS SPEAKING CUE CARD
[PART 2]
CHILDHOOD
FRIEND/FRIENDSHIP
Describe your childhood friend
You should say:
- Who he/she was
- When you met him/her
- Where you met him/her
And explain how you became friends
A N S W E R
Well, I remember I wasn’t sociable when I was a child, I was a timid type and quiet who was always construed by others as a loner. I never had the guts to even say hello, in other words, I had low self-esteem. In spite of that, I was fortunate enough to make such a great friend. His name is Josh. He’s actually a year older than me and we went to the same primary school.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Timid [adj.] – lack of confidence
Construe [verb] – interpret; understand
Guts [noun] – bravery; determination
In spite of [phrase] – regardless of; despite
Tip: The speaker did not talk about his childhood friend at once, instead, he talked about his personality first, then right after, he smoothly connected his first few sentences to naming his childhood friend. This is a very creative and advanced way to develop an introductory part of your story.
If my memory serves me right, our friendship started when I was heading home, right after school. It was just a typical afternoon for me walking on my own when I heard someone from afar shouting ‘hey’. I halted from walking for a while and saw him waving his hand, I was really surprised as I didn’t recognize him. Well to show that I wasn’t rude, I waited for him while he was running in my direction and when he arrived, I asked him if he needed anything from me.
Well, it’s still vivid in my mind, how he looked so exhausted while panting, he asked me if I had dropped my school ID, and to my surprise, I didn’t realize that I had already lost my ID in my pocket. Normally, I took it off right after I got out of school. Well, to make the long story short, we became best friends and the rest is history.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
If my memory serves me right [phrase] – used to say that you think you have remembered something correctly
From afar [idiom] – from a great or long distance
Halt [verb] – stop
Exhausted [adj.] – very tired
Pant [verb] – breathe with short quick breaths; puff
Take (Took) it off [phrase] – to stop wearing
To make the long story short [expression] – to abbreviate the long story and just give a brief summary
The rest is history [expression] – used to indicate that one needs not to tell the extra details of the story as they are too complicated or already well-known
Tip 1: Right after the introductory part of your story, it’s best to use the technique of recalling the events that happened in the past. This will serve as your background story. It does help the examiner understand better since you are giving him the chance to visualize events based on your details.
Tip 2: In this part, the speaker uses past perfect tenses often. This is really good as it helps you get a high mark in grammar. Take note, that complicated or advanced sentence construction is surely a big help in making your score better.
Anyway, I don’t think I can describe Josh in just a word, he’s just one of a kind friend who always puts others before himself. And that’s one of the very good reasons why he’s been near and dear to me. Although we have completely different lives now, we never fail to keep in touch every now and again. I have a big dream to study abroad and secure a better job in a foreign land, while Josh made up his mind to keep up his family’s farm in the countryside as he’s the sole heir.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
One of a kind [phrase] – unique
Put others before himself [expression] – being selfless
Near and dear [idiom] – very close
Keep in touch [phrase] – to continue to talk or write with someone
Made up one’s mind [phrase] – to decide
Heir [noun] [pronounced as ‘air’] – a person who inherits property or wealth
Note: In this part, the speaker simply added some interesting details about his childhood friends and he talked about the current relationship with his friend in the current times.
Never in my life had I thought I could forge a meaningful friendship that would last longer and it did happen from the very time when I didn’t know how to socialize. How ironic! Perhaps life is just unpredictable in so many ways, and that makes it more fascinating. Some great things happen when least expected and my friendship with Josh is one of those.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
When least expected [expression] – when a person doesn’t expect something.
How ironic! [expression] – used to say when one cannot believe something happened
Grammar
Never in my life… -> This kind of construction is what we called as ‘inversion’. It means the auxiliary verb comes before the subject. This is used to give emphasis. This kind of grammatical structure would surely help increase your score in terms of Grammar.
Note: The speaker ended his story in a reflective way. He wrapped up his story by adding his reflection – a correlation between life and friendship
PART 3
Why is it important for children to have friends?
From my personal point of view and based on my observation as a father of two boys, forging friendships as early as five or six years old helps boost the self-esteem of children and develops trust with others. When a child does not have a lot of opportunities to socialize or when their world solely revolves around their parents, their self-confidence will not develop. Having said that, it will be more complicated for them to build trust with others, other than their parents. In addition, they will miss learning the basic value of human relationships at a young age, which will surely have a negative impact on their personal development.
So the early age is a crucial time to make friends, as it is the best time for them to learn to trust others and to be confident in themselves in interacting with other people. And that can be achieved when they make friends with other children.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Forge (friendship) [verb] – create; make; build
Boost [verb] – improve; enhance
Solely [adverb] – only
The world revolves around (someone) [expression] – when a person’s world revolves only around one particular person, then the absence of that person makes his life unstable
Other than [phrase] – apart from; except
Crucial [adj.] – critical; very important
Tip 1: The way the speaker starts his answer is more of a reflective one, his answer is based on what he observes of his children plus his opinion about the situation.
Take note: I know that you’ve been taught not to talk about yourself or give a personal example, as you might be considered a ‘weak candidate’. Well, that is really true but in our answer here, the speaker did not really talk about himself or his experience in the explanation part. Don’t get confused about it.
Tip 2: The speaker uses several cohesive devices such as ‘having said that’, ‘in addition’, ‘so…’ which help him develop a coherent answer. You need to use such to be able to develop a well-organized answer. Don’t just talk and talk or just put many ideas, your way of delivering your answer should be sensible and organized.
How do children make friends? And how about the adults?
Normally, the way children make friends with others is not well-thought-out or planned. It just naturally happens. We all know that the ultimate happiness of children is playing – may it be in the park or in the neighborhood, when a child wants to play with another child, then most likely they become friends instantly, or some children just simply hit it off without any explanation. On the other hand, the way adult people build friendships is not as easy as pie, since one has to consider the person’s interests, job, his or her circle of friends, and the like. When the two usually have common interests and when their personalities complement each other then they can become good friends.
In the two situations I have mentioned, I can say that children make friends in a lovely way, and how I wish we adults could make friends as they do.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Well-thought-out [adj.] – carefully considered and formed
Most likely [idiom] – probably
Hit it off [phrase] – get on well; make friends naturally
As easy as pie [idiom] – very easy
Complement [verb] – go with; harmonize; suit
Tip: The speaker ends his answer in a reflective type. It is a very good way to end his answer. Remember Part 3 is all about discussion, make sure to end your answer properly.
How do you define a best friend?
For me, a true friend is someone we can count on in good and in bad times. Someone who has unwavering support in all the endeavors that we do. Also, someone who is never afraid to criticize us if we do something that is morally unacceptable or something that can make other people disrespect us. A real friend is someone who always wants nothing but the very best in us. I believe true friendship is built on trust, understanding, care, and love. If one finds that kind of friend, he has to value that priceless gem the way he gives value to his own life, as those kinds of friends are really rare in this selfish world.
LEXICAL RESOURCE
Unwavering [adj.] – steady; firm
Endeavor [noun] – attempt; an attempt to achieve a goal
Gem [noun] – a person who is outstanding; a treasure
Tip: The speaker only provides several definitions of what a best friend is like as that is what the examiner simply wants. He ends his answer using the conditional tense which is very good since he is hitting a high mark in the criterion of Grammar. The use of conditional tenses is really helpful in making your grammar mark better.
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Meaning of Words and Phrases Sources: Collins, Macmillan, Cambridge, Oxford
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