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Describe a person from a different cultural background with whom you enjoy spending time: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Who this person is?
  • What their cultural background is?
  • What activities you do together?
  • And explain how this experience impacted you.
Show all 193 answers

Cue 1:Who this person is?

  • Introduce the person by name and mention how you met them.
  • Share a brief description of their personality traits that you admire.

Example

The person I enjoy spending time with is my friend Aisha. I met her during my college days when we were both part of the cultural committee. Aisha is very friendly and has a great sense of humor, which makes her fun to be around.

Cue 2:What their cultural background is?

  • Describe Aisha's cultural background, including her ethnicity and any specific traditions.
  • Mention how her background differs from yours and what you find interesting about it.

Example

Aisha comes from a Bengali background, which is quite different from my Punjabi roots. She often shares stories about the rich traditions of Durga Puja and how her family celebrates it with elaborate rituals and delicious food. I find her culture fascinating and love learning about the different customs.

Cue 3:What activities you do together?

  • List some specific activities you enjoy doing together that reflect her cultural background.
  • Explain how these activities help you bond and learn from each other.

Example

We often cook together, trying out traditional Bengali recipes like fish curry and mishti doi. I also enjoy attending cultural events with her, where I get to experience her music and dance. These activities not only strengthen our friendship but also allow me to appreciate her culture more deeply.

Cue 4:And explain how this experience impacted you.

  • Reflect on how spending time with Aisha has broadened your perspective.
  • Discuss any personal growth or changes in your views due to this friendship.

Example

Spending time with Aisha has significantly impacted my understanding of cultural diversity. It has made me more open-minded and appreciative of different traditions. I now celebrate Durga Puja with her family, which has enriched my life and helped me build a deeper connection with my friend.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, my friendship with Aisha has not only been enjoyable but also transformative. It has taught me the importance of embracing cultural differences and has made my life more colorful and fulfilling.

    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Avoid Generalizations About Culture

    Making broad statements about a culture can lead to inaccuracies and misunderstandings. It's important to focus on specific aspects of the person's background.

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    Tip

    Provide specific examples from your experiences with the person to illustrate their unique cultural traits.

    2: Neglecting Personal Connection

    Failing to explain your personal connection with the person can make your answer less engaging. It's essential to share why you enjoy spending time together.

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    Tip

    Include personal anecdotes or feelings that highlight your bond and shared experiences.

    Lack of Detail in Activities

    Being vague about the activities you do together can make your response less vivid. Detailed descriptions help paint a clearer picture.

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    Tip

    Describe specific activities you enjoy, including where you do them and what makes them special.

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    IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

    Reported by Leap students who gave IELTS

    Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

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    Pitampura Test Centre, New Delhi

    Answer

    I like to taste different types of cuisine. Here I would like to talk about my favorite dish at my traditional festival of Onam which is Sadya. Sadya is popular in my city. We are experimenting these cuisines on Onam festival day. Onam is a famous festival in my city. All family members get together in my home and we make a delicious Sadya. There are many ingredients includes that Sadya. Moreover, we make a big feast that day as well as we create a lot of memories together and we wear that day the traditional dress called Sari and men wear the Dhotis. That festival is really important to us because the whole day we are conducting different kinds of games at our homes and all the family members came together. It's a memorable day in my life. This is the festival. We are making the Sambar and Aviyal. These all the kinds of foods are making with the vegetables.
    Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

    location icon

    Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

    Answer

    The toy which I liked in my childhood was a panda doll, which makes me pleasant and makes me more blush. The pandas are the most beautiful creatures of the world, which looks gigantic and has pooshy cheeks and they are like stars in the clouds and they dream in me. Furthermore, these have been given by my father. My father is a very very beautiful artistic person, who makes me think of that. Every day you will face every difficulties and make you suffer and move forward. Pandas are always seen in Japanese countries. It is my lifelong dream to visit a Japanese country and click a photo with the original pandas, which makes sounds better.
    Describe a time you were in a place where you didn't know the local language
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 6.5

    location icon

    Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

    Answer

    As India is a very large country full of diversity, so there are many places which have their own language and speak their native language. The place which I visited and I didn't know about their language was Leladakh, which is about 300 km away from my hometown and it is a very good place as it consists of different kind of trees, animals and have many scenic views and I visited over there last year in summers as it was the best time to visit because it has many, it was cold over there and we had summers in our area so it was the best time to visit over there and I went over there with my whole family.
    Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7

    location icon

    Begumpet Test Centre, Hyderabad

    Answer

    When I was a kid, I had a little pencil box which had these four buttons which gave the pencil box an operative use. When you press the button, the box would open up. When you press the second button, a little part of it would slide out. Basically it was just a little electronical and a fun thing to have and I owned it when I was in 6th. One day after break, I was standing and talking there with one of my friends and another friend of mine was running through the hallway and accidentally she pushed my shoulder and my pencil box hit the ground and it broke into multiple pieces to the point that it was not functional anymore.
    Describe a book you recently read
    anonymous person icon

    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7.5

    location icon

    CBD Belapur Test Centre, Navi Mumbai

    Answer

    It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6-7

    A person from this different cultural background with whom I enjoy spending time is Dr. Balaji. He is from Telugu speaking community. His culture is slightly different from my culture. In our culture, they tend to marry us at earlier age, mid-twenties. Whereas in his culture, they used to marry at late twenties. Their traditions are different. For say, they have festivals at different seasons in a year from the festival that is celebrated in our culture. Furthermore, the cuisines that are cooked at his family is different from the cuisines that is cooked in my family. There is more spice and flavorful to their food compared to our food. Our food is slightly sweeter and we used to love sweet food. In contrast, their food used to be spicy and have extra chili in their food. They used to have different customs for their marriage.

    Band 6-7

    The person I met during my trip last year to Switzerland, he is a British-Swiss and he is living in different kinds of cultural background. I love spending time with him. We share common interests. We spend a lot of time together like doing different kinds of hobbies like fishing and we enjoy playing basketball. He is the captain of a well-known organization in his home country. I shared my experiences in his country and he also shared his experience when he went to my hometown and I described the beauty of my hometown, the importance and the cultural differences and I made my hometown or my country special dishes. Today he is very much owed to the Indian kinds of dishes. I am an Indian citizen. India is known for festivals and food. Food is one of the most important thing that tourists love the most. When he came to India, he enjoyed different kinds of foods from my home country and Kerala, my hometown, my home district is known for the different kinds of tourist destinations. Alapura is known as the Venice of East. It is quite popular around tourists and backwaters, canals and beaches make the Alapura famous among the people. When the tourists came to the Alapura.

    Band 6-7

    I have numerous friends throughout my life till now but there's a one specific friend who is from different background. Her name is Jaspreet. I call her Jaspreet because she is a very good friend of mine. I don't think too much. I want to speak simple. I want to use basic vocabulary. I want to use simple words. I want to speak slowly. I don't think too much. There's a friend of mine. Her name is Jaspreet. I call her Preet as a nickname. She is my best friend for years. I am talking about her because she has a very different cultural background besides me. She belongs to Sikh community and I am from Hindu community. She lives in Punjab. We are away from each other. It's been 2-3 years after our school. I love to spend time with her because of her nature. She has a very warm heart and kind hearted smile. Whenever I was stuck in any problem then she always tries to help me and if I feel neglected or my mood is down then she is there to cheer me up every time. Moreover, I would say that her overall personality is very charming and her persona is very soothing that whenever she is around me I feel so comfortable and immediately forgets my things. Furthermore, I would like to add that her culture is very beautiful. She always tells me about her culture and I am very fascinated about it. I want to learn everything about her culture which makes me feel very good. Her culture is very beautiful and I appreciate and respect it. She always invites me to her functions every time but I can't go there because of my age.

    Band 6-7

    So, the person I enjoy the most time is my mother, she is a strong lady, I love spending time with her because she has a Punjabi background, she is from Punjab and she loves to cook. The activity which I enjoy the most is cooking and baking. The person from a different cultural background with whom I enjoy spending time is my mother. She is from Bengali background and she loves to cook. I spend most of my time with her because me and her share the same interest. My mother is a loving person, she is a caring person. The activities which I enjoy with her are cooking and baking. She makes amazing food and this plays a great impact on me as I am a foodie and I love trying different cuisines. Bengali cuisine is one of the best cuisines in the world. The fish, the rice, the mutton, the beef, everything is just superb. I have learnt cooking with her since I was 12 years old because my passion is to cook and I can cook various items like rice, biryani, pulao, chicken, beef, mutton, fish. I can also cook many cuisines as I am a foodie. I also like to try various cuisines. My mother makes amazing food and she helps me to try different cuisines as well.

    Band 6-7

    So a person who I enjoy spending my time with a different cultural background is a classmate of mine in my college, she could be described as a very close friend of mine. We both often do activities together in college, like mostly we read for the exams, we prepare for the exams and we attend the laboratories together, since both of us are placed in the same batch to attend the laboratories. She is a North Indian while I am a South Indian and this doesn't stop us from bonding with each other. She is a very good friend of mine, she always encourages me to do things which I try to avoid, which I try to not do because of my inferiority complex. She has always helped me in various ways, only because of her I am here today with a good bachelor's degree. She is the one who pushed me to start reading for the exams, she not only pushed me, she helped me in studying, she helped me in various activities. She played a major role in helping me during my exams. Mostly I won't be in a very peaceful state of mind to study for the exams because I am not a constant reader. I will only start reading before the exams and because of that I get very tensed. She always helps me to give me the important questions. She gives me guidance.

    Band 6-7

    First time I am room sharing with my room partner. His name is Onur. He is from Uttar Pradesh. He is coming from a different cultural background. I am from South India. He is from North India. In North India there is a lot of cultural backgrounds are there. As per talking with him, I can found that he belongs to a pal community. And also he can marry only the women who belongs to their community. Also they didn't eat any non-veg items during their special functions such as Diwali, wedding functions or any funeral functions happen on their homes. They didn't eat any non-veg food during that time. Also they didn't take non-veg food inside their home. They cook it outside their homes. Moreover they didn't use any fridges or other refrigerating equipments.

    Band 6-7

    Well, there is this one person called Radhakrishnan, who is not from the same background and culture as that of mine. He belongs to more southern region of India. So I don't know why I feel that he is way different to that of mine, but I never felt so. But when I just went through it and just cross-checked with him and when we just started to know more about each other, that is when I got to know that there are a lot of cultural differences between me and him. So I usually tend to work with him. So we do a sleep study. So that is how we work together. The way of his approach is quite different when compared to that of our people, I mean the people who belong to this particular region. You know, he's very pleasable, he's very approachable, and he's very humble and simple. He's not a sort of person who has, what to say, anger just over the tip of his fingers. He tries to analyze things and he tries to explain things without acting instantaneously at any moment. So that is what makes him quite, what to say, unique in perspective to me or my culture. And they are also quite different in relation to food habits as well as dressing sense and what to say, physical fitness. And this is how, you know, these are some of the factors where he differs in quite a lot miles, you know. So I have known him and I enjoy spending time with him. It's because he's very humble, he's very simple, and he's very approachable. I've never seen him getting angry and that is what adds up our relationship more and more. I would not love to lose him in the near future.

    Band 6-7

    I know very persons who have different cultural background, but the very best and close friend of mine is Rishma Raju. She is from Kerala and she belongs to Hindu community over there. And I belong to North region of the country. So there are huge differences in the ethnicity of both of us. Starting from the food and the habits, in all perspectives of life we are different. I enjoyed my college life whole with her. She is just motivating me. Her cultural, I am very impressed with her cultural aspects like she is always cooking in coconut oil for example and everything is filled with coconut. She combed her hair with coconut oil too. And mostly they are the person who may eat the food with more fibers and proteins. And moreover the dishes are also very different. And the environment of the South India is also different than the North India. And we shared all the things together. She went with me in my home town and we explored and shared everything together. And now I am planning to go to Kerala to more explore her cultural roots.

    Band 6-7

    Hi, this time I am here to describe about one of my colleague, her name is Divya. So she is very excellent and she is very good person in all her services and work which influence me all other ways. So coming to, she is working as an operation manager but coming apart from work, she is very good person and she welcomed me in her home and she gave all the love, care, affection and she treated me as a family. So she is extremely from another region and she is following extremely different culture.

    Band 6-7

    My friend Karthik is from Gujarat, but he was raised in Mumbai for quite some time. I am from Bangalore. I am a typical South Indian and he spent most of his life in North India. So we have different cultural experiences. Some of the ways that we spend time together is we go out, we eat food. I have got to try Gujarati snacks like Tepla and Kakra because of him. I have really grown to enjoy these snacks. We also listen to Bollywood songs. Majority of my friends listen only to South Indian songs. But since Karthik is from North India, I really enjoy listening to Hindi music with him. We hang out, we watch Hindi movies whenever they come. One of the favorite movies of ours is Houseful. We have also got a chance to travel a lot. We recently had been to Goa. We got to explore the Goan cuisine and style. Since he had an experience of staying in Maharashtra for quite a bit, he was acquainted with the Goan cuisine and accent. We spent a lot of time together in the college lab as well. Friendship with him has been a really positive experience for me. It has impacted me in a very positive manner. It has been really heartwarming to be his friend and to find out various cultural aspects of North India. Overall, it has been a wonderful time that I have spent with him.
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