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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

    Multiculturalism and racism is evolving day by day. In today's topic, I would like to explain about my best friend. His name is Rajasekar. He's my best friend. And he belongs to this ancient Hindu culture. Ancient Hindu culture is one of the oldest cultural regimes that exist today. It is beautiful that we perform various activities like public gatherings, offerings together. Together we could explore a lot into multiculturalism and explore the new new things happening in the cultural background. This helped me to build new connections and grow my confidence.

    Band 6-7

    Today I'm gonna speak about a person with whom I enjoy spending time. So, this is about one of my friend, Shivam. He is a majestic person. We became friends 8 years ago. And when we meet, we just like hang out and chill together. He is a Brahmin caste and his father is Advocate. And he is a bit emotionless person. Though I am very emotional, but the way he talks, the way he influences someone. And he always talks about logics and all. For him, emotion is nothing. When I meet with him, I just feel that I am meeting with myself. Though he is somewhere very very opposite of me. But I feel very good with him. We hang out, we go on bikes. He talks about many illogical things. He asks me very stupid things. And I love to answer those things. And this heals me from inside. If I am sad for something and if I am feeling low, if I am feeling anxiety. If I talk to him, I become more calm and my mind is totally free. I can say anything to him without even thinking. I know that he will not even doubt and judge me for whatever I say. This is all about this.

    Band 6-7

    Last year I met my roommate with whom I share my room and she is just a happy person. She belongs to a Punjabi family and I belong to Maharashtra Marathi family. I think she is such a happy soul and I just got to know a lot about the Punjabi culture through her. I just love Bhangra because it's their cultural dance and it just brings the excitement and the happiness on the face of the people who do the Bhangra. She taught me how to do Bhangra and that's the activity I enjoy the most because we do Bhangra a lot recently and not recently but everyday we do the Bhangra. I think it just taught me to just go off the things and just to be happy and peaceful and to not worry about the world around you, just enjoy the life however things it brings to you. It's really actually a good thing to just do Bhangra because I think she taught me a lot about living a happy life and just doing a lot of things. She also taught me such amazing Punjabi dishes and we prepare it in the hostel room and it's such a efficiently good to just taste that dishes because they are rich in proteins and they are rich in fats and they are just healthy for you as well as you enjoy your food and it just excites your taste buds. So these are the two my most favorite activities to do with her. First is doing Bhangra which we kill it and second one is just cooking.

    Band 6-7

    So, there is one girl, Pooja, from my office. I met her before 2 years and she is from Hindu community. I am from Muslim community. It's like unity and diversity, we show in the office. We used to celebrate Rakhi, Diwali, Holi. I play Holi with her and she used to come to my place during Ramzan, Bakri. She used to enjoy our food. I used to enjoy their temple architectures. We used to visit temples together. This had made a great impact in my lifestyle because at the beginning I used to think that Hindus are different, Muslims are different and we can't be compatible friends or pairs. But when I met Pooja, I understood that there can be a great connection between two religion peoples as well because there is an unity and diversity which portraits between two different religions. Each religion respects everybody. No one teaches to dislike someone because every religion teaches the same thing to love, to show empathy and to be friendly with everybody.

    Band 6-7

    Well, to kick things off, there are variety of cultures around the world, and every culture has its unique charm. Here, I would like to talk about my friend from different cultural background with whom I love to spend time. This person is none other than Simran, who is not only my bosom friend but also my neighbor. Apart from this, she was also my classmate during school time. If I talk about her background, she is a native resident of Rajasthan city even she is from distinct background but she still knows about my culture well. I came to know about her in my childhood when her family shifted next to my house due to his father's transfer, and next day I found her in my class. Since then, we have been together and best buddies. I love to spend time with her due to number of reasons. The most prominent reason is that she is a jovier person as whenever I am with her, I feel motivated and her topics are always inspiring and positive. Another reason is that she is teaching me his language as I am quite interested into it. To wrap it, I feel really happy and proud to have a friend like her. She helped me to understand a new culture and made my life more exciting. All in all, spending time with her is always enjoyable and full of learning.

    Band 6-7

    My Grandfather was a politician and from him I came to know about Sita, the day I came to know about her I started admiring her from her contribution in the field of politics. She is Sita and she is the mayor of the Jalandhar city. She belonged to a low income family. She worked very hard to achieve success. She is very kind hearted and noble woman and she helps poor people in need. She is an inspiration and very patient and very optimistic. She has very excellent communication skills which makes her an excellent orator. As everyone likes her, her area of expertise is not limited to the field of politics. Not only she is a good orator but also she is an excellent listener. She has won many awards for her contribution in the field of politics. She denotes 50% of the salary to charity. She has written many books which are very popular and also a motivational speaker. As I have a keen interest in politics, she is my role model and inspiration and I know

    Band 6-7

    Well, that person is a lady, she is a cute, beautiful girl, she is from Hungary, in a different country, she is a Christian, we met on Snapchat, and it's been an year, we are friends together, we are connected, we are connected to each other almost every day, and the culture there is really different from here, and we really, really love to tell and express our cultural things, and costumes, and what we do, all the celebrations we do, sometimes we have tried to meet, but it wasn't possible that much, so we used to record our videos and send to each others, and then she used to do the same, to communicate, and then I used to tell her my past, my cultural past, my ancestors, how they were basically warriors, so I used to tell her about all the bravery things they used to do, and all the stuff we have managed, so her experience basically, she really taught me a lot of things, for example, even loving your enemies, I used to tell her that if I hate someone, I really hate someone, because it's in the bloodline, the hatred, you know, so she basically kind of teached me a lesson, by telling a few stories, and that completely changed my life.

    Band 6-7

    A person from a different cultural background whom I shared and enjoyed spending time is Alaya. She is a North Indian and I have met her while I was studying in Delhi for my 12th board exam and it was such a wonderful experience to spend time with her and of course she was a North Indian and she had a different cultural aspects rather than mine and I'm from a South India so my cultures and everything food and other cultural activities were totally different from hers and the main thing I happened to enjoy is the marriage festival of her sister which really shocked me that I that was the first time I saw a North Indian wedding and they had many different cultural aspects for as for me that I was searching for and the food there had a very vast variety of food with very good taste which really made my mouth fulfilled with water and the other thing is that she is also been a great friend of mine till now and it is my first friend that I got when I went to Delhi and she had taken she had she has taken me to many places to explore in North India especially Taj Mahal and many other and that was the first time I spent a lot of time with another girl that that was from Kerala or South India

    Band 6-7

    The person I want to talk about is my close friend Ayesha. She comes from a Pakistani cultural background which is rich in traditions, festivals and delicious food. Her family celebrates many cultural events like Eid. When we get together, dress in colorful clothes and enjoy special meals. We spend a lot of time together, different activities, sometimes we study but mostly we enjoy cooking traditional dishes, listening to music and sharing stories about our cultures. I have even joined her family for some cultural celebrations which was a wonderful experience. This experience has impacted me a lot, it helped me appreciate the beauty of diversity and taught me to respect and celebrate cultures different from my own. Spending with Ayesha has more often opened to me and respect and celebrate cultures different from my own.

    Band 6-7

    Well, I have many friends from different cultural backgrounds, but yet the Karnika would be my favorite part of my college journey when I was in a diverse background culture of people with me. Karnika was from Bengal and she used to speak Bengali. And one day we just went to the Bhutan Aipath and there we were just having the scientific meal of some tree, we were just ladling those trees and during that time I came to know about her a lot. Like she speaks Bengali, I used to tease her and I used to learn new things, new words in Bengali, in her language. And she showed me so many pictures of her in beautiful saris and I just wanted her to bring one for me as well. So we used to go to Bhutan Aipath every day.
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