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Describe an important thing you learned (not at school or college): IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When did you learn it?
  • How did you learn it?
  • Why did you think it was important to learn it?
  • How you felt when you learnt it?
Show all 89 answers

Cue 1:When did you learn it?

  • Mention a specific time frame when you learned this important thing, such as a few months ago or during a particular event.
  • Provide context about what was happening in your life at that time to make it more relatable.

Example

I learned this important lesson about financial management about six months ago when I started my first job. It was a significant transition for me as I was moving from being a student to a working professional.

Cue 2:How did you learn it?

  • Explain the method or source through which you learned this lesson, such as through a book, a workshop, or advice from someone.
  • Share any specific experiences or activities that helped you grasp this knowledge.

Example

I learned about financial management by attending a workshop organized by my company. The workshop was conducted by a financial expert who shared practical tips on budgeting and saving.

Cue 3:Why did you think it was important to learn it?

  • Discuss the reasons that made this lesson significant for you, such as future goals or personal circumstances.
  • Connect the importance of this lesson to your life or career aspirations.

Example

I thought it was crucial to learn about financial management because I wanted to ensure that I could save for my future and manage my expenses wisely. As I was starting my career, I realized that understanding finances would help me achieve my long-term goals.

Cue 4:How you felt when you learnt it?

  • Describe your emotions when you grasped this lesson, whether it was excitement, relief, or empowerment.
  • Reflect on how this knowledge has impacted your confidence or mindset.

Example

When I learned about financial management, I felt empowered and relieved. It was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders because I now had the tools to take control of my finances, which made me feel more confident about my future.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, learning about financial management was a pivotal moment in my life. It not only equipped me with essential skills but also changed my perspective on money and savings, setting a solid foundation for my future.

    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: Vague Responses

    Avoid giving vague or general answers. Specific details make your response more engaging and memorable. Candidates often lose points for not elaborating on their experiences.

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    Tip

    Use specific examples and details to illustrate your learning experience. Mention exact moments or feelings to make your answer more vivid.

    2: Ignoring the Cues

    Not addressing all the cues can lead to an incomplete answer. Candidates may miss important aspects of their learning experience, which can affect their score.

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    Tip

    Make sure to answer all the cues provided. Structure your response to cover when, how, why, and how you felt about your learning.

    Overly Complex Language

    Using overly complex vocabulary or grammar can confuse the listener. It's important to communicate clearly and effectively, especially in a speaking test.

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    Tip

    Use simple and clear language. Focus on expressing your ideas clearly rather than trying to impress with difficult words.

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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
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    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
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 8

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    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
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 6.5

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    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
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    Reported by

    Anonymous student Band 7

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    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

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    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

    Learning is the process which should never be stopped throughout the life because it is essential to learn something new and daily that will help us to enhance our knowledge and get successful in our life. So personally talking about the thing which I learned is none other than farming. It is my family's occupation. It runs in the family so it was a necessity and a need to learn this skill because it helps me to gain a knowledge about agriculture as it gives us a food so it can help me in a future to choose as a career. So I learned this skill back in the lockdown when everything was shut down so I was not going to the school or any institution at that time I have a lot of leisure time. So on daily basis I used to go used to visit my farm along with my father and grandfather at that time I learned that how to become a good farmer and serve your country. So I learned numerous skills in that like cultivating the crops, harvesting them and how to look after them like giving them essential fertilizers, nutrition and all that stuff. So now I have this skills and but on that on the way of learning that I had given my utmost because it was not a easy stuff. I had faced a lot of difficulties but now I am proud of myself that at that time I avoided to give up and now I am able to work on my own and can help my parents in doing their daily chores so it's help.

    Band 6-7

    No audio text available

    Band 6-7

    On my last semester break I have learned cooking because cooking is so important for me. I have lived far from my hometown because of my higher studies. So I live alone. After my 12th vacation, I learned cooking because I go to far from my hometown because of my higher studies. I ate lots of junk food there so I decided to learn cooking and make a new dish for me. So basically on my vacation, in my vacation I learned cooking from my mother. I tell him my problem and she gave me a solution of my problem and she teach me how to cook a new dish. She taught me lots of these in my vacation period and I also prepare myself now. I am very happy and cheerful for my mother to teach me this important skill and I am very young. Now I cook a new dish every day for myself and I save lots of money and now I can feel very healthy.

    Band 6-7

    I remember one of the important skills that I learned is marketing. It's not something that I taught in school and colleges, but it was my uncle who taught me how to negotiate and ask the customer for the best price. Thanks to this local shop, I was able to understand the business strategy and how to deal with different kinds of customers for a particular order. Also, not only this helped me to succeed currently, but it also boosted my confidence and increased my public speaking ability. So, learning marketing has a very potential benefit that I have received. So, I would say thanks to my uncle, he is the one who mentored me about all this.

    Band 6-7

    I understand that this is a stereotypical answer but then I learned how to cook which I see as a very important lifestyle or life skill, it helps me improve my cooking skills. I have learned how to cook over the years, I think my hobby or passion for cooking started at a young age when I used to bake cookies and cakes with my mom and dad. It has a very, I have a very fond memory associated with cooking, so I like making, I usually enjoy making desserts because I have a sweet tooth but I also have a habit of cooking for the people around me and cooking bigger portions of meals. I love to cook because I can learn a way to be responsible and it helps to activate my sensory organs which I really adore and it inspires me to try out new recipes and I think it's a very good experience. I agree that it is stereotypical for girls to cook but I also believe, I strongly believe that men should also learn how to cook and I have been training my younger brother to cook actually and it has been a lot of fun, however I have seen that men usually have a higher taste range and they can cook food to please a bigger audience and that's something that I have learned from him and I would love to cultivate this habit as I grow forward. I think that cooking is a good life skill and it helps me stay independent in the time of need when my mom and dad are not going to be around and I would cherish my experiences and memories which I associate with cooking.

    Band 6-7

    The important thing I learned is swimming. I learned it recently when I just turned 22. It all happened because on a trip to Goa a person gave me a chance to go and swim in the ocean. But I was afraid because I don't know how to swim. So the remaining all people are getting themselves prepared to swim in the ocean. And they are very much enjoying and I am just sitting idle looking at them. So then I thought I should definitely learn swimming. Then after coming back to my place I went to a swimming pool to learn swimming near my workplace. The tutor is none other than my cousin's friend. He helped me in learning how to control my breath and how to do the dives and how to make movements effectively. In a month span I learned swimming and I got to know more methods and tricks to improve my swimming. Swimming really enhanced me in various ways. It boosted my confidence and now I am able to go to some ponds and I can go inside without worrying about swimming. That's all I got.

    Band 6-7

    I learned the new language I I had to learn the local language of the town that I joined for my work. I joined there as a teacher so it was imperative for me to know the local language to converse effectively with students, parents and other community members. I tried to learn the language using using different devices. I depended a lot on online tutorials available and other tutoring videos that I found in YouTube. I also took advice from my colleagues who helped me regarding this particular particular task of learning the language. They understood how important it was for me and helped me with it. I think it enhanced my ability to understand and communicate with my students. My students were coming from different background and a different culture so if I tried conversing with them using a language that was not a native to them they wouldn't have responded really well. So I think as a teacher I was more effective because I learned the language and the skill has helped me beyond my work culture. It has also helped me survive in that particular community and earned me the acceptability that I required in that particular space. I could negotiate easily with the auto wala or the shopkeepers and I could

    Band 6-7

    As a kid and even now, I am a very introvert person. I don't like socializing with people much unless I know them or you could say I am selectively extrovert. I like mingling with my friends but for not too long. So whenever my parents used to call me for any family events or function, I used to deny them and give some silly reasons to not to go there. Later as I grew up, my father told me that it's easy to earn money but it is difficult to earn people. So from there I learned the importance of socializing because I never knew what's the importance of people, why do we need them and this doubt was cleared by my father again saying, if you help others, they will be available when you are in danger or when you need help. So from then I started visiting my family's events, started mingling with them. I started speaking about some random topic which is not really related. However, this helped me in my adult life securing a job or position or just presentable in front of anyone, anyone that I don't know and another thing I learned is swimming.

    Band 6-7

    Indeed, learning is a lifelong process. Due to this, being an innovative person, I have a curiosity to born up something new in my life. I would like to shed some light on my indispensable thing which I figured out but not at school or college, actually is none other than cooking. My mother is an amazing cook. She makes some different cuisines like the homemade meals like biryani, ghee rice, fried rice, vegetable noodles, and a wide varieties of meat recipes. So basically, every woman and man wants to learn cooking very well. Initially, my mother was bold out of the blue because she deemed that a guy who could not drink a cup of water was asking about born up to a kid. I also watch YouTube videos in order to enhance my cooking skill. When in my initial age, my mother taught me how to make chapati. When I made chapati, it looked like a map of an Asia, something like that. So, cooking which is very much important to me. The culinary skill that gives us to do, we don't have to depend on anyone if you know the basic skill of how to make a food tasty and the way we press in and demonstrate the food. So, cooking is something

    Band 6-7

    I learned mapping before two years ago. Firstly, I would like to say it is not learned in school or college. It is learned on YouTube by Khan Sir. Basically, mapping is used to feel that location and more things like... Firstly, mapping is divided in three parts political, physical and thematical. Mapping shows the movement of sun, earth, moon as well as other planets like how it goes. Mapping shows the situation of atmosphere like at the pole there are so much cold and at the mediterranean equator which is too hot. Basically, maps includes your thinking, feeling as well as actual location of individual countries like Venezuela, Thailand. So, I think map should be learned by everyone. It gives exposure and it will direct the
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