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Describe the time when you first talked in a foreign language: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Where you were
  • Who you were with
  • What you talked about
  • And explain how you felt about it
Show all 104 answers

Cue 1:Where you were

  • Begin by describing the location where you first spoke in a foreign language, making it vivid and relatable.
  • Mention any specific details about the environment that made it memorable.

Example

I was at a language exchange event in my city, held at a local community center. The room was filled with people from different backgrounds, and there was a buzz of excitement in the air as everyone was eager to practice their language skills.

Cue 2:Who you were with

  • Introduce the person or people you were with during this experience.
  • Explain your relationship with them and why they were significant to this moment.

Example

I was paired with a native Spanish speaker named Carlos, who was also learning English. We were both nervous but excited to help each other improve our language skills.

Cue 3:What you talked about

  • Outline the main topics of conversation you had with the person.
  • Include any interesting or funny moments that occurred during your discussion.

Example

We talked about our favorite hobbies, food, and cultural differences. I remember laughing when Carlos tried to explain a traditional Spanish dish, and I struggled to pronounce it correctly.

Cue 4:And explain how you felt about it

  • Share your emotions during and after the conversation.
  • Reflect on how this experience impacted your confidence in speaking a foreign language.

Example

At first, I felt anxious and self-conscious about making mistakes. However, as we continued talking, I felt a sense of accomplishment and joy. It was liberating to express myself in a different language, and I left the event feeling more confident in my abilities.

Conclusion

    Example

    Overall, that experience was a turning point for me. It not only improved my language skills but also encouraged me to seek more opportunities to practice speaking in foreign languages. I realized that making mistakes is part of the learning process, and it made me more open to new experiences.

    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 Vague Responses

    Being vague can make your answer less engaging and informative. It may lead to a lack of detail that is crucial for a good score.

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    Tip

    Provide specific details about the location, people, and conversation to create a vivid picture for the examiner.

    2: Don't Overuse Simple Language

    Relying too much on simple words can limit your expression and fail to showcase your language skills. This may affect your fluency score.

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    Tip

    Incorporate a variety of vocabulary and sentence structures to demonstrate your language proficiency.

    Neglecting Emotional Impact

    Failing to express how you felt can make your answer less personal and relatable. Emotions add depth to your response.

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    Tip

    Share your feelings about the experience, such as excitement or nervousness, to connect better with the examiner.

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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

    location icon

    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

    I talk in a few languages such as Punjabi, Hindi and English but before 3 years ago I tried to learn French language because it is very necessary for every person who are visiting foreign countries and living there for many years. I start learning French language in a coaching center which is located nearby my home town. It provides many opportunities to learn French language and also elaborate the type of French language and whole process of learning this language. On the other side, I firstly talk in French language with my friend who are living in Canada because in Ontario is the main location in Canada where French language was the most spoken language and my friend also talk with me in huge topics in French language and we had a long communication so I think it was the time when I talk with my friend in French language and I also feel very confident when I was talking in this language.

    Band 6-7

    The first time I talked in a foreign language was about 3 years ago, when I started learning English in a straight-to-college. At the time, my university organized an event for international students, and I had the opportunity to talk with a student from UK who had just joined our class. We were sitting in the cafeteria and asked me about local food and good places to visit in my cities. I was quite nervous because my English wasn't very fluent then and I was afraid of making mistakes, but I tried my best to speak slowly and clearly. Surprisingly, he understood everything and responded kindly, which made me feel more confident. We talked for about 15 minutes about culture, movies, and our hobbies. Even though I made a few grammatical errors, he encouraged me to keep speaking. The short conversation gave me a huge motivation to improve my English. When I look, I feel proud because that moment was the first step in becoming more comfortable communicating in other languages. He taught me that confidence is more important than perfection when learning to speak a foreign language.

    Band 6-7

    On the beginning of my professional life, I began to start dealing with English in day-to-day life because we had to talk to clients in English and for the very first time when I met my team lead who basically understand only in English, so I talked with him and asked each and every question regarding the job, regarding the work, regarding the time, each and every detail in English and at the time I tried to speak and stick to it because it looks more professional when you speak in English and that's basically the thing, I was little bit nervous about how I would be able to talk with him etc but anyhow I managed to talk with him, so that was my first time when I spoke in foreign language

    Band 6-7

    so I don't remember the exact date when I started talking in English or in a foreign language all I know that it was a great experience I mean I am very introvert kind of person it took time for me to like get involved with people so easily so it was like for the first time a ma'am came to me and asked me for an address and I was like okay from this to that way you can and she was so sweet I still remember her smile that and I after that I feel so satisfied that yes I can talk to anyone like yes I can speak in English I can interact with foreigners or any other kind of those who don't know the those who don't know my language I like I felt good and I was that time I was exploring Delhi I guess yes

    Band 6-7

    The first time that I ever talked a foreign language was in my undergraduation. That is when I chose to learn German. It was an extra class that we had and we had to choose either German or French or a state language which was Kannada or Hindi. Initially I thought Kannada was much more easier since it's my state language but something urged me to learn a foreign language just in case that would be useful for me in my future. German was taught to us by a German teacher in our university and it was the first time I learnt the alphabets and numbers of a foreign language. It was right in my class along with 15 to 20 students. My classmates were very quick learners unlike me because I felt it was quite difficult and hard since the entire language itself was completely different. It had a different way to pronounce, it's syllables were completely different than our English syllables. However, the first day of learning the German language was kind of fun since the teacher was teaching us in a very approachable way. I liked my first class of learning German and it is a good language.

    Band 6-7

    For the most of my life, the one foreign language I speak frequently is English, because I saw a lot of foreigners in India and I love to talk with them and I like to take conversation with them. Recently, for the first time, I met a person, I met an African person in the mosque. Then I went to him and I interacted with him. We both communicated and we got to know about each other and I asked him a lot of questions. So what's your purpose of coming here and what do you love in this country and do you want to stay for a few years or are you planning to move back to your country. I also asked him a lot of questions and not only this, in this case, I met a lot of foreigners in tourist places in India and especially in Hyderabad and I love to talk with them and if they have any problem, I'm ready to help with them by clarifying any directions or related to any money or any problem and I love to interact with foreigners because if we help others, if we help others now, then automatically, and I believe in karma, automatically when we go to foreign countries, at that time they will start, at that time someone will help us. It's my belief, I don't know, because I'm a religious person and I think God will send any one person and he will correct us, he will help us.

    Band 6-7

    About two months back, sometime in February, my family and I, i.e. my parents, my husband and I, were travelling to Vietnam. Whilst arriving, when we landed, we were met with the immigration officer, who shared some pleasantries with us in Vietnamese language. Not knowing much about the language, we felt a little uncomfortable and had to request the officer to speak to us in English. And it generally made us recognize the need to understand and learn the basics of a foreign language when we are travelling to that particular country. And since then, I have tried to pick up language books, and in my future travel, something that I'm planning for Japan, I intend to learn a little bit of Japanese language and some of their customs and etiquette before I go, so as to not seem awkward and uncomfortable in their presence. It is always nice to recognize the local laws and language of a country. And understanding a foreign language also just adds to one's repertoire of knowledge. And it's always a good thing to have. Which is why I always advise all my friends and people who generally ask for advice, that you must learn the basic language of the country that you wish to go to, or if you have a foreign colleague to pick up the language that they speak.

    Band 6-7

    In 5th class, we had an elective and we had to choose between two subjects which was French and Sanskrit. So, I chose French and we were a group of 5 friends. Those chose French and it was pretty amazing. The teacher taught us French for approximately 3 years. After 3 years, one of the foreigners came to Delhi and he was French. So, I just went up to him and said Bonjour and he was amazed that I knew French. So, he replied me back in French only and we had a very good conversation. I felt very good and I was able to welcome him to our country and was able to introduce him to the culture of our country.

    Band 6-7

    I had met a Japanese friend of mine at a party and at that point of time I was just learning Japanese out of curiosity because I was into anime and I just thought you know I should at least know a basic level of understanding of I should at least have a basic level of understanding of Japanese so that's the reason I was looking up to Japanese and I and when I met my friend at a party Japanese friend he we just had a casual conversation about anime and you know things in general and although I was not able to speak very fluently but I was able to understand simple sentences that he was saying and I we had a conversation nice conversation around general stuff and everything about anime and the common shows that we have watched together after the conversation I felt great that I I felt good I felt nice that I was able to speak in a foreign language and was able to communicate at least at a basic level with a native Japanese speaker at least that was my experience of speaking in a foreign language for the first time with a native speaker whom I met at a party

    Band 6-7

    The first time that I talked a foreign language was English. I was in my junior school. I was in standard 6. Before that I used to always speak in Hindi, that is my mother tongue. But that time I chose to speak in English with my friend, my best friend. His name was Abhishek. We never talked in English ever before. So that was the very first time I thought of showing my newly learned language, that is English, that I was very much confident about. When I started the conversation, it was all about my daily routine, what I did so far. So I thought of sharing my daily routine and whatever I have done so far in English. The moment I started, he was shocked. He was like, am I talking to my friend right now? Who is this guy? I don't even know him. So his reaction was completely shocking. So he started laughing at me. He was like, what is this? Why are you talking in English? Brother, we are good friends. We can converse in Hindi. So it was a very embarrassing moment for me. And of course, after that I'd never talk to him in English. And that was the last day that I spoke with him in English. Otherwise, I would always speak with him in Hindi. So yeah, he was my best friend. And I expected that he will support me. But all the confidence that I had in the beginning, it all went away with his love.
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