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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

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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

    I would like to talk about one of the experience which I had in my previous job, so I was working in an organization which is a manufacturing industry and I was working in finance department, at that time there was one of Japanese visitor who has visited our organization relating to some business deal, so at that time I was the only person available on that day, so I have to welcome them, so I quickly learned some of the Japanese words and I welcomed them to our organization and it was a very good experience because when I welcomed them in their language, they have replied in my own language, so it was quite interesting and happy moment, so that was the time, first time when I have to speak in foreign language, and so I remember this was an unforgettable one, because the Japanese are the people who are more fond of learning in all the manner, so they would easily grab the other language, but we as Indians, we are little bit, we will be little bit resting ourselves and restricting ourselves and communicating in the foreign language, so it was a day where I learnt that from one of my close friend, she was living in Japan, so I just immediately called up her and asked few words how to welcome them, so she said few words about welcoming, how to welcome and also learnt me some other words to get some basic information about them, so I somehow managed that day and it was a very wonderful experience which I had.

    Band 6-7

    The time when I first talked in a foreign language would be in my college lab. I studied food science and we were making a healthy diet for a diabetic patient. Me and my friend Akshaya, we both love the whole Korean culture and Korean celebrities. We kind of know that we each other speak a little bit of Korean. So our first time was in the lab and I just started talking to myself in Korean and it came out loud and she looked at me and she was like, oh you too? And then I was like, yeah I speak a little bit of Korean. So we just hit it off and we were talking in Korean. After that, every time we look at each other. First time when we talked in Korean in the lab, we had a lot of gossip and talk about food. And I actually for the first time in my life felt belonged for speaking in foreign language in my country and in my city more specifically. Because in my house, I don't have the courage to talk in that language even out of my own room. I felt that my own parents would say that I'm weird or it's very unethical. But when I just started talking to her and she went along with it and she even complimented my vocabulary and fluency. And we used a lot of slangs and yeah, it was so fun. And after that, every time we started talking in Korean when we needed to gossip or something.

    Band 6-7

    Okay, alright, I would like to speak the first, very first time I spoke French in class. I happened around 2 years ago when I went on a short educational trip to Paris with one of my close friends because of us had been learning French in school for couple of years, but honestly we never had the confidence to speak it with native speakers. We were studying near the Eiffel Tower and one evening we decided to go out to a small cafe. My friend encouraged me to try ordering something in French instead of switching to English. At first I was extremely nervous because I knew that speaking with native French people would be completely different from practicing in a classroom. Still, I gathered my courage and walked up to the country. I greeted the waiter by saying, Bonjour, je voudrais un café et un croissant. Since it was Saturday, which means good evening, I would like a coffee and a croissant please. To my surprise, the waiter smiled warmly and replied back in French asking me whether I want milk or sugar with my coffee. At first I didn't catch what he said, but my friend quickly whispered the meaning and I managed to respond correctly. The short exchange made me feel so excited and relieved. It was like all the hours of studying vocabulary and grammar had finally paid off. After that we sat down and had a little conversation with the couple sitting next to us who spoke French slowly for us.

    Band 6-7

    The time when I was first taught in a foreign language, I think it's just a few months ago at the German Academy. The main reason I taught in German, because I am planning to do my master's in Germany. So, that basis I joined German Academy. I am talking with my friend in that academy. So, we were talked about some basic grammar, basic German language like normal people conversations like how are you, what do you want. These are the topics we talk each other and I found that talking experience was really amazing for me because my goal is to achieve, the main goal I want to achieve is to do my master's in Germany. So, studying a German language is one of my goals. So, and that was the first experience I talked in German language and I felt so proud of myself because that's just the first time I used some words and in German and I thought the fluency and there are a lot of variations differ from our language. The fluency, the pronunciation, everything is very different in the German language.

    Band 6-7

    A time when I first talked in a foreign language was for a study abroad seminar conducted in my college. The language that we were given was German. I was very frightened and scared at first because I didn't know a single word about this language but I was all excited to learn a new language. My hobby was also trying specific languages of different cities and also German language was one of my bucket list to learn. The seminar was conducted by a study abroad consultancy and there we were given a chance to speak at least based on our instincts in German. I was there with my friend Sheena and she helped me somewhat in handling the situation effectively. I learnt a few words in German and at the very beginning of the class they gave us a 12 minute preparation time where they were given some vocabularies common in German and we prepared based on that. I started with an introduction, Ich habe Ansi, Ich bin Ansi Pradeep. So the officials they were not concentrating on what we were telling but they were only judging us based on our smartness and responsiveness to handle the situation even if we didn't know anything about it. The seminar conducted was a fantastic one and it got a huge response and overall our performance was also rated very well.

    Band 6-7

    When I was 6th standard, our school gave us a choice to select between 3 foreign languages German, French and Sanskrit and I decided to choose my 3rd language as German after English and Hindi and we had to learn German in 3 years which was 6th, 7th and 8th and the first time I did a proper conversation in German was in class 7th when I got to know the basics and learnt quite a few things in the language so I went to a foreign exchange to Germany and did a proper conversation with the German students so it was a great experience and I was feeling quite confident and also very proud that I can speak in a language which is not my native one so it was quite a great feeling I was able to tell my things to them and I was also able to understand what they were saying so it is so much to learn a 3rd language apart from our regional languages.

    Band 6-7

    I remember the time when I first started speaking in a completely foreign language. I was scrolling through the email and checking out the requirements for a doctor in the UAE. And one of the requirements which striked me was ability to speak in Arabic language. This triggered me to download an app called as Duolingo which helps to learn a foreign language. I installed the application and went through the Arabic content and I was screwed to it. I spent around 60 minutes jumping from one part to the other and I realized how good I was at it. I was alone, I was enjoying learning a new language. It felt as if I was three again and my mom was teaching me. Unconsciously to learn a new language. I love speaking in Arabic and I yearn to learn it because it's the language of Quran. And I wish to learn it and understand what is the text that has been bestowed upon us by the almighty Allah.

    Band 6-7

    I still remember the time when I first talked in a foreign language when I was pursuing my graduations, there is a time with my friends where we got an opportunity to present our college in an event. So that's when I talked in English for the first time. So on a topic about our college, how successful we are being in this particular college and what are the benefits that we have getting educated in this particular college and what are the challenges that we have and each and every factor. I felt I felt little stressed out as this is the first time I'm presenting in a foreign language and later I got habituated and gone with the flow. So I just explained all the things that happened in the colleges. For example, so after joining into the college, my communication skills got improved a lot and even I had very good company of friends in the college which improved my contacts as well as my skill set. In addition to that, there is a lot of tools and technologies which are being taken care by the college in addition to our education that is happening over here and we even learnt a lot of things to crack our interviews in the final year due to which we are able to place in a reputated organization with very good packages and we thanked our college. Thank you.

    Band 6-7

    I feel like the English was the very first language that I tried in my life and in during the initial phase, it was a tough for me to cope up with it. But throughout this journey, I realized that it is not only just the practice that is needed, but also the confidence within self that yes, I can do good and it does not need the validation of others, but need a validation of our own as an individual that that the command over any of the language needs. I also am trying to learn German language so that I can go abroad and continue my PG in a master's in business administration and I can seek more job opportunities and I can see more learning experience and exposure. And for this, I actually need a very good command over the German language and the language gives us so many opportunities to interact with each other, to understand the emotions of other, to handle the situation in a different languages, whatever it is needed. And yes, I am willing to learn more and more different languages so that it can be helpful for me to gain more experiences in our life to build a strong rapport, not only just within my country, but also abroad and learning any of the language in initial phase can be a difficult task, but with consistency, practice and self-determination, it is not impossible and everyone can do it with small initiative.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about a time when I first spoke in a foreign language, English. It happened when a South Indian nurse moved to our hospital. I'm working as a staff nurse in my hometown hospital. A South Indian nurse came to our hospital for work. I think she had to move here because of her marriage. She married to a person who was living in my hometown. At first she found it difficult to speak in Hindi. Because she never tried learning Hindi. She always had a conversation in her native language Malayalam and in English. Even with her husband and her in-laws. But at work she couldn't use English because not many people are familiar with English. Malayalam is far away from understanding. I knew a little bit about English. I could speak a little bit of English. My in-charge put me in duty with her and asked me to tell her about our hospital work policy. He always assigned me with her to do our duties. At first I found it difficult to have a talk in English.
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