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Describe your first day at school.: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When & where did you go to?
  • What happened there?
  • How did you feel on that day?
Show all 69 answers

Cue 1:When & where did you go to?

  • Begin by mentioning the name of the school and its location to set the context.
  • Include the date or year to give a sense of time and personal significance.

Example

I started my first day at St. Xavier's School in Mumbai in June 2005. It was a bright sunny morning, and I remember feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness as I stepped into the school premises for the very first time.

Cue 2:What happened there?

  • Describe the activities that took place during your first day, such as meeting teachers and classmates.
  • Mention any memorable events or interactions that stood out to you.

Example

On that day, I was introduced to my class teacher, Mrs. Sharma, who was very welcoming. We had a brief orientation session where I met my classmates. I vividly remember playing games during recess, which helped break the ice and made me feel more comfortable.

Cue 3:How did you feel on that day?

  • Share your emotions and thoughts throughout the day, highlighting any changes in your feelings.
  • Reflect on how the experience shaped your view of school and learning.

Example

Initially, I felt anxious about fitting in, but as the day progressed, I started to feel more at ease. By the end of the day, I was filled with joy and anticipation for what the rest of the school year would bring.

Conclusion

  • Summarize your overall experience and its impact on your life.
  • Mention how that first day influenced your attitude towards school in general.

Example

Looking back, my first day at school was a pivotal moment in my life. It not only marked the beginning of my education but also taught me the importance of stepping out of my comfort zone. That day laid the foundation for many wonderful friendships and learning 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 Descriptions

Using vague language can make your response less engaging and informative. Specific details help the examiner understand your experience better.

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Tip

Include specific details about the location, activities, and people you encountered on your first day to create a vivid picture.

2: Don't Rush Your Response

Speaking too quickly can lead to unclear communication and missed details. It's important to pace yourself for better clarity.

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Tip

Take a moment to organize your thoughts before speaking, and practice speaking slowly to ensure your ideas are conveyed clearly.

Neglecting Emotions

Failing to express your feelings can make your answer less relatable. Emotions add depth to your story and engage the listener.

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Tip

Share how you felt during your first day, whether it was excitement, nervousness, or joy, to connect with the examiner on a personal level.

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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
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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

My first day of school is something which I never forget in my life. I still remember, I was waiting for my mom at my corridor to just come and pick me up. Because it was so awkward for me and so memorable for me. The first day, when my mom and dad came and just kicked me off from the school, I was like, I was feeling relieved. I was like, who is this new people who is surrounded by me? I really don't know them. And teachers were there. It made me very anxious at that time. Oh God, I'm going to stay here. I'm going to study here. But at that part of time and on the first day, it was very difficult for me to analyze what is going on. After first, second day, I guess it has changed completely. I got new friends. I still remember the friends which I made at my first grade. Her name was Neha and it was a very beautiful relationship with her. We had a lot of fun together. We belonged to same language and our parents knew each other. So I kind of got a company. Okay, someone is there for me. So we used to play a lot. I guess it's a general thing. First day of school, which makes you very nervous. And when teacher tell you, come and introduce yourself, it makes you so nervous. You're going to introduce yourself in front of people around you. But that is a starting step. That is starting pillar, which we are going forward. And it helps you in a lot of ways. It helps you to make a lot of friends. During school time, I still remember I faced a lot of criticism. I was not good at many ways, but that criticism actually made me strong who I am today. So school life has portrayed a very major role in me. And I am so grateful that I went to that phase in my life. And first day of school still makes me feel, God, I can be my mother's daughter again.

Band 6-7

My school life started at St. Mary's Convent School. It's located in my hometown, which is 5 minutes walking distance. My grandfather used to take me each and every day. It all started when I was in the first grade. I was brought up in an orthodox household where I was not allowed to move out or to just engage with people. All I can remember is the day was very good. I had a lot of fun and we started off with introduction. Our teacher, Rajkumari ma'am, she's very close to my heart. I still remember her. She treated me well and as I mentioned, it was quite difficult and something new for me. I couldn't open up much, but I definitely shed tears on the first day of my school. Because I wasn't a bad kid.

Band 6-7

When I was 15 years old, I had to change my school, so the first day was very scary because I was so nervous and as well as so excited about the new school. Previously I was going to the school which has very low grade mentors, so after that I have decided to move to another school which has more reputation and which has more extracurricular activities. When I first entered the school on the first day of my school, everyone was welcoming and I still remember one of those mentors who came to me and she made me so comfortable and she asked me every five minutes, are you okay, are you comfortable and that was so welcoming and so overwhelming for me and I do get excited whenever I go to new

Band 6-7

Today I am going to talk about my first day of this school. I remember my first day of this school so vividly because the moment I entered into the class I saw so many unknown faces and that was so nerve wracking on the first dance. I went up to the teacher that was standing there and I met her, I introduced myself and she asked me to sit on the first bench where I had a partner whose name was Khushi and we kind of introduced each other and talked about our preferences and just the basic conversation after which I was asked to introduce myself to the whole class and complete a few formalities that was presented to me by my class teacher. Furthermore, I was given a lot of instructions and a lot of details about the kind of education that I will be provided and the kind of behavior and the nature that I am supposed to depict in my classroom. After certain lectures were over, we were given a recess and we enjoyed ourselves in the recess. I formed a full group of friends where we sat together on our benches, had our lunch together, got to know each other and had a lot of fun. If I have to sum it up my first day of school, I would say it was the most exhilarating and the most amazing experience that I have had in my life. I have made so many friends and they still are there in my life and I am sure they are going to stick around for the rest of our lives with each other.

Band 6-7

My first day at school was in the class of 3rd standard and my school was near Gollapudi Vijayawada. It was a huge campus with lot of trees and lot of playing atmosphere out there. We had a lot of friends but on the first day of school, I felt I was lost, like I was lost from home, I wanted to go home and I wanted to go back to my parents, to my comfort zone at home and play with my toys but the first day was actually hard because it was a very whole new experience for me and as far as I can remember, I cried on that day and my teacher came and consoled me and she was saying that meet new friends, she also gave me lots of chocolates back then and also she introduced me to my friends, like to my classmates and also we had a game period which I absolutely loved and I stopped crying after I played games with all my colleagues and also the first day of school was very tiring as I came back home to my mother and also I cried and I also said that I don't want to go to school the next day. So as far as I remember, this was the day 1 of my school and I hope I can conclude my answer. It's during my age 3 years.

Band 6-7

As I can remember, when I was 5 years old, I went to a school called Jibril School in Muscat. In my class, there were around 25 to 30 students with 2 class teachers. One of my class teacher's name was Rosie and one of my class teacher's name and the other class teacher's name was Mary. Oh, it was an awesome day of my life. I got to play with all the students. We had art classes, music classes, dance classes, everything. They taught us alphabets, they taught us how to match colors and I enjoyed a lot that day. I wish I could go back to the same time 20 years back.

Band 6-7

I vividly remember waking up with haziness in my eyes that morning, excited, nervous. At the time, my parents were also emotional for sending me away from them for such a long time the first day. I got up, brushed my teeth and was getting ready. I tied my hair in a ponytail and then I left for my school. I was informed it's a place where you meet other kids at your age, you become friends and you do fun all day. The moment I entered, I saw many people wearing the same dress as me, which I considered costume at that time. I left my father at the gate and was accompanied into the classes with one of the volunteers. We went. We started the day with a prayer. My school name, I remember it was a play school and it was in Puri, my hometown. It was filled with pictures of different cartoons inspired from Cartoon Network like Ben 10, Powerpuff Girls, etc. The first class that we attended was of an art class. Then we went to do introduction with our broken English at that time. We enjoyed a lot. We had our tiffin, we had our nap time. Then while coming back, we stamped our fingerprints on each of the desks that we sat. So we would remember where to come and sit. It was a lovely day. I came back home with so much happiness and excitement to wake up the following day.

Band 6-7

My first day at school was actually pretty adventurous. I went to Amity School of Design. My school started in around August 2021. I went to my school through a cab facility that I had hired. I reached the school and initially I could not find where my classes were supposed to be held because the school was so huge that I could not find the block that I was supposed to go to. So I tried asking the prior students there that I could find that if they could help me, if they could guide me with finding the directions towards my block, but neither of them knew anything about it. So then I walked a little further and I found a security guard standing there. So I decided to ask him because I assumed that since he is working there as a security guard, then he should definitely know where the directions to a particular block should be. So I went there and asked him about it and turns out even he didn't know where the particular block was. Subsequently, I figured out that the block was recently developed and not much people even in the university knew about it. So then I called my batchmates, my classmates who already reached the class. I asked them to help me with the directions and I even asked one of them to come up and get me from the spot where I was standing. Then one of my friends named Rithya, she came up. She came up to the ground floor. She guided me to where, as to where the block was and then we went together to the class. The first class was already a little late. Even our teacher was late to the class. So I was not penalized for being late or for not finding the class on the right time. The class ended and then I roamed around the college with my friends and found out the various facilities available.

Band 6-7

Speaking about my first day at school, it's quite interesting because when I entered into the school it was a whole lot of new things to me. It was the first class where I visited the school at first and there were a lot of children crying, being annoyed and didn't want to come to school as they were leaving their parents for so much time for the first time. And I think, I don't remember a lot but teachers were quite good, were friendly and they, first of all they started with an introduction where all children had to introduce themselves. Furthermore, I felt a lot of insecurity where I was missing my mom and dad a lot. I felt terrible and but after some time, I as I'm an ambivalent person, I went to some children and started to talking, started to talk to them. There were some boys and some girls running over here and there during the recess period. I thought this was the best time to speak with them. I spoke with two of them. I still remember the name. It's shocking, it's quite shocking but the first person I ever spoke into the school was Aditya and regardless he has been my best friend and up till 9th standard and we had to face some consequences and then leave our friendship. The first day at school was quite great. Teachers letting us play games, different type of foods.

Band 6-7

I remember the first day of my higher secondary school which was a boarding school in a different state. As a topper from my high school, they offered me scholarship from a different state and my parents encouraged me to move to another state with a different language. I remember my first day when I was wearing a green kurta and I entered into the class with a lot of confusion, holding a black file and my friend Kumala, who was sitting in the third row behind, raised her hand and waved at me asking, are you also from Tamil Nadu? We were two new girls inside Andhra Pradesh where the home language is Telugu and we were new to the language and to the state and that first day is very close to my heart because I made a friend for life. Other than that, the higher secondary school where I studied was very much famous for their entrance preparation programs. Definitely we had a hectic schedule there and it was the first time away from home but somehow in the two year period I made it a home away from my home.
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