Part 1
Telephoning / calling / telephone calls / texting
How often do you make telephone calls?
To be honest, it's not very often, maybe once or twice a month. I usually text people more than actually call people on the phone. Really, the only person I still call is my grandmother but like I said, it's only a couple of times a month that we speak.
Who do you spend most time talking to on the telephone?
My grandmother, we don't talk that often but when I do call her we normally speak for at least half an hour and more often than not it's longer than that. I used to live close to her, but since I moved here I can't visit her as often so when I call her I like to hear all her news and she always asks me about what I've been doing.
When do you think you’ll next make a telephone call?
I'll probably call my grandmother in the next couple of days so we can catch up with each other. I spoke to her early last week but I'd like to call her soon and find out how she is and what she's been doing. maybe I'll call her on Friday afternoon when I have some free time so we can have a really long chat.
Do you sometimes prefer to send a text message instead of telephoning?
Yes, almost always. Texting is much easier and quicker and people can't listen to your conversations. As I said before, my grandmother is really the only person I call because she likes it, but I generally text everyone else... it's so much better, you can choose when you send each text, you can do things in-between texting and if the other person is busy for a few minutes they can text back later but the conversation still continues, it's more conveninent than calling.
Part 2
Describe a journey [e.g. by car, plane, boat] that you remember well
You should say:
- where you went
- how you traveled
- why you went on the journey
IELTS Cue Card Sample Answer
I'd like to tell you about a trip I took with three friends of mine about a year ago. We were in Mexico and we decided to hire a car and travel around the country for four weeks. We did some planning before we set off, but not that much, we wanted it to be like an adventure.We chose one of the major areas in the North, East, West and South of the country to visit and planned to visit some other interesting places while traveling between those four major areas.
We all took turns driving and it was truly a great trip, one that I'm sure we'll all remember for a long time.
Like I said, we didn't really have a plan but we wanted to see as much of the country as we could in the time we had free... so we just used to drive for a couple of hours and then stop in a village or town and take a walk around and see some of the sights, have something to eat and drink and relax a little.
Then we'd continue on to the next place we had marked on our map.
In the evenings we would find a hotel and settle in for the night, go for something to eat, maybe go to a bar or restaurant and have a look around the place.
We met some very interesting people and also had some good times... we spent one evening dancing with mariachi bands and I can remember we met a group of foreign students on another evening in a restaurant, they were from Europe, and we spent a lot of time talking with them.
There are various reasons I will never forget that particular trip. One of them is the sheer size of the country... it's massive, and each area is different, there's a lot of diversity in terms of the climate, the environment and people and so on.
Then there were specific moments that are unforgettable like driving across the desert which lasted for hours and hours... it was truly immense and we only saw one other vehicle while we were driving... and spending Christmas in Cancun was great fun, on the beach having a great time together.
Really, so many happy memories we all have from the time we spent traveling and exploring. The whole experience was just amazing!
IELTS Speaking Test Part 3 Discussion Questions
Reasons for daily travel
They may need to simply tavel to their office and then stay there all day, or maybe they need to travel as part of their work, visiting customers or clients or fly to another city for an important meeting.
Or maybe they miss the bus or train because they were a little late - and then have to wait for the next bus or train but arrive late at work or wherever they needed to go.
Then of course they could be involved in a traffic accident,especially if they're driving, and that can cause a lot of problems for them.
It would certainly make traffic less of a problem in big cities if more people could do that. Another factor which could reduce the necessity for these daily trips is the fact that many universities are now offering their courses online so students don't have to travel to the campus every day... and it's highly probable that more work will be done in the future without the need for employees to be sitting in a company office.
Reasons for daily travel
Why do people need to travel every day?
Well, I suppose the main reasons are to go to work, school or university so they can attend their jobs, classes or whatever they need to do.They may need to simply tavel to their office and then stay there all day, or maybe they need to travel as part of their work, visiting customers or clients or fly to another city for an important meeting.
What problems can people have when they are on their daily journey to work or school for example? Why is this?
I suppose one of the most common ones would be traffic jams, which can sometimes be very bad at peak hours when everybody is trying to travel at the same time.Or maybe they miss the bus or train because they were a little late - and then have to wait for the next bus or train but arrive late at work or wherever they needed to go.
Then of course they could be involved in a traffic accident,especially if they're driving, and that can cause a lot of problems for them.
Some people say that daily journeys like these will not be so common in the future. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
That's probably true, I mean more and more people are working from home now or even working on projects in different countries using technology and so they don't need to physically travel to an office to do their work.It would certainly make traffic less of a problem in big cities if more people could do that. Another factor which could reduce the necessity for these daily trips is the fact that many universities are now offering their courses online so students don't have to travel to the campus every day... and it's highly probable that more work will be done in the future without the need for employees to be sitting in a company office.
IELTS Speaking Test Part 3 Discussion Questions
Reasons for daily travel
They may need to simply tavel to their office and then stay there all day, or maybe they need to travel as part of their work, visiting customers or clients or fly to another city for an important meeting.
Or maybe they miss the bus or train because they were a little late - and then have to wait for the next bus or train but arrive late at work or wherever they needed to go.
Then of course they could be involved in a traffic accident,especially if they're driving, and that can cause a lot of problems for them.
It would certainly make traffic less of a problem in big cities if more people could do that. Another factor which could reduce the necessity for these daily trips is the fact that many universities are now offering their courses online so students don't have to travel to the campus every day... and it's highly probable that more work will be done in the future without the need for employees to be sitting in a company office.
Reasons for daily travel
Why do people need to travel every day?
Well, I suppose the main reasons are to go to work, school or university so they can attend their jobs, classes or whatever they need to do.They may need to simply tavel to their office and then stay there all day, or maybe they need to travel as part of their work, visiting customers or clients or fly to another city for an important meeting.
What problems can people have when they are on their daily journey to work or school for example? Why is this?
I suppose one of the most common ones would be traffic jams, which can sometimes be very bad at peak hours when everybody is trying to travel at the same time.Or maybe they miss the bus or train because they were a little late - and then have to wait for the next bus or train but arrive late at work or wherever they needed to go.
Then of course they could be involved in a traffic accident,especially if they're driving, and that can cause a lot of problems for them.
Some people say that daily journeys like these will not be so common in the future. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
That's probably true, I mean more and more people are working from home now or even working on projects in different countries using technology and so they don't need to physically travel to an office to do their work.It would certainly make traffic less of a problem in big cities if more people could do that. Another factor which could reduce the necessity for these daily trips is the fact that many universities are now offering their courses online so students don't have to travel to the campus every day... and it's highly probable that more work will be done in the future without the need for employees to be sitting in a company office.
Benefits of international travel
It's life experience and appreciating how people do things in other parts of the world is very important, especially in today's global marketplace.
The more varied your experience is the better it is for you as an individual. That's why language skills can be so important too. Traveling to other countries teaches you to plan, prepare, adapt and think on your feet as well as solve problems on your own sometimes.
It makes you more independent and resourceful. But most importantly it gives you a better understanding of the world you live in.
It's not just the travel, it's the whole range of services and jobs which support the travel such as transport, accommodation, restaurants and so on.
What do you think people can learn from travelling to other countries? Why?
The best thing is the experience of dealing with everything, from the planning, the actual travel and then dealiing with other people in a different country.It's life experience and appreciating how people do things in other parts of the world is very important, especially in today's global marketplace.
The more varied your experience is the better it is for you as an individual. That's why language skills can be so important too. Traveling to other countries teaches you to plan, prepare, adapt and think on your feet as well as solve problems on your own sometimes.
It makes you more independent and resourceful. But most importantly it gives you a better understanding of the world you live in.
Can travel make a positive difference to the economy of a country? How?
Absolutely, there are many countries which rely on travel for tourism or business. In fact, in some countries tourism is the main industry so without international travel their economies would probably be in big problems.It's not just the travel, it's the whole range of services and jobs which support the travel such as transport, accommodation, restaurants and so on.
Do you think a society can benefit if its members have experience of travelling to other countries? In what ways?
Yes, because when people travel they see other things which maybe aren't normal in their own country and they maybe like them or don't like them.
So they can either appreciate their own country more or perhaps try to improve it by introducing new ideas or ways of doing things which they have seen in other places.
All it takes is for someone to see something they like and then copy the idea in their own country, it might be as simple as a style of cafe or bar, or as complex as a transport system, but without having travelled and seen something different it probably would never have happened.
So they can either appreciate their own country more or perhaps try to improve it by introducing new ideas or ways of doing things which they have seen in other places.
All it takes is for someone to see something they like and then copy the idea in their own country, it might be as simple as a style of cafe or bar, or as complex as a transport system, but without having travelled and seen something different it probably would never have happened.