PART 1
Examples
Are you happy to be the age you are now? [Why/Why not?]
I’m a young person who has the health and strength to do many things in my life.
So, personally, I’m happy with my age because I feel can do as I wish.
I suppose that if I were old, I would no longer have so much energy and my body wouldn’t allow what my mind would try and tell it to do.
When you were a child, did you think a lot about your future? [Why/Why not?]
When I was a child, what I did was study because my parents demanded it and because it was normal that all children did it.
But what kept my head busy was gymnastics and playing. I think that when I was a child, I only thought about the present and I enjoyed it a lot.
Do you think you have changed as you have got older? [Why/Why not?]
I think we all change with the years and life experience, but in essence, we are always the same.
For example, when I was a child I loved to jump, run and play, and now that I am grown up if someone put me on an obstacle course, I would gladly and happily have a go at it even though I’m now an adult.
What will be different about your life in the future? [Why?]
It’s very difficult to know what things will change in the future because no one knows that.
But if something has to change it may be my current sports activities; I go running or to the gym.
And I guess as I get older I may still do these physical activities because I love them, but not as often or with the same intensity as I do now.
You should say:and explain how helpful this device was to you.
- what device you started using
- why you started using this device
- how easy or difficult it was to use
Cambridge IELTS speaking test sample answer
When I was a child my dad bought a new computer. It was a basic model not like the kind we buy nowadays.
The new computer only consisted of a nice screen, mouse, and keyboard.
I didn't know how to use it, but I had to learn quickly because I had to do my homework and present it in printed format.
It wasn't that easy for me. I was used to pencil and paper, my dad didn't know how to use it either, and my older sister behaved like the classic obnoxious older sister – not wanting to help.
There was no one to teach me. I remember that it was very difficult for me to master the direction of the mouse and the pointer because when I moved the mouse the pointer would shoot to one end of the screen and disappear.
Then I would move it again and it would point to another place that was not the desired one. The other conflict I remember was the click buttons on the left side and the secondary functions of the button on the right side, as it was very confusing for me to learn which one to press and I regularly made mistakes.
Computers were a whole new thing for me and my family. My father chose to continue using his Olivetti typewriter because he never managed to control the mouse. Then he asked his daughters to transcribe his writing onto the computer, but that was after we had learned to use it well.
The folders were another mystery - regularly they got lost and I did not remember where I had saved my school work.
I did not know how to recover a deleted file or the written lines that suddenly disappeared due to some key that I pressed.
Not to mention the famous presentations that we were later requested for school exhibitions. When it was all new to me, it was quite a challenge that I had to overcome due to meet all the requirements.
Today, you wouldn't know what to do without a computer. I did all my university assignments thanks to a laptop that I bought exclusively for that purpose.
It is one of the most useful objects for almost all types of activity, and with an internet connection, the world is at your fingertips.
It is definitely a must-have item today.
PART 3
Discussion topics:
Technology and education
Example questions
What is the best age for children to start computer lessons?
Today's children seem to be born knowing how to use any type of electronic device.
Parents use their own phones to distract their children from an early age. The use of the computer is a very simple step for them due to their previous use of technological devices.
That is why I believe that there is no longer the best age to learn since from the first years of life they already begin to use them naturally – it’s a part of their natural development.
Do you think that schools should use more technology to help children learn?
Today most schools teach classes using a computer. The options for teaching are limitless with the use of the tools provided by a computer connected to the internet.
Students no longer need to imagine anything, because you can search literally everything online: videos, documentaries, photos, the world in a couple of clicks.
I believe that nowadays the use of technology is essential for teaching, however, we still do not know the real consequences of this radical change, since all of this is relatively new.
Do you agree or disagree that computers will replace teachers one day?
I have heard on the news about comments on the possible replacement of teachers by ultra-advanced computers that will be the new tutors of the children of the future.
Personally, I hoped this won’t happen, but with the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, it is already happening today, since students are already doing their classes at home in front of a computer.
It means a step that has brought us closer to a new reality faster than expected.
Technology and societyExample questions
How much has technology changed how we communicate with each other?
The change has been radical in just a few years.
Communication in the past was much slower and could take days, then hours, and now it is a matter of seconds.
The way of communicating nowadays is instantaneous and encompasses any place on the planet to the extent of being able to know in real-time what is happening on the other side of the world.
Do you agree that there are still many more major technological innovations to be made?
I have no doubt that new technological advances will emerge in all fields of human life.
Many of them we cannot even imagine at the moment. The most important discoveries, of course, will be in the field of medicine, and for now, what the world is most looking forward to is the creation of effective vaccines.
We can all anticipate that we will suffer from a variety of new virus pandemics in the future similar to the recent outbreaks which we have suffered.
Could you suggest some reasons why some people are deciding to reduce their use of technology?
I think their reasons could be related to the misuse of technology or to the negative effects that overuse triggers, such as heavy dependency.
Nowadays, the use of a smartphone is practically indispensable and they hold the entire life of the person.
The most basic memory functions are covered by any phone. It could be said that for thousands of years we survived without digital technology and now we could not get by for one day without it.