IELTS Speaking Samples and Answers

IELTS Speaking Sample 51

IELTS Speaking Mock Test 51

Part 1 - Introduction and interview

[This part of the test begins with the examiner introducing himself or herself and checking the candidate’s identification. It then continues as an interview.]

Q. What types of dress do you like to wear?
Answer: I love to wear jeans and T-shirts most of the time. I also wear some traditional dresses on different occasions. When I go to my college, I, however, wear formal pants, full-shirt and shoes. Finally, I wear trousers and sportswear whenever I go out for a walk or play with my friends.

Q. Why do you like to wear these dresses?
Answer: I feel comfortable in T-shirts and jeans at home. Our college has a dress code and I always follow it and that's why I wear formal dresses whenever I go to college. Finally, sportswear and trousers are really suitable and comfortable to wear for walking, running and playing.

Q. What are the most common costumes/dresses people wear in your locality?
Answer: Men in my locality wear pants, shirts and shoes most of the time while the women wear traditional dresses. But in the modern setting, the attires are changing rapidly with more western influences. When not in work, people prefer to wear comfortable dresses including pyjamas and t-shirts. During the winter, men and women like to wear woollen clothes and jackets.

Q. How the clothes you wore in your childhood are different from the dresses children wear these days?
Answer: In my childhood, all of my dresses were either chosen by my parents or they were gifts from our relatives. They mostly picked those dresses considering the comfort and weather condition. My mother and grandmother used to make some dresses at home while this is quite rare in the modern days. These days, children are given a certain degree of freedom to choose their own dresses from fashion houses while we hardly were allowed to do so. Fashion, type of fabrics and makings are certainly different these days than the past. 
 

Part 2  Individual long turn (Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card)

Part 2 - Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card

Topic:

Describe a birthday gift you received.

You should say:

  • what it was
  • who gave it to you
  • whether it was important to you

and explain how you felt about the gift.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Examiner: All right? Remember you have one to two minutes for this, so don't worry if I stop you. I'll tell you when the time is up. Can you start speaking now, please?


 

Sample Answer:
I received the best birthday gift of my life on my last birthday that I celebrated in November last year. It was the entire collection of Shakespeare. The collection contained all the dramas, poems and other writings of this great writer whom I revere so much. I was excited with the collection because I had long been desiring to have this collection but could not find the complete one. So, I felt happier indeed.

The gift was important to me for different reasons. The most impressive matter was that the collection was imported from England. The local libraries in my country are unable to provide a complete version of Shakespeare’s writings. They sell only some of the specific plays. In fact, I searched for the entire collection in many places but was unable to find it. So, it was a precious gift to me and it was also a pleasant surprise.

My maternal uncle gave this gift to me last year. He is a businessman and travels to different parts of the world every now and then. He went to London a month before my birthday for his business purposes and got the collection for me. Actually, l came to know that my mother had told him about the matter and accordingly he collected the entire collection of Shakespeare. I thanked him profoundly for his gorgeous gift.

I was overwhelmed with joy and exhilaration when I unwrapped the gift. The books were covered with a wrapping paper and I could not realize at the beginning that it contained the complete collection of Shakespeare. When I opened it, I was amazed. I lost my words to express my emotions right at that moment. Immediately I phoned my uncle to express my gratitude for this remarkable gift.
 

Part 3 - Details Discussion

Q. What kinds of gifts would men, women and children generally like to receive?
Answer: Well, in my opinion, it depends on the culture of the people in general as well as the occasion on which gifts are being offered. However, generally speaking, men would like to receive nice dresses, watches, perfumes, shoes, or some flight tickets in order to enjoy a holiday trip to some beautiful island or destination. Women would also like to receive the same things as men in addition to a beautiful pair of necklace or ornaments. When it comes to children, they would probably be more interested in receiving some nice toys and chocolate in addition to some nice clothes and shoes.  

Q. What changes have been seen in the past 10 years in receiving and giving gifts?
Answer: Over the past 10 years, significant changes have taken place in receiving and giving gifts. For example, people are not really waiting for any special occasion to give gifts because of the time constraints; rather people are buying gifts randomly to give them to their friends and families. Besides, today we have more varieties of gifts items as opposed to the limited number of gifts in the past. Finally, many people are buying their gifts by shopping on the internet from the comfort of their homes without ever actually going outside.

Q. How should people react when they receive gifts that they do not like? Why?
Answer: Everyone loves receiving gifts, but sometimes, there are situations when we don’t exactly like the gifts, we receive. And, should that be the case, we should always try to be graceful enough to thank the gift offering person(s), even if we don’t like the gifts, mainly because we want the gift offering person to feel good about his or her gift. Besides, we should behave gracefully on such occasions because it will keep the relationship intact.

Q. How do you think technology will change the way we send and receive gifts or presents?
Answer: With the help of technology, especially the internet and online shopping, gift giving and receiving will be easier as people won’t have to go outside to buy any gifts. Besides, it is also possible that people will be able to buy some gift items online and send them “electronically” to their loved ones. And, once the designated person receives the gifts “electronically”, he or she can actually see it online and customize them according to his/her taste and preference before receiving the gifts physically through the mail delivery system.

Q. Why do some people like to look for gifts for others?
Answer: Some people like to look for gifts for others probably because it makes them feel good to help others in finding a perfect gift for an occasion or choosing a perfect gift for the intended person. Besides, it is also possible that some people are expert at choosing better gifts than others. Finally, the "gifts industry" has become a very popular and big industry today, and some people work to make certain gift items more popular than others for marketing purposes.

For me, I like to look for gifts whenever I feel like giving a gift to someone because I love the idea of spending some time to pick a suitable gift item.

Q. Some people say that expensive gifts make everyone happy? What do you think? Why?
Answer: Yes, some people do say that expensive gifts make everyone happy probably because they may have a very “materialistic” view of “their world” in which they live in. However, on the other hand, it may also be true that some people – again, only some people - become really happy after receiving expensive gifts probably because the gifts look very nice, but, unfortunately, that “some people” become inflated to “everyone” sometimes. Finally, it may also be true that some people do become happy after receiving expensive gifts, not because of the gifts themselves, but because of the care, love, thoughts or feeling behind the gifts.

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