Have you practised enough for the speaking section of IELTS? Are you confident in your preparation? If not then don’t worry because it’s never too late. You can start along with this article where you will learn about how to give a structured answer to an IELTS Cue card topic like- Describe a school you went to in your childhood. You get such interesting topics in the IELTS speaking section which is 15 minutes long. But in these 15 minutes, you have to impress the examiner by fulfilling all the criteria on which you are assessed. So make sure that you know these criteria and you continuously work on these so that you don’t miss them. Even if you think that your English speaking skills are great, you still have to prepare well to fetch a good band in the IELTS online examination.
Structure of this Cue Card Topic – Describe a School You went to in Your Childhood
In the IELTS speaking test, you can get very interesting cue card topics. The one given above is one in which you will feel more relatable and can speak a lot of content. You can start with a general description of the talk and taking it forward you can talk about a school you attended in your childhood. In the later paragraph, you can describe the school you attended as a child and what it was like, what you learned there and how you felt about it.
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Where it Was? IELTS Speaking Test Sample Answer
In my school life, I have just switched two schools, one was my kindergarten, after which I shifted to a better school near my house in the first standard. Since then I have been studying in this school. Initially, I had trouble coping up because the environment was so new to me. I had to make new friends and it was an all-girl school. So in my journey, my interaction with a large population of girls was not good despite being a girl myself.
The school was very near to my house, it was just 5 minutes away if I used a two-wheeler and 10 minutes if I used a rickshaw. As it was very near to my house I enjoyed many benefits when I grew up. Without much hassle in the morning I was able to reach school on time. But still, there were times when I was late and got punished for it.
What it was Like? Sample Cue Card Answer for IELTS Preparation
As it was one of the best schools in my area, it was highly revered. We had so many extracurricular activities in the school like dance, music, sports, and so many other things. My favourite time was the summertime when we had summer camp and we had a chance to choose a few activities from the list provided to us. Those activities were great to be part of as the instructors who came to train us were highly renowned in their field.
I enrolled myself in a dance session one summer and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was one of the best times of my school life, where instead of being lazy at home I chose to enjoy summer learning dance and building my persona. I enjoyed dancing a lot at that time and the instructor was great. Apart from summer camp, the Canteen food was really good.
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What did You Learn There?
As I have spent major years of my school life in that school, it has a large contribution to my skill set and personality. School has made me learn about social etiquette and has made me grown. There are many teachers who are my favourite because they were so lovely and supportive that I am still in touch with them because I was able to associate myself with them. School has contributed a lot to my journey in terms of making me an extrovert person from being an introvert. In my initial days of joining this school, I was very scared and it was difficult for me to cope up. But as I moved from one class to another in the same school it became my second home. It was the second place where I spent most of my time. As I have completed my 12th from this school, many times I dream about going back to it and enjoying my school life.
Your Special Memory
One famous event of our school was “Deep Utsav” which was celebrated around the Diwali festival, it was one of the hyped events in our area. Entry to this event was allowed through a pass, and all the people who were not part of this event went crazy to buy a pass for it. It was such a happening event, it had food stalls, great games and many stalls were organized by the students only so it was a great opportunity for students to learn new things and become more confident.
I remember making a Sofa set with the help of cardboards and colouring them. While we coloured them with acrylics, our dresses went bad. We got scolded from our parents but it was all worth it because the fun we had in making the sofa was unmatchable.
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How do You Feel about it?
As I was an introverted person I didn’t have many friends in the initial days of school as they were already groups and it was difficult for me to cope up. But as I grew and made lots of friends, the feeling associated with the school is overwhelming. Whenever I talk about school memories in front of anybody I realize that the other second I have tears running down my cheeks. The teachers I love are so close to my heart that it is difficult for me to describe the association and bond we have. I will always cherish my school memories no matter how old I am and how successful I become. Due to the fun we had, my favourite memory of school life is 11th and 12th standard where I enjoyed the classes because all my friends were in the same section. We are childhood friends and my school memories are incomplete without them.
Sample Follow up Questions from Cue Card Topic – Describe a School You went to in Your Childhood
After you have given the description of the topic given to you, you will be asked a few follow-up questions by the examiner. These follow-up questions are a way to assess your skill of interaction with the other person. As the description was more of one-way communication where you were describing the topic, follow-up questions are more of two-way communication, where the examiner will ask a few questions and you have to answer them. Given below are some follow-up questions that will help in the follow-up session of this cue card topic- describe a school you went to in your childhood.
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What’s the Difference between the Present and the Past Teachers?
What difference I have seen is that today’s teachers are more focused on teaching the concepts clearly to the children rather than making a bond with them. I am not sure whether today’s generation will be able to make a bond with any teacher like we used to have.
Is there Any Difference between Learning by AI and Learning through a Teacher?
Yes, there are a lot of differences. First, the emotional touch is missing in AI learning. The way a teacher can explain and make a student understand things with real-life examples is never possible through AI learning. It is possible to give examples through AI but the way of explaining it will never be the same.
Every student has a different learning pace, if teachers focus on that learning pace they can customize the learning according to it but if AI cannot customize things according to a student’s learning pace.
Do You Believe that Today’s Youths are Overburdened with Study?
Yes, due to the rapid increase in the competition there is a two-fold increase in the burden a student has of studying and scoring good marks. They are regularly compared with their peers, their seniors, and their juniors. In such a scenario, they are pressured to leave behind what they love to do and just to focus on their studies.
Also Read:- Vocabulary Words for IELTS Speaking: List of Topic Related Vocabulary with Examples
Conclusion
The best way to practice the speaking section of the IELTS exam preparation is to choose a cue card topic like- describe a school you went to in your childhood, research about how to give a structured description and then speak it in front of your parents, siblings, friends or mentor. When you are done with the description, ask for their feedback. You can refer to the structure given above for this cue card topic to have a clear understanding of how you can go about giving a well-structured description that will impress the examiner. For more informative preparation tips you can check out the IELTS Ninja website.On IELTS Ninja, you will not only get numerous informative articles but on this online IELTS preparation portal, you will also get the chance to boost your preparation by getting enrolled to it’s amazing courses. So what are you waiting for? Book your free demo now!
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