#36 - IELTS Speaking test in the Philippines – June 2016

Test # 36

- What is your full name?

My name is (name_surname).

- Can I see your ID?

Yes sure!

- Where are you from?

I'm from (city). It is the (biggest/metro/industrial….) city of the state of (State’s name), situated in the (northern/western) part of my country.

- Do you work or study?

I’m working as a (designation) in a local/international/private/government) firm called (company name).

- Describe your job.

(Basically describe what roles you have at work and the work that you daily need to do.

I am responsible for (eg.: recruitement and selection of new employees to the company). Besides this I also (eg.: manage and maintain office supplies).

- Do you like it? Why?

Yes / No and the reason.

If Yes, the reasons may be good pay-scale, good working environment, a reputed company, etc.

If No, the reasons may be too far from home, no professional growth, etc.

Remember, don’t be too negative when saying you don’t like your job. You don’t have to complain, you have to give a reason for your dislike.

- Do you live in a house or an apartment?

I live in a bungalow. It is called a row house in the society I live in as all the houses in that society are identical.

- What do you like about your house?

I like that my home is spacious and airy and in a very peaceful locality. We have good relations with our neighbours and everyone in my colony is like a big family, they are habituated to sit together in the evenings and chat which is a very rare thing nowadays among people.   

- What do you want to change in your house? Why?

Nothing actually! We recently got the house renovated and we changed everything that was old or needed repairs like we got a fresh coat of paint done on the exteriors walls and changed some of the furniture. So I don’t want to change anything as of now.

- What is your favourite room there?

The favourite room is my bedroom. I have decorated it according to my tastes and I am there most of the time when I’m home. We live in a bungalow and my room is on the level above the ground floor, and overlooking our garden. It is really peaceful for me to sit in my balcony and look out while reading a book or working on my laptop.

- Do you like science? Why?

I neither like nor dislike science. I just think of it as a subject we have to study that is essential for our primary education. I know many people are fascinated by science and its principles and I admire that, but I’m not too fond of science.

- Do you often watch science shows?

No I don’t…for the same reason that I’m not too fond of it…neither do I have to apply any biology or chemistry rules in my day to day work. So I don’t watch such shows.

- Are there a lot of science museums in our country?

Not that I’m aware of….I know our government has established museums known as Science City in 4 major cities of my country. Besides these, I don’t know about any other.

- Do you go to science museums often?

I have gone twice in my life in my childhood. One was through a school picnic, and another was in Calcutta with a relative who took us sight seeing.

Cue Card

Describe a family that you like (not your own). Please say

- How do you know this family?

- Where are they from?

- Why do you like them?

I would like to talk about my maternal aunt’s family. She is my mother’s younger sister. Our families are very close to each other. They are five people – parents, a son and a daughter in law, and a daughter. A sixth member has now arrived too, that is the baby girl of their son. They are modest, down-to-earth people with a broad minded mentality, and they are very affectionate towards anyone they are in acquaintance with. The male members of the family are hardworking and ambitious and the females are all very loving and generous. Since they are such close relatives, I know them since I was born. In fact their daughter is just a few months younger than me, so we both shared a really good bonding from childhood, just like our mothers would have had in their time. I like this family because I have known them since so long that we practically know each other’s traits and habits. They take really good care of me if I go to their place to stay, and our opinions on most of the things match. I like each member of the family and I’m really very happy they are my relatives.

Discussion

- Do you know a lot of families in your hometown?

Yes I do…I  have been living here since 30 years now and I have made a lot of friends and I also know a lot of people who are friends of my parents.

- Who are the usual members of the family in your country?

My country has both joint and nuclear families. So usually you’d find the immediate family members like parents and children in families. This is more in urban areas in big metropolitan cities. In smaller cities and towns there are more of joint families with your father’s brother’s family also staying with you.

- What do you think makes a good parent?

Patience and tolerance makes a person a good parent. I think children of this generation are more outspoken and sharp and they want explanations for everything they’re being told. So a patient parent can rationally explain all this to them without losing their temper.

- What is the effect of media such as TV, radio and newspapers on families?

The only negative effect I can think of is from the silly, superficial daily soap operas that are telecast in my country. It is just for entertainment and people usually get so addicted with such type of mindless content, it’s really annoying. People at gatherings then have nothing better to talk about than the previous episode’s story and the intellectual discussions just disappear.

- In your country who makes most of the decisions in the family? Why?

In my country the father or the grandfather makes the most decisions. Basically the eldest person of the family is asked before making any important decision.

- What are the results of change in working conditions for a family?

The change in working conditions, like the hectic schedule we run on nowadays affects families in terms of their social life. Family members do not get to spend quality time together if people come home late from their jobs and are tired all the time. Eventually, there is a lack of communication built up between family members and fights and misunderstandings start to happen. People constantly try to balance their work and personal life and if they aren’t successfully able to do that then they get stressed.

- Do you think the government should provide more help to families?

(In this question you may ask for clarification regarding what kind of help does the examiner mean, as it is a very open-ended question.

We are assuming that the ‘help’ here means in terms of family situations because the previous questions are all about family and relationships).
The government should help families in terms of childcare. I feel this shall take off a lot of worry off the parents’ mind, when they are at work. Moreover, government should introduce better investment schemes that yield better returns so that people don’t have to keep working so hard.