IELTS Speaking Part 2 & 3 Sample – Topic: Something You Learnt From a Person

IELTS Speaking Part 2

Describe something you learned in a place/from a person.
You should say:
• What you learned.
• When this happened.
• Where it was/ Who taught you.
• How difficult it was to learn.

Band 8 Sample:
I am so lucky to have the chance to learn so many things from the people around me; the list of things I have learnt would be a very long one. I would like to emphasise one thing that I learned from a middle-aged woman in my neighborhood, and that is the pleasure of voluntary activities.

We call her Ms. Julie. She was born and grew up during one of the most turbulent periods in modern history. Now, in her late 50s, she became interested in trying to make a difference — working for her own volunteer organization.

She has been running a group of dedicated, compassionate young people who are all committed to making a positive difference to the lives of senior citizens in nursing homes around the town. “Spending time with the elderly is very important, they don’t always have relatives to visit them so I try to fill that gap and spend a bit of time with them. I have a rapport with elderly people, I’m a patient person and I like to sit down and talk to them,” she once told us.

During my working under her guidance, I have learnt about the benefits of working as a volunteer. If you have ever volunteered, you may have noticed that you felt fantastic afterward. Community service can help you gain confidence by giving the chance to try something new and build a real sense of achievement. Besides, volunteering can help you meet different kinds of people and make new friends.

Generally speaking, volunteering can have a real and valuable positive affect on people, communities and society. Besides, I believe that we can learn much about life from those who have seen it almost to the end.

Vocabulary highlights:
• emphasise: give special importance to
• voluntary: done willingly
• turbulent: full of sudden change and confusion
• dedicated to: working hard at
• compassionate: feeling or showing sympathy for people who are suffering
• be committed to: willing to work hard and give your time and energy to
• senior citizen: the aged
• nursing home: a public or private residential facility providing a high level of longterm personal or nursing care for the elderly
• rapport: a friendly relationship
• achievement: a thing that somebody has done successfully

IELTS Speaking Part 3

 How to help old people to learn?
I would admit that at the very aging state of our life, old people are resistant to absorbing new knowledge. However, if we know how to deliver the information more slowly and more frequently, I mean repetitively, they can be able to learn some new things. For example, my uncle, who is aged 54, still can learn how to use the computer, but at a much slower speed compared to youngsters.

 Do people in your country like to take online courses?
Well, I think it really depends on where they live. If they are in big cities like A or B, then they prefer offline classes which are nearer to their place of residence. But for those who reside in rural areas, they have to resort to online courses since they are the cheaper way of learning compared to relocating to major cities to learn.

 What kinds of teaching methods are suitable for old people?
As I was saying, the solution to teaching old learners is to reduce the pace of teaching and learning as well as increase the frequency of information’s shown to them in the lectures.

 Do you like to teach other people?
To be honest, talking to and sharing my experience with others is just my cup of tea. I am very willing to do it whenever someone asks me for advice. However, standing on the stage and imparting knowledge like a professional lecturer is something that I am not really into, you know. I mean I can’t stand talking in front of so many people, a small audience is ok.

 Is self-study the most effective way of learning?
I don’t think so, to be honest. Self-instruction is an extremely crucial skill you might want to possess, but studying only by yourself, especially at the very first stages, is not a wise choice. Personally, I think the best way is to have someone to guide and show you how things work rather than figuring it all out by yourself, which can be very time-consuming.