IELTS Speaking Part 2 & 3 Topic: Describe a useful app or computer program for a smart phone, computer or tablet that you have used.

Technology are reshaping our world in more ways than we’ve ever expected, including how we communicate, work and learn. The last point is highly valued due to its mobility and availability for learners around the world in digital age. Among a countless number of mobile learning apps proliferating on app stores, Duolingo is my all-time favorite.

Duolingo is a friendly-user app which has gone viral among language learning community around the words thanks to its eye-catching display and systematic lessons. The best thing about Duolingo is it’s totally free, supreme plus point in comparison with other apps. Although over 50 language courses are offered free of charge, they are all of high quality, together with assessment tests for users to check their proficiency. It is like Christmas all wrapped up in a teeny tiny button. Duolingo is available on both iPhone and Android app stores so that no matter phones you’re using, Duolingo is there to help. This education app has made a cute green owl its icon, a symbol of wisdom and intelligence. You can learn as many languages as you want and at your own speed. Furthermore, Duolingo even keeps track of our progress and reminds us to study daily – an awesome feature to boost people’s motivation.

I accidentally found this app when reading an article about learning tools and it has changed my study habits ever since. Duolingo makes my studying French and Spanish a relaxing process instead of a weighty issue. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced users, Duolingo will benefit you at some point. Therefore, I highly recommend it for those who prefer and seek interacting and motivating language learning experience.

Go viral (phrase) to spread quickly and widely among internet users

Eye-catching (adj) attractive or unusual and therefore noticed

Plus point (collocation) an advantage or positive characteristic

1. What are popular apps for young people?

I think it is safe to say that the majority of youngsters are all over social media as a means of entertainment, both via website or their apps. Prominent social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and most recently, Snapchat all have their apps applicable for any kinds of mobile phones and young generation, not only in my country but all around the globe, are literally living with them. For example, teenagers always take selfies with food before actually eating them, which is quite a ritual for anything else these days. They tweet about practically everything going on with their lives on Facebook so their friends are updated with their every move. Personally, I find it a little bit disturbing, not to mention reckless since cyber security can’t guaranteed your virtual safety nowadays.

Prominent (adj) important and well known

Reckless (adj) not thinking about the possible bad effects of your actions

Cyber security (phrase) computer security

2. What kinds of app do you have on your phone?

Just like any other adolescence, I can’t stay out of a widespread effect of social media due to its utility and convenience. Internet-based applications like Facebook and Instagram are two of my frequent destinations whenever I’m on my phone. They provide easy platform for conversations and enhance the flow of interactions among people, which is of great help if you need to contact with people regarding work or studying matter. Besides, learning and travel apps always rank top on my survival tool kits list. No less than once I was rescued by services provided by Google Translate and HotelTonight in order not to get lost and secure the cheapest place to crash during traveling.

Utility (noun) the state of being useful

3. What are the drawbacks of having too many apps on your phone?

Too much is never good. Even though there is a wide range of apps that can provide you with substantial assistance, personally and professionally, it doesn’t make sense if you try to make use all of them by download everything to your phone. Let me explain this further. If you need a software to remind you on a daily basis what task you should achieve within a specific day, you have Any.do, Evernote, Trello and hundreds of others. However, you just simply can’t simultaneously use them all since it’s incredibly time-consuming, inefficient and confusing. You can possibly lose track of where you put what and probably don’t want endless notifications from different apps on just one matter. Therefore, make a choice and be a smart user.

Time-consuming (adj) something that is time-consuming takes a long time to do

4. How much time do you spend on these apps?

It varies widely depending on what kind of apps, however, I’ve been trying to limit the amount of time I waste on Internet and my phone to focus on something more academic and physically interactive such as books and outdoor activities. If it is Facebook or any other social media, I usually check my notifications every two hours in less than 20 minutes. Language learning apps like Duolingo and Memorize take me more time to accomplish a certain goal or level, probably an hour. Other than that, I have my nose in a book or enjoy some fresh air while doing some exercises.

Interactive (adj) communicating with each other and reacting to each other

5. Do you like to look for new apps or just keep using the old ones?

Normally, I don’t actively search for newly launched apps since most of the apps I’ve been using are highly recommended and constantly automatically upgraded. Yet, once in a while I come across something innovative and captivating, I don’t mind giving it a shot and try out the new app. More often than not, these apps would be equipped with better services and user experience as the laws of evolution, therefore, if you have any doubt in the capability and performance of any new app, do not hesitate to experience it yourself, especially the free-of-charge ones.

6. Do you use free apps or the ones that you need to pay for?

Frankly speaking, I have never used any apps that cost me anything more than two minutes to download. In my defense, the free ones are already full of useful features that can assist you just as well as the paid ones, apart from some advanced characteristics that you have to pay for if you feel the need. As in my case, I rarely exploit the full range of features provided by a free app, for example Duolingo, let alone further assistance from paid courses. Nevertheless, there are some cases where the sayings “You get what you pay for” proves to be right. If you ever use Skype, it would probably come to your attention that you can only make a video call with one person at a point. In case you would love to have a reunion with your classmates who are now residing in four different continents in which you can see one another’s faces, an upgraded fee is required. Though you lose some money, you have better service.