This IELTS speaking part 2 topic is a very recent one that appeared in the exam, and it is quite an easy topic card to talk about. We often learn different kinds of skills which take much time to learn. The title of the topic card is ‘Describe something that takes a long time to learn’. You will find a model answer and some part 3 questions on the given topic card. Hopefully, these sample answers will help you to prepare for the cue card and some other cards as well.

Let’s have a look at the topic card first.

Model answer:

Thanks a lot for the cue card.

Now, choosing which skill takes more time to learn mainly depends on a learner- how much he or she is committed, how much hard-work he or she can do for learning a specific field. Nonetheless, based on my interest in learning different things in my life, I can say that learning a new language can be quite a time-consuming endeavor. Here I am going to describe my experience of learning French, one of the major languages of the world which are spoken in 51 countries.

It takes a lot of time for an adult to learn a foreign language because the construction of different sounds, words, and sentences are completely new for a beginner as it is a different language. We have to recognize the fact that learning a new language doesn’t mean we can learn it partially. To be able to communicate in a different tongue which has virtually no relations to your native tongue can be a painful and overwhelming experience. When I started learning French, my initial thought was that it would be just like leaning English or practicing English. However, when I joined a center to learn French I was quite traumatized to listen to words like ‘Monsieur’ meaning ‘Sir’, or phrases like ‘Je m’appelle Marie’ meaning ‘My name is Marie’. Most of the words in French sounded quite peculiar to me and it was quite hard to utter them correctly.

Another reason is that the expression takes a tremendous amount of time because it can be completely diverse from your mother tongue. To explain further, when I was learning French, the ‘R’ sound was entirely distinctive which took nearly 3 months for me to articulate perfectly. Besides, most of the grammar rules are often quite unique. In a few languages, like Arabic and Urdu, grammar rules are just opposite to English, which requires a good deal of time to learn.

As far as the learning of these languages is concerned, there are now thousands of websites where people can easily access as a free member to learn a good deal of the languages. I’ve personally used to website called www.frenchpod101.com which has many interesting lessons, listening and reading. Practicing these materials I could easily improve myself. There were some tests as well to check my ability and progress in French. So, I think the virtual world is the best place to learn any major language.

Understanding any foreign language is becoming more valuable day by day in terms of studies, work as it is a great skill that helps someone understand your strength. It also adds beauty to your curriculum vitae which can be used to get your desired job. That way language skills can easily and surely help your career to go forward.

This topic card can help you in the following cue cards too:

• Describe a skill is difficult to learn
• Describe a very important skill
• Describe a skill that is needed in this modern world
• Describe a critical skill that can develop your life and career
• Describe a skill that takes time to learn

Part 3 questions:

1. Some people seem to be unwilling to learn a new skill. What’s the reason behind that?
2. Which things are most important to learn anything new?
3. Should young children learn a new language from the primary school level?
4. What happens when a person doesn’t have enough skills?
5. What skills can be learned easily and in a short amount of time?
6. Do people feel happy after learning a new skill?
7. Should we learn anything that doesn’t focus on our future careers?

Here are some model answers to some other topic cards for your preparation:

A sport or exercise that you do for fitness

Describe a handsome person you know

Describe someone you know who does something well

Describe a situation when you were late

Describe an important decision made by you

Describe the best gift or present you have received

Describe something that helps you concentrate 

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