Speaking Sample 6

IELTS GT Test – Speaking Mock Test # 6

[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]

PART 1:

Topic: Games

Q. What games are popular in your country? [Why?]
A. Football is the most popular game in my country. Our national team plays football at the international level and they often bring fame to the whole country. This game is in our blood for generations and people have a special weakness for this game. Chess, badminton and cricket are perhaps some other popular sports as people in my country enjoy playing these games and often watch the live competition on television.

Q. Do you play any games? [Why/Why not?]
A. Yes, I often play football with my friends. Besides, I also enjoy playing badminton and table tennis. As a national sport, football is quite popular and I have been playing it since my childhood. I believe playing football is a great exercise and I feel very passionately about it. For the badminton and table tennis, they are also exciting sports and we play it mostly during the winter season.

Q. How do people learn to play games in your country?
A. Most of the children learn to play games from their seniors and neighbouring friends. Students often learn it from their school and who have dreams to become sportsmen in the future, takes some professional training from different sports centres. I must mention that a large number of youths also enjoy watching sports and game competitions on the television and they also learn from it.

Q. Do you think it’s important for people to play games?[Why/Why not?]
A. I strongly believe that all of us should get involved in some sorts of games and sports as they are entertaining, educative and good for both physical and mental health. An active lifestyle keeps us fit and healthy. And playing games is the best way to ensure a healthy lifestyle. Parents should encourage their children to play outdoors sports every single day to avoid a sedentary lifestyle.

PART 2:

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Describe an open-air or street market which you enjoyed visiting.

You should say:

• where the market is
• what the market sells
• how big the market is

and explain why you enjoyed visiting this market.

Cue Card Answer:

As a small town of Essex, Braintree doesn’t exactly have much excitement to offer, whether you are a resident or an outsider, except some country parks and ancient temples. But, with a population size of only about 37,000, the market town of Braintree has done an excellent job of attracting more than enough crowds from outside to its bustling street markets at least on the last Saturday of every month.

The street market, which I visited about a month ago, stretches about a couple of kilometres from Braintree town centre on the Manor Street to High street and up Bank Street. Having offered a perfect cosmopolitan mix of fresh local produce, mouth-watering street foods, drinking bars, artisan bakery shop, plants, flowers and handicraft items to the shows of vintage & classic racing cars and live music, whatever you name, Braintree street market has it covered so that the street market enthusiasts can enjoy their time. As for me, though, I visited the vibrant market place to buy my favourite smoked fish.

One can’t help but enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of a street market where all the local farmers and vendors are always eager to treat you like their “gusts” instead of their “prospective customers”. To me, visiting a street market in the middle of a beautiful countryside far from the hectic city life, is like enjoying a “breath of fresh air”, literally speaking. Of course, another reason, for which I like going to a street market apart from the reason of enjoying the “touch” of fresh fruits and vegetables with a smell of “earth dirt” still present on them, is that I feel like I am actually helping grow the economy of a local area people who are honest, simple and big-hearted, human traits which are becoming more and more scarce by every passing day.

PART 3

Discussion topics: Shopping at markets

Q. Do people in your country enjoy going to open-air markets that sell things like food or clothes or old objects? Which type of market is more popular? Why?
A. Most of the rich people in my country chose modern shopping complexes over the open-air markets while the lower middle class often rely on the open-air markets for products like clothes, kitchenware and food. Overall, shopping malls are more popular these days as they offer better products and superior shopping experience. The street market is losing its appeal to the shoppers as they fail to offer warranty and often sells low-quality products. Due to these facts, middle-class shoppers, especially in cities, are turning to large shopping malls.

Q. Do you think markets are more suitable places for selling certain types of things? Which ones? Why do you think this is?
A. The core concept of a market demonstrates that numerous merchants would gather at a place with their products and shoppers would be there to purchase the merchandises they need at an agreeable price. However, some goods are more common than others and that depends on the type of the market we are talking about. For instance, an electronic market would have different electronic products while a food-court would be filled with food vendors and sellers. However, if we consider the overall scenario of a large market, clothes, kitchenware, cosmetics, food, electronic products, and gift items are some predominant products. I believe merchants in a market sell products that the consumers most often purchase and that’s the reason most of the markets have those products.

Q. Do you think young people feel the same about shopping at markets as older people? Why is that?
A. I believe there is a difference between the shopping habit of older and younger people. In my country, the young generation often meets their friends at a market place and enjoy fast food. They are up to fashion items and accessories. On the contrary, older people go to a market to buy things they need for their houses. They are bargain hunters and spend more time shopping than socialising.

Discussion topics: Shopping in general

Q. What do you think are the advantages of buying things from shops rather than markets?
A. I believe shops offer a particular type of products while the product range in a market is large. For this reason, shops are often nearby the residential areas and are easily accessible. They are less crowded and sell products from renowned brands. Shops often sell goods at a fixed price and give discounts to loyal customers. The environment, security and product warranty are some great amenities a shopper enjoys in a shop.

Q. How does advertising influence what people choose to buy? Is this true for everyone?
A. I think advertisements have a great influence on consumers. In this era of modern technology and consumerism, adverts are all around us and they shape our purchasing decisions and spending habits. We are knowingly and unknowingly being lured to purchase consumer goods that we often do not need and the credit goes to the advertisements. It also plays a big role while we choose a product over another one. It is natural that we would like to buy something that we have heard about rather than buying a product from an unknown brand and advertisers are spending big money to bombard us with the benefits of their products just to tap this decision-making phase. I believe every consumer is influenced by the advertisements to some extent but some are making an informed decision while others are not.

Q. Do you think that any recent changes in the way people live have affected general shopping habits? Why is this?
A. I believe people are busy these days and they want to spend less time making something at home when they can buy them from a nearby shopping mall. Increasing work pressure, city-centric lifestyle and the availability of ready-made products are the reasons for this change.

We are also living in the age of technology and that is why the number of online shoppers is increasing rapidly. Thus their shopping habits have changed and they want to get products delivered at our doorsteps rather than visiting a market and purchasing what they need.