[The examiner asks the candidate about him/herself, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]
Topic: Family
Q. Do you have a large family or a small family?
A. I live with my parents and two siblings and we have a nuclear family. Our grandparents passed away a few years ago and we have been living in a city away from our hometown for the last 14 years.
Q. Can you tell me something about them?
A. Well, my father is an investment banker and my mother is a doctor. She is a paediatrician and specialises in child nutrition. I am 25 years old and both of my siblings are in their high schools. We love each other very much and I am lucky to have such a blessed and happy family. They are the most important persons in my life and my parents are very friendly to us. The bond among us is unbreakable and divine.
Q. How much time do you manage to spend with members of your family?
A. I am a university student and have classes from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm. My siblings also have classes while my parents remain busy in their offices during the day time. However, we spend time together in the evening and always have our breakfast and dinner together. We often go out to watch a movie or to have a meal together at a cafe or a restaurant. Weekends are particularly exciting as we spend time together the whole day and play some indoor games. My siblings are very close to me and we often do fun activities together. Last weekend we went to visit a park and had our lunch and dinner outside.
Q. What sorts of things do you like to do together?
A. Having dinner together is a kind of family ritual for us. We never eat alone or skip our dinner at home. During dinner time, we discuss our days, school and works. We often watch a movie in a theatre and go out on a weekend evening for a stroll. Apart from that, we usually make a trip outside the country once a year. Finally, I enjoy playing cards, chess and other indoor games with them.
Q. Do you get on well with your family? [Why?/why not]
A. I believe I am so blessed to have such a happy family. We get on very well with each other. All of us understand how important we are to each other and how our life rotates centring our family. Family comes first and we believe in it from the deep down of our heart and mind. This feeling gives us the sense to do everything humanly possible to support our family and live in harmony.
[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.]
You should say:
and explain why this person influenced you so much.
Cue Card Answer:
The idea of the scientific study of the origin of humans has always fascinated me. So, as a student of art faculty, I decided to take a subject called “Anthropology” during my college years, and that’s when I met one of my most favourite teachers.
His name was Joe William. Being a person probably in his mid 50’s, he would show hardly any sign of ageing as far as his “agility” is concerned. Being a student of Anthropology, which ran for almost two hours, I never really dared to become late for his class as “the act” would almost surely draw some serious criticism to “contend” with.
But, when it actually came to teaching, Mr. Joe (as I would prefer to call him) was probably one of the best as far as Anthropology was concerned. He surely knew about his subject from inside out, and he surely knew how to keep his students engaged – at least for two hours each day.
After attending the class of Mr. Joe William for almost four months, I didn’t just learn about being “punctual” in life, but also a great deal about human evolution. Interestingly, even though his subject discussed mainly about the scientific “study of human origin”, I felt like he was more interested and worried about the “end of humans”, apparently in reference to our “destructive” actions and behaviour in order to eliminate each other from this earth. In fact, it was after attending Mr. Joe’s class that I became influenced to question the nationalities of some of our actions and behaviour openly which have continuously threatened our very existence as a “human race”.
Besides, I became really motivated to learn about my “ancestry” after attending his class which certainly is no simple matter in my opinion. Finally, it was because of the influence of my anthropology teacher that I became a member of an “anthropology club” in my country.
Discussion topics: Developments in education
Q. How has education changed in your country in the last 10 years?
A. I am proud to say that the education system in our country has developed remarkably in the last decade and the literacy rate has doubled during this period. Government subsidiary in education soared by 27% and we have many new colleges and universities today than in the past. The most inspiring trend to mention here is that all parents are sending their children to schools and more girls are in education than ever before. Schools have adopted digital classrooms and the education board has updated its curriculum to make lessons more interesting, interactive and useful. Education is no longer a luxury for the poor and the use of technology in education has already begun.
Q. What changes do you foresee in the next 50 years?
A. I am not sure whether I will live another 50 years to see the changes but I believe our education system will reach a new height after five decades. I believe we will reach a 100% literacy rate milestone within the next two decades and we will have fully digitalised classrooms by then. Moreover, education will be more related to problem-solving than memorising theories and science and technology will be students’ favourite majors. In the future, the educational institutes will be judged on how well they coordinate complex offerings into a useful package for their students and graduates and not by their syllabus and academics. Educators and institutions will be forced to adapt and students will have a voice. Finally, students will learn from online and interact with others remotely and after a decade or so, a radical shift will begin to occur in the world of education.
Discussion topics: A national education system
Q. How do the expectations of today’s school leavers compare with those of the previous generation?
A. School graduates in the past generation mostly wanted to get a job and become an earning member. However, many such youths today want to enrol in further studies and start a job afterwards. In the past, their expectation was not that high as they are today. Sadly, the unemployment rate was low in the past but due to increasing demands from the employers and higher competition, students often feel uncertain about what to do once they complete their schools in this modern age. On the positive side, they had fewer academic and career choices in the past but that has enhanced to a great extent these days.
Q. What role do you think extracurricular activities play in education?
A. Extracurricular activities play a critical role in education as they prepare students to face the challenges of the real world. They teach us cooperation, leadership, patience and build the soft skills we need to shine in our life. These activities enhance our social, physical and moral aspects and we discover how to apply what we have learned in our classrooms. They help us continue our journey in life once we get out of our schools. Without having some sort of extracurricular activities, students lose their interests in learning and end up building an apathy towards further learning.
I believe when someone participates in different extracurricular activities, he gets the opportunity to explore a range of interests and unlock passions he never knew he had! Subsequently, it broadens his perspective and makes him more interested in education.
Discussion topics: Different styles/methods of teaching and learning
Q. What method of learning works best for you?
A. Well, I prefer reading books for learning or understanding concepts and also rely on technology to understand how something works in the real world. For instance, to learn how a mathematical theory works, I first try to read a book to get the idea but for further information on the topic, I search it online and browse different sources. Oftentimes, I discuss with a group of friends to understand their viewpoints and this also works for me.
Q. How beneficial do you think it is to group students according to their level of ability?
A. I believe students who have similar learning curves and skill sets learn better as a group since they understand each other quite well and do not feel shy to interact with the teacher. While teaching such a group, a teacher does not struggle much as he knows the capability of his students and can prepare study materials accordingly. If a highly talented student is put in a group of dull students or a dull student in a group of talented students, he might feel isolated and lost. This is why I believe a group should comprise pupils of the same capability and learning ability.
This post was last modified on 19th April 2019 11:29 am