IELTS Speaking - Friends

P a g e 1 IELTS Speaking Practice Speaking Task Talk about a friend you had as a child or teenager. You should say: When and how you first met this friend What things you liked to do together What things you had in common and explain why this friendship was important to you. Extract 1 Who are friends and what is meaning of friendship? A lot of people go through life with only a few friends. It seems that some people have less than that. They have no one on whom they can call in good times or bad. There is no one with whom to bounce ideas around, or to talk about deep and troubling subjects. They have no one to call in times of need or difficulty. They are at the mercy of life, standing alone. Others seem to have a large number of friends. Wherever they go, people know them and like to be around them. When trouble strikes, their biggest quandary might be over which friend to call. They know exactly the person with whom to discuss the topics of inquiry and debate. Life is full of entertaining and invigorating relationships because it is full of friends. We can discuss and debate with friends, they have a lot of ideas and they discuss any topic which is hard to discuss. Of course, some people are perfectly happy to operate with fewer friends. They might prefer to have a few deep and loyal friends, than many superficial ones. Others thrive best when friends are everywhere and numerous. To these, it is not so much the number of friends that is important as is the possession of friends. P a g e 2 Extract 2 It has been a long lifetime of friends. They come and go. They pop into your life for many reasons. Sometimes you make a friend because you have an activity in common. You both belong to a club and are working on a project together. The activity ends, and sometimes the friendship also ends. Sometimes we develop a friendship because this person lives next door, and one of you moves, and once again the friendship ends. That convenience of having a friend live close by is great. Sometimes you share baby sitting, a cup of sugar or a cup of tea and sympathy. Extract 3 ‘Art in the park’: something to do in the summer holidays Every year, the council runs an arts event in a popular local country park. Poets, musicians and community artists run sessions to get children, young people and others doing – sometimes new – activities. There are no age restrictions and facilities are fully accessible. Visitors can: · create mosaics · learn the guitar · be part of a human sculpture · spin and dye wool · write and perform poetry · interact with artists in the park Mobile skate park,’SK8 and soundz’, ‘SK8 and soundz’ is a free supervised holiday activity for children and young people. A mobile skate park is set up in the grounds of Burnham Grammar School – within easy reach of plenty of young people’s homes. All equipment is provided free including skateboards, helmets and pads. Sk8 and soundz attracts a mix of expert boarders, skaters, and novices. It’s a healthy, outdoor, activity that builds confidence and allows for plenty of social interaction. Children love it. P a g e 3 Other activities Leisure officers take sport and play equipment from park to park during the summer holidays. Families can picnic while children play: · mini cricket · ‘parachute‘ games · rounders (similar to American Baseball) · football · fun competitions Coaches provide skills training. Water and shade is supplied, and participation is free. Plan: Introduction: I’d like to tell you about a friend I had when I was a teenager. His/Her name was ….. You should say: When and how you first met this friend · Talk about activities you used to do. (Play the guitar, go swimming, play tennis) · Say you belonged to a summer club where you used to go to a country park. · Explain that you met your friend there because you both had the same interest. What things you liked to do together · Talk about the activities on offer during the summer months – eg Art in the park. · Talk about the activities you used to do together with your friend. · Give a memory, eg, “I particularly remember one summer when we were swimming and my friend saved my life” What things you had in common · Again, mention the activities you used to enjoy. · Say that you had, for example, a love of music and that you would spend hours together writing songs with your guitars. · Say that you also both loved sport and exercise, and would spend a lot of time trying to be the best at a sport. P a g e 4 and explain why this friendship was important to you. · Say that as you have grown older, you think back about that friendship and you have ‘cherished memories’ of the wonderful times you had together. · Say that the friendship was a true and undemanding one. · Say that you could always talk about troubling moments with your friend freely. · Say that you grew up into young adults together and talk about all the experiences that entailed. Follow up Questions What are the qualities of a good friend? Qualities Honest, trustworthy, reliable, true, undemanding, invigorating, fun, There in good times and bad. What role do friends play in most people’s lives? Companionship, “a sounding board”, people to share an activity with, etc What difference are there between men’s and women’s friendships? My opinion is… women have more emotional friends, men have more activity based friends. Do you think the nature of friendship is changing? Friends can now be online, you might never meet them in person. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn