IELTS Speaking Samples and Answers
IELTS Speaking Test # 104
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IELTS Speaking Test # 104
Part 1 Topic: "About yourself".
Part 2 Topic: "Describe a place that is unknown to most tourists in your country".
Part 3 Topic: "Tourists and popular places" & "Tourism".
Part One - Introduction
[This part of the test begins with the examiner introducing himself or herself and checking the candidate’s identification. It then continues as an interview. In the interview, the examiner asks the candidate about his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics.]
Q. What is your full name?
Answer: I'm Mehmud Kemal. You can, however, call me Kemal.
Q. Can I see your ID?
Answer: Sure, here you are.
Q. Where are you from?
Answer: I am from a transcontinental country called the “Republic of Turkey”, located mainly in West Asia and Southeast Europe. I live in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey.
Q. Do you work or study?
Answer: I am studying as a full-time student, but I also have a part-time job and working as a Guest Service Agent at a 3-star hotel in the city of Istanbul.
Q. What subject are you studying?
Answer: I am studying computer engineering at one of the leading Information Technology universities of my country as a final year post-graduate student.
Q. Why did you choose this subject?
Answer: I chose this subject mainly because of the greater career opportunity it provides to its graduates. But, I also chose this particular subject because I have loved “playing” with computers from my childhood.
Q. Do you like reading books?
Answer: Yes, I do like reading different kinds of books apart from reading the subjects of my university curricula in order to enrich the repertoire of my ‘knowledge’ about the world in which I live in. In fact, reading books is one of my most favourite, if not the most, hobbies.
Q. What type of books do you read?
Answer: I like to read pretty much all kinds of books such as storyteller, comedy, novels and all kinds of journals. In fact, I would read any books if I think that I would learn something new even if it is just a new “word”. But, I like to read the books on science fiction the most anytime of the day.
Part 2 - Cue Card / Candidate Task Card
[The topic for your talk will be written on a card which the examiner will hand over to you. Read it carefully and then make some brief notes.]
Describe a place that is unknown to most tourists in your country.
You should say:
- what place is this
- whether you have ever been to this place
- what people can see there
and say why this place is unknown to most tourists.
[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.]
[Examiner: All right? Remember you have one to two minutes for this, so don't worry if I stop you. I'll tell you when the time is up. Can you start speaking now, please?]
Model Answer:
Turkey, undoubtedly, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The country offers a delightful culture, mixed of East & West, along with the world's most scrumptious meals. It also has got numerous historical buildings with magnificent architecture such as the world’s largest open-air museum. However, today, I would like to talk about a very unique and beautiful place in turkey, called “Butterfly Valley”, which has remained mostly “hidden” from the travellers up until now. But, luckily, I have travelled to this a couple of times before.
Hidden away from the main tourist areas, "Butterfly Valley" is located 30 kilometres from the ancient city of Fethiye along the Turquoise Coast and just 15 km south of Oludeniz, another popular tourist spot in beautiful Turkey. When approaching this site, you will meet with calm aqua-turquoise waters, a white beach, and a narrow canyon which continues for about 3 km. The walls of the valley are between 300-400 metres in height in the centre of which a freshwater creek can be found, which carries water out to sea from a nearby spring. However, the most unique and mesmerizing attraction of this place is its hundreds of species of butterflies (and hence the name “Butterfly Valley”) that include many rare species like the endemic orange, black and white Jersey Tiger.
However, this Butterfly Valley, which is truly one of the gems of the Turquoise Coast, is a rather unknown tourist destination among the world travellers primarily because it is so secluded that it can be accessed only by the waterways/boats. It is also unknown because it has been declared as a world heritage site by the UN where erecting permanent building structures is strictly prohibited. As a result, tourists don’t really become that much interested to visit this hidden valley. Electricity supply is also very limited in this area because of the same reason. And, without enough electricity, shops, ATM’s or businesses, this beautiful valley hasn’t exactly become very “popular” among the tourists who would like to enjoy its beauty.
Part 3 - Two-way Discussion:
Discussion topic: "Tourists and popular places"
Q. What kinds of places are more popular among tourists in your country?
Answer: With tourists visiting all over Turkey, which has so many different touristic attractions and places, it will be really difficult to list which places are more popular than others. However, usually historical sites, such as Ephesus City in Selcuk or Historical Ruins of the Lycian Way, and seaside resorts along the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea coasts are generally more popular among the tourists who visit my country.
Q. Why people travel to different tourists sports?
Answer: People travel to different tourist spots because they want to see, learn and enjoy something different from what they are used to by living in the same place for a long time. In fact, our world is such a big place with so many different kinds of people with different culture, lifestyles and traditions. And without travelling to those different tourist destinations, one just wouldn’t be able to understand and appreciate those diversities completely. Besides, traveling to different tourist spots will help you unwind from your daily routine and monotonous life by allowing you to see many unique places with beautiful landscapes, such as mountains, oceans, forests, lakes, parks, gardens and so many other things, which would probably take your breath away even on your worst days!
Q. Is the number of tourists worldwide increasing? Why/Why not?
Answer: Yes, the number of tourists worldwide is increasing sometimes rapidly while steadily the other times. According to The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), almost 1.4 billion tourists visited worldwide in the year of 2018 which was about 6% higher than the previous year. In fact, this forecast of 1.4 billion tourists was scheduled for the year 2020, but the tourists hit the “projected” number in 2018, two years ahead of the forecasted schedule. The UNWTO attributed this increase to stronger economic growth, more affordable air travel, technological changes, new business models and greater visa facilities around the world. Besides, gathering and sharing tourist information worldwide, courtesy to the internet and the cable media networks, have also contributed to this increase.
Discussion topic: "Tourism"
Q. How the tourism sector in your country can attract more international tourists?
Answer: Tourism has come a long way after the Republic of modern Turkey was founded in 1923, attracting around 42 million foreign tourists in the year of 2014, which has made Turkey rank as the 6th most popular tourist destination in the world. However, the country needs some more works in the tourism sector in order to attract more international tourists.
Improving tourism infrastructure (such as more affordable hotels, roads and proper sanitation), promoting the integration of tourist services, and offering a better sense of “security” (having more security campaigns and advertising) are some of the things our government can do to attract more international tourists. Besides, most of the tourist spots in Turkey are located only near the big cities. However, Turkey is a big country, and there are many other beautiful tourist destinations in the so-called “rural” areas which are just begging to be explored by the tourists. Therefore, Turkey government can certainly work on to provide easy access to these rather “hidden” tourist spots.
Q. Will your country and people benefit from more international tourists? How?
Answer: Yes, our country and people will certainly benefit more from international tourists as they will help boost our economic growth by adding more revenues to it. In fact, last year, Turkey earned US$30.5 billion from its tourism sector, which is a significant number in the context of Turkey's total GDP. Besides, the more tourists we have, the more employment opportunities will be created for our citizens as the unemployment rate in Turkey is higher than most of our neighbouring European countries.
Another great benefit of having more international tourists is that it helps create a more positive image for my country among the world communities. And, the more positive image a country has, the easier will it be for it to solve many of its problems with the assistance of international communities.
Q. Is there any negative influence of international tourists have on local people? Why is so?
Answer: Tourism or international tourists, by and large, help the locals of a developing country by contributing to their economic growths. Besides, developing countries tourism development creates economic benefits for the social culture of host communities also. But, it is true that sometimes international tourists do bring some negative influences on the socio-cultural aspects of the locals.
First, local culture and traditional values get weakened to some extent by the “acculturation”, assimilation and development process which becomes particularly evident in seniority and relationships within both the family and the community. Changes in values or behaviour threaten indigenous identities, and these changes often alter the community fabric, family relationships, collective traditional lifestyles, ceremonies, and morality. Sometimes, the increasing income disparity may aggravate conflicts within a community and lead to hatred between the local residents who tend to benefit from international tourism and those who do not. Finally, there is also the “not-so” encouraging reality of losing the right to access beaches and other coastal lands which used to be public in the past but seem to be reserved for international tourists only.
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