IELTS Speaking · Part 2 Cue Card
A complete preparation guide: the cue card itself, a 60-second prep framework, a band 7.5 sample answer, topic vocabulary, and likely Part 3 follow-up questions.
Cue card
Describe a language you would like to learn.
You should say:
Specific to this cue card — not generic advice.
Read it once for shape, then aloud for rhythm. Don't memorise it — examiners can tell.
The language I'd most like to learn is Korean. There are a few reasons. The most obvious one is that I've been watching Korean cinema for years — directors like Bong Joon-ho and Lee Chang-dong — and I've always felt that subtitles, however well done, lose something. I'd like to be able to hear what's actually said. The other reason is that I have a couple of close Korean friends, and I notice that when they speak in their own language they have a slightly different personality — funnier, more relaxed. I want access to that side of them. If I committed seriously, I'd take it slowly. I'd start with a basic textbook and weekly online lessons for the first six months, then layer in a daily habit of watching Korean dramas with Korean subtitles, which is supposed to work well at intermediate levels. I'd want to spend at least three weeks in Seoul or Busan once I had enough vocabulary to actually use what I knew. I think it would change my life less in obvious ways than people assume. Not career, probably. But I'd open up an entire culture's worth of jokes, music, and films at the level the people who made them intended, and that's a quiet but real expansion.
Phrases used in the sample answer that lift fluency naturally.
subtitles lose something
translations don't fully convey meaning
have access to
be able to engage with
layer in
gradually add
at the level the people intended
as the creators meant it
quiet but real expansion
a subtle yet genuine widening
funnier, more relaxed
more humorous and easygoing
The examiner will move from your story (Part 2) to broader, abstract questions (Part 3). Prepare answers for these.