In this episode we’re going to listen to Carla who tried one of the free Part 2 practice tests we’ve published.
Task
Describe a person you are very close to. You should say:
- who the person is
- when you met them
- where you met them
and say what is is about them you like so much.
Comprehension
The first time you listen decide if Carla answers all parts of the question. Unfortunately there is a rather annoying clicking sound throughout the talk but hopefully this won’t cause you too many problems understanding Carla.
Thira is a person who is really close to me … you could actually say she’s my best friend … we tell each other everything … we can laugh with each other we can cry with each other it doesn’t matter … we are always there for each other and … yes she’s just … she’s really sweet and I can always laugh with her … we are always having fun … when we are together and that’s one of the things I find very important … when having a friend … I met Thira I think one to two years ago at school … the first time I saw her was … it was really awkward I think because we didn’t know what to say to each other … at that time I really thought Thira wouldn’t be a friend of me … of mine yeah it’s really funny how we became friends because at first I really didn’t want to be in contact with her I didn’t want to text with her I didn’t want to do anything I didn’t like her at all … but in the summer holidays in 2011 we started talking more and more … we were both getting through not a very nice time and we started to trust each other and we started to tell each other things and in the last … weekend of the holidays I went to her and we talked and we laughed and … yes it was really nice because I had a friend … she was my best friend for eight to ten years I think and I don’t speak to her anymore because we are so different now and Thira and me … we are very different … as well but … we aren’t arguing about those things we just accept each other the way the other is and it’s actually very nice that she’s totally different from me and … I think that is why we can hang out with each other … all time and we don’t start arguing about stupid little things what I did with other friend so yeah … I really like Thira because she’s just really sweet and I can trust her I can tell her everything I can have fun with her and all those things I find really important in a friendship.
Assessment
Carla gave a clear and interesting description of her friend and answered the question fully. Now listen a second time. How well do you think Carla did using the IELTS assessment criteria? Focus on ONE of the following criteria as you listen.
- Grammatical range and accuracy
- Lexical resource (vocabulary)
- Fluency and coherence
- Pronunciation
Feedback
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Carla’s use of English was very good. Her statements are well formed such as:
we are always having fun when we are together and that’s one of the things I find very important … when having a friend
it’s really funny how we became friends because at first I really didn’t want to be in contact with her
Carla uses tenses well during this talk, using past tenses when explaining the beginning of the relationship and the present tense when describing their relationship now. Finally she also self-corrected when making a common mistake:
At that time I really thought Thira wouldn’t be a friend of me … of mine
Only one very minor error was
we can hang out with each other all time
which should be ‘all the time’.
Lexical Resource
Carla had enough vocabulary to deal with the task fully and used some good expressions such as
we are always there for each other
it was really awkward
to be in contact with her
we just accept each other
we can hang out with each other
There were very few mistakes but the following is worth commenting on. Carla said:
‘we were both getting through not a very nice time’
‘Getting through’ isn’t wrong but we more usually say ‘going through’
Fluency and Coherence
There were noticeable pauses between many of Carla’s statements but these seem to be due to her reflecting on the friendship rather than having difficulty expressing herself. People who have fluency problems will usually pause within clauses as they try to think of a word or structure and this was certainly not the case with Carla’s talk. In order to make the most of the 1-2 minutes Carla could practice speeding up a little, particularly at the beginning of her talks. But this is a comment on her mode of delivery rather than any language issues.
Pronunciation
Carla’s pronunciation was very clear and listeners should have little trouble understanding her.