Describe an indoor game that you liked to play when you were a child: IELTS Cue Card Sample 15

In the IELTS Speaking section, one of the most common question types is the Cue Card Speaking prompt. The IELTS Cue Card topics will prompt you to formulate a response and speak on the given topic. To attempt this question, you must narrow down the essential questions on the given topic to answer within the given time. Consider the sample Cue Card below. Study the types of questions that have been formulated based on the cue card and how to go about with your response:

Sample Answer 1

Here is the sample for the “describe an indoor game that you liked to play when you were a child ” topic

Undoubtedly, childhood is a golden phase of everybody’s life. And, talking about all those memories make me nostalgic. During my childhood, I was quite an active player. I was engaged in plenty of outdoor and indoor games, including chess, monopoly, building blocks, puzzles, and more. One of the games that I played a lot was Ludo.

I vividly remember how my dad taught me to play this board game when I was around 5 years old. Thus, my father was one such person with whom I played this game the most. Apart from him, I also used to play with my mother and cousins.

Ludo is quite a famous strategy board game that can be played by two to four players with four varying colors of houses, such as green, yellow, blue, and red. Each player gets four pieces that they must run throughout the board and get into the finish zone. You get to start your turn by rolling a dice and moving the tokens accordingly. I played this game in my house a lot.

I relished this indoor game more than any other as I could play it anytime without getting bored. Moreover, it was my favorite during summer vacations as I used to play with my friends and cousins during get-togethers.

Sample Answer 2

Click on the audio to listen to the sample answer below. Pay attention to the intonation and pronunciation of the words

An indoor game that I liked to play when I was a child was badminton. I started playing the game when I was in the 6th grade. At that time, I was living near my uncle’s house. Every morning, he would take me and my cousins to the sports center near our house. We attended a badminton class. So we had teachers and other students too. We practiced badminton for an hour every day. During the summer holidays, we would stay for another half an hour. Just like tennis, you can play badminton as a singles match or a doubles match. The rules are pretty much the same as tennis. The only difference is that the badminton shuttlecock is lighter than the tennis ball, thus, it requires less strength. Due to my short-sightedness, I was not very good at playing this game but I enjoyed it anyway. It helped to keep me fit. In addition, I could train my eyes to look further and faster, and it quickened my reflexes. I was never an outdoorsy kid and vastly preferred playing video games and board games too. Unlike many video games, which can be played solo, board games require at least one other participant. Monopoly is no exception. It was one of my favorites because it combined strategy and lighthearted fun. One of the last times I played Monopoly was with a best friend from school. He had a reputation for being a sore loser, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and play with him anyway. We started the game and it seemed to proceed as normal until his luck nosedived and he started to lose. It was obvious he was becoming visibly upset, having gotten too invested in the game. In spite of this, I tried to enjoy it without antagonizing him. His facial expression quickly contorted further and he did something I’d never seen him do before: flip the board. All the pieces went flying and it was clear the game was over. It took a few moments for it to sink in. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Without saying a word he stormed off, leaving me to clean up the mess he’d made. A few days later I saw him in school again. He sheepishly apologized for what happened and suggested we try to find different non-competitive activities to do together instead.

Vocabulary For Cue card

Here are the vocabularies for “describe an indoor game that you liked to play when you were a child ” with examples:

• Badminton: An indoor game. Players hit a small light ball, with feathers around it, across a high net, using a racket, like a game of tennis.
  Eg: A net in badminton is much higher than in tennis, and the ball and rackets are smaller and not as heavy.
• Singles match:  A game in which one player plays against one opponent.
• Doubles match:  A game in which two players play against two opponents.
  Eg: She won the women’s singles gold medal in tennis at the Olympic Games. Then, playing with her friend, they won the women’s doubles gold medal by defeating two American opponents.
• Shuttlecock: Badminton uses a shuttlecock, not a tennis ball. It is very light and it has feathers around the edge.
  Eg: Players hit the shuttlecock across the net in badminton.
  
• Short-sightedness: A person who can only see things if they are very close, is short-sighted.
  Eg: I need glasses for reading, because of my short-sightedness.
  
• Train my eyes: I developed my ability to see things quickly and accurately.
  Eg: The detective trained his eyes to look for small but important details at the scene of the crime.

Questions For Part 3

• What indoor games do children like to play nowadays?

Children have changed their preferences from games like chess, and carrom, to video games as the latter is more convenient and fun to play. With the advent of technology, almost everyone has a smartphone that has many inbuilt games for children and doubles the fun and joy of playing. 

• What qualities should a team leader have?

There are many qualities that a team leader should possess. The first one among them is empathy. A good team leader must be well-experienced to understand his responsibility and the struggle faced by his colleagues. He must put himself in his colleague’s shoes and understand their needs. He must coordinate with them and get their suggestions. 

• Is teamwork important? 

Yes. According to me, teamwork is important as it teaches us to cooperate, coordinate, collaborate, and communicate with each other freely, builds conflict management skills, and fosters friendship and loyalty towards the other members. When a team works effectively towards a common goal, they tend to be successful. 

• What do you think of people spending too much time playing computer games?

It is up to the individual to choose between the two. But people should focus more on playing outdoor games and doing physical activities. Overdoing computer/video games is wrong for several reasons and has negative impacts. They miss out on their social, physical, intellectual, and emotional development. Therefore, I firmly believe that spending too much time playing computer games can be very harmful for the upcoming generation.

Vocabulary For Speaking Part 3

• Latter: denoting the second of two things or person 
  Eg: The boss was impressed with the latter plan. 
• Convenient: fitting in well with a person’s needs or activities. 
  Eg: Working from home is a convenient option for everyone. 
• Empathy: the ability to share and understand the feelings of another person. 
  Eg: Meera showed great empathy for poor children. 
•  Collaborate: work together on a project or an activity. 
  Eg: Rose and John collaborated on a US project. 
• Impacts: influence or a marked effect 
  Eg: There are many negative impacts of global warming. 
• Upcoming Generation: people who will come in the future. 
  Eg: The upcoming generation will be more intelligent and technically advanced. 

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