A skill you learned when you was a child – IELTS Cue Card Sample 88

Sample Answer 1

We pick up numerous skills and talents as we grow up. Although we do not use every skill we learn, some of these capabilities are valuable assets. One skill that I learned as a child is how to sew. This skill is quite an uncommon skill, especially among men. Nevertheless, it has proven beneficial since I learned it.

I learned how to sew from my grandmother, who used to stay with us until quite recently. My grandmother used to knit and sew almost every day. She was an expert and used to sew clothes and make beautiful quilts and pillowcases. Although I could never sew as good as my grandmother, I learned some basic sewing skills from her during my childhood.

It did not take long for me to grasp the basics of this craft. However, sewing is a skill that one can master only through rigorous practice. After teaching me the fundamentals, my grandmother would ask me to sew something to test what I had learned. Then, she would examine me for weeks before teaching me something new. Sometimes the activities my grandmother made me do were boring, and other times they were interesting.

Initially, I did not have any desire to learn sewing. But, since both my parents are working professionals, my grandmother used to look after me when my parents were not around. So, she taught me how to sew to pass the time. It has helped me several times, like mending broken buttons, fixing torn t-shirts, etc.

Sample Answer 2

Childhood is always memorable to me. There are many things that I have learned from that period that benefit me until now.

To be honest, when I was small, I was quite weak. As I often got sick, my parents didn’t allow me to go out much, especially in extreme weather like summer or winter. Therefore, my parents sent me to a piano class in my neighborhood when I was 8.

My piano teacher was around my aunt’s age, thus, I enjoyed calling her “auntie”. She was kind and generous to me, though I didn’t pick up the lessons well enough. Luckily, she was very experienced and enthusiastic. Thus, she tried her best to teach me every single lesson. With those efforts, I finally found the piano lessons soothing and inspiring, beginning to play them better and better.

Gradually, I began to fall in love with piano sounds and practiced them from time to time. After 2 years, I had made a great improvement in comparison with the first days. At the age of 12, I got an opportunity to join a piano contest for Secondary school students. Though I didn’t get any prize, it was a good reward for all of the efforts I had put on it. My teacher was really proud of me.

Until now, after 10 years, the piano still accounts for an integral part of my life. It helps me to get over tough situations, even under great pressure. Playing the piano is a good way for me to relax and refresh my mind.

Sample Audio

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

Vocabulary

• Memorable: worth remembering or easily remembered, especially because of being special or unusual.
  Eg: This victory was one of the most memorable of his career
• Extreme weather: really bad weather or weather on a larger, more serious and devastating scale.
  Eg: Summer is considered extreme weather because it is very hot
• Enthusiastic: excited, having a positive and upbeat attitude
  Eg: He is an enthusiastic swimmer, he swims every day for 2 hours.
• Soothing: relaxing, usually something soft and quiet.
  Eg: she put on some soothing music and took a bath.
• Inspiring: motivates you to do something
  Eg: the speech the President gave turned out to be so inspiring that the workers decided to stop their strike.