Describe a language you would like to speak well.
A strong long turn names the subject in the first sentence, spends most of the two minutes on the last bullet — the why — and arrives at a prepared final line rather than trailing off.
The question, as the examiner gives it
Describe a language you would like to speak well.
You should say
- which language it is
- why you want to speak it
- what you know about it already
- and explain how you would learn it
60 seconds to prepare, up to 2 minutes to speak
A band 7 to 8 answer
About 190 words at a natural pace — roughly what 120 seconds holds.
Answer it yourself first
Record your own answer first. A model you have read three times comes out with a flattened rhythm, and examiners are trained to hear exactly that. Read it afterwards for the vocabulary and the shape, not to memorise the sentences.I would like to speak Spanish properly, which is a slightly unfashionable answer because everybody says Spanish, and I have a specific reason. About six years ago I spent three weeks in Colombia with a colleague who is fluent, and I spent the entire trip as a spectator of conversations. Everything I understood came through her. That is a strange feeling when you are used to being reasonably articulate. What I know already is embarrassingly little. Perhaps three hundred words, present tense, and the ability to order food and apologise. I can read a headline and guess at most of it, because a great deal of the vocabulary is close to English. How I would learn it is the part I have thought about hardest. Not an app, because I have tried four and reached the same plateau each time. I would find somebody to talk to twice a week, because the only thing I actually need is the experience of being stuck and continuing anyway. I have found somebody, actually, through a colleague, and we have exchanged two messages in four months, which is where the plan currently stands.
The words that earn marks
Each one links to how it is pronounced.
- unfashionable
five syllables with the stress on the second
- fluent
the precise adjective for full command
- spectator
three syllables with the stress on the second
- articulate
four syllables with the stress on the second
- vocabulary
five syllables with the stress on the second
- plateau
an unusual noun, stressed on the second syllable
- stuck
short and blunt, naming the real skill
How a strong answer is built
- 1Name the language and pre-empt the obvious objection.
- 2Give a specific experience as the reason.
- 3Assess your current level honestly.
- 4Say how you would learn it and why not the obvious way.
Sounds to watch
The ones this answer leans on most.
Straight answers
How long should my answer to “Describe a language you would like to speak well.” be?
You get 60 seconds to make notes and then speak for up to two minutes without interruption. Aim to still be talking at ninety seconds: finishing at forty is the commonest way to lose marks on this part.
Should I memorise the model answer?
No. Record your own version first, then read the model for the shape and the vocabulary. A memorised answer changes rhythm and pace noticeably, and examiners are trained to hear it — it usually costs more than the better wording gains.
Does sayit score this answer?
It scores what a microphone can observe: an estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.
What the band on your result means
An estimate from fluency and pronunciation only — not an official band, and not a mark for vocabulary or grammar.One question a day until your test
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