Part 2 Cue Card (Topic: A Skill)
Goal: To practice speaking continuously for 2 minutes without stopping.
Instructions: You have 1 minute to prepare notes and 2 minutes to speak. Use a timer!
Topic: Describe a skill that was difficult for you to learn.
You should say:
What the skill was
Why you decided to learn it
How you learned it
And explain why it was difficult for you.
Key Vocabulary to Include:
Persevere (to keep trying)
Steep learning curve (hard at the beginning)
Hands-on practice
Master the basics
Example Response
Model Answer (approx. 2 minutes)
Topic: A skill that was difficult to learn (Coding/Programming).
"I’d like to talk about learning how to code, specifically the Python programming language. I decided to learn this skill about two years ago because I realized that digital literacy is becoming indispensable in the modern workplace. I wanted to pivot my career toward data analysis, and coding was the entry ticket.
To learn it, I took a very hands-on approach. I enrolled in an intensive online bootcamp that lasted for six months. I also spent my weekends watching YouTube tutorials and building small projects, like a simple calculator or a weather app.
However, it was an incredibly steep learning curve. The most difficult part for me was the logic. I come from a humanities background—I studied literature—so thinking in terms of algorithms and 'if/else' statements felt completely alien to me. I often spent hours staring at a screen trying to fix a single bug, which was immensely frustrating.
There were many times I wanted to give up, but I persevered. Eventually, the concepts started to click. Looking back, the struggle was worth it because it taught me how to think logically and solve problems systematically."
