A Time When you Helped Someone: IELTS Speaking Practice Test

Speaking Part 1

1 Do you like to help others?

Yes. I like helping people. It makes me feel good. I feel happy that I could help someone when they needed it the most.

2 When was your last time you helped others?

I don’t keep count as to how many times I helped someone. There’s no big or small help, so yes, I do not keep count.

3 Did your parents teach you the importance of helping others?

My parents have always taught me to help selflessly. One should never expect anything in return. Always remember, they chose you to ask for help.

4 Have you ever refused to help others?

As much as I hate to not help, I did once refuse to help. I was really late for my flight and there was a huge crowd on the road asking for donations. I drove my car past them. I was already late. So if I had waited there, I would have missed the flight.

Speaking Part 2

Here is an audio of the sample answers given below. Please listen to it for more clarity on the Speaking Test.

Sample Answer 1

Well. I try to help people whenever I can, even if it is in a small way. I try to help my parents with work in the house, and I usually help with the cooking whenever I am around at the time the meal is being made. If I come across beggars on the street, I often give them something, though not always. Sometimes I’m not sure they are really poor people because I’ve heard there are a lot of fakes who pretend to be poor or sick.

One time, in particular, I passed an older man who was begging. It was early in the morning, and I was on my way to a class. Something caused me to take special note of this man. I started to get some money out of my bag for him when it seemed as if a little voice inside told me to get some food for him instead. I hesitated for a moment, but I couldn’t shake the thought. So I went to the nearby market and bought him some fresh stuffed buns, about five of them and a cup of warm soy milk. Then I went back to the man and handed it to him, and said some kind words to him. I think he was delighted to have some warm food on a chilly morning.

Honestly, though, I think doing this might have made me happier than it did him. I felt good after helping him.

Sample Answer 2

Well, I like to believe that I am an empathetic person. Whenever possible, I like giving a helping hand to those in need. I stood like a rock for all of my friends throughout my school. However, this one time, I got an opportunity to help a stranger, and I dived deeper. So, in my entire school, there was only one disabled boy. He used to attend school in his wheelchair. Being considerate and supportive, our school management had appointed a peon specifically for him.

On one of the typical days, I was extremely late to school. I was the last person to enter the gates after the morning assembly. To avoid getting chastised by the teacher in front of everybody, I sprinted towards my class. On the way, I came across this boy who was steadily rolling his wheelchair toward his class. I stopped there and asked him the whereabouts of his assistant peon and why he was moving the wheels by himself. I got to know that the peon was on leave that day. So, I decided to push his wheelchair and drop him to his class.

Although his classroom was far from my own, and ultimately I was rebuked by my class teacher, I felt contented after helping my schoolmate.

A small helpful gesture from my end helped this boy reach his class safely and without facing much trouble.

Vocabulary for the Cue card

Here are some IELTS Speaking vocabulary words used in the sample answers for the IELTS Speaking Part 2 topic: Describe a time when you helped someone.

• Beggars: one who begs
  Eg: “It is kind of you to help the beggars”
• Hesitated: pause in indecision before saying or doing something.
  Eg: She hesitated to sing at first.
• Chilly: freezing cold
  Eg: It’s chilly outside
• Pretend: fake act
  Eg: She is pretending to be my sister

Get a high Speaking score by avoiding grammar errors. Take a look at the guide below!

Speaking Part 3

1 In general, why do people help others?

I think it’s the kindness that exists in most human hearts. Many of us have needed some help ourselves from time to time, and we know what it feels like to need something. We know it feels good to receive support from others when we need it. So we want to help others in the same way. Also, as I mentioned before, it is the happiness that we get from helping others in some way.

2 Do you think it’s important to help people who need help?

Of course, it’s important. We have a responsibility to do our part whether it’s in our family, our workplace, or amongst friends. None of us are like little islands with nothing or no one around us. We influence each other and contribute to the atmosphere and environment around us. And just as we want others to help us, we should naturally be willing to help others.

3 How do you feel after you have helped someone?

Usually, I feel very good when I’ve helped someone, even if the help I offered was beyond my limits. If it was a sacrifice, it seems that I am happier than when I began, and sometimes I seem to have more energy or time left for myself. It may sound funny, but sometimes it looks a little like magic how I end up with more time or more money or whatever after I have given some away to another person.

4 Many people only look out for themselves and never think about helping others. What do you think of this attitude?

I think it isn’t right. I know it is common, but it’s a tragic statement of modern life, at least in big cities. I know not everybody is that way, but nowadays a lot of people have become very selfish. It seems that so many people are in such a rush to get rich or get better jobs or into the best schools that they hardly even notice people who need help. Maybe if people were not so absorbed in their worlds, they would able to see other’s needs and would do something about it. At least I hope so.

5 What is the most important way for a country to help visitors?

Probably the most common help needed by foreigners is assisting with the language. I’ve also seen foreigners on the streets who seem to be a little lost. Sometimes they’re looking at their maps trying to find a famous tourist spot, so giving directions is another common way to help foreigners. I’ve done this a few times, and it was an exciting chance to talk to someone from another country.

6 Do you think that countries should help other countries in need?

Yes. By all means. Many times, our country has helped other countries, such as Thailand and Indonesia and India after the Tsunami, which caused a lot of damage to them. We also sent aid to the United States after the severe hurricanes a few years ago. Let us look at the world as a large neighbourhood, and if we can try and do as much as possible for our neighbours, everyone is a lot happier and friendlier towards each other.

7 What kinds of people need help in China?

I think one of the most prominent groups in our society needing help is the farmers. It would be better if the wealth and economic progress in our country were more evenly distributed. I live in a reasonably prosperous family. We’re not rich, but we do have plenty, and though I’m happy about this, I feel a little guilty that others have so much less than I do.

8 How does the government try to help these people?

I think one of the main ways is by investing in a business in a particular part of the country so that more jobs are created for the local people. Another way is by providing training, for example, in farming, in ways that can increase productivity. Also, the government should make sure that officials of the provinces are doing their jobs correctly. The government is trying to eliminate corruption at the local level.

9 Are there any non-government organizations in China that help people?

Yes, there are. At first, many of these were foreign, but it is changing now. Although there are international organizations that help people, there are also more and more Chinese charitable organizations being set up. I just read some articles about this.

10 Where do these organizations get their money from?

The foreign organizations get their money from overseas. Some of the funding is governmental, but a lot of it comes from private donations. Here in China, more individuals are getting involved in charities. It’s relatively new, but with the increased level of income of the people, there is more of an awareness to help others who are less fortunate.

Vocabulary for Speaking Part 3

• Contribute: to give
  Eg: “Contribute something for the party”
• Workplace: place where you work
  Eg: “Respect your workplace”
• Progress: have success
  Eg: He made progress in the project
• Charitable: relating to the assistance of those in need.
  Eg: It was a charitable organization

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