IELTS Speaking Part 2: foreign culture

Here are some ideas for last week's question.

1. Which culture and how I know about it
I'm going to talk about France and French culture. I know France quite well because it was the first foreign country that I visited as a child. I've been on several family holidays there, and I lived and worked in Paris for a while after finishing university.

2. Cultural differences
The first thing that comes to mind when I think about France is the bread! I love the fact that French people buy fresh baguettes every morning, usually from small local bakeries or 'patisseries'; it makes a change from the loaves of sliced bread that most of us buy from the supermarket here in the UK. One slightly negative difference I noticed in Paris is that Parisians don't seem to make friends with their work colleagues to the same extent as we do here.

3. What I like about it
I really like the café culture in France. You can always find somewhere interesting to sit and have a coffee and chat to friends or just watch the world go by. I actually put on a bit of weight when I lived in France because I got into a habit of having a croissant or a cake in every nice café that I found. Another thing I could mention is that the last time I went to France on holiday, I played a game called ‘boules’ every day. The game consists in throwing metal balls as close to a target ball as possible. It’s the perfect game for a relaxing afternoon when the weather’s hot.

Tip:
Notice that I included personal examples or experiences in my answers. It's easy to talk for 2 minutes if you can tell a story or two.

Comments

[Cameli82]

Thank Simon for your guidance!

[huong tran]

hello simon,
i have known this website bye my teacher. i find it so helpful.
i will take my exam in the end of next month. iam really worried about writing and reading tests.
i'm so lucky to know you simon. you teach me so much valuable knowledge for me. you seem like a light stars in the east for us who learn english to following.
thank you so much.

i wish all the best to you.

thank you so much

[huong tran]

so sorry my bad typing.
i have known this website by my teacher.
sorry again

[Martin]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for sharing the French culture with us!

Since you have the experience of living in Paris, I'd like to know whether it is true that the French are generally unfriendly to foreigners... I don't want to be biased or give France a bad image, but this is in fact what I heard from different people and I'd like to know your opinion about this.

Enjoy your weekend!

Best,
Martin

[Hemn Merany]

Hello Simon, today I received my result and hopefully I got 6.5 which is what I was looking for , listening 6, reading 6.5, writing 6 and speaking 7. I want to say thanks for your informative website and E-book, and I would like to share my all three times result just to show how I could be improved in specific times. First time in your Fan page on Facebook you told me that it is very good score when I first time got 6 overall, and also you told me to keep working hard. Actually I did and hopefully today I got its outcome.

First test February 25, 2012
Overall 6 = Listening 5.5, reading 5.5, writing 5, speaking 7

Second Test April 28, 2012
Overall 6 = Listening 5, reading 5.5, writing 6.5, speaking 7

Third and Last one May 12, 2012:
Overall 6.5 = Listening 6, reading 6.5, writing 6, speaking 7

[Simon]

No problem Cameli and Huong!

...

Hi Martin,

I'm aware of the stereotype that you mentioned, but I think Paris is just like most other big cities. People have more time to be friendly in smaller towns and villages!

...

Thanks for sharing you results Hemn. It's great to see your gradual improvement. Congratulations!

[Martin]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for sharing your general views about France. I guess some people simply tend to exaggerate their comments so that their stories can be more interesting to others, so perhaps the unfriendliness issue is actually not a big deal.

Anyway, I personally think the French culture is fascinating and I wish I can experience it sometime in the near future!

Have a good day~

Martin

[Simon]

No problem Martin. I'm sure you'll like France.

[rosalyne carter]

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here. I really enjoyed while reading this post. I like to http://www.onenessminute.org/learn-french-audio-book/
"> speak french language. I like French culture, tradition, French food etc . Last summer I have visited France as well as I have visited French restaurant. I have enjoyed French food very much.