Trường THPT Chuyên Tiền Giang / Lớp Luyện Thi IELTS / SPEAKING

Giáo viên giảng dạy: Huỳnh Hữu Hạnh Nguyên

IELTS SPEAKING PART 2

TOPIC: DESCRIBING AN EVENT / A SITUATION / AN EXPERIENCE

1. Quiz: LIFE EVENTS
1. ____________ 2. ____________ 3. ____________ 4. ____________

5. ____________ 6. ____________ 7. ____________ 8. ____________

9. ____________ 10. ____________ 11. ____________ 12. ____________

13. ____________ 14. ____________ 15. ____________ 16. ____________

 HISTORICAL EVENTS
17. ____________ 18. ____________ 19. ____________ 20. ____________

21. ____________ 22. ____________ 23. ____________ 24. ____________

ENTERTAINING EVENTS
25. ____________ 26. ____________ 27. ____________ 28. ____________

29. ____________ 30. ____________ 31. ____________ 32. ____________

competition An accident A fire sport

2. Event format :
1. Setting / background of the event:
1. When it was 2. Where it was 3. Who was involved?
2. Describe the event:
- What happened - Concluding the story
3. Personal comment about the situation / The meaning of the event / Your feelings
Example: Describe a colourful event that you enjoyed.
- What was the event?
- When was it?
- What was so colourful in it?
- Why did you like it?

- A while back, I went to see a show called the Lion King. I was travelling on holiday in London at the
time, with my family. I had heard about that show, so I decided to get tickets for us all.
- My daughter was dead excited about it. She was 7 at the time, so she was really into animals. My wife
was pleased as punch, because she had never been to a show in London before. She said I had been very
thoughtful and considerate buying tickets for us.So, we arrived at the theatre, gave in our tickets and
sat down. We were struck by the size of it. The hall was huge. The stage was closed by this large red
curtain, and the auditorium had these lovely golden arches in the galleries. Our seats were really comfy,
with nice blue covers. After a few minutes the show started and it was wonderful. The costumes were
striking, full of different colours and textures. There was an array of lights, reflecting the various colours
of Africa. You really felt like you were there.
- We loved it, and if I had known it was going to be that good, / would have forked out a bit more money
to get seats closer to the stage.

3. Experience / Situation format:

Example: Describe an important choice you had to make in your life.

- when you had to make this choice
- what you had to choose between
- whether you made a good choice and explain how you felt when you were making this choice.

- I don’t have the best track record when it comes to decision making in my life, when I graduated from
high school I was faced with the biggest decision yet, what should I study. It’s not a decision I took lightly
and it kept me up many a night as I couldn’t entirely wrap my head around deciding what to do for the
rest of my life. My friends all around me seemed so sure about their choices and that just sank me deeper
into my frustration. I attempted to be proactive about this and narrow down my choices by talking to my
family and friends, attempting to figure out what I’m really good at or what choices I should look into, but
didn’t get very far, so I eventually went for one of those aptitude tests.
 - I thought that would hit the nail on the head finally. Unfortunately the results did not
particularly scratch my itch for a career choice. My parents were very supportive and tried to help as best
they could, but it was my mother who made the deepest impact on me though. She told me that she went
through a hard time herself when trying to pick a career, and she ended up changing her choice halfway
through her studies after becoming disillusioned with the path set in front of her.
- That made me relax a little about my own upcoming decision, I stopped seeing it as something written in
stone and more like a line in the sand, since I now knew that no matter what happened I would have my
parent’s support. In the end I chose as best as I could and went on to study graphic design after testing the
waters in other careers for my first year of university. I think I made the appropriate choice for me at the
time and I am pretty happy where that decision has taken me in life, even when that path has taken me to
some pretty odd places.
- wrap head around : suy nghĩ triền miên về điều gì, hiểu được điều gì
- frustration : quẫn trí
- proactive : chủ động, tích cực
- aptitude : năng khiếu
- hit the nail on the head : nói ra điều chính xác
- scratch itch : giải quyết vấn đề
- disillusioned : ảo tưởng, u mê
- test the water : thử, trải nghiệm điều gì

Example: Describe a situation when you had to be polite

- What situation it was
- Who were there
- Why you had to be polite
- How you showed politeness

- I would like to talk about a time when I saved a bus seat for a pregnant lady.

- It was a rainy day around 3 years ago when I was still a freshman at university. On a bus trip from
my dormitory to the city center to attend a music festival sponsored by Heneiken, I met a pregnant lady
who got on the bus at one of the stations. At that time, the bus was already swarming with students, and
many of them even had to stand as there were not enough seats for all. In that stuffy atmosphere, the
lady’s face suddenly turned pale and she had to hold on to the hand rail tightly. Sweat was rolling off her
forehead.
- Without hesitation, I stood up and asked her to take my seat. Then I quickly opened the glass window,
trying to release the heat from inside the bus. After taking a deep breath, the lady seemed to feel better and
started to have conversation with me. She told me that she was on the way to visit her aunt who was in the
hospital. She knew that the bus was full but she couldn’t wait for the next one in order not to be late for
the visiting hours. She also thanked me a lot for saving her the seat. Without a place to sit on the bus, she
thought she would have fainted because of dizziness.
- I think any person who witnessed that moment would also have the same reaction as me. For me, I did it
simply because it was necessary, and my action just came from my instinct, without any hesitation. If the
lady had stood for a long time, that would have affected not only her health but also her baby inside. Also,
I always thought of my mom’s advice to pay close attention to things around me and provide support to
people at the right time as it could be very meaningful. Therefore, at the end of that day, I was
still thrilled because I had helped not only one, but two people. I mean the mom and her baby.
4. Useful language:
1. Introduction:
- Câu giới thiệu : Well, the___ I want to share with you is (called) ___ which is a ___ (đặc điểm, tính
chất), specialising in ___ (thông tin cụ thể)
- Các cảm xúc khi gặp một sự kiện đáng nhớ:
 - gave me sense of achievement: …. cho tôi cảm giác thành tích
- nervous/ anxious / embarrassed / delighted/ terrified / surprised
- over the moon: rất vui
- come as a surprise to someone: là một bất ngờ cho ai đó
- Looking back at it,__
- I still remember vividly / I can still recall vividly__
- Regarding my feelings about that event, ___
2. Setting / background of the event:
+ Recalling Events:
- I can still remember the time when I passed my entrance examination into my highschool____
- I’ll never forget the time when I first went to primary school___
- It all started when I landed at the airport ___
- Once , when I was a highschool student, I went on a trip which I will never forget ___
+ Settings: (nhớ vận dụng cho được nhiều dạng thì quá khứ (đơn, tiếp diễn, hoàn thành)
+ the backdrop / the background story ( why it happened / why you are here...)
- When I was living/working in _____.
- I was living / working / travelling in X at the time, then ____
- I used to live / work in ____
- I would always/often/usually...
- People: who you are with? Whether they are friends / family/ unknown strangers
+ Personality:
- He was so talkative, rude, thick-skinned, inconsiderate, full of beans
- She was quite quiet, polite, sensitive, considerate, thoughtful, witty, smart, quick on her feet,
3. Describe the event:
What happened? : Để tường thuật câu chuyện, có thể dùng theo trình tự sau:
1. Moving on to the details, at the very beginning , I was doing _____ , when X happened
2. After that / Afterwards / And then/ While I did A, I did B and then I did C.
3. After that/ Later on/ Subsequently, …
4. Next/ Following that,…
5. Once …..had been finished, ….
6. Towards the end / In the end / Finally / Eventually ____
4. How you felt then?
1. I felts so happy that I could jump for joy
2. I was in great mood 7. I felt so depressed
3. I felt like I was in heaven 8. I felt like a millionaire.
4. I was scared to death 9. I was worried to death
5. I was overcome with joy 10. I was filled with joy.
6. It impressed me deeply
11. To me, It was really amazing / exciting / surprising /disappointing to ____
12. I wish I had known..., then I wouldn't have gone...
13. Looking back, I wouldn't do that again.

5. Samples:
Sample 1: Descrive a time when you were late for something.
- What the event or occasion was
- Why you were late
- What happened when you got there
- What the effects of your lateness were
- Setting / Background of the event :
It was such a perfect morning- the sun was shining, and I was enjoying my coffee and breakfast outside in
the garden, reading the newspaper and feeling very relaxed, until my alarm started to go off very loudly in
my ear! I had been dreaming, and my alarm had not woken me. I realised I was going to be really late for
my first class of the day, and worst of all, I was meant to be making a group presentation.
- Describe the event:
Unfortunately, that was just the start of a terrible day where I was constantly running late from morning to
night. Anyway, I jumped out of bed and didn’t even have time for a shower before grabbing my notes,
handouts, and laptop and running to the local train station. I am always quite a punctual person and hate to
let anyone down or keep anyone waiting, so by this stage, I was already feeling stressed and worried about
what my group was going to think. I was the one with all the information, so without me, they couldn’t start
to give their presentation, and we could have ended up failing the assignment, all because of my late start.
Of course, just as I arrived on the train platform, I saw a trin pulling away, so I had to wait at least half an
hour for the next one, all the time starting to panic more and more. My cell phone had also run out of
battery, I think, so I couldn’t even call or text anyone in the group to let them know that I was on the way.
The whole thing was a total nightmare, but anyway, finally a train came, and I jumped on it, hoping that it
was an express and not stop at too many stations before the university. Of course, it was a normal train and
stopped at every single station along the way. By this time, I was at least half an hour late and extremely
stressed out. Finally, the train arrived at the station, and I ran the ten minutes further through the park to my
university lecture hall and ran in. As I searched for my group members and my tutor, I got a strange feeling,
as nobody looked familiar. Then, I realized it was strange feeling, as nobody looked familiar.Then, I
realised it was the day before I was due to give the presentation, and this was a completely different class!
- Concluding the story:
I was pretty embarrassed, but more relieved than anything and went off to have a coffee in the sunshine
while I wailed for my next lecture.
- Personal comment about the situation:
It was a good lesson to be on time for the next day, though I think I was there an hour before class! My
classmates laughed when they heard about my mistake, but I'm just glad that we got a really good grade
for our assignment in the end!

Sample 2. Describe a historical event/era in your country

- When the event took place
- How you learnt about this era
- What happened
- Why you find it interesting

Example 1: Independence Day

“So this question is really giving me a hard time. I actually don’t know the first thing about history,
kind of embarrassing to admit this. Of course I took History when I was in school but most of that stuffs
kind of went over my head. So this question is really difficult for me.
Having said that, I guess I could tell you about a historical era or more correctly an event that
everybody is supposed to know about, it is the Independence day of VN. This event took place on the
September 2nd 1945. And of course I learned about this event extensively when I was in school, given it was
important. However, it has been a while, so my recollection of what my teacher taught me may not be very
accurate, so bear with me here.
So basically before the Independence day, VN was under the oppression of the French colonial
empire. But after this Independence day, VN managed to break the shackles of colonization and then
became a sovereign country. I think this event is kind of usher in an era of economic prosperity, and
everybody’s lives became dramatically better. So I guess I’m not that interested in history or this event as I
was saying, but I think I should be. I think it would give me an appreciation for our nation and our
heritage, our heart, our forefathers.”
 - Independence Day (n) Ngày lễ độc lập - to give someone a hard time: khiến ai gặp
- to be under the oppression of : chịu sự áp khó khăn
bức của - to go over one’s head: (cái gì) lướt qua trí
- colonial empire: đế chế đô hộ não ai (không thể nhớ được)
- to break the shackle: phá tan xiềng xích - recollection (n) sự hồi tưởng, kí ức
- colonization (n) sự xâm lược - economic prosperity: sự phát triển/thịnh
- sovereign (adj) (quốc gia) độc lập, có chủ vượng của nền kinh tế
quyền - to give an appreciation for: khiến ai trân
- to usher in: định hướng, dẫn dắt, bắt đầu trọng

Example 2: 30/4

Honestly, everytime I am asked about history, I am always eager to talk about Vietnam war, which ends in 1975
and this is one of the historical highlights of our country Vietnam undergone hundreds of years under the
colonization of foreign invaders and this is the last war before a new era of peace and independence is opened for
us. (Reason) It is an unforgettable period of history for some reasons. Firstly, it is the courageous fighting spirit
of Vietnamese people. (Example) Our country was divided into Northern part and Southern part. Communication
at that time was almost impossible and people across the country were living in poverty and destitute conditions.
However, our soldiers still fought very bravely with the help and support from ordinary people. (Reason)
Secondly, this is remarkable because hardly anyone could think that we won the war. (Example) When compared
to such a well-armed country like America, we never thought that we could actually defeat them. However, with
the determination of the whole nation, we have our own peace back. April 30th 1975 was the day that we gained
independence from the invaders and from then on, we have held annual celebration to pay tribute to those who
sacrificed for the country. I hope that Vietnamese people will never forget this important milestone of the nation.
- Historical highlights:những sự kiện lịch sử - Well-armed: vũ trang đầy đủ
nổi bật - Defeat : đánh bại
- Colonization: thuộc địa - Pay tribute to: tưởng nhớ
- Foreign invaders: các nước xâm lược - Sacrificed: hy sinh
- Independence: hoà bình độc lập
- Period of history: giai đoạn lịch sử
- Destitute: cực khổ
-
Sample 3. Describe a performance you watched recently
- What it was
- Why you watched it
- When and where you saw it
- And explain how you felt about this performance

I've seen lots of great performances throughout my life, and one that I saw recently was a fireworks show
just a few weeks ago, at the start of the New Year.
I've always been a big fan of fireworks ever since I was a child, so every time I hear about a fireworks
display happening nearby, I made an effort to go and see it.
Typically, the fireworks at the turn of the year are always particularly spectacular because it's a big
occasion, and the display is usually the longest, loudest and most colorful show of the year, and this year
certainly didn't disappoint.
The New Year's show is usually set to music, and the fireworks are set off in time with songs for
maximum effect. They have shoot hundreds of Roman candles, Catherine Wheels and huge rockets into the
sky with perfect timing and it really blew me away. I remember feeling the shock of the explosions against my
chest for the biggest fireworks, and for the grand finale, there were so many huge explosions happening at
once, I couldn't even see all of the fireworks.
I actually wish I had recorded it on my phone, because describing it with words isn't enough. So next
time I go to an amazing performance like that, I'll definitely try and take a video of it, so I can show my friends.
 Sample 4. Describe a memorable event of your life.
- what is
- what happened
- where you were / explain why this is a memorable event.

When it comes to an unforgettable event of my life, my graduation day immediately springs to mind. To this
day, I still remember vividly that it wastaken place on a sunny day of September 2010. The graduation ceremony
was organized in the main auditorium, which was the venue for important events of my university.
After the Chancellor delivered his graduation speech, the valedictorian, who was a student from the faculty of
Business Administration, gave his speech about his experience over the past four years on our behalf. His speech
was so heartfelt and emotional that it received a standing ovation from everyone in the auditorium. After that,
each student, one by one, walked on the stage to shake hands and receive the degree from the Chancellor. The
idea of walking across the stage in front of hundreds of people made me really anxious and I kept biting my nails
when waiting in line behind the stage. However, as soon as I got to the stage, my anxiety was replaced
with pride. I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself because my efforts over the past four years finally paid off.
Once the distribution of degrees had been finished, I, together with my friends, made out way to the Main Hall
downstairs, where we were greeted by my family members, relatives and friends. Since it was such an occasion,
my parents put aside their farmwork and went all the way from my hometown to Ho Chi Minh city to join with
me. Later on, we had a professional photographer taking a bunch of photos to save that pivotal moment of mine.
The reason why my graduation day is one of my most memorable events is that it marked the transition from
my university life to working life. From then on, I flew out from the warmth and comfort of the university
to embark on a new chapter of my life. Every time I look at the photographs, the memories of that day came
flooding back.
- spring to mind: bất chợt nghĩ đến - pride: tự hào
- take place: diễn ra - couldn’t help but: không thể nào không….
- auditorium: khán phòng - (effort) paid off: (nỗ lực) được đền đáp xứng
- venue: nơi gặp gỡ, địa điểm tổ chức đáng
- chancellor: hiệu trưởng - put aside: gác lại, đặt qua một bên
- graduation speech: bài phát biểu tốt nghiệp - save that pivotal moment: lưu lại khoảnh
- valedictorian: thủ khoa khắc quan trọng
- on one’s behalf: thay mặt ai - mark: đánh dấu
- heartfelt: chân thành - transition: sự chuyển đổi
- receive a standing ovation: nhận được sự - embark on a new chapter: bắt tay vào một
hoan nghênh nhiệt liệt chương mới
- anxious: lo lắng - memories came flooding back: những ký ức
- anxiety: sự lo âu lại tràn về.

Sample 5: Describe a recent event that made you feel happy

- What the event was
- When and where it happened
- Who participated in this event
- What you saw or did and explain why this event was so enjoyable

Well, in fact, I feel I've recently become increasingly indifferent to what happens around me and few events can
make me feel happy. But at the end of last semester, I was really delighted at the news that I passed my physics
final exam. I have been so poor at physics since I was exposed to it. Those formulas and laws which are easy to
the others always puzzle me a lot. Before the physics exams, I usually stayed up late; and on the exams I would
be very anxious and my hands would even tremble. So you can imagine I almost never achieved a good score no
matter how many hours I put in it. I felt so frustrated by this subject that I decided not to prepare for the final
examination last semester. Believing that I would fail in the exam, I was unexpectedly calm during that exam and
I finished the exam smoothly although there were several questions I being not able to figure out the answers.
After the exam, I was still unconfident of the result and believed that I would undoubtedly fail it. But just several
days later, when I was really worried about it, I was informed of the good news by one of my classmates. At that
moment, I was indeed excited and I thought it was calmness that helped to make it. From the event, I realized the
importance of a good psychological quality and now I am not so afraid of the subject.

Sample 6 . Describe an interesting event

- What the event was
- How you knew about this event
- Why it was so interesting and explain your feelings towards this event.

Well, the event that I want to share with you today is my best friend’s wedding, which took place 3 weeks ago
and left a deep impression on me. I received a phone call from her last month and she told me that she was going
to be tying the knot soon, and to be honest, I had been waiting for this to happen for quite a long time since both
the bride and groom are close friends of mine, and I know them quite well. And since they are such close friends
of mine, I knew that I would have to take part in this special occasion at all costs.
So there were several things that made her wedding such a wonderful day. Firstly, I was quite impressed by the
way the room was decorated with lots of lights, candles and roses, which really created a cosy and romantic
atmosphere. Secondly, the wedding was held in quite a modern way, which I found really great as I had only
previously been to more traditional kind of weddings before.
One of the moments that really surprised me though was when the groom got up and sang a song for the bride
and all the guests sang along with him. Many people even got up to dance. He also played a video clip of himself
that he had made where he expressed his love and appreciation for his bride, which was very touching, and I
think I even shed a tear.
And the last thing I really enjoyed about being involved in the wedding was that it gave me the chance to meet
many of my friends who I hadn’t seen for a long time. We made use of this opportunity to take a lot of photos
with one another and the newly-weds, of course.

- a deep impression – a strong effect or influence - appreciation – to be thankful or grateful

- tying the knot – getting married towards someone
- bride and groom – the female and male getting - touching – making you feel emotional
married - shed a tear – to cry a little bit
- at all costs – a must, regardless of the price or - newly-weds – a couple who is just married
effort required
- cosy – comfortable and pleasant

6. Practice: DESCRIBING EVENTS/ EXPERIENCES / SITUATIONS

1. Describe a situation that made you angry.

- when it happened
- what happened
- how you felt

2. Describe an important event in your life.

- what is was about
- how it affected your life
- and explain why this was an important event in your life.
3. Describe a memorable event of your life.
- what it is;
- what happened;
- where you were and explain why this is a memorable event.

4. Describe an occasion when you spent time with your family.

- When it was
- Who the child was
- Why you spent some time with this child and explain what you did and how you felt.

5. Describe a local event you have attended.

- what this event was
- when and where it was
- what happened in the event explain what you liked about this event.

6. Describe a wedding you have attended.

- When it was
- Who got married
- What happened at the wedding and whether this was a typical wedding in your country.

7. Describe a performance you watched recently

- What it was
- Why you watched it
- When and where you saw it and explain how you felt about this performance

8. Describe an occasion when you celebrated an achievement.

- What you achieved
- How you celebrated it
- Who you celebrated it with and how you felt about it.

9. Describe a positive experience that you had as a teenager.

- What it was
- When you had it
- How you had it and explain why this experience was positive for you.

10. Describe an experience which disappointed you.

- When it was
- What exactly happened?
- Why it was disappointing to you and explain how you felt about it.

11. Describe an occasion when you got angry.

- Where and when it happened
- What exactly made you angry
- How you handled this situation and explain how you felt and did then.

12. Describe a bad weather experience you have had.

- What sort of bad weather it was
- When it happened
- Where you were then and explain how it affected you
13. Describe an unexpected event that you experienced.
- When and where the event happened
- What went unexpected
- How you dealt with the situation
- And explain if the event impacted you, either positively or negatively.

14. Describe an exciting experience in your life.

- what it is
- when and where it occurred
- what happened and explain what was so exciting about it.

15. Describe an experience that you got bored when you were with others
- When it was
- Who you were with
- What you did and explain why you were bored.

16. Describe an enjoyable experience you had in the countryside.

- When and where you went
- Who you went with
- What you did there and explain why you think it was enjoyable.

17. Describe an unusual experience of traveling.

- Where you went
- When you went there
- Who you were with
- What you did there and explain why it is unusual

18. Describe a situation when you didn’t have enough time

- When it was
- What you tried to do or finish
- Where you were and explain why you didn’t have enough time

19. Describe a situation that made you feel uncomfortable.

- when it was
- what made you feel uncomfortable
- what you did then and explain how you felt about it.

20. Describe a situation when you received some useful advice.

- what the situation was
- who gave you the advice
- what the advice was and explain how this advice was useful to you.

21. Describe a time that you and your friend had a disagreement
- When this happened
- Who you disagreed with
- What you and your friend argued about and if you two solved the disagreement in the end
22. Describe an occasion you got up extremely early
- When this happened
- what you needed to do that day
- who you were with
- how you felt about getting up that early on that day

23. Describe a time when you feel surprised to meet someone.

- When this happened
- Who this person was
- What did you do together on that day and explain why you thought it was a surprise to meet this
person

24. Describe a time you were friendly to someone you didn’t like.
- when and where it happened
- who he or she was;
- why you didn’t like this person
- explain why you were friendly to him or her on that occasion

25. Describe a happy family event from your childhood that you remember well.
- what the event was
- when and where it happened
- what you saw or did and explain why you remember that event so well

26. Describe a pleasant surprise you had.

- when and where it happened
- who gave you the surprise
- why they gave you the surprise and explain how you felt about it

27. Describe a time when you got lost.

- when and where it happened
- who was there with you
- how you felt when you got lost and explain how you eventually found your way

28. Describe a project that you were once involved in (for example, a project at work or a homework
assignment at school or university).
- the topic of this project or homework
- when and where you did this project / what research or preparation you did?
- how difficult this task was?
- how much time you spent on this project or assignment explain what you learned from this
experience

29. Describe a situation that others didn’t tell you the whole truth.
- what the situation was
- who was involved
- why they didn’t tell you the whole truth and explain how you felt when you found out you were
not told the whole truth

THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORT – Osama Pikachu