Describe a friend from your childhood: IELTS Speaking Part 2 Cue Card and Part 3 Questions
Part 2 cue card
Describe a friend from your childhood
You should say:
- Who he/she is
- Where and how you met each other
- What you often did together
- What made you like him/her
You will have one to two minutes to talk about this topic.
Read the complete transcript
I’m going to talk about a childhood friend called Jamie who lived just two streets away. We first met at primary school when we were seven; our teacher put us in the same reading group and we started swapping books at breaktime, which is how the friendship began. After school we’d head to the nearby park to build dens and pretend to be explorers, and sometimes we cycled to the riverbank to catch tadpoles — those muddy afternoons became a kind of ritual. At weekends we would exchange comic strips at our grandparents’ gardens, creating loads of little inside jokes. What made me like Jamie most was his loyalty and sense of humour; he could always make me laugh when I felt awkward, and he was the one who came with me to meet my new teacher when I changed schools at eleven, which really helped. It’s those small, dependable acts and the way we used our imagination together that make him stand out in my memory.
Preparation status: Predicted topic cycle. This independent practice resource is not an official IELTS paper, and the questions in your test can be different. How topics are labelled.
Part 3 discussion questions
Move one question at a time: listen, answer, compare and retry. The complete question text remains in the page HTML for accessibility and search.
- 01Do you still keep in touch with your friends from childhood? Why or why not?
- 02How important is childhood friendship to children?
- 03What do you think of communicating via social media?
- 04Do you think online communication through social media will replace face-to-face communication?
- 05What's the difference between having younger friends and older friends?
- 06Has technology changed people's friendships? How?
See the topic before you speak
Use the images as idea prompts. Describe what you notice, connect it to your experience, then answer the real question.
Model answers, heard side by side
Start with the simpler answer, switch bands to hear how the same task can be developed, then record a personal response. These are teaching examples, not official answers or score guarantees.
Part 2 — Model Answer
Part 2 cue-card response
I'm going to talk about a friend from my childhood called Mia. We met at primary school when we were seven because our parents signed us up for the same after-school club. We often played in the playground, drew pictures and rode our bikes together. At weekends we sometimes went to each other's houses to watch cartoons. I liked Mia because she was kind and always shared her snacks with me. She was easy to be with and made me laugh, so I enjoyed spending time with her.
I'm going to talk about my childhood friend Sam, who I met when I was about eight. We were both in the same primary school class and we ended up sitting next to each other by chance on the first day. He lived a few streets away, so after school we'd often walk home together and stop at the park. We used to play football every afternoon in the field behind his house; I can still picture the orange goalposts and how we'd argue over who got the front spot. What we did together varied — we built dens, swapped comics and once made a tiny home-made kite that flew for ten minutes before crashing. At weekends his family invited me round for dinner more than once, and I remember helping his mum peel vegetables while we planned adventures. I liked Sam because he was funny and honest, always ready to stand up for me if someone teased me. He was also really curious and would ask strange questions that made me see things differently, like why clouds look soft but are actually water. Even now, years later, that friendship taught me the value of loyalty and simple fun, and it still brings back happy memories whenever I think of it.
I'll describe a childhood friend called Leila, who became one of the most influential people in my early life. We met aged nine at a local youth theatre — we were paired for a scene and clicked instantly because we both loved being silly on stage. Outside rehearsals we spent hours inventing plays, collecting second-hand props and organising impromptu performances for our families; one summer we staged a two-scene show in her garden that everyone in the street came to see. Our friendship felt effortless because she was thoughtful, unusually patient for her age and genuinely interested in other people's ideas. She helped me through a difficult move between schools by introducing me to new groups and making me feel included, which meant a great deal at the time. I liked her honesty and the way she encouraged me to try things I was nervous about, from auditions to public speaking. Looking back, that friendship wasn't just fun — it shaped my confidence and taught me how to support others in return.
Part 3 — Model Answers
Do you still keep in touch with your friends from childhood? Why or why not?
I don't keep in touch with all my childhood friends. A few moved away or we just grew apart because of school and work. I still talk to one or two sometimes on social media or at reunions, but not every week.
I still keep in touch with a couple of childhood friends, though not as often as we used to. Life gets busy with jobs and families, but we make an effort — a message every now and then, and a reunion every few years. Those contacts feel easy because of our shared history, so when we do speak it's like no time has passed.
Yes, albeit selectively. I've stayed connected with a small number who share similar values or life stages; others naturally drifted apart. Maintaining those ties takes deliberate effort — a birthday message, occasional catch-ups or a yearly meet-up — but I value the continuity they provide. For me, quality matters more than quantity when it comes to old friends.
How important is childhood friendship to children?
Childhood friendships are very important. They help kids learn to share and play together. Friends make children happy and confident.
They're crucial. Friendships in childhood teach social skills — sharing, resolving fights, and cooperating — which children carry forward. They also build confidence: for example, doing a school project with a friend can make a child feel braver about speaking up in class.
Very important indeed. Early friendships provide a safe context to experiment with social roles, manage emotions and develop empathy. Through play and small conflicts, children learn negotiation and perspective-taking, which become templates for adult relationships. In short, these bonds are foundational for emotional and social development.
What do you think of communicating via social media?
I think social media is useful because it's quick and easy to contact people. But sometimes messages can be confusing and it's not the same as meeting face-to-face.
I see social media as a useful tool — it's great for keeping in touch, arranging meet-ups and sharing news. But it can be superficial; people curate their lives and that may give a distorted view. Still, for maintaining long-distance friendships it's indispensable.
Social media is ambivalent: it affords great convenience and scale, letting people sustain weak and strong ties across distance, but it also encourages curated selves and bite-sized interactions. The result is a trade-off — broader networks but sometimes shallower exchanges. Used thoughtfully, though, it can complement deeper, face-to-face relationships rather than replace them.
Do you think online communication through social media will replace face-to-face communication?
No, I don't think social media will replace face-to-face talking. People still need real contact to understand feelings and to build trust.
I don't think it will completely replace face-to-face contact. Certain things — emotional depth, body language and spontaneity — are hard to replicate online. However, many routine interactions may move online, especially with busy schedules and international relationships.
Unlikely. While online platforms will keep evolving and can mimic aspects of conversation, they struggle to reproduce embodied presence — the subtleties of tone, touch and shared context that underpin deep rapport. I expect a hybrid future: convenient online exchanges for everyday matters, and face-to-face encounters reserved for complex or emotionally significant interactions.
What's the difference between having younger friends and older friends?
Younger friends are more active and fun, while older friends are calmer and give better advice. Both are good in different ways.
Younger friends often bring energy, new trends and a different perspective, while older friends can offer experience and steadiness. For example, older friends may be better at giving career advice, whereas younger friends might introduce you to new music or hobbies.
Age differences bring complementary benefits. Younger friends can refresh your outlook and expose you to novel cultural currents, whereas older friends tend to provide context, mentorship and a broader life perspective. The best mix depends on your needs at a given life stage — social stimulation versus practical guidance.
Has technology changed people's friendships? How?
Yes, technology has changed friendships. It's easier to keep in touch but sometimes people talk less in person. There are more online friends now.
Definitely. Technology has made it much easier to maintain contacts across distance and to reconnect with old friends. At the same time, it has altered rituals — messages and likes partly replace phone calls or visits — which can make relationships feel less intimate if that's all you rely on.
Technology has transformed how friendships are maintained and practised. It lowers the cost of contact, allowing relationships to persist across geography, but it also reorganises attention — interactions can become fragmented and performative. New norms around availability, privacy and digital co-presence shape expectations, so sustaining depth now often requires intentional offline time and clear boundaries.
How to answer Describe a friend from your childhood IELTS Speaking questions
For the Describe a friend from your childhood cue card, use the preparation minute to build a route through the talk. Choose a clear subject, add two specific moments or details and end with why it matters. Then use the linked Part 3 questions to practise broader explanation and comparison.
Cue-card prompts:
- Who he/she is
- Where and how you met each other
- What you often did together
- What made you like him/her
- Opening: identify the person, place, object or event.
- Development: describe two details or moments in a logical order.
- Extension: explain a reason, result, comparison or problem.
- Reflection: finish with why the subject is memorable or important.
Question-by-question approach
| Practice question | Useful answer move |
|---|---|
| Do you still keep in touch with your friends from childhood? Why or why not? | Answer directly, give a reason and add one natural personal detail. |
| How important is childhood friendship to children? | Describe the process or difference in a clear order and add a result. |
| What do you think of communicating via social media? | Name the thing first, then describe a specific feature or example. |
| Do you think online communication through social media will replace face-to-face communication? | State a likely view, explain the reason and add one condition or example. |
Vocabulary focus
Useful language already demonstrated in the model answers includes selectively, drifted apart, continuity, empathy, perspective-taking, foundational, curated, indispensable. Learn each meaning and a natural word partnership, then use the item in a fresh answer instead of copying a complete script.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Giving a memorised response that only partly answers the question.
- Adding difficult vocabulary without checking meaning or collocation.
- Restarting after every error instead of correcting briefly and continuing.
- Reading the model answer before recording your own first attempt.
Describe a friend from your childhood practice FAQ
How should I use the Describe a friend from your childhood cue card preparation minute?
Write keywords for an opening, two or three details and a final reflection. Do not try to write complete sentences.
Do I have to cover every cue-card bullet?
The prompts help you organise the talk. Covering them is useful, but a coherent one-to-two-minute response matters more than mechanically ticking off each line.
How are Part 3 questions connected to Part 2?
They develop the same broad theme through reasons, comparisons, social effects or future possibilities, so answers normally need more explanation than Part 1.
