Speaking Part 2: Cue Card (Long Turn): Question 10
Syllabus S.part2
Describe a hobby that you would like to take up in the future.
You should say:
- what the hobby is
- how you would learn to do it
- how much time you would need to devote to it
and explain why you want to take up this particular hobby.
You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.
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Worked solution
Examiner notes: why this is a band 9 long turn
Fluency & Coherence
The response opens with a clear conditional frame (“If I ever find the time…”) that is sustained consistently throughout, so the whole answer reads as coherently aspirational rather than drifting into describing a hobby already started. Each bullet flows into the next through natural spoken linking (“In terms of how I’d actually learn it…”, “The main reason I want to take it up is…”) rather than abrupt topic jumps.
Lexical Resource
Precise, hobby-specific vocabulary is used accurately (“wheel-throwing”, “centre the clay”, “a kiln”), alongside more abstract language for the personal motivation (“something tactile and completely disconnected from technology”). This blend of technical precision and reflective abstraction across a hypothetical topic is a strong indicator of a wide, flexible lexical resource.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
A genuinely wide range of hypothetical and future forms is controlled accurately throughout: first conditional (“If I ever find the time…”), modal “would” for the imagined plan (“I’d start with…”, “I’d probably commit to…”), and present continuous with future meaning implied through context. This sustained, accurate hypothetical register, rather than defaulting to simple “will” statements, is exactly what a band 9 response to a future-oriented cue card requires. Note: Pronunciation cannot be assessed from a written transcript, but the light, wistful closing image (drinking coffee from a self-made mug) reflects the kind of natural, expressive intonation a band 9 candidate would use aloud.
Common pitfalls specific to this task
See commonMistakes above: the most damaging is slipping out of hypothetical language into definite present-tense description, which makes the hobby sound like something already being done rather than a genuine future aspiration.