Ielts jeremy Chiron Ideas and Examples for ielts speaking

4. Can having artistic skills help develop people's characters?
Yes, definitely. Take music for example. People use musical instruments to express their feelings.
A young man can play hard rock to convey his anger or his stress, and others can play classical
music because they enjoy peace and quiet. In addition, artistic skills are usually developed in class
or in a group after school, so these classes are a great chance for students to meet people who share
the same hobbies. They will realize they belong to a group and this will strengthen their likes and
dislikes; they will become more confident about their own characteristics.
5. Which artistic skills do you wish you had?
I wish I could play the guitar. I love the sound of this instrument, and I think that people who
can play the guitar are so cool. It's by far my favorite instrument because it can be adapted to play
any style of music on it: we could play relaxing blues, or faster rock, or colorful flamenco. You
know, anything is possible with a guitar. But it takes a lot of skill and practice to play. I think I might
start learning after I graduate and find a stable job. It requires time, and I am not very coordinated,
so I will probably need a lot of time!
6. Do you think we can learn artistic skills from books or do we really need teachers?
Well, I guess that talented people can learn artistic skills through books if they are
imaginative. However, I think it's much faster and easier to learn with a teacher, because teachers
offer guidance and advice. Teachers act as models too. A student who learns the piano will most
definitely learn quicker if he has someone next to him to show him how it is done.

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362
A National Art Form
Tell me about a national art form in your country.
You should say: what the form of art is
how popular it is
whether you are generally interested in works of art
and explain what particularly interests people about this form of art.
• Paper
-cutting: ancient art = paper was invented in China
• Decorations: "window flowers" in Chinese = popular, especially around
Spring
Festival
• Female activity in the past: women could be judged by their skills. Now = expensive
• Meaningful: identical to calligraphy + Chinese zodiac animals = common
• Good luck = prosperity, health, harvest
My country is famous for its wide variety of art forms, especially folk arts: every Chinese
person is familiar with embroidery, calligraphy, or handicrafts such as the making of Chinese knots.
But in these 2 minutes, I will tell you about my favorite form of folk art, which is Chinese paper-
cutting; you know, cutting paper with scissors in order to create a landscape or a portrait. Paper-
making is one of the four great inventions my people came up with (along with gunpowder, the
compass, and printing). Paper-cutting has existed for thousands of years.
Paper-cutting is extremely popular around Spring Festival every year. We buy paper-cuts as
ornaments, and we usually stick them on windows or doors. In Chinese we occasionally refer to
paper-cuts as chuang hua, which means "window flower". They decorate and bring life to our
windows. In addition, some artists incorporate (= include) paper-cuts into the making of lanterns.
The results are always stunning, and very traditional.
In the past, in the countryside, women would be judged upon their ability to shape paper. I
know that my grandmother is very skilled at paper-cutting and paper-folding. Last year, I visited a
shop where both a man and his wife designed all kinds of paper-cuts. The price of each piece was
actually very high. They had them in albums, or framed for you to pick. It was gorgeous.
Sometimes artists first fold the paper and cut it. In this way, a symmetrical design is revealed
when they unfold it. The designs are always meaningful. It's very common for artists to cut out the
12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, you know, like the dragon, the snake, or the horse. This year is
the year of the rabbit, so I am sure you have seen many paper-cut rabbits on windows everywhere.
I particularly like it when they mix a drawing and some Chinese characters, just like calligraphy. It's
always so precise. The artist must be very careful and meticulous.
Usually paper-cuts are made of red paper in China. Red is the national color to start with, and
on top of this, it also represents good luck. For the New Year, offering red paper cuts to someone
means we wish them prosperity and health. In the countryside, red implies that we wish farmers
good weather and good harvest.