Part of the ielts speaking Test Yourself 13 Reading Your Family 14

1. How many languages do you speak?
I speak 2 languages and a dialect. First of all, Mandarin Chinese is my mother
tongue and I speak it every day at school, with my friends and my
relatives. You know, it’s
the national language. But in Fuzhou, the natives speak the local dialect we call Fuzhouhua. I use
this dialect with my grandparents mostly, although I can understand more than I can
speak. In addition, I have been studying English for a long time, since primary school
．
However, my English is definitely not as good as it should be.
2. How long have you been studying English?
Well, I started studying English in primary school, when I was 6 years old I think. So
it has been 14 y
ears already. That’s a long time, but it’s still a work in progress…It takes
a long time to master a foreign language, especially when students like me can’t immerse
ourselves completely in an English environment. But as you say in English,
“
Rome was not
built in a day.
”
3. How important is English to you?
English is extremely important to me because next year I plan to continue my studies
in Australia. So I need my English to be good enough to understand the teachers there, and to
communicate with the local people. In addition, English is the international language, so it will
probably come in handy when I travel and maybe for my future job.
4. Is there anything you find especially difficult about learning English?
Yes, I find it very hard to remember all the new words I come across when I read or
watch movies in English. In English there are so many different ways to say one thing. You
know, foreigners use so many synonyms
（＝
2 words with the same meaning) to express
themselves
．
It can be confusing.
In addition, it’s challenging for me to write elegant
sentences or formal letters. It takes a lot of practice. On top of this, the grammar can be very tricky
with the past tense and the many prepositions. It’s tough not to make mistakes.