Describe a decision which you have made that you feel was wrong

You should say:

• what the decision was and why you made that decision
• how long it took to realize that it was a wrong decision
• why you think it was a wrong decision you made

and explain how you would alter that decision if you could.

Model Answer 1:

Learning a language requires some specific set of qualities like patience, willingness, perseverance etc. but my unstable nature lacks the all of those to continue something important for me. I failed to learn the German language.

I have some business relations with Germans and they frequently contact me over different business issues, and unfortunately, it was troublesome to speak English with them. I had to repeat the statements several times during the telephonic conversations or had to make the issues clearer on email correspondence breaking down the statements into very simple sentences. So, I decided to learn the German language. I was in a dream of discoursing with the Germans fluently in their native language and they were amazed by my aptitude in German. But all my dreams shattered when my language instructor asked me to speak something in German after attending for a month. My failure to speak German took me out of the course.

When I ran out of German Words, I could not continue the conversation with the instructor and the situation was embarrassing for me. All the mates laughed at me and I felt a deep sense of shy for my inability to speak German. So, I thought if I cannot speak German with the instructor, how could it be possible for me to speak with the natives? As a result, I gave up attending classes for the next class. The class used to be held thrice in a week and I started missing the classes after passing one and a half month with the course. I thought that I should keep communicating with the clients as I am doing now and that is much better than being ashamed before the class.

After attending the course for the first day, I started communicating with the clients in German and they appreciated me on hearing about my German learning attempt. I used English to German dictionary for communication with them and gave up the dictionary after the course admission. The troubles started to arrive when the Germans asked me numerous issues in their native language and it was difficult for me to decipher. About one month later, after leaving the course, I realised that truly it is tough for me to communicate in an unskilled way. Translating German into English consumed more time and sometimes I could not get the right meanings too which lead to minor misunderstanding between my client and me.

It was a wrong decision for me. I did not realise the importance of the language. It is natural that when you have something to your hand, you will not feel the weight until you are dropping that. The same event happened to me. The necessities emerged right after the moment I left the course. If I continued learning the language, I could have a better communication with them. I had to count the financial losses as well my emotional state.

If I had the option to go back into the class, I would take the chance. But they only admit students for twice in a year and now I have to wait for the next admission announcement. If I get the chance to get admitted to the course again, I will be attentive than ever and will follow the instructions too. It has become a must for me to learn the language for my professional purpose.