Here some examples of follow up questions that you may asked during your speaking part 3 by examiner related to cue card “Describe a foreign culture that you are interested in”.
Topic : Foreign Culture
1. Do you think it’s important to know about other cultures?
I do think it’s extremely important to learn about other cultures. Not only can you find out interesting things, but it makes it easier to interact with those people if you ever come in contact with them. Also, it makes it a lot easier to do business with those cultures. It’s important to be educated about the world and not just shut yourself into your own country.
2. How can we benefit from learning about other cultures?
Several ways that people can benefit from other cultures are in business, personal relationships, and just in self-improvement. In business, it is necessary to know a little bit about whatever culture you plan to work with. For instance, I think in Muslim cultures, shaking hands with your left hand is considered extremely rude. If you didn’t know that, it could hurt your chances of doing business. Also, it’s important just to improve yourself by learning as much as you can, and culture is a good subject.
3. What do you think is the best way to learn about another culture?
Obviously, the best way to learn about a culture is to go there and experience it. If you can get a feel for the culture firsthand, it will be a lot easier to pick things up, But I also believe that you can learn a ton about other cultures just by reading books about them. Reading about people’s experiences in foreign lands is the next best thing to being there.
4. Do you think that learning foreign languages can help us understand foreign cultures?
I’m not sure that just learning the language is a good way to learn about a culture, but most places where you would learn a language would help you learn about the culture, so indirectly, yes. The language alone isn’t great for understanding culture. For instance, German is a really harsh language, but Germans aren’t harsh people. You really need to study more than the language if you want to get to know a culture.
5. Do you think it’s better to go overseas to study a foreign language or to study it in your home country?
I think it is better to study a language in its native country. When you do that, you are engulfed in the language and forced to encounter it outside of the classroom. Otherwise, your only exposure to the language is when you’re studying or in the classroom. I know firsthand that when learning a foreign language in your home country, it is easy to lose what you have learned.
6. What is your understanding of the term “globalization”?
Globalization, in my mind, is the idea that the world is becoming smaller, so societies can interact and exchange culture more easily and more efficiently. Unfortunately, because some countries are richer and have more influence than others, certain cultures get spread around more than others. On the whole, however, globalization is a good thing because it is not the only culture that gets spread, but things like information and medicine can help people.
7. Do you think globalization is a good thing?
Yes, globalization has its problems, but for the most part, it is good for most people involved. Some people have different opinions because they are really concerned with the loss of culture, but for me, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. People have access to more information, so diseases can be better treated, food can be made more efficiently, and goods that make people’s lives easier are now available.
8. Do you think it’s easier to learn about other cultures today than it was before?
Yes, of course, it is. All you have to do is to look at art from long ago, about foreign cultures and you can see the lack of knowledge people had. Today, with the Internet and the number of books available, it is almost impossible to be ignorant. It is so easy to learn about anything you want.
