Speaking Part 2 · ExperiencesIn the May–Aug 2026 forecast
Describe a Time You Talked With a Foreigner
In short
“Describe a Time You Talked With a Foreigner” is a common IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card. You get 1 minute to prepare and should speak for 1–2 minutes, covering all four points below. This page gives you a Band 9 model answer, an idea map so you can make it your own, the Part 3 follow-up questions with answers, and the vocabulary examiners reward.
The task card
Describe a Time You Talked With a Foreigner. You should say:
- •Who the person was
- •Where and when you met them
- •What you talked about
- •And explain how you felt about the conversation
Band 9 model answer
The time that comes to mind is a conversation I had with an Australian backpacker a couple of summers ago. I was sitting outside a little café in the old part of my city, just enjoying a coffee on my day off, when this guy at the next table leaned over and asked me, in fairly hesitant English, whether I knew how to get to the main railway station. And that one little question ended up turning into a conversation that lasted well over an hour.
He was travelling around the region on his own — I'd guess he was in his late twenties — and he'd been on the road for about three months. Once I'd given him directions, we just sort of struck up a conversation, and to my surprise it flowed really naturally. It turned out we were roughly the same age and had loads in common, so we genuinely hit it off. I ended up abandoning my original plans for the afternoon and offering to walk him to the station the long way round, so I could point out a few things along the route.
We talked about all sorts, to be honest — where he'd been, the food he'd tried and either loved or couldn't stomach, the strangest cultural differences he'd noticed, and how people back home had warned him my country would be nothing like it actually was. I fired endless questions at him about Australia too, because it's somewhere I've always wanted to visit. At one point we got completely stuck trying to explain a traditional local dish to him, and there was a lot of laughing and miming, because the whole thing just kept getting lost in translation.
As for how I felt about it, it was honestly one of the highlights of that entire summer. What struck me most was how easy it was to connect with a total stranger from the other side of the world once we'd found a bit of common ground. My English is far from perfect, and I was a little self-conscious about it at first, but he was so relaxed and encouraging that I basically forgot to be nervous. By the end I was speaking more freely than I ever manage in a classroom, which really drove home the idea that the best way to improve a language is simply to use it with real people who don't care about your mistakes.
We swapped social media before he left, and, believe it or not, we still message each other every now and then. So a completely random request for directions somehow turned into a genuine, if long-distance, friendship. It reminded me that you never quite know where a simple, everyday conversation might end up leading you.
Make it your own: three angles
Helping a tourist
Assisting a lost traveller is relatable and shows kindness plus everyday, functional English in action.
A language exchange or online friend
A planned exchange lets you talk naturally about learning, culture and the mechanics of communicating across a barrier.
A foreign colleague or classmate
This angle lets you discuss working across cultures and the deeper friendships that form over time, not just a one-off chat.
What the examiner is listening for
This card rewards natural storytelling, so anchor it in one specific encounter rather than talking about foreigners in general. Use direct, spoken markers like to be honest and believe it or not, and make sure the fourth bullet reflects on the feeling and the wider lesson about language and connection. Deploy topic phrases such as strike up a conversation and common ground where they fit the story, not in a block.
Part 1 warm-up questions
- Have you ever had a conversation with someone from another country?
- Do many tourists visit your hometown?
- Do you think it's easy to make friends with people from other cultures?
- Would you like to travel abroad to meet new people?
Part 3 follow-up questions & answers
Why do you think it's useful to speak to people from other countries?
For me, the biggest benefit is that it broadens your perspective and gently challenges your assumptions. You quickly realise that the way things are done in your own country isn't the only way, or even the best way. On a practical level, it's also brilliant for improving your language skills and your confidence.
Do you think English will remain the main international language in future?
I think it will for a good while yet, simply because so much of business, science and the internet already runs on it, and that momentum is hard to reverse. That said, translation technology is improving so rapidly that the pressure to learn any single language might ease. So English may stay dominant but perhaps feel less essential.
What difficulties do people face when communicating across cultures?
Beyond the obvious language barrier, I think the trickiest issues are the unspoken ones — things like humour, politeness and body language, which vary hugely from place to place. Something meant as friendly directness in one culture can come across as rude in another, and that's exactly where misunderstandings creep in.
Has technology made it easier to talk to foreigners?
Massively. With video calls, instant messaging and translation apps, you can chat with someone on the other side of the planet for free, in seconds. When I was younger that would have meant expensive phone calls or nothing at all. The only downside is that these easy digital chats sometimes lack the warmth of meeting face to face.
Do you think tourism helps different countries understand each other?
On the whole, yes, because meeting real people tends to break down the lazy stereotypes we pick up from the media. When a tourist has a warm exchange with a local, both sides go home with a more human picture of each other. The risk is that mass tourism can stay very superficial, so it's the genuine conversations that really count.
Should everyone learn a second language?
Ideally, yes, because it's not just useful practically — it actually trains your brain and builds empathy for other cultures. Realistically, though, I wouldn't force it on people who'll genuinely never use it. I'd rather see languages taught really well and made enjoyable, so that people want to learn rather than being made to.
Can misunderstandings between cultures cause serious problems?
They certainly can, especially in high-stakes settings like diplomacy or international business, where a mistranslated phrase or a misread gesture can derail a whole negotiation. On an everyday level the consequences are usually small and easily laughed off, but at a national level cultural misreadings can genuinely escalate tensions.
Useful vocabulary
| Word / phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| a lingua franca | a common language used between speakers whose native languages differ |
| to break the ice | to say or do something to ease the initial awkwardness with someone |
| to strike up a conversation | to start talking to someone, often a stranger |
| to hit it off | to get on well with someone right from the start |
| a language barrier | difficulty in communicating because people speak different languages |
| to get by in a language | to manage to communicate with only limited ability |
| small talk | light, casual conversation about unimportant things |
| to be on the same wavelength | to understand each other easily because you think alike |
| common ground | shared interests, experiences or opinions |
| to get lost in translation | for meaning or nuance to be lost when moving between languages |
More cue cards
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