The examiner asks you some questions about yourself and about familiar, everyday topics. Answer each question aloud and record yourself if you can; the model answers unlock after you submit.
Topic 1 — Your hometown
"My hometown is Rajshahi, in the north-west of Bangladesh, right on the bank of the Padma River. It's a medium-sized city, much calmer and cleaner than Dhaka, and it's well known for its silk."
"No, I moved to Dhaka three years ago for university, so these days I only go back during the holidays. My parents are still there, though, so it definitely still feels like home."
"Quite a lot. The roads have been widened, there are new shopping centres, and the riverside has been turned into a proper promenade where families walk in the evenings. It's become livelier, although some of the old character has gone."
"In some ways, yes. It's safe and affordable, and there are good universities. The main drawback is the lack of well-paid jobs, so a lot of graduates, including most of my friends, end up moving to Dhaka to start their careers."
Topic 2 — Television
"Not on an actual TV set, to be honest. I watch quite a lot of series and documentaries, but almost always on my laptop or phone. The TV at home is mainly used by my parents for the news and cricket."
"Mostly cartoons, especially on Friday mornings, which was the one time my brother and I were allowed to watch for as long as we liked. I also remember a quiz show that the whole family used to watch together after dinner."
"Definitely. Sometimes a short programme seems to have almost as many minutes of adverts as actual content, which is one reason I prefer streaming. During a cricket match, the breaks between overs are full of the same adverts again and again."
Topic 3 — Walking
"Not as much as I'd like. The footpaths in my area are crowded and uneven, so I usually take a rickshaw for short trips. I do try to walk for about half an hour in the evening, though, mainly to clear my head."
"My favourite place is the lake near my university. There's a shaded path along the water, and in the late afternoon it's surprisingly peaceful considering how busy the roads around it are."
"Yes, every day until I was about twelve. It was only fifteen minutes away, and I used to walk with a group of children from the same building, so it was actually one of the most sociable parts of the day."
"Yes, I would. I've noticed that on days when I walk, I sleep better and feel far less stressed, so I've started getting off the bus a stop early and walking the rest of the way home."
Read the card, then use the 1-minute preparation timer to make quick notes. When it ends, start the 2-minute timer and speak until it stops, covering all four points.
"The object I'd like to talk about is a rather battered second-hand laptop that I've had for about five years now. It's a fairly ordinary grey model, which was already a few years out of date when I got it, and these days it has a sticker covering a crack on the lid and a couple of keys that don't quite match the others. But it's probably the most important thing I own.
I bought it when I was seventeen, with money I'd saved from giving private maths lessons to two children in our building. It took me nearly eight months to save enough, and I remember going to a computer market with my older cousin, who knew far more about technology than I did, and haggling with the shopkeeper for almost an hour. When we finally agreed on a price, I felt incredibly grown up.
Since then I've used it for pretty much everything: my college assignments, my university applications, online courses and, of course, films and music late at night. It's had a few problems along the way. The battery died after a couple of years, and once I spilt tea all over the keyboard, which I was sure would be the end of it, but a repairman near my house managed to bring it back to life for a fraction of the price of a new one.
The reason it matters so much to me isn't really the machine itself. It's what it represents. It was the first expensive thing I ever paid for with money I'd earned myself, so it reminds me that I can work towards something and actually achieve it. My parents have offered to buy me a new laptop more than once, but I keep turning them down. I'll have to replace it eventually, of course, but I suspect I'll never quite be able to throw it away."
The examiner asks you some more general questions connected with the topic in Part 2. Answer each question aloud; the model answers unlock after you submit.
Theme 1 — Possessions and value
"I think for many families it's things connected with security and status, such as gold jewellery, land and, for younger people, the latest smartphone. Gold has a special place, because it's both a family heirloom and a kind of savings account that can be sold in an emergency. Sentimental objects matter too, of course, but people are less likely to talk about them openly. In rural areas, livestock and farmland still count as the most valuable things a family can have."
"Not really. Older people often value durable, physical things like furniture, gold or a house, partly because they grew up when such things were scarce. Younger people seem to care more about access than ownership. They'd rather have a good phone and subscriptions to everything than a cupboard full of possessions. That said, both generations treasure items linked to family memories, so the difference is mainly about practical objects rather than sentimental ones."
"Broadly, yes. Once your basic needs are met, buying more seems to give only a short burst of pleasure before you get used to it and start wanting the next thing. I'd add, though, that some possessions genuinely improve people's wellbeing, such as a comfortable bed, a musical instrument or a shelf of good books. So it's less about the number of things and more about whether they really add something to your life or simply fill space."
Theme 2 — Saving and spending
"In many ways, yes. Prices for basics like rent, transport and mobile data have risen much faster than starting salaries, so there's often very little left at the end of the month. There's also far more temptation. My parents' generation didn't have adverts following them around online or apps that let you pay with a single tap. On the other hand, young people today have more ways to earn extra income, such as freelancing, so the picture isn't entirely gloomy."
"I think the sensible answer is a bit of both, although I lean towards saving. Even putting aside a small amount each month adds up surprisingly quickly over the years, and it means that something unexpected, like losing a job, doesn't turn into a crisis. That said, I don't believe young people should deny themselves everything. Your twenties are a good time to travel or learn new things, and those experiences can pay off later. The trick is probably to save first and then spend what's left, rather than the other way round."
"Partly it's about wanting things now rather than later. Credit cards and 'buy now, pay later' schemes make an expensive purchase feel almost painless at the moment of buying, because the cost is spread out and somehow seems less real. Social pressure plays a part too, since nobody wants to be the only one without the latest phone. And to be fair, some people simply have no choice, because an emergency such as a medical bill can't wait until they've saved up."
"It could go either way, but I'm cautiously optimistic. More schools are starting to include basic financial education, and there are now plenty of free videos and tools that explain budgeting in simple terms. At the same time, the temptations are likely to grow, because spending will probably become even quicker and less visible than it is now. So I suspect the gap will widen: young people who are taught good habits early will manage brilliantly, while those who aren't may struggle even more than today's generation."