IELTS Speaking part 2: Describe a skill that you need a long time to learn

Topic cue card:

Describe a skill that you need a long time to learn. You should say:

• what the skill is

• when you learnt

• why you need a long time to learn.

Answer:

Most recently I learned about using the Adobe Illustrator software, and it really took me a long time to partially master it.

I have a great love for fashion designing and dressmaking, and I have been making garments for sale as a part-time job. Some hobbyists even came to me and asked for my sewing patterns and I was thinking of selling them along with my dresses. I found out the demand for sewing patterns was increasing over time.

A few months ago, my friend recommended that I should think of becoming an indie designer – the kind of fashion designer who doesn’t belong to any company. I thought that it was a really good idea and started to look for information about it. And then I came over an article about selling digital sewing patterns online and immediately decided that I wanted to do this. In order to start my sewing pattern shop, I need to know about drafting patterns using computer software, and Adobe Illustrator is recommended by most indie designers. As far as I know, using computer in pattern designing can save me a lot of time and effort, and the digital patterns can be used over and over again.

At first I thought Adobe Illustrator was simple, just like Microsoft Word or Excel, but I was completely wrong. The software comes with a complicating set of tools and commands, and it took me about one week just to get a bit familiar to it. This software also required users to have knowledge about mathematics and geometry, which was not my strong point. It took me another few days to learn how to draft my first simple basic blocks and at some point I was so discouraged that I thought I am no good with digital pattern drafting. However, as stubborn as I have always been, I continued to learn how to use the software, and I gradually master it. And now, a few months later, I can draft digital patterns at ease. Of course, there are always new updates and new functions added to the software every day, so I need to continue learning and working on it so that I will never be out of date.

I can now export my digital patterns to pdf format and post them for sale on an online marketplace called Etsy, in which my digital patterns can reach customers all over the world. I have sold some of the patterns and am happy with the revenue. I think I will continue to use Adobe Illustrator to realize my dream of being an indie fashion designer.

Comment:

This answer is based on my true story. I think that it would be much easier to talk about your own experience, and you will not run out of vocabulary for a familiar topic that you use every day.