A teacher who influenced you
IELTS Speaking Part 2 · cue card
Describe a teacher who has influenced you in your education.
You should say:
- who the teacher was
- what subject they taught
- what was special about their teaching
- and explain how they influenced you
You have one minute to prepare and should speak for one to two minutes.
Free account required for the live AI partner.
Band 7+ sample answer
About 237 words, roughly two minutes spoken. Use it for ideas and language, not to memorise: examiners notice rehearsed answers.
I'd like to describe Mr Hasan, who taught me English in years nine and ten. He was quite young at the time, maybe in his late twenties, and he'd just joined our school after finishing his master's degree.
What made him special was that he refused to teach English as a list of rules to memorise. Most of our earlier teachers had us copy grammar tables from the board, but Mr Hasan would start every lesson with a short story, a news headline or even a song lyric, and then get us to work out the grammar from the example ourselves. He also had a habit of giving us small, real tasks, like writing a complaint email to a company or preparing a two-minute talk, so English felt like a tool rather than just an exam subject.
He was strict about one thing: he never accepted "I don't know." If we were stuck, he'd ask, "What's your best guess?" which sounds minor, but it completely changed how I approached problems.
His influence on me has been huge. Before his class I was quite shy and avoided speaking, but by the end of year ten I'd entered a school debating competition and actually reached the semi-final. More importantly, he's the main reason I'm preparing for IELTS now and hoping to study abroad. Whenever I feel nervous about speaking, I still hear his voice asking for my best guess.
Useful vocabulary
- work out
- find the answer by thinking
- had a habit of
- regularly did something
- a tool rather than
- something useful in life, not only for tests
- stuck
- unable to continue or answer
- completely changed how I approached
- changed my way of dealing with
- debating competition
- a contest of formal arguments
Part 3 follow-up questions
- What qualities make a good teacher?
- Is the role of teachers changing because of technology and AI?
- Should teachers be paid more in your country?
- Do students learn better from teachers or from online videos?
- How important is the relationship between a teacher and a student?
Tip: in Part 3, give an opinion, a reason and an example, and consider another point of view. Aim for 3–5 sentences per answer.
How to practise this card
- Set a one-minute timer and write keywords for each bullet, not full sentences.
- Speak for two minutes and record yourself on your phone.
- Listen back: did you cover every bullet and the "explain" part? Note one phrase from the vocabulary list to use next time.
- Answer two Part 3 questions out loud, then try the card again with the AI Speaking Partner.