Describe a short-term job you would like to do in a foreign country
IELTS Speaking Part 2 cue card with a full sample answer, a Band 9 model of the two-minute long turn.
The cue card
Describe a short-term job you would like to do in a foreign country
You should say:
- what the job would be
- which country you would choose
- how long you would stay
- and explain why you want to do it
Sample answer
I'd like to describe a short-term job I would love to do in a foreign country — working as a tour guide in Italy.
The job would essentially involve showing tourists around Italy's famous historical and cultural sites, sharing interesting facts and stories about the country's rich history, art and cuisine. I'd be responsible for leading groups, answering their questions, and helping to make their trip as memorable and enjoyable as possible.
The country I would choose is, without a doubt, Italy. I've always been utterly captivated by Italian culture, from its magnificent art and architecture to its world-famous food and beautiful landscapes. Cities like Rome, Florence and Venice have been at the top of my travel wish list for years, so being able to live and work there would be a dream come true.
As for how long I would stay, I think a period of around three to six months would be ideal. That would be long enough for me to truly immerse myself in the culture, get to know the country in depth, and pick up some of the language, without being such a long commitment that it disrupts my longer-term plans back home.
There are several reasons why I'd love to do this job. Firstly, it would be the perfect way to combine my passion for travel with earning a living, allowing me to explore a country I adore while getting paid for it. Secondly, working as a tour guide would enable me to meet all sorts of interesting people from around the world and to significantly improve my communication and language skills. Finally, immersing myself in a completely different culture would be an incredibly enriching experience that would broaden my horizons enormously.
In short, a temporary job like this would offer the perfect blend of adventure, cultural discovery and personal growth. It's exactly the kind of unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience I'd love to have while I'm still young.
322 words — roughly 2–3 minutes at a natural speaking pace.
Reading a model answer is not the same as saying one. The sample above shows what a strong Part 2 answer sounds like. What it cannot tell you is how yours sounds — whether you hesitate, repeat the question back, or run out of things to say at forty seconds.
You can record an answer to this exact question and get it marked on fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and pronunciation — the same four criteria the examiner uses.
Common questions
How long should I speak for in Part 2?
Between one and two minutes. The examiner stops you at two, so aim to still be talking at the ninety-second mark rather than finishing early — running out at forty seconds is the most common problem in this part.
What do I do with the one minute of preparation time?
You get one minute and a pencil and paper. Most candidates waste it writing full sentences they then read aloud, which sounds flat. Note a few keywords against each bullet instead, so you have four things to say and can speak naturally from them.
Do I have to cover all four bullet points?
They are prompts, not a checklist, and you are not penalised for skipping one. In practice they are the easiest way to fill two minutes, so covering them is usually the simplest way to keep going.
Does it matter if the story is not true?
No. You are assessed on your English, not on whether the events happened. Inventing detail is fine and often easier than recalling a real memory under pressure.
Model answers written and reviewed by The English All-in-One IELTS team. They are teaching models showing what each band looks like, not real candidate scripts.