Speaking SampleDifficulty 3/5

Speaking Sample — Bản thân

Duolingo English Test practice questions in the real exam format and timing.

Questions

Question 130s to prepare · 180s to speak

Describe a decision you made recently that you are happy with. Explain what the options were and why you chose the one you did.

Question 230s to prepare · 180s to speak

Talk about a skill you would like to learn in the next year. Explain why it matters to you and how you plan to start.

Question 330s to prepare · 180s to speak

Describe a place where you feel most productive. Explain what makes it work for you.

Question 430s to prepare · 180s to speak

Talk about a time you changed your mind about something important. What made you change it?

Model answer

Written by 8020 teachers. Do not memorise it — take the structure and the way ideas are developed, then speak about your own life.

BAI MAU — DET Speaking Sample (Chu de ca nhan, 90 giay) FORMAT: 30 giay chuan bi + 90 giay noi. Khong co gach dau dong nhu IELTS. BAI MAU (de: "Describe a decision you made recently that you are happy with"): I'd like to talk about a decision I made about eight months ago to start waking up at six-thirty instead of eight o'clock on weekday mornings. It sounds minor, but the background is that I'd been feeling like I never had enough time for the things I actually wanted to do — exercise, reading, just thinking without an agenda. Everything was getting squeezed into evenings, when I was already tired and less focused. The decision was to shift my schedule rather than try to find extra time within it. I moved my alarm back by ninety minutes and committed to keeping that schedule for one month before evaluating. What I'm happy about isn't really the waking up early itself — that part still requires effort — but what it gave me. I now have two hours in the morning that are genuinely mine, before the day starts making demands. My thinking feels clearer and I'm considerably less rushed than I used to be. Looking back, I think the reason the decision worked was that I framed it as an experiment rather than a permanent commitment. That made it easier to start, and by the time the month was up, I didn't want to go back. BAI MAU 2 (de: "Talk about a skill you would like to learn in the next year"): The skill I'd most like to develop in the next year is data visualisation — the ability to communicate numbers through charts and graphics in ways that people can understand quickly. My reason is practical: I work in analysis, and I've noticed that the quality of a finding matters much less than how it's presented. I can produce a technically correct analysis and have it ignored, or present something simpler in a clear visual and have it immediately acted on. That gap between quality and persuasion bothers me. What I plan to do is work through a specific course on Tableau or similar tools over the next six months, then apply what I've learned on real projects at work. I find learning is much more effective when there's a real application waiting — it creates a reason to actually understand rather than just complete the exercises. I'm not sure I'll master it fully in a year. But I think I can reach a point where I'm producing things I'm actually satisfied with, which is a reasonable goal.

Vocabulary you can use today

without an agenda
khong co lich trinh, muc tieu — thoi gian tu do that su
shift my schedule rather than find time within it
dich lich trach thay vi tim thoi gian ben trong — giai phap goc re
before evaluating
truoc khi danh gia — framing thi nghiem
frame it as an experiment
coi no la thi nghiem — giam ap luc cam ket vinh vien
the quality of a finding matters much less than how it's presented
chat luong it quan trong hon cach trinh bay — insight thuc te
a reason to actually understand
ly do de hieu that su, khong chi hoan thanh bai

Common traps for Vietnamese speakers

DET Speaking Sample (90 giay) tuong tu IELTS Part 2 nhung KHONG CO gach dau dong. Ban tu quyet dinh cau truc. Khung hieu qua: thuc te → boi canh / van de → quyet dinh / ke hoach → ket qua / hoc duoc. Khung nay tu nhien va de follow du khong co gach dau dong. Band 8-9 DET: da dang thi (I'd been feeling, I've noticed, I'm not sure), tu nang cao (visualisation, persuasion, evaluate), signpost ro rang (What I'm happy about, Looking back, My reason is).

/ɪ/ trong 'specifically', 'significantly', 'typically'am cuoi /d/ trong 'committed', 'produced', 'noticed'/θ/ trong 'thought', 'throughout', 'three'trong am 'visuaLIzation', 'persuASion', 'conSIDerably'

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