Part 2 — Long turnQ3/2026Difficulty 3/5

Describe an app you use frequently

IELTS Speaking questions reported by recent test-takers, compiled each quarter. Cambridge does not publish the active list, so this is a compilation of reports, not official material.

Questions

Question 160s to prepare · 120s to speak

Describe an app you use frequently. You should say: • what it is • when you started using it • what you use it for • and explain why you keep using 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.

The app I use most, apart from messaging, is a spaced-repetition flashcard app called Anki. I started using it about two years ago when I was preparing for an exam, and unlike most apps I've downloaded, I actually kept using it after the exam finished. I open it every day, usually on the bus in the morning — maybe fifteen minutes, sometimes less. What I use it for is vocabulary, but not in the way most people do. I don't put single words in it. I put whole sentences I've heard, with the word missing, because a word on its own tells you nothing about how it's actually used. If I only learn that "strike" means to hit, I'll never produce "strike a balance". Why do I find it so useful? Because it's honest with me, in a way. It shows me the cards I keep getting wrong, and it shows them more often. There's no option to skip the uncomfortable ones. Most study methods let you spend your time on what you already know, which feels productive and isn't. The other thing is it takes almost no willpower now. It's attached to the bus ride, so I don't decide to study — I just get on the bus. Honestly, that habit connection has done more for my English than any course I've paid for.

Vocabulary you can use today

spaced repetition
phương pháp lặp lại giãn cách
unlike most apps I've downloaded
khác với phần lớn app tôi từng tải
a word on its own
một từ đứng riêng lẻ
it's honest with me
nó thật thà với tôi — cách nhân hoá tự nhiên, ghi điểm
feels productive and isn't
cảm giác như đang hiệu quả mà thật ra không
it takes almost no willpower
gần như không cần ý chí

Common traps for Vietnamese speakers

Với đề về app hay website, cái phân biệt band 6 và band 7 là ý thứ tư: vì sao HỮU ÍCH. Band 6 nói "it's convenient and saves time". Band 7 nói được một cơ chế cụ thể — như trong bài: nó không cho bạn bỏ qua thẻ khó. Nêu một chi tiết về CÁCH bạn dùng khác người khác (đặt cả câu thay vì từ đơn). Chi tiết đó không ai đoán được nên nghe là thật ngay. Gắn app với một thời điểm cố định trong ngày (trên xe buýt, trước khi ngủ). Nó cho bạn thêm bối cảnh để nói mà không cần từ vựng khó.

âm cuối /d/ trong downloaded, finished→/t/, attached→/t//ð/ trong the, that, otherâm cuối /s/ và /z/ trong words, cards, sentencestrọng âm VOcabulary — 4 âm tiết khi nói nhanh

Try this topic and see your band

Record 90 seconds. You get four criteria, the exact words that slipped, and your own sentence rewritten two levels up.

Related topics