In the “Take an Interview” task the interviewer will ask you four questions about the same topic. You’ll have 45 seconds to answer each one. You must answer as soon as the question is finished. You won’t be given any time to prepare your answers. Note that on the real test you won’t be able to read the questions. You will only hear them.
Introduction:
You have agreed to take part in a research study about your social media usage. You will have a short online interview with a researcher. The researcher will ask you some questions.
Question One:
First up, I’d like your opinion. Some people think social media helps us stay informed and connected, while others believe it creates stress and distraction. Overall, what is your view of social media use? Do you think it has a mostly positive or mostly negative effect on people’s lives? Why?
Sample Answer, Question One:
Personally I think social media has a mostly negative impact on our lives. While I agree that it can sometimes help us stay in touch with our friends and family, there’s other ways to do that. We can simply call them on the phone when we want to get to know what they’re up to, or we can just visit them in person, so we don’t need social media to stay in touch with people. Meanwhile, some of the negative effects of social media are that it facilitates cyberbullying among young people and among older people it causes us to feel self-conscious because we compare ourselves to other strangers on the internet and we end up feeling somewhat inadequate. That can really impact our mental health.
Question Two:
Next, please think about a specific time in your life. Can you describe a recent occasion when something you saw or shared on social media had a strong effect on you? What happened, and why did it stand out to you?
Sample Answer, Question Two:
A few weeks ago I saw some pictures that my best friend posted from a trip that he took to Egypt with his wife. He showed pictures of the pyramids and then some pictures of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and I was just awe-struck by what I saw. The views were amazing and they were unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my life, so it really impacted me. In fact, it inspired me to take my own trip to the Middle East next year, and I’ve already started planning for it. I wouldn’t have made that decision to go on such an exotic vacation if it wasn’t for the pictures he shared on social media. So, really, it had a major impact on me.
Question Three:
Now, I’d like to ask about your daily life. How does social media fit into your usual routine? For example, when do you tend to use it, and what do you mainly use it for?
Sample Answer, Question Three:
I mostly use social media first thing in the morning. Basically, I like to get online as soon as I start my working day, like right after breakfast, and I’ll immediately check my feeds. Uh… mostly I’m focusing on social media that’s related to my work, so I’m checking websites like LinkedIn and other places where people in my industry gather. That’s about the extent of how I use social media in my daily life. Now and then I use it to check up with old friends that I haven’t talked to in person in a long time, but that only makes up a small percentage of the overall time I spend each day on social media. So as I said, I mostly use it for work stuff.
Question Four:
I have one last question. A lot of people think that children should be banned from using social media. Actually, this has already happened in some countries. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
Sample Answer, Question Four:
No, I don’t support a formal ban on social media use by young children. Ultimately, it’s up to parents to decide what’s best for their kids and what they want them to do or don’t want them to do in their daily lives. So if parents decide that social media is an unhealthy influence on their kids they can make the decision to prevent them from using it all by themselves, without the government getting involved. Moreover, I think that actually implementing such a band would be logistically nearly impossible. It would take an enormous amount of time and effort and it might not actually work. And the money that is spent on this kind of ban could probably be used to protect kids in more efficient ways.