Describe a piece of technology you found hard to get used to.
A card about a device or system that frustrated you at first: a new phone, a self-service checkout, an e-reader, a booking system at work. The struggle is your material, so do not skip past it.
The task card
Describe a piece of technology you found hard to get used to.
You should say:
- what the technology was
- when you started using it
- what you found difficult about it
and explain how you feel about it now.
Now say it yourself
Record your own two minutes on this card and have it transcribed and marked against the Speaking criteria. Practising is free; the band estimate is part of Pro.
Record my answerHow long you have
- 1 minute
Preparation
The examiner hands you the card, paper and a pencil. Make notes — a few words per cue point, never sentences.
- 1–2 minutes
Your long turn
Speak until the examiner stops you at two minutes. Finishing early is the most common self-inflicted problem in Part 2.
- 1–2 questions
Rounding off
The examiner may ask one or two short follow-up questions, then moves straight into the Part 3 discussion on the same theme.
Part 2 takes three to four minutes in total. The whole Speaking test runs 11 to 14 minutes across three parts, and Part 3 that follows lasts four to five minutes.
How to approach this card
Name the technology and the situation that brought it into your life — a new job, a broken old device, a gift from a relative. Technology you chose freely is fine, but a reluctant start gives the story more tension.
Spend the most time on 'what you found difficult', and make it concrete: buttons in unexpected places, an old habit you kept repeating, one embarrassing moment in front of other people. A specific failure is far more convincing than 'it was confusing'.
For the final bullet, describe the change honestly. Perhaps you now prefer it, perhaps you have accepted it, perhaps you still miss the old way. A balanced verdict — 'it's better, but something was lost' — sounds more thoughtful than complete conversion.
Keep the technical explanation short. The examiner is assessing your English, not your knowledge of the device, so one clear sentence about how it works is enough.
Model answer
Speak your own answer first. Examiners are trained to spot memorised speeches and mark them down — use this to study structure, pacing and naturalness, never to recite.
Show the model answer
The technology I want to talk about is a handheld ordering device — basically a small tablet — that the restaurant I worked at during university introduced about four years ago, to replace the paper notepads we'd always used. On paper, so to speak, it was a great idea. You tap in the order at the table, it goes straight to a screen in the kitchen, and nobody has to read anyone's handwriting. But for the first month or so I found it genuinely difficult, and I wasn't the only one. The main problem was that the menu was organised in a way that made sense to the software company, not to a waiter. Something simple like 'burger, no onions, sauce on the side' meant opening three separate sub-menus, and while you're doing that the customer's still talking, so you're nodding with your eyes glued to a screen. With a notepad I could write without even looking down. And there was one evening I'll never forget: I pressed the quantity button instead of the table number and sent twelve tomato soups to the kitchen for a table of two. The chef came out holding the ticket like it was evidence in a trial. How do I feel about it now? Mixed, honestly. After about six weeks it became second nature — I could use it almost without looking, and it was undeniably faster; orders reached the kitchen before I'd left the table, and handwriting mistakes basically disappeared. But I do think something was lost. With a notepad you look at people while they're ordering, and that small bit of eye contact is part of good service. So I'd say it won me over on efficiency, but never quite on hospitality.
Why this works: The difficulty is shown through one design problem and one memorable mistake — the twelve soups — rather than described as 'confusing', which is precisely what the strategy recommends. The final bullet gives a balanced verdict built on a clear contrast between efficiency and human contact, and the closing sentence restates that contrast in a fresh form. Copy the method — one flaw, one mistake, one balanced verdict — not the script.
Useful vocabulary for this topic
- user-friendly
Easy to use; often more natural in the negative — 'not exactly user-friendly'.
- it became second nature
Something you now do automatically after practice.
- force of habit
Doing something automatically because you always have.
- to be set in my ways
Unwilling to change habits; a useful, honest self-description.
- counter-intuitive
Working the opposite way from what you would expect.
- teething problems
Small problems at the start of using something new.
- to win someone over
To gradually persuade someone to like something.
Part 3 discussion
After your long turn the examiner moves into a four to five minute discussion on the same theme, working from two related discussion topics with about three questions each. The first stays close to your own experience; the second widens out. Answer with reasons and examples, not one-line replies.
- 1Why do some older people find new technology harder to adopt?
- 2Should companies keep older versions of their services for people who prefer them?
- 3Who should teach people to use new technology — families, employers or governments?
- 4Is technology changing too quickly for most people to keep up?
- 5Are there any technologies that society would be better off without?
- 6How might people's relationship with technology change in the next twenty years?
More on how this family of cards is discussed: Media, technology and culture. Model answers for Part 3: Part 3 questions and answers.