Describe something you taught yourself to do.
A card about a skill you picked up without lessons: cutting hair, mending clothes, basic car maintenance, playing an instrument by ear, a language from films. The 'how' is the heart of it, so name your actual method — watching someone, a borrowed book, trial and error.
The task card
Describe something you taught yourself to do.
You should say:
- what you taught yourself
- what made you decide to learn it without lessons
- how you went about it
and explain how useful it has been to you.
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
Pick a skill with practical results you can describe, and explain in a sentence or two why you chose to learn it alone: lessons cost too much, nobody near you taught it, or you were curious after watching someone do it. That choice tells the examiner why you kept going without a teacher pushing you.
For 'how you went about it', describe your method in stages: where you started, what you copied or read, how you practised, and on whom or what. You do not need titles or brand names — 'a library book' or 'watching my neighbour' works perfectly well.
Show how you checked your progress with nobody to mark it: a result you compared with the real thing, honest feedback from the people who used what you made, an error you only noticed later and had to fix yourself.
For the final bullet, give concrete evidence of usefulness: time saved, money saved, a new responsibility, something you do for someone else. 'It has been very useful' without an example is the common weak ending.
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
Something I taught myself, with no lessons at all, is cutting hair — mostly short men's styles. I started about four years ago, in my second year at university. I went it alone for two reasons. The practical one was money: a haircut near campus cost more than my weekly food budget, and I needed one every three weeks. And a proper course was out of the question — the ones I found ran for months and cost more than a year of haircuts. So I bought cheap clippers and decided to work it out myself. My method was mostly copying. For a couple of months, every time I had my own hair cut, I watched the barber in the mirror like a hawk — the order he worked in, how he held the comb, when he changed the clipper guard — and on the bus home I'd write it all down. Then came trial and error on volunteers. My flatmate Joel was the first, and I left a patch at the back so short that he wore a hat for two weeks. With nobody to correct me, I started photographing each cut from behind and comparing it with the barber's work on me, until the difference got smaller. It's been more useful than a lot of what I studied. These days I do my own hair with clippers and a hand mirror, so I haven't paid a barber in nearly four years. By my final year I was cutting half the corridor's hair in exchange for cooked meals or lifts home, and now I cut my dad's hair every month at the kitchen table, which has become our one regular hour of just talking. It's second nature now — though Joel still won't let me near him.
Why this works: The reasons for learning alone are concrete — the cost of haircuts and of courses — which answers the second bullet directly. The method has clear stages and is not video-based: watching the barber, written notes, trial and error on volunteers, and a photo check that replaces the missing teacher. The final bullet proves usefulness with money saved, a trade with other students and a monthly hour with a parent, and Joel's hat gives the story a light, honest thread from start to finish.
Useful vocabulary for this topic
- self-taught
Learned without formal lessons; the key adjective for this card.
- trial and error
Learning by trying things and correcting your mistakes.
- to pick something up
Informal phrase for learning a skill gradually.
- to learn by watching
To copy someone's method by observing them closely; a natural alternative to lessons.
- to get to grips with something
To begin to understand and deal with something difficult.
- at my own pace
As fast or as slowly as suits you; a key advantage of self-study.
- second nature
Something you can do automatically after a lot of practice.
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 people prefer to teach themselves rather than take lessons?
- 2Why do many people give up when they try to learn something alone?
- 3Is learning by copying someone a good method, or does it pass on bad habits?
- 4Should employers value self-taught skills as much as formal qualifications?
- 5Are there skills that families pass on which schools cannot teach?
- 6Does the cost of courses stop people from learning new skills?
More on how this family of cards is discussed: Activities and habits. Model answers for Part 3: Part 3 questions and answers.