Cambridge IELTS 13 Test 1 Writing Task 2: Foreign Language
Cambridge IELTS 13 · Test 1 · Academic Writing Task 2Opinion (agree or disagree)Society
The statement claims that living in a country where you have to speak a foreign language can cause serious social problems as well as practical ones. Candidates must say to what extent they agree or disagree and support their view with reasons and examples.
The question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Living in a country where you have to speak a foreign language can cause serious social problems, as well as practical problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? Write at least 250 words.
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How to read the question
- This is an opinion essay: To what extent do you agree or disagree requires a clear position stated early and kept consistent to the conclusion.
- The statement has two parts, social problems and practical problems, so a strong answer deals with both, for example loneliness and exclusion on one side and paperwork, healthcare and work on the other.
- Notice the word can: the statement says these problems are possible, not that they always happen, which makes a largely agree position easy to defend while still noting exceptions.
- The word serious matters: you can argue that problems are serious at first but often become manageable as people learn the language or find support.
- The topic is people living in another country, such as migrants, international students or expatriate workers, not tourists on a short holiday.
- Avoid drifting into a general essay on the benefits of learning languages or on immigration policy.
Suggested position
I largely agree that having to live in a foreign language can create serious difficulties, both social and practical, although I believe these problems are often temporary and can be greatly reduced with determination and support.
Paragraph plan
- 1
Introduction
Paraphrase the statement about the social and practical difficulties of living where a different language is spoken, then state your position: largely agree, while noting that the problems are often temporary.
- 2
Body paragraph 1: social problems
Explain how a language barrier causes isolation: difficulty making friends, missing humour and social cues, and retreating into communities of people from the same country. Mention the effect on older migrants and on children who become their parents' interpreters.
- 3
Body paragraph 2: practical problems
Describe everyday tasks that become difficult: renting a flat, opening a bank account, understanding a doctor or legal documents, and finding work at the right level. Give an example such as a qualified engineer forced into low-skilled work.
- 4
Body paragraph 3 and conclusion: why the problems can be overcome
Concede that many people adapt through language classes, translation apps and community groups, and that the challenge can even speed up learning. Conclude that the problems are real and serious, especially at first, but not permanent.
Ideas and arguments
- Social isolation: newcomers struggle to form friendships because they cannot follow fast conversation, jokes or cultural references.
- Self-segregation: migrants may stay within communities from their home country, which limits integration and can cause tension with locals.
- Family strain: children usually learn the new language faster and may have to interpret for their parents, which reverses family roles.
- Healthcare risks: misunderstanding a doctor's instructions or symptoms can have serious consequences.
- Employment: qualified professionals often cannot work in their field until their language skills are good enough, leading to underemployment.
- Bureaucracy: tenancy agreements, tax forms and visa paperwork are difficult to understand even for native speakers.
- Counter-argument: translation apps, language classes and multilingual public services reduce many practical problems.
- Counter-argument: total immersion often speeds up language learning, so the difficulties tend to shrink over time.
Band 8+ model answer
290 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.
More people than ever now live in countries where their first language is not spoken. I largely agree that having to communicate in a foreign language can create serious social and practical difficulties, although I believe these problems are often temporary and can be overcome.
The social consequences of a language barrier are perhaps the most painful. Newcomers who cannot follow fast conversation, jokes or cultural references find it hard to form friendships, and many feel marginalised as a result. To escape this loneliness, some migrants mix only with people from their own country, which slows their integration and can create distance between them and local residents. Families may also be affected, since children usually learn the new language faster than their parents and are sometimes forced to act as interpreters, reversing normal family roles.
The practical problems are equally serious. Everyday tasks such as renting a flat, opening a bank account or completing tax forms become stressful when the paperwork is in an unfamiliar language. Misunderstanding a doctor can even lead to a dangerous mistake in treatment. Furthermore, qualified professionals are often unable to work in their field until their language is good enough, so a trained engineer may end up in a low-paid job for years.
That said, these difficulties are rarely permanent. Language classes, translation apps and community organisations now provide considerable support, and living surrounded by a language is one of the fastest ways to learn it. Many people who struggle in their first year are confidently managing their affairs within a few years.
In conclusion, I agree that living in a foreign language can cause serious social and practical problems, especially at first, but with effort and the right support, most people gradually overcome them.
Why this answer scores highly
- Task Response
- The answer gives a clear largely agree position, develops both social and practical problems with specific examples, and qualifies the view with a reasoned concession that is reflected in the conclusion.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- Each paragraph has one central idea, social, practical, then the counter-argument, and the ideas are linked with devices such as equally serious, that said and as a result.
- Lexical Resource
- Topic-specific vocabulary such as language barrier, marginalised, underemployment and total immersion is used precisely, and the key words of the question are paraphrased.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- The essay mixes relative clauses, modal verbs such as can and may, passive forms and concessive structures such as although and while, with accurate control throughout.
Useful vocabulary
- language barrier
- a difficulty in communicating because people do not share a language
- social isolation
- having little contact with other people
- integrate into
- become an accepted part of a society or group
- cultural references
- mentions of things such as TV shows or history that local people understand
- newcomers
- people who have recently arrived in a place
- expatriates
- people who live outside their own country, often for work
- underemployment
- working in a job below your level of skill or training
- bureaucracy
- complicated official rules and paperwork
- misdiagnosis
- a wrong identification of an illness by a doctor
- total immersion
- living completely surrounded by a language, which helps you learn it
- feel marginalised
- feel pushed to the edge of society and ignored
- everyday tasks
- ordinary activities such as shopping, banking or seeing a doctor
- a temporary obstacle
- a difficulty that lasts only for a limited time
- overcome
- succeed in dealing with a problem
Common mistakes
- Writing only about practical problems, or only about social ones, when the statement clearly mentions both.
- Turning the essay into a discussion of why learning foreign languages is useful, which does not answer the question.
- Writing about tourists on holiday rather than people who live in another country.
- Failing to state how far you agree, or giving a different position in the conclusion from the one in the introduction.
- Listing many problems in one sentence without explaining or illustrating any of them.
- Repeating the phrase foreign language many times instead of paraphrasing with language barrier, the local language or a second language.
Frequently asked questions
- Which Cambridge book is this question from?
- This question about the social and practical problems of living in a country where you must speak a foreign language is Writing Task 2 of Test 1 in Cambridge IELTS 13 Academic, published in 2018.
- Do I need to write about both social and practical problems?
- Yes. The statement names both, so a complete answer should discuss at least one example of each, even if you focus more on one type.
- Can I disagree with the statement?
- Yes, as long as you explain why, for example by arguing that technology and support services make the problems minor. Most candidates find a largely agree position easier to support with examples.
- How many words should I write for this Task 2?
- Write at least 250 words; about 270-310 words is usually enough to develop your ideas fully in 40 minutes.
Free and timed, with a live word count, just like the computer-delivered test. Then get an instant AI band score.
The exam simulator runs on a computer. Open this page on a laptop or desktop to practise.