Well, it is a bit embarrassing to tell you the truth that also I have learned English for half my life. Until now, I still don’t have many chances to talk to native speakers. The first time I attempted to talk to foreigners was about two years ago. When I was a freshman, her English level was so low. At that time, I had just finished my final test at university. I had lots of time on my hands, so I decided to unwind a bit by going to the movies and catching up on the latest movie. Everything was okay until I got inside the theater and realized that somebody has taken my reserves. They were a young American couple because it was too dark inside. So I guess they just mistook mine for theirs. So of course I needed to talk with them about that. Well, I couldn’t have been a big problem if my speaking skill was a bit better. Honestly, at that time I nearly froze and couldn’t get any words out of my mouth. Of course, my English was not that bad. I think I can exchange a few words, but I didn’t know why I still struggled to start speaking. Perhaps I had overestimated my ability or just my confidence. The film almost started and I was forced to say or I would not have my seat. I showed my ticket to them and recalled all of my limited vocabulary range just to convey the meaning that they were taking my seat. I even used my body language since through their facial expression. I thought I didn’t actually catch it. Fortunately, the Americans were so patient to try to hear what I was saying. At last, I did manage to get myself understood. They instantly stood up and kept saying sorry to me. Of course, I didn’t get angry, but the thing that really bothered me at that time was the idea that I had to shine up for an English course immediately. Well, I still enjoyed the film. After that, I made a couple get outside the theater. They gave me a bottle of soft drink as their apology and told me something I guess was about the film. One more embarrassing moment. I wish I could understand it.
Band 7+: Describe the time when you first talked in a foreign language
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Polished transcript:
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Female
Well, it is a bit embarrassing to tell you the truth that I have learned English for half my life. Until now, I still don't have many chances to talk to native speakers. The first time I attempted to talk to foreigners was about two years ago. When I was a freshman, my English level was so low. At that time, I had just finished my final test at university. I had lots of time on my hands, so I decided to unwind a bit by going to the movies and catching up on the latest film. Everything was okay until I got inside the theater and realized that somebody had taken my reserved seat. They were a young American couple, and because it was too dark inside, I guess they just mistook mine for theirs. So, of course, I needed to talk with them about that. Well, it wouldn't have been a big problem if my speaking skills had been a bit better. Honestly, at that time, I nearly froze and couldn't get any words out of my mouth. Of course, my English was not that bad. I think I could exchange a few words, but I didn't know why I still struggled to start speaking. Perhaps I had overestimated my ability or just my confidence. The film was about to start, and I was forced to say something or I would lose my seat. I showed my ticket to them and recalled all of my limited vocabulary just to convey the message that they were in my seat. I even used my body language since I thought I didn't actually catch their facial expressions. Fortunately, the Americans were so patient and tried to understand what I was saying. At last, I did manage to get myself understood. They instantly stood up and kept saying sorry to me. Of course, I didn't get angry, but the thing that really bothered me at that time was the idea that I had to sign up for an English course immediately. Well, I still enjoyed the film. After that, I met the couple outside the theater. They gave me a bottle of soft drink as their apology and told me something I guess was about the film. One more embarrassing moment. I wish I could have understood it.
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Speaking Time: 154 seconds