Part 2 cue cardCulture and tradition

Describe a tradition in your country

This card is about a custom, not a one-off event, so the second bullet can have several answers: daily, for guests, at key moments of life. The last bullet asks why it matters to people in general, so widen out from your family to the community.

1 minute to prepare
Up to 2 minutes
Samples at Band 6, 7 and 8
Updated 20 October 2026

Describe a tradition in your country.

You should say:

what the tradition is
when it happens
who takes part
and explain why it is important to people

Rehearse the long turn

1 minute to prepare · 2 minutes to speak

Sit this card with the AI examinerThen the Part 3 discussion, and a full report

A 60-second plan

what the tradition iscoffee ceremony, buna: roast, grind, brew
when it happensevery afternoon; guests, holidays, mourning
who takes partmother hosts; neighbours; elders first
and explain why it is important to peoplehospitality, news, settling quarrels

Sample answers

230 words · about 2:00 spoken at a Band 6 pace

I want to talk about the coffee ceremony in Ethiopia, we call it buna. It is an old tradition and almost every family is doing it, and my family in Bahir Dar does too.

In the ceremony you make everything in front of the guests. First you wash the green beans and you roast them on the fire, and the smell is going everywhere in the house. After that, you crush the beans and you boil them in a special clay pot, the name is jebena. Then you serve it in small cups with popcorn. There is three rounds and the last one is called baraka, it means blessing.

Many families do the ceremony every day in the afternoon. Also when guests come to the house, or in holidays, and when someone die, people come and drink coffee with the family.

Usually the women make it. In my house my mother do it, but she also taught me when I was fourteen. The first time I burnt all the beans, it was funny. Everybody in the house joins in, and the young people must give the cup to old people first, this is a respect.

This tradition is important because people can sit together long time and talk about everything. Sometimes they solve their problems during the coffee. So it is a big part of our culture and our hospitality.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

almost every family is doing it should be almost every family does it
the smell is going everywhere should be the smell spreads all through
There is three rounds should be There are three rounds
in holidays should be on holidays
when someone die should be when someone dies
my mother do it should be my mother does it
this is a respect should be it's a sign of respect
sit together long time should be sit together for a long time

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing to describe the whole ceremony and answers each bullet, using sequence words ("First", "After that", "Then"). Not Band 7 because the steps are listed rather than connected, and the final reason is stated in two short sentences without much development.
Vocabulary: Enough to explain a custom clearly ("roast", "clay pot", "hospitality"), but some choices are awkward: "the smell is going everywhere" is not a natural collocation, and "this is a respect" misses the phrase the speaker needs. Band 7 would use less common vocabulary with more precision.
Grammar: Mixes simple and complex sentences, but agreement and tense errors are frequent: "There is three rounds", "when someone die", "my mother do it", and a continuous form for a habit in "every family is doing it". This density of error is Band 6.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

268 words · about 2:04 spoken at a Band 7 pace

The tradition I'm going to describe is the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, which we call buna. It's a very traditional way of preparing and serving coffee, and in my family in Bahir Dar we still do it almost every day.

Basically, the coffee is made from scratch in front of the guests. First the green beans are washed and roasted in a pan over charcoal, and the person making it walks around with the pan so everyone can smell the smoke. Then the beans are crushed by hand and boiled in a clay pot called a jebena. The coffee is served in small cups, often with popcorn, and there are always three rounds, the last of which is called baraka, meaning blessing.

It happens at different times. For many families it's a daily thing in the afternoon, but it also happens whenever someone visits, during holidays, and when people come to comfort a family after somebody has died.

Normally it's the women who prepare it. In our house it's my mother, although she taught me how to do it when I was about fourteen, and I still remember burning the beans at my first try. Everyone who's in the house joins in, including neighbours, and the younger ones serve the older people first as a sign of respect.

I think it's important to people because it brings them together. The whole ceremony can take an hour, so people have time to talk properly, catch up on the news and even sort out arguments. For Ethiopians it's really a symbol of hospitality, and I can't imagine a home without it.

The slips

at my first try should be on my first try

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length easily and covers the bullets in a logical order ("Basically", "It happens at different times", "I think it's important"). Not Band 8 because the description of the ceremony is clear but fairly procedural, step after step.
Vocabulary: Some less common and natural items ("made from scratch", "as a sign of respect", "catch up on the news", "sort out arguments"), with a helpful gloss of baraka. Band 8 would show more idiom and more precise description throughout.
Grammar: A range of complex structures, mostly accurate: a series of passives ("are washed and roasted", "is served"), a relative clause with "the last of which", a cleft ("it's the women who prepare it"). One slip, "at my first try", where English says on my first try.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

282 words · about 1:57 spoken at a Band 8 pace

I'd like to talk about the coffee ceremony, or buna, which is probably the most widespread tradition in Ethiopia, and something that happens in our house in Bahir Dar more or less every day.

On the surface it's just making coffee, but it's done in a very deliberate way. The host washes green coffee beans and roasts them in a flat pan over a little charcoal stove, then carries the smoking pan around so that everyone can enjoy the smell. The beans are ground by hand, brewed in a clay pot called a jebena, and poured from quite a height into tiny cups without handles, while frankincense burns in the corner. You're served three rounds, and the third one is called baraka, which means blessing, so leaving before it is considered slightly rude.

As for when it happens, the honest answer is constantly. In a lot of homes it's an afternoon ritual, but it's also the first thing you do when a guest arrives, and it's central to holidays and to the days after a funeral, when neighbours come to sit with the family.

It's usually the woman of the house who performs it; in our case it's my mother, though I was taught at fourteen and burned my first batch of beans spectacularly. Anyone who's around takes part, and children are expected to hand the cups to the eldest first.

The reason it matters so much is that it forces people to slow down. A ceremony takes the best part of an hour, so it becomes the place where news is passed on, advice is given and, quite often, family disagreements are quietly settled. It's hospitality and community rolled into one.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and coherent, with each bullet answered fully and the answer ending on a crisp summary ("hospitality and community rolled into one"). Short of Band 9 only because the description of the ceremony is long compared with the reasons.
Vocabulary: Wide, precise and idiomatic: "done in a very deliberate way", "poured from quite a height", "burned my first batch of beans spectacularly", "the best part of an hour". Band 9 would sustain that precision in every sentence.
Grammar: A wide range used accurately: passives in sequence ("are ground by hand, brewed"), a cleft ("It's usually the woman of the house who performs it"), passives of process ("news is passed on, advice is given"). No errors; the gap to Band 9 is the occasional safe structure.

Pronunciation is the fourth criterion; it is judged from your voice, so a written sample cannot show it.

Rounding-off questions

Why do some traditions disappear?: Usually because life speeds up. A coffee ceremony takes an hour, and people with long commutes and office jobs simply don't have that hour, so a quick cup from a machine replaces it without anyone deciding to give it up.
Is it important to keep old traditions alive?: The ones that still do something useful, yes. Traditions that bring people together or teach children respect are worth keeping, but we shouldn't hold on to customs that are unfair to some people just because they're old.