Part 2 cue cardMedia and news

Describe a TV programme you like

Three of the four bullets can be answered in a sentence each, so the time has to go on why you like it. "It's interesting" is not a reason: name one episode and what it showed you or changed.

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

Describe a TV programme you like.

You should say:

what it is about
how often you watch it
who you watch it with
and explain why you like it

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 it is aboutJalan Desa: presenter, scooter, village families
how often you watch itSundays at seven; online if I miss it
who you watch it withGrandpa, running commentary on the sofa
and explain why you like itmy own country; the buffalo episode

Sample answers

227 words · about 1:58 spoken at a Band 6 pace

OK, the TV programme I like is a travel show and the name is Jalan Desa. In this programme there is a woman who travel around Indonesia by a scooter, and in every episode she stays with one family in a village. She helps them for their work, for example fishing or making pots, and she eats the food they cook for her.

The programme is on every Sunday at seven o'clock in the evening. I watch it almost every week, and if I miss it I can watch it on the internet.

I usually watch it with my grandfather. He is living with us since three years, after my grandmother died. Normally he doesn't like TV very much, but he really enjoys this one, and he always talks about the cooking during the programme.

And why I like it... well, first, I am from Jakarta and I didn't visit many other places in Indonesia, so I can get many knowledge about my country. Also it is very relaxing, not like other shows with a lot of shouting. One time there was an episode about farmers who use buffalo for their rice fields, and my grandfather said me he did this job when he was young. I was very surprise because I never knew that. So now this programme is a special time for me and him.

The mistakes that keep it at Band 6

a woman who travel around should be a woman who travels around
by a scooter should be on a scooter
helps them for their work should be helps them with their work
He is living with us since three years should be He's lived with us for three years
I didn't visit many other places should be I haven't visited many other places
get many knowledge about my country should be learn a lot about my country
said me he did this job should be told me he'd done this job
very surprise should be very surprised

Why this is Band 6, not Band 7

Fluency and coherence: Willing to keep going and answers every bullet in order, with simple links ("first", "Also", "So now"). Not Band 7 because the ideas arrive as separate facts joined by "and", and the best moment, the grandfather's story, is told in one rushed sentence instead of being developed.
Vocabulary: Enough topic words to make the meaning clear ("episode", "relaxing", "rice fields"), but word choice and collocation let it down: "get many knowledge" treats knowledge as countable and uses the wrong verb, and "helps them for their work" has the wrong preposition. Band 7 needs some less common words used precisely.
Grammar: Some complex sentences (a relative clause, "if I miss it"), but the errors are in exactly those harder spots: "He is living with us since three years" needs the present perfect with for, and "said me" is the wrong verb pattern. About three errors every eighty words is Band 6.

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

250 words · about 1:55 spoken at a Band 7 pace

I'm going to talk about a travel programme called Jalan Desa, which I've been watching for about three years now. Basically, a presenter travels around Indonesia on an old scooter, and in every episode she stays with a local family, helps them with their work, whether it's fishing or making pottery, and eats whatever they cook for her.

It's broadcast every Sunday evening at seven, and I try not to miss it. If I'm busy, I watch it online later in the week, but it's not quite the same.

I usually watch it with my grandfather, who's lived with us since my grandmother passed away. He's not really interested in most things in TV, to be honest, but this programme is an exception. He sits right next to the screen and comments on everything, especially the cooking.

There are a couple of reasons why I like it so much. First of all, even though I've spent my whole life in Jakarta, I've seen surprisingly little of my own country, so it's a bit of an eye-opener for me. It's also refreshingly calm compared with the talent shows that are everywhere at the moment. But what really made it special was one episode about farmers in Central Java who still use buffalo to plough their fields. My grandfather suddenly told me he'd done the same thing when he was a boy, which I'd never known. Since then, it's become our programme, and it gives us something to talk about every week.

The slips

most things in TV should be most things on TV

Why this is Band 7, not Band 8

Fluency and coherence: Speaks at length with no sign of effort and signposts each bullet ("First of all", "But what really made it special", "Since then"). Not Band 8 because the reasons are still delivered as a list before the story arrives, so the answer is clear rather than shaped.
Vocabulary: Some less common, natural choices ("a bit of an eye-opener", "refreshingly calm", "broadcast") with good collocation. Band 8 would keep that precision in the ordinary sentences too, rather than falling back on phrases like "comments on everything".
Grammar: A range of complex structures handled accurately: present perfect continuous ("I've been watching"), a past perfect in reported speech ("he'd done the same thing"), a concession with "even though". One slip, "most things in TV", where English says on TV.

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

285 words · about 1:58 spoken at a Band 8 pace

One programme I make a point of never missing is a travel series called Jalan Desa, which roughly means Village Road. The format's very simple: a presenter in her thirties rides a battered old scooter from one corner of Indonesia to another, and in each episode she spends a night with an ordinary family, whether that's seaweed farmers in Sulawesi or a family of potters in Lombok, and joins in with whatever they do for a living.

It's on the national channel every Sunday at seven, and it's become something of a ritual in our house. If I'm out, I'll catch up online, but I'd much rather see it live.

That's mainly because of who I watch it with, which is my grandfather. He moved in with us a few years ago, and Sunday evening is the one time he's guaranteed to stay awake past eight. He sits in his usual spot on the sofa and keeps up a running commentary, usually about how the presenter is holding the knife wrong.

As for why I like it, part of it is simply that it shows me my own country. I've lived in Jakarta my whole life, and I'd never really appreciated how much variety there is a couple of hours' flight away. But the real reason is an episode from last year about rice farmers in Central Java who still plough with buffalo. Halfway through, my grandfather went quiet, and then he told me he'd done exactly that as a boy, before he ever saw a city. I'd had no idea. So for me it isn't just a travel show; it's the thing that gets him talking about a life I'd otherwise never hear about.

Why this is Band 8, not Band 9

Fluency and coherence: Fluent and fully coherent: each bullet leads into the next ("That's mainly because of who I watch it with"), and the answer builds to the episode that explains everything. Short of Band 9 only because one or two links ("As for why I like it") are familiar rather than varied.
Vocabulary: Precise and idiomatic throughout: "make a point of never missing", "something of a ritual", "a running commentary", "a battered old scooter". Band 9 would sustain this flexibility without the safer stretches, such as "it shows me my own country".
Grammar: A wide range used accurately: a present perfect for a habit that has formed ("it's become"), a past perfect for something unknown until then ("I'd had no idea"), a preference ("I'd much rather see it live"). No errors; the gap to Band 9 is the occasional safe sentence.

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

Rounding-off questions

How have people's viewing habits changed?: Enormously. Most people my age watch on their phones, whenever it suits them, and often while doing something else. A family sitting down together at a fixed time, the way my grandfather and I do, is becoming quite rare.
Is television still important today?: Less than it was, but it still matters for older people and for live events. When there's a big football match or an election, the whole country still ends up watching the same channel at the same time.