Sample Kindness topic - IELTS Speaking parts 1, 2, 3

1. IELTS Speaking part 1: Kindness Topic

1.1. Do you consider yourself kind to others?

Hmm…This is not easy to say, to be honest. I mean, it would be a bit odd for me to self-proclaim as a kind person as this should come from a more objective stance. Well, but if you’re referring to ‘kindness’ as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate, I guess I am fully-qualified. My mom has always taught me to treat people the way I want to be treated, and not to expect anything in return when I lend them a helping hand.

• Odd (adj): kì cục 
• Self-proclaim (v): tự công nhận 
• Objective stance (n): cái nhìn khách quan 
• Lend s.o a helping hand: giúp đỡ ai đó 

1.2. How do you feel when you perform acts of kindness towards others? 

I would be wreathed in smiles, for sure. I believe seeing someone else show an emotion will activate the same areas of the brain as if we experienced that emotion for ourselves. So after helping an old lady to pass the street, or giving a beggar some money, I often feel connected to their joy and happiness. Besides, doing something good also gives me the sense of achievement, as it’s sending positive social signals that I am capable of performing such acts.

• Be wreathed in smiles: vô cùng vui sướng
• Sense of achievement: cảm giác làm được một điều gì đó 

1.3. What actions do you perceive as kind?

For me, being kind doesn’t necessarily require participating in charity programs to aid the less fortunate globally or donating substantial sums to those in need.

Being kind can start with the littlest things that you can ever think of, like showing respect to your parents, sending a kind note to someone telling them they did a great job, or simply letting a stranger go in front of you in line because you know he or she is running late for an appointment. I strongly believe what comes from the heart will go straight to the heart. As long as you put your heart into the thing that you do, people will receive it with a happy disposition.

• Run late: trễ giờ
• Happy disposition (n): thái độ vui tươi

2. IELTS Speaking part 2: Narrate an occasion when you assisted someone 

You should discuss:

• Who you helped and why; 
• How you helped this person; 
• What the result was; 

and describe your emotions regarding assisting this individual.

Example

I would love to talk about the time when I helped my best friend out when he was struggling with giving a public speech for a job interview.

My best friend, Andy, was not a born presenter as he often has butterflies in his stomach when speaking in front of people. Though I’m not a professional, I still stand head and shoulders above him when it comes to giving speeches. Andy turned to me for help because he really wanted to nail that interview presentation in English.

The biggest obstacle Andy had to face was confidence. He was painfully shy and his English was halting. As he did not have the foggiest ideas about expressing verbal and non-verbal language on stage, I had to stand by his side to give him detailed instructions. The first thing I told him to do was to avoid covering too much ground, as it can even be damaging to over-explain or painstakingly draw out the implications of a talk, particularly to one who feels deeply uncomfortable giving presentations. Instead, I advised him to limit the scope of his talk and cover specific examples to flesh out his ideas, so that he would feel much at ease.

I also helped him to make good use of body language and pick up the best outfit to deeply impress the recruiters. After a week of relentless practice, he was able to conquer the challenge and I could remember how ecstatic he was to get in. He kept expressing his gratitude because I lended him a helping hand that time, and I felt happy simply because I could help my bestie to overcome his obstacles.

• Struggling with: cố gắng
• Have butterflies in one’s stomach: lo lắng, bồn chồn 
• Stand head and shoulders above s.o: giỏi vượt trội hơn so với ai đó
• Turn to s.o for help: nhờ ai đó giúp đỡ
• Halt (v): ngưng lại 
• Stand by one’s side: ở bên cạnh ai đó 
• Painstakingly (adv): một cách miệt mài
• Flesh out: cung cấp thông tin 
• Feel at ease: cảm thấy thoải mái
• Relentless (adj): không ngừng nghỉ 
• Conquer (v): chinh phục
• Ecstatic (adj): vui sướng
• Lend s.o a helping hand: giúp đỡ ai đó 
• Obstacle (n): chướng ngại vật, khó khăn

3. IELTS Speaking part 3 on the topic of Kindness

3.1. How can parents educate their children to be kind?

Well, I haven’t got married or had kids so I’m not an expert in parenting at all. But from my observation, most children look up to their parents throughout their lives. Parents are always a point of reference for their baby boys and girls, and they unconsciously imitate their parents’ behaviour and actions.

Therefore, there’s no better way to educate children than to set a good example for them. Parents and children can start simply by donating old clothes to a local charity or helping in local clean-up days. In this sense, parents can explain to children how important it is to care about others and how wonderful they would feel when performing such acts.

• Look up to s.o: ngưỡng mộ, tôn trọng
• Reference (n): sự tham khảo
• Unconsciously (adv): một cách vô thức
• Imitate (v): bắt chước

3.2. Do you perceive people are showing less kindness in today’s society?

Indeed, I believe that with age, people tend to become more distant from others. Over time, the boundaries and barriers that one may have unintentionally created in their youth become more pronounced. After enduring toxic relationships for many years, individuals may experience feelings of diminished self-worth, helplessness, fear, anxiety, or even depression.

So keeping his/her guard up is an understandable natural reaction towards negativity. However, this, in a longer run may result in them having poor social connections at best and ending up being indifferent at worst.

• Keep one’s guard up: phòng thủ, đề phòng
• Indifferent (adj): vô cảm 

3.3. What are the reasons behind people becoming less friendly and kind as they age?

Wow, I have to say that I haven’t thought about this that much. But I suppose people are being increasingly aloof for a number of reasons, one of which is the bystander effect. When someone sees others being indifferent and apathetic, he or she is likely to go along because they wouldn’t want to stand out in the crowd.

One example is when spotting a man with a broken car, one tends to think “somebody else will stop and help” or “I’m not going to stop because nobody else is stopping.” Movies and TV shows are also to blame, as people keep doing terrible things to each other on the silver screen, causing viewers to shut down emotionally and mentally as a coping mechanism.

• ​​Aloof/ Apathetic (adj): lãnh cảm, thờ ơ
• Bystander effect (n): hiệu ứng người ngoài cuộc
• Stand out in the crowd: nổi bật giữa đám đông 
• Coping mechanism (n): cơ chế đối phó