Examiner: Good morning/afternoon. Can you tell me your full name, please?
Candidate: Good morning. My name is Wara.
Examiner: Thank you. And where are you from?
Candidate: I’m from Indonesia.
Examiner: Thank you. Now, in this first part, I’d like to ask you some questions about yourself. Let’s talk about sleep. How many hours do you usually sleep at night?
Candidate: I typically sleep around seven hours per night. I usually go to bed at about 11 p.m. and wake up at 6 a.m. for work. It’s a fairly consistent schedule on weekdays, though on weekends I might sleep a bit longer if I don’t have any commitments.
Examiner: Do you sometimes sleep during the day? Why or why not?
Candidate: Yes, I do occasionally take afternoon naps, but only under specific circumstances. If I’m not working and I’ve had a particularly delicious and filling lunch, I tend to feel quite drowsy and end up sleeping for maybe 30 minutes to an hour. There’s something about a satisfying meal that just makes me want to rest. However, on working days, I don’t have that luxury, so daytime sleep is really only something that happens on weekends or holidays.
Examiner: What do you do if you can’t get to sleep at night? And why?
Candidate: When I have trouble falling asleep, I usually play computer games to help release stress. I know this probably goes against conventional sleep advice, but I find that if my mind is racing with work concerns or other worries, engaging in a game helps distract me and allows my brain to switch off from those anxious thoughts. After playing for maybe 30 minutes to an hour, I feel more mentally tired and relaxed, and then I can usually fall asleep more easily. It’s essentially my way of unwinding when my mind won’t settle down naturally.
Examiner: Do you ever remember the dreams you’ve had while you were asleep?
Candidate: Yes, actually, I remember my dreams most of the time. Often when I wake up in the morning, the dreams are quite vivid and clear in my memory, though they do tend to fade as the day goes on. Sometimes they’re quite bizarre or surreal, and occasionally I’ll have recurring themes or locations that appear in different dreams. I find it quite fascinating, really, though I don’t necessarily believe dreams have any deep prophetic meaning or anything like that.
Examiner: Now, I’m going to give you a topic and I’d like you to talk about it for one to two minutes. Before you talk, you’ll have one minute to think about what you’re going to say, and you can make some notes if you wish. Do you understand?
Candidate: Yes, I understand.
Examiner: Here’s your topic. I’d like you to describe a time when you met someone who you became good friends with.
[One minute preparation time]
Examiner: All right? Remember, you have one to two minutes for this. Don’t worry if I stop you. I’ll tell you when the time is up. Can you start speaking now, please?
Candidate: Yes, certainly. I’d like to talk about meeting my friend Tongam P. Simanjuntak, who became one of my closest friends.
We met back in 2001 at Padjadjaran University in Djatinangor campus. I was a fairly new student at the time, still finding my way around the campus and trying to settle into university life. We actually met through a mutual acquaintance in one of the common areas where students would hang out between classes.
My first impression of Tongam was that he was quite talented and interesting. I quickly learned that he was an expert guitarist – he could play complex pieces effortlessly and had this deep understanding of music theory that was impressive for someone our age. He wasn’t just someone who could play a few chords; he genuinely understood music on a sophisticated level. I also discovered that he was an avid PC gamer, which immediately gave us common ground. We’d talk about different games, strategies, and the latest releases, and I could tell he was quite passionate about gaming as a hobby.
As for why we became good friends, I think the primary reason was our shared love of music. While I wasn’t as accomplished a guitarist as he was, I had a genuine passion for music, both listening to it and attempting to create it. We’d spend hours discussing different genres, bands, techniques, and even attempting to jam together occasionally, though my skills were considerably more basic than his. Beyond music, we just clicked on a personal level – we had similar senses of humor, compatible personalities, and could have long, engaging conversations about various topics beyond just our shared interests.
Over time, our friendship deepened through regularly hanging out, attending concerts together, and supporting each other through the ups and downs of university life. What started as a casual acquaintance based on shared interests evolved into a genuine, lasting friendship built on mutual respect, trust, and understanding.
Examiner: Are you still in contact with this person?
Candidate: Yes, we still keep in touch, though not as frequently as we did during university. We’ll message each other occasionally and try to meet up when our schedules align.
Examiner: We’ve been talking about friendships, and I’d like to discuss with you one or two more general questions related to this. Let’s consider first of all children and friendships. How important is it for children to have lots of friends at school?
Candidate: I think having friends at school is certainly important for children’s development, though I’d emphasize quality over quantity. Children need friends for social and emotional development – through friendships, they learn crucial skills like empathy, cooperation, conflict resolution, and communication. Friends provide emotional support, which is particularly important during challenging times, and they contribute to a child’s sense of belonging and self-esteem. However, I don’t think having “lots” of friends is necessarily better than having a few close, meaningful friendships. Some children are naturally more introverted and are perfectly content with one or two close friends rather than a large social circle, and that’s absolutely fine. What matters more is that children have at least some positive, healthy friendships where they feel accepted and valued. Being completely isolated can be problematic, as it may indicate bullying, social difficulties, or other issues that need addressing. But pressuring children to be popular or have numerous friends when that’s not their natural inclination can be counterproductive and create unnecessary anxiety.
Examiner: Do you think it is wrong for parents to influence which friends their children have?
Candidate: This is quite a delicate balance, I think. On one hand, parents have a responsibility to protect their children from harmful influences, and sometimes that means being concerned about certain friendships. If a child is spending time with peers who are engaging in dangerous, illegal, or destructive behavior, parents have every right – indeed, a duty – to intervene and set boundaries. Similarly, if a friendship is clearly toxic, involving bullying or manipulation, parental guidance is appropriate. However, overly controlling which friends children can have, particularly based on superficial factors like social class, ethnicity, or the parents’ own prejudices, is problematic and can be damaging. It can undermine a child’s autonomy, damage trust in the parent-child relationship, and prevent children from developing their own judgment about relationships. I think the healthiest approach is for parents to create an environment where children feel comfortable bringing friends home and talking openly about their friendships. This allows parents to observe and understand these relationships while respecting the child’s agency. Rather than outright forbidding friendships except in extreme cases, parents can have conversations about healthy versus unhealthy relationship dynamics and help children develop the critical thinking to make good choices themselves.
Examiner: Why do you think children often choose different friends as they get older?
Candidate: There are several interconnected reasons for this natural evolution in friendships. Firstly, as children mature, their interests, values, and personalities develop and change significantly. A friendship based on playing the same playground games at age seven might naturally dissolve when those shared interests are no longer relevant at age fourteen. People develop different passions – one child might become interested in sports while another gravitates toward music or academics – and these diverging interests can create distance. Identity formation is another crucial factor; as children enter adolescence, they’re actively figuring out who they are, and they often gravitate toward peers who reflect or support the identity they’re constructing. There’s also the practical element of changing environments – moving schools, changing classes, or relocating to different areas naturally disrupts existing friendships and creates opportunities for new ones. Social awareness increases with age too; older children and teenagers become more attuned to social dynamics, status, and peer groups, which can influence who they choose to associate with, for better or worse. Additionally, as children develop more sophisticated social and emotional skills, they become better at recognizing which relationships are genuinely fulfilling versus those based on convenience or proximity. Sometimes friendships that worked well in childhood simply don’t survive the transition to adolescence because the foundation wasn’t deep enough to adapt to both people’s changes.
Examiner: If a person is moving to a new town, what is a good way for them to make friends?
Candidate: Making friends in a new location requires intentional effort and putting yourself in situations where you’ll meet people regularly. I think joining clubs, groups, or classes based on your interests is one of the most effective approaches – whether it’s a sports team, book club, art class, or hobby group, these provide both a natural conversation starter and regular contact with the same people, which helps friendships develop organically. The workplace or educational institution is another obvious avenue; colleagues and classmates are people you’ll see frequently, making it easier to transition from acquaintances to friends. Volunteering is excellent as well because it attracts like-minded people and gives you something meaningful to bond over while contributing to the community. For more introverted people or those with specific interests, online communities and apps designed for finding friends based on shared interests can be helpful for making initial connections that can then transition to in-person meetings. Religious or cultural organizations work well for people who want to connect with others from similar backgrounds. I also think something as simple as becoming a regular at a local café, gym, or other establishment can lead to friendships – repeated casual interactions can gradually deepen into actual relationships. The key is consistency and openness; you need to show up repeatedly to the same places or activities and be open to conversations and invitations, even when it feels uncomfortable or effortful initially.
Examiner: Can you think of any disadvantages of making new friends online?
Candidate: Yes, there are several potential drawbacks to online friendships, though I should note that they can also be valuable and meaningful. The most significant concern is the difficulty in verifying someone’s identity and intentions. People can misrepresent themselves online quite easily – their age, appearance, life circumstances, or even their fundamental character – which can lead to disappointment or, in more serious cases, dangerous situations involving deception or exploitation. This is particularly concerning for vulnerable individuals like children or teenagers. Another limitation is the lack of face-to-face interaction; online communication, even with video calls, misses subtle nonverbal cues, body language, and the kind of spontaneous, unfiltered interaction that often deepens friendships. There’s also the risk of spending so much time cultivating online friendships that it comes at the expense of developing in-person social skills and local relationships. Some online friendships can remain quite superficial because they’re based on specific shared interests without the broader context and experiences that create well-rounded friendships. Additionally, the ease of online communication can paradoxically make these friendships more fragile – it’s much easier to simply stop responding or block someone online than to navigate conflict in person, which means online friendships might not develop the resilience that comes from working through disagreements. That said, for people in isolated locations, with niche interests, or who struggle with social anxiety, online friendships can provide valuable connection and support that might not otherwise be available.
Examiner: Would you say it is harder for people to make new friends as they get older?
Candidate: Yes, I think most people would agree that forming new friendships becomes progressively more difficult with age, though not impossible. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the structured environments that naturally facilitate friendships – schools, universities, and even early-career workplaces where people socialize frequently – become less common as we age. Older adults often have more established routines and responsibilities that limit their exposure to new people and their available time for socializing. There’s also what I’d call “social saturation” – many older people already have established friend groups, family obligations, and full lives, so they’re not necessarily seeking new friendships with the same intensity that younger people are, and they may be less open to welcoming newcomers into their social circles. Energy and spontaneity tend to decrease with age too; staying up late, attending social events, or being flexible enough to accommodate new relationships requires effort that feels more burdensome as we get older. People also become more selective and somewhat more set in their ways – we know ourselves better and have clearer expectations about what we want in friendships, which can make us more discerning but also potentially more difficult to please. That said, life transitions like changing jobs, relocating, or going through major life events can create openings for new friendships at any age. The key difference is that it requires more conscious, deliberate effort rather than happening naturally through proximity and shared circumstances as it does when we’re younger.
Examiner: Thank you very much. That is the end of the speaking test.
Candidate: Thank you.
