Band 7 Example

Question: What foreign languages do Chinese children learn?

Idea 1

Mandatory English Education
Model Answer
Nowadays, many schools offer different language courses, but English is the most popular for children in my country. Speaking another language, especially English, is important to earn good money. They've started teaching it in elementary schools here, so kids will be better at it by high school. Learning English is tough, but more study time should help.
Lots of schools offer a range of language courses these days but English is by far the most common one for children to learn in my country. If you want to earn real money these days then you need to be able to speak another language and it's usually English that is needed. It's just been introduced in elementary schools in my area so hopefully, this will mean that children will have a better level when they finish high school as they would have had more time to study it as it's really difficult.
Grammar Analysis
Comparative use: "English is by far the most common one" here uses the comparative "most common" to emphasize the popularity of English compared to other languages in schools, demonstrating the ability of candidates to strengthen their views using comparative structures. Conditional sentences and assumptions: "If you want to earn real money these days then you need to be able to speak another language" This conditional sentence shows the connection between learning a foreign language and economic success, demonstrating the ability of candidates to use conditional sentences to express assumptions and conclusions. Use of future tense: "this will mean that children will have a better level when they finish high school" uses the future tense to predict the language level of children after the introduction of English teaching, reflecting the ability of candidates to use tenses to express future expectations.
Vocabulary
  • range of language courses
  • English is by far the most common one
  • earn real money
  • speak another language
  • introduced in elementary schools
  • have a better level

Idea 2

Second Language Options
Model Answer
In China, many schools offer a variety of second language options. Common choices include Japanese, French, and German, which are popular electives. Additionally, with the growing global influence of Spanish, more schools are starting to introduce it as a language option. This variety reflects the country's commitment to global communication and cultural exchange.
Chinese children have access to an array of second language choices in their educational curriculum. Schools frequently offer languages such as Japanese, French, or German, catering to diverse linguistic interests. Moreover, recognizing the escalating global importance of Spanish, an increasing number of schools are incorporating it into their language programs, signifying a broadening perspective towards global linguistic dynamics.
Grammar Analysis
Present participle as an attributive: In "catering to diverse linguistic interests," "catering" as a present participle functions as an attributive, adding descriptive and dynamic qualities to the sentence. Gerund phrase: In "recognizing the escalating global importance of Spanish," "recognizing" as a gerund phrase functions as the subject, demonstrating the use of complex sentence structures. Infinitive as a result adverbial: In "incorporating it into their language programs," the infinitive phrase expresses the purpose and intention of the result, making the sentence clearer and more logical. Present participle phrase: In "signifying a broadening perspective towards global linguistic dynamics," "signifying" as a present participle phrase is used to explain the result, adding complexity and depth to the sentence.
Vocabulary
  • array
  • second language choices
  • educational curriculum
  • catering
  • diverse linguistic interests
  • escalating global importance
  • incorporating
  • broaden perspective
  • global linguistic dynamics