Describe a subject you didn’t like before but have an interest in it now.
You should say:
- what subject it is
- when you studied this subject
- why you didn’t like it before
and explain why you have an interest in it now.
Model Answer 1:
I must admit that I was more of a “complaining boy” as a high school student. In fact, I used to complain about many things which looked and sound perfectly normal. Oh, one more thing, I also used to complain about Geography subject.
Yes, back in my high school years, geography was one of the most boring subjects to me. In fact, it was so boring to me that I actually used to fall asleep in the class from time to time. I was scolded a lot by my geography teacher of because this insolent behaviour of mine in his class, but he also probably understood the sad and frustrating fact that I wasn’t the one to change, and, to my credit, I didn’t.
At some point, my good geography teacher even formally sent a note of complaint to my parents, but that wasn’t enough to change me either. However, in spite of all that, I was lucky that my geography teacher didn’t fail me in his subject, so I guess I owe him a very big “thank you” for that.
So, why I didn’t really like that subject in high school? Well, I guess that back then, I wasn’t just convinced that geography was actually of any practical use in life. In other words, I just didn’t think that memorizing the names of some countries, states and their locations was really necessary to become a successful person in life. On top of that, I don’t think that I had enough time to understand the difficult subject because of other classes and homework.
Interestingly enough though, I actually have a great deal of interest in this subject now, mainly because now I am way more aware of this planet of ours, and how not only the natural catastrophes, like earthquakes and floods, but also the man-made events are affecting our part of the world. It interests me now also because we are commercially and culturally are more interconnected than ever with the rest of the world.
Sample Answer 2:
Accounting is the subject that I find very interesting these days though I did not like it when I had to study it at my university level. I have finished my graduation in Computer Science major and we had Accounting part 1 and part 2 in our second year; 5th and 6th semesters. Thought Accounting was an important subject for us, I had very little interest in it. This was probably because of my misconception that it is only important for Commerce and Business Studies students. I studied accounting subject only to pass my course and also missed a few classes. Thus I failed to enter into the interesting world of accounting and that’s why disliked this subject.
Science had always been major and I was never introduced to the accounting subject in my pre-university level. The teacher who took our accounting classes did not introduce us to the basic concept of accounting. Moreover, he went through chapters so quickly that I missed it completely. As a result, when the teacher explained the advanced concepts of accounting, I was completely lost. For all these reasons I was weak in accounting and this formed the disliking in me until the very recent time.
Well, the reason I like accounting these days is quite interesting. After I started working as a Software Engineer in a multinational company, I worked on various projects. A year ago I was assigned to a project that required me to develop accounting software for an Australian company. Ironically I had to study many accounting books and tutorials to understand how I should implement the concepts and calculation in this software. I also attended a few training sessions organised by our office related to accounting and banking concepts. Once I understood the basic and interesting part of this subject, I actually started enjoying it a lot. The project took around 8 months to be delivered to the client and I was kind of forced to study and discuss a lot of accounting concepts during this period. Once I started understanding the fundamental concepts and its application in the real world, this subject became one of my favourite subjects.
Sample Answer 3:
When I was a teenager, I had no interest in History. Consequently, the subject – history appeared boring to me. But now my views on the subject has completely changed.
I had an idea that History mostly deals with dead people. I was correct in some senses. But I lacked the knowledge the history also dealt with time. In fact, history is the science of time and people. Now I believe that it is interesting than any other subjects. Unluckily, the days are gone. I repent of bunking classes and cutting some sorry figures in History. I did not like the idea of memorising the historical events of the USA. Passing the subject with a smart grade was a kind of dream to me. Always I received poor marks on this subject because I was unable to focus on the written texts and tried to avoid the subject as much as possible for me.
When I was in middle school, I got familiar with the subject – history of the USA and continued till my high school grades. I extensively avoided the subject in these years because they appeared difficult to me. In each of the grades, a fresh history book was prescribed with the curriculum. Basically, it was done to make the students familiar with the national history so that they could be informed about the real stories of national heroes, independence and other national issues. But mostly, I did not go through the prescribed books. Hence, it became difficult for me to pass the subject in the exams. It was kind of annoyance to me to attend the classes. I was relieved of the trouble when I entered university.
I cannot explain the causes behind feeling a strong sense of dislike with this subject. It is natural that all the students will not be skilled in each of the subjects. They might be stronger in some specific subjects and will have an average skill with the remaining ones. I was skilled in Mathematics and always had the highest score during my entire school tenure. But I was troubled with history. I think memorising the years and events related to the years were the most concerning issue for me. I was unable to memorise (and still I am) texts and pour them down into the exam scripts. Besides, with due respect, the teachers were unable to make the lessons interesting. For all such reasons, I developed a feeling of enmity with this specific subject. During the exam, my answer scripts were filled with some ‘fresh’ histories of my own imagination.
In recent years, I have gained the best experiences of my life. I travelled to several countries for my business, learnt about their respective histories and cultures. I compared the histories with my state and then suddenly comprehended that I almost have no idea about history of the USA. It made me shocked. I made the greatest mistake of my life – ignoring History in school days. Now the subject appears interesting to me. I am a grown-up male bearing no irritations with history. Luckily, I have some history books in my personal collection and have started reading them to know about the history of my land. The events I read now provide pleasure to me, truthfully, reading books on USA history is now my favourite pastime.
More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:
Topic: Describe a subject you didn’t like before but have an interest in now.
1. I did not like Geography in my school days. I was attached to the subject when I was in the eighth grade. I could not prefer the subject much in those days because it required much memorizing. And I was unable to remember the texts. But now this subject appears interesting to me. In fact, now I read it for gaining knowledge and I do not need to appear in exams. Hence, I have no tension to pass the exam barriers which provides a great pleasure to me.
2. Participating in physical education was irritating to me. It was the part of our extracurricular activities in school from the very first day I got admitted there. I could not like this subject because it had no marks at all rather we had to participate in the training class in the early morning every day. But now I am fond of it because I know the value of physical exercise. In fact, my ideas have changed to a great extent about this subject. I wish I were a child again!
3. I hated science more than any other subject in my school. My journey with the subject began from the very first day of my schooling here in Adelaide. I did not like it because I was unable to understand the complex terms and equations. When I grew older, I could not undergo the pressures created from some of its branches like physics, and chemistry. But with the passage of time, I have realized that science is better than any other subjects. And it helps to lead a happy and decent life with knowledge about the world. Thereby, I am now interested in science and read different types of texts and articles related to science.
4. I did not have the idea that Health and Hygiene would be the most irritating subject to me in my earlier days. I got familiar with the subject when I was promoted to my ninth grade in a local school here in Oregon. I did not like it because of the many restrictions and bindings. In fact, it did not allow me to move after my will. But now the ideas have changed and I know how important it is to follow the rules and regulations. So, now this is a favourite subject of mine and I follow its directives in my life.
5. Learning a foreign language (such as French) was highly difficult for me. I was introduced to this subject when I crossed my seventh grade in a reputed school here in Spain. I could not like the subject because it appeared difficult. The pronunciation, the spelling and the tones appeared irritating to me, and often I was punished for not writing the spellings correctly. But the necessity of a second language is highly important and I feel that I made a great mistake by ignoring the French language learning course in school. A second language helps to communicate better and raises the chances of success. So, I admire the subject now.