“Talk about your Tet holiday” is a common topic in IELTS Speaking, often linked to themes like Festival or Celebration. When the cue card asks you to describe Tet holiday in Vietnam, it becomes easier to elaborate and showcase a wide range of vocabulary, since Tet is Vietnam’s most important traditional celebration, filled with meaningful customs and activities.
In this guide, IDP will show you how to build your outline, use high-scoring vocabulary, and develop a complete response to the IELTS Speaking topic Talk about your Tet holiday in Vietnam. Don’t forget to explore the sample answer section for inspiration and better preparation.
1. IELTS Cue Card Analysis – Describe Tet Holiday
In IELTS Speaking Part 2, you will receive a cue card with a common topic and have one minute to prepare before speaking for up to two minutes.
Cue Card: Talk about the Tet holiday in your country
You should say:
What kind of festival?
When does it take place?
Why it takes place?
How do people celebrate this festival?
And describe why this is an important festival in your country.
How to plan your ideas: When given this topic, focus on the keyword Tet holiday or festival, and answer the suggested prompts in order:
Introduce the festival: Provide general information about Tet.
When it takes place: Mention the specific time or month.
How people celebrate: Describe what people do before, during, and after Tet.
Why it is important: Mention at least two clear and brief reasons.
2. Suggested Outline – Talk About Tet Holiday in Vietnam
Here is a sample outline and useful vocabulary for the topic Talk about Tet holiday in Vietnam:
Introduce the festival:
Lunar New Year, Vietnamese New Year, Tet, traditional holiday
Time of celebration:
Takes place in January or February
Celebrated based on the lunar calendar
Activities during Tet:
Before Tet: clean the house, make banh chung and banh tet, pay homage to ancestors, decorate the home
During Tet: give lucky money in red envelopes, visit pagodas, play games like cards or dice, enjoy traditional food
Why important: family reunions, preserving cultural traditions, sharing happiness and good fortune
3. Sample Answer – Talk About Tet Holiday in Vietnam (IELTS Speaking Part 2)
Cue Card: Talk about the Tet holiday in your country
Sample Answer:
Some people call it Lunar New Year, others refer to it as Vietnamese New Year, but for us, Tet is the most important and meaningful festival of the year.
Unlike many Western countries that celebrate the New Year on January 1st, we follow the lunar calendar, so Tet usually takes place in late January or early February. On this occasion, families gather together, clean their homes, prepare traditional dishes, and enjoy festive activities. It’s quite similar to Christmas or Thanksgiving in terms of family importance.
Actually, Tet is more than just a one-day celebration—it involves weeks of preparation and excitement.
Before Tet, families across Vietnam clean their houses to sweep away bad luck and welcome good fortune. They also make traditional dishes like banh chung and banh tet, which are square and cylindrical rice cakes filled with pork and mung beans. People also visit ancestors’ graves and decorate their homes with peach blossoms or kumquat trees.
During Tet, younger people give best wishes to elders and receive “lucky money” in red envelopes, believed to bring luck and prosperity. People visit relatives, attend festivals, and often go to pagodas to pray for a peaceful new year. Children love this time of year because of the gifts, games, and food.
I think Tet is a very special festival because it brings families together and reminds us to appreciate our culture and traditions. It is a time for renewal, reflection, and hope for a better future.
4. Vocabulary for the Topic: Describe Your Tet Holiday
4.1. Important Moments During Tet
Vocabulary | Meaning | Example |
Kitchen God Day | A ritual before Tet | Celebrating Kitchen God Day is a long-standing custom in Vietnam. |
Before New Year’s Eve | Preparations before Tet | Before Tet, people clean their houses and prepare food. |
New Year’s Eve | The night before Tet | New Year’s Eve is a major celebration across Vietnam. |
First / Second / Third day of the new year | Main days of Tet | Visiting relatives on the first three days of Tet is a tradition. |
4.2. Common Foods and Drinks During Tet
Vocabulary | Meaning | Example |
Vietnamese square sticky rice cake / Banh Chung | Traditional rice cake | Banh Chung is made with pork, beans, and sticky rice. |
Vietnamese sausage | Pork sausage for Tet | Vietnamese sausage is served during family meals. |
Jellied meat | Cold meat dish | Jellied meat is a Tet favorite in northern Vietnam. |
Dried candied fruits | Tet sweet treats | People offer dried fruits to guests during Tet. |
Melon seeds | Popular Tet snack | Melon seeds are eaten while chatting during Tet. |
Soft drinks | Non-alcoholic beverages | Children usually enjoy soft drinks during Tet. |
Custard apple | A seasonal fruit | Custard apples are sweet and often served at Tet. |
4.3. Common Tet Activities
Vocabulary | Meaning | Example |
Return to hometown | Visit family | Many people return to their hometown to celebrate Tet. |
Clean altar | Prepare ancestral shrine | Families clean the altar before Tet to honor ancestors. |
Family reunion | Gathering of relatives | Tet is the perfect time for a family reunion. |
Seeking calligraphy | Asking for good words | Seeking calligraphy is a cultural activity during Tet. |
First foot | The first visitor of the year | The first visitor is believed to bring good luck. |
Free animals | Releasing animals for good karma | Releasing birds is a symbolic act during Tet. |
Confidently Score High with the Topic Talk About Your Tet Holiday
With the ideas, structure, and vocabulary above, you are well-prepared to confidently speak about Tet holiday in Vietnam in your IELTS Speaking test. Review the IELTS Speaking band descriptors to understand how to improve fluency, coherence, and vocabulary usage.
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