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Language Learning
Let us talk about learning English.
How long have you been learning English?
Where did you learn?
What is easy / difficult?
Is English important in your job?
I have been learning English ever since I was about 10 years
old, when I was studying in my fifth grade. I learned the
alphabets and basic words at that time. I studies in a
vernacular medium school, but English was a subject
throughout my school years. I did not take English very
seriously during my school days, and I scored comparatively
poor marks for it. Well, English was the hardest subject for
me; and to be frank, I hated this subject at that time. One of
the reasons that I did not like English was that we did not
have any good teachers.
It was after I joined college, I started studying English
seriously. I had a wonderful English teacher who laid a sound
foundation in English grammar. Since then, I started loving
this subject and started reading books in English. Now I am in
my forties and the more I study English the better I love it.
Since I am an English teacher, I need to improve my English
all the time, learning new vocabulary and reading more and
more books. I make sure that I update my knowledge of
English all the time.
A gift that you presented
1.
I am from a small and beautiful town called Athirampuzha. In fact, this place is in
the district of Kottayam in central Kerala.
2.
What would you suggest a visitor your hometown should see or do?
It is difficult to suggest a particular place, but I think, the pool and the canals are
an interesting site. You can also go for a boating through the canal. On your way
you have beautiful paddy fields, on either side. Another important place that a
visitor can see is our church which was built a few centuries ago. It has got an
ancient alter ornamented with wooden carvings of saints and angels. Another
attraction is a large church bell, which was imported from Germany in the 18th
century. There is also a famous Siva Temple in our neighbouring town of
Ettumanoor. This is a well-known pilgrim centre.
4.
Again, I would say it is the pool. Most of the activities of the town take place
around this area. There is a fish market on one side and a vegetable market on
the other. Especially on market days, that is Mondays and Thursdays, the whole
place is full of activity.
5.
table. Sometimes it gathers a lot dust and occasionally I wipe it with a towel. I
would say my laptop is very untidily kept but by Gods grace it keeps working.
My laptop is very precious to me because I type my notes in it and use it for
presentations in my class and meetings. Sometimes I watch movies in it. I also
have stored a lot of data and personal information in my computer. After my office
hours I spend long hours in front of my computer either browsing the net or
studying.
Discussion:
1. Do you think if people have become more or less materialistic in the last 25
years?
What I feel is, peoples attitude towards material things have not changed over the
last 25 years. The only difference is that today we have greater access to
comforts and luxuries unlike in the past, and we have enough money to buy them
and so we enjoy them. For this reason, many people tend to say that materialism
is on the increase. Actually, that is not the case. If people in the past had access
to such things and if they had as much money as we have today, they would have
definitely enjoyed luxuries. The only difference is the economic progress that we
have made. The attitude towards materialism remains the same always.
I feel that people have definitely become more materialistic during the last 25
years. Formerly, comforts and luxuries were not available to people as much as
we have today. May be, people were little more idealistic and they had better
human relationships. Especially in rural communities, you know, people
maintained traditional values in families and social life. Whereas, today the
situation has changed. Urbanisation has forced people to be more individualistic
and achievement oriented. Material achievement has become a major purpose in
life and therefore, I think, other values of life have taken a back seat.
2. What kind of gifts children usually like?
Children usually like chocolates, toys and electronic games. You know, for
example, if you go to a shop with your children, you will see them running to the
toy corner or the chocolate rack. These days, a lot of children have a great liking
towards electronic games. There are many children who like, cartoons and story
books too. So when if you plan to give a gift to a child next time, think of these
things.
3. What kinds of things give a sense of prestige to people today?
From my personal experience, I feel, material possessions can give a great deal of
prestige to people today. For example, if you have a luxurious car or a beautifully
designed house it can give you a sense of pride. Another important criterion for
prestige is political power at different levels, which can make you popular and
accepted by the society. Superior positions in government services can also
definitely give you prominence in the society. What I mean is, senior police
officers, judges and similar officials have great prestige in the society. Apart from
that, superior education can give you a lot of honour among people. Certain
professionals like doctors, engineers and teachers are respected in the society.
4. What kind of things were status symbols in your grandfathers time?
Although I am not very sure, money and other material possessions were status
symbols even in my grandparents time. I think, people who had a lot of land
were considered honourable in the society. Superior education and political power
were also considered status symbols at that time. I believe, basically, the status
symbols people of all ages are generally the same.
5. What kind of things are women usually attracted to?
Women are generally fond of good clothes and ornaments. If you go to a textile
store or jewellery shop the majority of the shoppers are usually women. This
means that there is a certain vanity in women and they love to flaunt their
beauty. They are also attracted to cosmetics. Many women buy a lot of house
hold appliances and crockery.
6. Do you think people purchase a lot of things for prestige and not because of
genuine need?
Certainly, today if you have money to spare, you certainly buy things that can
show off your wealth. Although you may not need such luxurious items, you buy
them because you want others to look upon you. For example, one of the
considerations for many people, when they choose a car, is whether a particular
car is used by the elite in the society. Or, even if the family is a small one,
people build huge houses and many of the rooms are unused for years. Prestige is
a serious consideration for many people these days.
7. What will be the kind of things that will give a sense of prestige to people in
future?
Even in the future wealth will be major determining factor that will a sense of
prestige to people. Education, the expertise in technology and communication
abilities also will give a sense of pride to people.
vehicles to go to work. Most young people have their own motor bikes. The
more affluent go to work by car.
What traffic problems are there in your area?
Traffic problems are quite frequent in my area, especially during the peak hours
of morning and evening, when people travel to work or study and back. Many
roads are very narrow and cannot hold the increasing traffic volume at a time.
So traffic moves at a snails pace, especially during the rush hours. There are
also a lot of puddles on the roads especially during the rainy season and
manoeuvring them would further slow the traffic down.
repairs on the roads which are both slow and ineffective and traffic is often
diverted through narrower roads making the situation still worse.
How do traffic problems affect you?
Traffic problems affect me very badly. I need to reach work on time and very
often the unexpected traffic snarls and jams do not let me do it. I have made
it a point that I start a bit earlier from home, so that these unexpected delays
do not affect me much. Another problem is that driving in high gear in the
traffic jam, exhausts your fuel tank very fast.
How would you reduce the traffic problems in your area?
The first thing that the government should do is to widen the roads with
immediate effect and that can definitely reduce the problem tremendously.
Another area that the authorities can look into is to engage a big company to
construct roads that can last for a longer period of time.
It would definitely
reduce the constant repairs on roads. People also should be made to obey
traffic rules very strictly.
Part 2
Describe a game or sport you enjoy playing.
You should day:
In fact I dont play any games at the moment, because I dont have the time or
opportunity for it. It is very difficult for you to play a game once you get out of
your school or college. There are very few playgrounds for the public in our
area.
May be, I will talk about the game I played when I was in college. I was very
interested in soccer, and I played in the forward line. It was usually played in
the evening when the sun was not very warm and that preserved a lot of your
energy. I hope you know that football requires a great deal of running and if it
is very hot your steam will run out fast.
I usually played with my college mates. We would break into two teams and
sometimes the numbers would vary from seven to twelve, depending on the
number of people who were interested in playing the game. It always used to
be great fun to play with your mates in a very friendly atmosphere. Since
everybody knew each other there were hardly any hard tackling or rough play.
Everybody enjoyed the spirit of the game.
We played in the football ground, just in front of our college. It was quite a big
ground and so we had to run around a lot, but that gave us a lot of physical
fitness.
I enjoyed playing soccer because there was a thrill in scoring goals and
winning. You kept improving with every game and that gave you a great deal
of motivation and competitive spirit. Even during the day, when you were not
playing you kept thinking about the game. So it was great fun and I always
waited for the evenings to play soccer.
Discussion topics:
Childrens games
How have games changed from the time when you were a child?
Games have changed tremendously over the years. When we were children
the standard of the game or the players was not as good as it is today.
Moreover, newer rules have been introduced to make it more appealing to
television audiences. I think the speed of the game has considerably
increased. There is much more money in sports and games today, so more
and more young people are interested in making it a full time career. That was
not the case when I was a child.
Do you think this has been a positive change? Why?
Yes, it has definitely been a positive change in all ways. Games have become
more popular and players get much better rewards. Televised games have
made it possible for people to watch games in the comfort of their homes
rather than going to a stadium. Watching games has become a very easy
affair. Overall, the standard of the game has improved.
Why do you think children like playing games?
Children are physically very active and you cant keep them idle for a long
time. They always like to be with their friends, playing some games.
Psychologically, at their age they cant think of engaging in a serious activity
for a long time. Playing games would occupy them time in a very effective
way; otherwise they are going to create some mischief at home.
P O S T E D B Y G E O R G E AN D R E W S AT 4 : 0 4 AM 8 C O M M E N T S : L I N K S T O T H I S P O S T
Part 1
Musical Instruments
Which instrument do you like listening to most? (Why?)
My favourite musical instrument is the flute. (I love listening to the flute, the
most). I have always wondered why I like flute. May be, it is because of its
simplicity or because of it sweet sound. Flute has a very soothing music and it
goes directly into your heart. I think it is very easy to learn flute, but I am not
sure. Anyway, I like it.
Have you ever learned to play a musical instrument?
Not really, I dont think I have the talent for it. So I have not seriously tried.
When I was small, I just used to play with the harmonium, but actually, I could
never play any proper notes. Even now, I love to press the keys of the electric
keyboard and I like to hear the sound. But I have never learned to play any
musical instrument.
Yes I play the keyboard. I started leaning it at a very early age. My mother
bought me a toy piano when I was a small kid. I started playing it on my own.
Later, I went to a music school, where I leaned to play the electric organ. Now I
play it quiet well.
Do you think children should learn to play a musical instrument?
It is good in one way. As children, you have the time and interest in learning a
musical instrument. In think learning a musical instrument can give a lot of
confidence to children. They will learn to perform before other people. They can
be proud of the fact that they know how to play a musical instrument. It is the
best way to know whether a child had the taste for it. However, we should not
force a child into it, especially if he doesnt have the talent for it.
No I dont think children should learn a musical instrument. It is the time for them
to play and enjoy games. Playing a music instrument is a very serious job. It
requires a lot of patience and discipline. So I think it is better not to force children
into it at an early age. If they have the taste and talent they will learn it later.
How easy would it be to learn to play an instrument without a teacher?
I think, it is not easy to learn a musical instrument without the help of a teacher,
because you have no one to clear your doubts. Not only that, you can never learn
it, systematically. There are people who learn musical instruments like guitar with
the help of a book or through the internet. But, I dont think you go can very far,
in this way.
Why not! There are a lot of people who learn musical instruments without the
help of a teacher. You can get books and lessons from the internet. The
advantage is that you can learn at your own pace and convenience. Then why go
for a teacher.
Part 2
Describe something healthy you enjoy doing
You should say:
What you do
Where you do it
Who you do it with
And explain why you think doing this is healthy.
Playing sports, cycling, exercising
I have been playing badminton for the last few years. This is something that I
really enjoy. When I started I wasnt a good player. Over the years I have
improved tremendously. Every day I wait for the evening to play badminton.
I play it in our college campus. We have an indoor court and so the wind doesnt
disturb our game.
I play with my colleagues at work. There are about 6 to 8 people who play
regularly and if you dont reach the court in time, you dont get to play the first
game. After a game is over, usually the losers have to give chance to the other
players, who wait outside.
I think this has definitely kept me fit. I have lost about 6 kilos in the last 2 years,
just because I play this game. I have no other exercise and I dont need any. I
can eat anything I like and I can burn my extra calories in the game. Now my
body has become very flexible and I have improved my stamina. My movements
have become easy and my body is much more flexible now. I can even run up
steps without panting. My cholesterol and blood sugar levels are much lower than
before. So this is something healthy that I enjoy doing.
Part 3
Keeping fit and healthy
Part 1
Dancing
Do you enjoy dancing? (Why/Why not)
(You need to react to the question, first.)
Yes I do, I really love (like) dancing. No, I dont love.
Definitely, I am very fond of dancing. Not really, I am not very fond of
Certainly, I am very interested in dancing. No, I dont think I am interested in
Of course, I am very passionate about dancing.
Yes, I enjoy dancing.
I am very excited about dancing.
(Then elaborate on the answer)
It is a time that you can forget about yourself and relax your mind and body. It
also gives you a great deal of inner satisfaction. I think it is a great way to release
your stress.
I think its the best way to enjoy your time with your friends. You can get close to
them and strengthen your friendship.
I believe, dancing is a wonderful way to exercise your body. It involves vigorous
physical activity and burns a lot of calories. The only way I exercise is by dancing,
and that keeps my body fit.
This is a very good way to show your talent before others. I am quiet a good
dancer and I get a lot of appreciation from people. That gives me great confidence
and enhances my personality.
I dont think I have the talent to dance. I look very awkward when I dance and it
gives me very little satisfaction.
I dont have an opportunity to dance. In fact, I live in a very orthodox culture and
dancing is not very popular here. The only people who dance are the professional
dancers and it is not very common among ordinary people. However, I love
watching other people dance.
Has anyone every taught you how to dance? (Why/Why not)
Not in the recent past. But when I was a small girl, I went to a dance school in my
village, where I learned some classical dance. I also learned folk dance from a
teacher in my regular school during that time.
No, no one has ever taught me how to dance. I learned dancing by watching
videos and dancing with my friends. It is not very difficult to learn simple dancing
and I learned it in a very informal way.
Tell me about any traditional dancing in your country?
We have a number of traditional dances in my country, both classical and folk. A
very popular classical dance form in my country is Bharathanatyam. You need
many years of training to master this dance. It is usually staged during festivals
and cultural programmes. It has a very ancient origin and was patronised by
kings in the olden times. Dancers perform with graceful and rhythmic movements
and in rich and colourful costumes.
A very popular dancing in my country is a folk dance called Thiruvathira. This is
very a special dance from my state of Kerala. It is usually performed during the
festival season of Onam. Women in groups of eight or ten, dance in a circle,
around a lighted traditional lamp. The movements are simple and graceful and the
costumes are also very simple.
Do you think that traditional dancing will be popular in the future?
(Why/Why not)
I think so. Traditional dancing will be very popular in the future. A lot of parents
now send their children to learn traditional dancing and children automatically
develop a liking for this type of dancing. Apart from that, there are a lot of
competitions in schools and colleges in traditional dancing. Again, foreign tourists
show a lot of interest in traditional dancing. So there is great possibility that
traditional dancing will be popular in the future.
No I dont think so. In the future more and more people will be interested in
modern dancing, both western and Indian. So traditional dancing will lose its
charm for people. Moreover, traditional dancing requires many years of training
and dedication and many people dont have time for that. It is also an expensive
affair. Again, traditional dancing has a very small audience. So I think traditional
dancing will become less popular in the future.
Part 2
Describe someone in your family who you like.
You should say:
How this person is related to you
What this person looks like
What kind of person he/she is
And explain why you like this person
The person whom I like the most in family is my brother who is just younger to
me. We are eight children, I am the second and he is the third.
He doesnt look like me at all. He rather looks like my mother and is the most
handsome person in the family. He is closer to me than any other member of the
family, more than even my parents.
He is not very good at his studies or in any arts and music, but is very good at
heart. He is very good humoured, and you know, makes everybody laugh with his
witty conversation. He has a special way of attracting people towards him.
He is a very just person, and if there is a misunderstanding in the family, he is the
first person to find a solution to it. When he does something important, he comes
to me and talks about it, and he usually he accepts my advice. He is also quite
daring and enterprising. Although he is not very educated he runs a very
successful business and lives a happy life.
I like him very much, mainly because he understands me more than any other
member of my family. He has also supported me and stood with me whenever I
had a serious problem or trouble.
So I would say that he is someone I like in my family.
Part 3
Discussion Topics
Family similarities
In what ways can people in a family be similar to each other?
People in a family can be similar to each other in many ways. They usually
resemble each other in their physical appearance. For example, children look like
their parents, in their facial feature, colour, type of hair and so on. They can also
be alike, in their character and behaviour.
Do you think daughters are always more similar to mothers than to male
relatives?
Not always! There are many daughters who look more like their fathers or other
male members of the family than mothers. That includes their colour, face, hair
and so on. But I do think that most daughters look like their mothers in physical
features.
What about sons and fathers?
I think it is the same with them as well. There are many sons who resemble their
mothers more than their fathers or other male members of the family.
Im going to describe my sisters wedding day, which took place a few years ago in the
town where I grew up. For my sister it was the biggest and most important day of her
life.
I think there were around 100 people at the marriage ceremony, which was held in a
church. Even more people came to the party, or the wedding reception as we call it,
after the ceremony. Of course, most members of my family were there, as well as the
grooms family and a collection of the bride and groom's friends and colleagues.
To make the celebration special, we did what families normally do. My mother made
sure that the church and the reception venue were nicely decorated - there were
flowers everywhere! Obviously we all dressed for the occasion, and there were
bridesmaids, gifts, a huge wedding cake, and so on.
I enjoyed the occasion because it was great to see my sister so happy on her big day.
The ceremony was perfect, and we all had a fantastic time at the reception. Its rare
for me to see all of my family and friends together in one place, so thats probably
what made the day so memorable for me.
Interviewer clearly wasn't happy and as you can guess I obviously didn't get
the job tried to explain it to him but I guess he didnt believe me or didnt
care. After all, in this world its the results that people care about, no one
cares about the process.
When I got home and told my mum about this she just smiled and told me it
was ok and I could find a job at another place. It was not until 2 weeks after
that did I find a job. It was quite a memorable experience.
From this experience it was clear to me how important being on time is and I
haven't been late to anything again after this event.
Topic 2:
Another Language You Would Learn If You Wanted
Describe another language that you would learn, if you wanted.
You should say
The name of this language
How you would learn it
What equipment or facilities you would need to study this language
And explain what difficulties you think you would have when
learning this language
There are many languages if I could only choose one it would have to be
French. In my opinion French is a very elegant language and also a popular
one. It is the second language for most countries including Canada and
Australia.
I live in Montreal and it is a francophone country so already I speak French
may be not perfect like the Canadians but I still try to learn more and more.
Im sure that learning French wouldnt be easy. I would have to spend
months even years to master this language. Not only do I have to spend
time but also money, the fastest way to learn a language is without a doubt
to hire a teacher who is fluent in the language.
If one day I have the time and the money I would definitely learn French.
- what you and your family did to make the celebration special
- and why you enjoyed the occasion.
Here's my sample answer:
Im going to describe my sisters wedding day, which took place a few years ago in the
town where I grew up. For my sister it was the biggest and most important day of her
life.
I think there were around 100 people at the marriage ceremony, which was held in a
church. Even more people came to the party, or the wedding reception as we call it,
after the ceremony. Of course, most members of my family were there, as well as the
grooms family and a collection of the bride and groom's friends and colleagues.
To make the celebration special, we did what families normally do. My mother made
sure that the church and the reception venue were nicely decorated - there were
flowers everywhere! Obviously we all dressed for the occasion, and there were
bridesmaids, gifts, a huge wedding cake, and so on.
I enjoyed the occasion because it was great to see my sister so happy on her big day.
The ceremony was perfect, and we all had a fantastic time at the reception. Its rare
for me to see all of my family and friends together in one place, so thats probably
what made the day so memorable for me.
Im going to describe the first time I visited Englands capital city, London, on a school
trip when I was a teenager. I had never been to London before, and it was great to
share that experience with my school friends.
The positive experience wasnt confined to one particular place in London. As far as I
remember, I enjoyed the whole trip, from the coach journey to the visits to various
tourist attractions. We got off the coach near the Houses of Parliament, and so one
of my first memories was seeing the famous Big Ben clock tower. We also visited
the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square.
As I said earlier, it was a school trip, and I think there were around thirty of us,
including two teachers. I was with a group of close friends, which made the
experience more enjoyable.
What really struck me about London was that it was historic but modern and thriving at
the same time. It seemed to me to be a lively, fashionable and cosmopolitan place.
Coming from a relatively small town, the experience made me keen to visit more
capital cities in the future.
Im going to suggest that art could be taken out of the school curriculum. In my
experience, art lessons at school tend to include drawing, painting, and the making
of collages using paper, fabric and other household materials.
There are a few reasons why I think that school art lessons are unnecessary. Firstly, I
dont believe that drawing and painting are essential skills that children will need
when they leave school. Children might find these activities enjoyable, but its
unlikely that they will need them in the working world. Secondly, children can draw,
paint and make collages in their own time at home; parents can encourage this, and
they can even join in. Finally, remembering my own art lessons at school, I dont
think we learnt any real art skills; the teachers left us to draw or create things, but
they didnt provide much technical instruction.
Instead of art lessons, children could do more work on core subjects like maths,
science or language. These subjects are more likely to help children in later life when
they enter the job market, and I think both children and their teachers would benefit if
more time were devoted to them.
Most students have no problem with the first step (explaining why), but they aren't so good at
giving alternatives or examples. Take the following question from last week's lesson for
example.
Question:
In your opinion, are newspapers important?
Example student answer:
Yes, in my opinion newspapers are very important (why?) because they give us information
about what is happening around the world. (why?) They are a vital source of knowledge about
education, technology, medicine and many other fields.
This is a good start, but let's try to raise the answer to band 9 level.
Example answer with 'alternative' and 'example':
Yes, in my opinion newspapers are very important (why?) because they give us information
about what is happening around the world. (why?) They are a vital source of knowledge about
education, technology, medicine and many other fields. (alternative?) If newspapers didnt
exist, I think the quality of news coverage would suffer because there would be fewer
professional journalists.(example?) We would have to rely, for example, on unpaid bloggers
who do not have the budgets to carry out detailed research before they write an article.
Im going to talk about an interesting conversation that I had a couple of weeks ago in
a music shop. I was walking along one of the main shopping streets in the city
centre, when a large window displaying all sorts of musical instruments caught my
eye. Out of curiosity, I decided to go in and have a look around.
The person I ended up speaking to was a shop assistant on the second floor, in the
area of the shop dedicated to acoustic guitars. I hadnt intended to speak to anyone,
but the assistant approached me in a friendly way and asked whether I had any
questions.
I explained to the assistant that I hadnt played the guitar for years, but that I wondered
what the differences were between the various acoustic guitars on show. He talked to
me about the different makes and models, whether they were factory or hand made,
the woods and varnishes used, the variation in sound quality, and of course the price
range.
Im going to talk about a future plan that I have, which is to buy a good camera and to
become a better photographer. At the moment Im just using the camera on my
mobile phone, but Ive realised that it has its limitations.
I thought of this plan when I was at a friends wedding a few weeks ago. I got some
great pictures of the bride and groom and their guests celebrating, but I did notice
that with my phone camera I wasnt able to capture longer range photos, or photos in
darker conditions; the phones zoom and flash arent very good. Next time Id like to
be able to capture a special occasion in higher quality images.
Obviously this plan depends on whether I can save enough money to buy the camera
Id like. Also, before making a decision about which camera to get, Ill probably talk to
a friend who knows more about photography than I do.
In terms of buying a camera, Ill achieve this plan if I can save some money! In terms
of becoming a better photographer, I think Ill achieve that goal by experimenting with
my new camera and by learning as I go along.
My favourite season in England is winter. A typical English winter would last around 4
or 5 months between November and March, but when I say that I like the winter, Im
really thinking about the coldest month or two each year.
During those really wintry months, the temperature drops below zero and it often
snows. Over the last few years weve had periods of quite heavy snowfall, to the
extent that roads have been blocked and schools have had to close. Last winter I
remember looking out of the window one morning and seeing everything covered in
a layer of white.
Obviously the snow is what differentiates winter from the other seasons, but when it
doesnt snow there isnt much difference between winter, autumn and spring; winter
is just a bit colder.
The reason Ive chosen winter as my favourite season is because I like the snow. I live
near the countryside, and the landscape looks beautiful when everything is covered
in white. We also celebrate Christmas and New Year in the winter, and these are my
favourite festivals.
I'm not an expert on teenage behaviour, but I guess they like buying clothes, music, gadgets...
that kind of thing.
In part 1 of the speaking test, the examiner will ask around 10 easy questions. However,
students have reported some strange questions, such as:
1.Do you like parks?
2.Do you think different colours can change our moods?
3.When do people give flowers in your country?
Don't be shocked by these questions. Just give a simple answer with a reason. Don't worry
about using fantastic grammar or vocabulary; just try to answer without hesitating. For
example:
1.Yes, I like parks because they are great places to relax. I think all cities need green
areas.
2.Yes, I think bright colours, like red, can make you feel energetic. Some greens and
blues can be more relaxing.
3.People give flowers on special occasions like birthdays or on Valentine's Day. In my
country, giving flowers is seen as romantic.