‘OL. INTRODUCTION & INTERVIEW WARM UP«01> 1. Could you show me your identification card please? Hello. Sure, here you are. 2. Could you tell me your full name please? My full name is Bui Ngoc Mai. | am also called by my English name, which is Vivian. 3. What shall I call you? You could call me Vivian. 4. How are you? 1am well, thank you, and you? 5. I’m fine, thanks. How old are you? 1am 24 years old. In other words, | was born in 1990 on the twenty-first of July 1990, to be exact. 6. Does your name have any special meaning? Yes, my name does have some special meaning. It’s the name of a flower symbolizing the richness. My English name was given to me by one of my high school teachers, and it does not have any special meaning really. 7. Is your name important to you? > No. | don’t think it can do anything for me. | believe that a person has to work cout his own life. | am planning to do this as well as | can. Not really. | am a part of the new generation who do not attach too much significance to our names. Names were important to the older generation as they have the opinion that it will determine your destiny to some extent. However, | personally believe that | myself will determine my destiny irrespective of what my name is. | will do this by acquiring good qualifications and by working hard. 8. What kind of person are you? > lam a simple and straightforward person. | am a very hard working person (33 J Pg 6 PRE et so POR era ae wee ealC34) MSc aCe and believe in hard work and persistence. | am an optimist, always think positively about everything. | am also very sensitive to nature and have a lot of patience for everything. > | am basically an extrovert. | love socializing and making friends. | am also honest and sincere, not only with my work but also with my friends. | am always ready to help any person who is in trouble. My friends trust me a lot. | do not like liars and people who take advantage of others. | lose my temper with such people and get so very angry. 9. What are your strong points? What is your weakness? No manis perfect in this world and similarly | have certainly positive and negative aspects as well. Talking about the positive aspects. | am a very hardworking person and believe in hard work and persistence. | believe that with hard work everything is achievable. Secondly, | am a positive person who thinks positively, Besides that | am an honest person who believes in honesty because without honesty nothing can survive fora long time. | am a good listener, too. And hence | absorb many things from others. As far as negative aspects are concerned, | trust people very fast and this sometimes creates problems in my life. | am also very sensitive to nature and this creates a lot of tension in my life. | am also quite a cool person and ' don’t get angry fast. Sometimes | feel people take advantage of this. When !am involved in my work | cannot think of anything else, sometimes | don’t remember important things going on in the family also. | know that this is not good, and so | am trying to rectify the same. HOMETOWN «025 1. Where are you from? (Where is your hometown?) ! come from Nam Dinh. My parents have been living there for the past forty years or so. | grew up there and | attended a well-known school called Le Hong Phong High School. We live in a respectable area with many shops, restaurants, and a variety of other businesses. The People in our building are generally friendly and gentle, which makes it a pleasure to live there 2. Do you like your hometown? (Why?) Yes, | like living in Nam Dinh because it’s the live, and because there are plenties of thin, like is the weather. place where most of my friends 185 to do there. The only thing | don’t3. Where do you live now? !am living with my aunt in Hanoi at the moment. To be more exact, we live in an apartment building in one of the northern suburbs of the city. | have my own room and enjoy the privacy that it brings, but | am looking forward to the day that I can have my own apartment. Although my aunt is very good and I love her very much, | would like to be more independent soon. 4. Is there much to do in your current city? Oh yes, there’s certainly lots to do there as it’s a fairly big city. If you like going out in the evening, there are a lot of good restaurants and bars. If you prefer cultural activities there are museums and art galleries. But if you like nature there are lots of other things outside the city which are easy to reach. 5. Can you tell me something about your hometown? Yes, certainly. Nam Dinh is in the northeast part of my country. It is the capital of Nam Dinh Province. Its population is about one million people. It has many industries such as textile and garment industries, mechanical and processing industries, and traditional trades. In addition, it is rich in history and culture. For example, from August 18-20 of each year, there is a festival held in Nam Dinh called the Co Trach. This celebration honors General Tran Hung Dao, a 13th-century national hero who led Vietnamese forces to victory over the invading Mongols. 6. Can you tell me some famous landscapes or scenic spots in your hometown? Sure. Firstly, I’d like to talk to tell you about Thien Truong Stadium — one of the biggest stadiums in Vietnam. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Nam Dinh FC. The stadium holds 30,000 people. Thien Truong Stadium is located on Dang Xuan Thieu Street, Nam Dinh city opposite to the Provincial People’s Committee and the Committee of Nam Dinh. Nearby is Vi Hoang Lake, with a large natural grass field 115 meters by 72 meters, just behind My Dinh National Stadium. It has been considered as “Theatre of Dreams” by the Press. In 2003, Thien Truong Stadium was one of many venues to participate in organizing 2003 Southeast Asian Games, the female football matches were also held here. The national football teams and the Olympics have chosen Thien Truong for international matches. Thien Truong Stadium is one of the best on the scale of the level 2 city. The stadium has 20 doors, four stages divided into A, B, C and D. Stage C and D, each have has seats for 7,000 people, the stage C and D each has 3000 seats. There are four rooms for athletes, four rooms for the coach, three rooms for health care, VIP rooms, and cafeteria area. Grass on C35 J(36) the field is of a pure, fine cultivar imported from Thailand, in accordance With the climate in Vietnam. ; ? What are the people like in your hometown: > Well, they aren’t any different from the people in any ue large cities, Fo, example, here we also have good and bad people. Secondly, like everyone else, they are trying to work out a good life for themselves and their children, Fo, example, parents are trying all they can to ensure that their children receive a good education. > They are mostly quite friendly, but as with most big cities everyone is often busy so it may seem as if they are not interested in speaking or having a chat, But if you live there you will know that most people are quite happy to have a chat if they have time and will help you if needed. STUDIES ¢ 03) Are you a student or do you have a job? !am a student at the moment. | am studying English at University of Languages and International Studies. We have classes in the mornings and afternoons. We have a number of foreign teachers who help us pronounce and use grammar correctly. What are you studying at the moment? > I'm studying English at university. It’s a four year course, and | started it three Years ago, so | have just one year left. 'm Enjoying it a lot so it will be sad to finish. . What is your major? My major is English. So, we have chance to practice four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing everyday. | choose English as my major thanks to its international popularity, especially in the business world. What | mean to say is that when | am able to co i What do you like most about your study? > Well, | guess the Speaking part. Language is all about communication. So whe" lam able to communicate with someone in English, | feel that | have achieved something. | particularly like our free talk sessions with foreign teachers. It gives me the opportunity to question them about their countries and cultures.> We learn about many things from the past such as politics and wars, but | like learning about how people lived in the past the most. It’s amazing to see how our lives have changed so much from the past up until now. In some ways our lives have got much easier now, but in other ways the simplicity of life in the past made people much happier. Learning about all that is fascinating. Can you tell me about your study habits? \ have well established study habits. For example, | always start promptly at eight in the evenings. | study for two hours, have a ten-minute break, and then study for another two hours. | follow this habit from Mondays to Fridays, but over the weekends | put in more hours. For example, | study in the mornings and afternoons, and then take the evenings off to relax with my family or friends. . What do you hope to do in the future when you have finished? I'm not sure at the moment, but | may go into teaching. This is why I’m doing the IELTS, as | intend to carry on and do a Masters in a specific area of linguistics. I'll probably decide for sure what to do when | have completed that. JOB «04d 1. What is your job? > | currently work as an office manager at a large marketing company. I’ve been in the job for about five years. I’m usually assigned to work with a specific business in order to improve their sales through various marketing strategies. > 1am working in a workshop of a large manufacturing plant at the moment. | graduated from high school two years ago, and went to work immediately. | am an assistant to one of the automotive electricians in the workshop. | have to assist my artisan in getting his jobs done. For instance, | have the responsibility to see whether the tools are in good order, and that the workshop is always kept clean and tidy. 2. Do you have to work with other people? Oh yes, all the time. It’s a big office and we all have to work asa team if we want to achieve results. | have colleagues | need to liaise with such as the graphic designers and | also have administration staff who work under me. And of course | also have to work alongside the companies that we provide marketing for. So yes, | definitely have to work with other people. w . Do you think you will change jobs in the future? (37)Well, that’s not something I’m thinking about at the re I really enjoy what | do and it’s a really good company to work for. The pay is good ang they have other good benefits such as flexi-time and end of year bonuses. But that said, change is always a good thing, so I can’t see me being there forever, I'm sure | will change one day. 4. What do you do for living? ! work in the foreign trade department. | am a salesman. It is my job to bring foreign investors to the city to open up a business here. 5. Do you like your job? | love my job because | have to talk to other people and tell them information regarding different products. 6. What kind of job do you prefer in the future? am planning to become a Hotel Manager for two reasons. Firstly, | believe that the hotel industry will be growing greatly in future. For example, people are becoming more affluent, and spend more and more their money on holidays. In addition, | believe that after graduating | will be able to find a good job anywhere in the world. What | mean to say is that all hotels and resorts have the same objectives irrespective of where they are situated. Their aim is to ensure that their guests have a good time and return again. FAMILY (055 1. Do you live with your family? > Yes, | do live with my family. For a few years my parents had admitted me to a hostel. That time | did not live with them. Life was quite difficult at that time. But now | live with my family. It’s the best Place to be are very friendly and kind but | always feel r than home, 2. In your family whom do you like the most? homesick because nowhere is bette, > Ihave a small family, | like all the members very much. But | get along best ze my voles. arte) There is only one-year difference between my brother and me. So we can share our experiences with each Other. He is not only my brother but also a Great friend and ui i i love him very much. Buide. He gives me good advice for my life. | (38)aaa. xXQrK i i~ > | like my mother most because of many reasons. Firstly, she loves me very much and understands me very well. Secondly, she always encourages me to do better jobs and to be a good human being. Thirdly, my mom has a very pleasant personality... 3. How much time do you spend with your family members? > 1am a working person, so it is difficult to spend a lot of time with my family. But | try to spend most of the evenings with them. | also plan to do something with my family on Sundays. It is a rule in my house to have dinner together. So however busy we are, we have to meet during dinner. > When | get spare/ free/ leisure time, | spend time with my family members. Generally, at the weekend, we enjoy our time together. 4. Whom do you resemble in your family? | resemble my mother. Many of my facial features are like her. When people look at me they can easily say that | am my mother’s child. We resemble each other not only by our facial features but also our nature. My mother is a cool person. She rarely gets angry. Even if we do something wrong, she will explain it to us but not get angry. | am the same. | always keep cool, always enjoy myself and accept life the way it comes. 5. What is an ideal family? An ideal family should be a family with lots of true love. There should be intimacy among the members. Each member should be ever ready to help each other in times of difficulty. They should be co-operative, understanding, loving and caring. 6. Are people in your country generally close to their families? It’s a very interesting question. If you ask for my honest opinion then | have to say yes. My country people are very friendly with their family members and they have a strong bond between them. HOBBY <6) 1. Do you have any hobbies? Yes. My hobby is stamp collecting. | have been collecting stamps for the past two years now. That is to say, for two years | have chosen stamp collecting to be my only hobby. | regularly spend time working on my collection. | guess | spend about two hours every week on my hobby. This is mainly over weekends, as | do not have time during the week. ee)2. Why have you chosen this hobby? are able to learn more about the worlg, and you will not get bored easily. What | mean to say is that you aot stamps from every country in the world, and the stamps often say some ing about that country and its people. Secondly, you are able to mec new friends through your hobby. For instance, you have a common interest with someone else, and you can discuss your collections together for many hours. Lastly, the hobby will teach you some self-discipline and how to be very systematic. That is to say, you have to tend to your collection regularly, and you have to sort the stamps according to internationally recognized systems. First of all, when you collect stamps, you 3. Do you prefer to stay alone or with your friends? > | prefer to be alone. | like reading, which takes a lot of my time. Reading to me is a way of studying, so | have to do it alone. | often have to check the meaning of unfamiliar words in my dictionary, which is a slow process taking a lot of time. > | prefer to stay with my friends. Please allow me to explain. At work, | spend most of my time alone in my office. So after work | like to be with other people. | often invite some of my friends over, and we listen to our favorite music, or just chat the whole evening. > Sometimes | prefer to be alone. For example, after a hard day at work | just want to relax without anybody disturbing me. Those are the times that I might meditate on the meaning of life or just savor some good memories. On the other hand, sometimes | want to be with my friends. For example, over weekends, ! like to go out with them and enjoy delicious food together. What do you usually do on weekends and weekdays? On weekdays | go to school. On weekends | like to go out with my friends. For example, we will go and visit new shopping malls in the city. Then we will browse around all the shops. Sometimes, we will sitina restaurant and have something to drink. | like the feeling of drinking and seeing the crowds of SS sleeoIby 5. What do you usually do when you 80 out? eee C40) a sk6. What do you usually do with your friends? We usually go to the cinemas. My friends and | like cartoons very much, so we often search on the Internet to see if there’s a new cartoon being shown or not. In addition, we like to watch a good action movie from time to time. We find the spectacular crashes and explosions very exciting. These movies are from Hong Kong or Hollywood, and have famous actors like Jackie Chan and Tom Cruise playing in them. 7. What are good hobbies and bad hobbies? Why? In my opinion, good hobbies are those that give you the opportunity to develop a new skill. For example, collecting stamps teaches you to be systematic. Bad hobbies, on the other hand, may result in you acquiring bad habits. For example, TV and computer games will result in you neglecting your studies. LEISURE TIME (07 1, What do you like to do in your free time? > Ido quite a lot of sports actually. | play football mostly -on Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons with a local team. | also play tennis and squash when | can but | don’t really get the time to do them as well every week. | work quite hard at the moment, so | don’t get a lot of free time unfortunately. > Well, these days, | surf on the Internet in my spare time. | have just bought my first computer, and love to look for exciting websites that | have not known before. It is of course very time consuming, so | don’t really have time for anything else. | have to mention that it is an educational activity. For example, by means of web cams (video images from cameras set up at certain places) | am able to watch what wild animals are doing in many parts of the world. | particularly like to watch the polar bears playing with their cubs. > Leisure time activities are very important to everyone. It is the time when people can do what they like. It is a good form of relaxing. It is good for the mind and the body. | like to watch television and socialize with my friends in my leisure time. | watch different things on television. It all depends on my mood. Sometimes when | am in a sad mood | like to watch some comedy programs to induce me to be jollier. | watch a lot of movies on television, especially action films. | also watch some music channels, which revitalize me. | also love to socialize with my friends. We meet and enjoy ourselves by cracking jokes and sharing our experiences of life. | love my leisure time. C41) iS EEPees aed 3. Do you prefer to spend your free (42) hanged since you were a child? laying football when | was ally. | used to love Pp eer is bycal hool. Though of course | did all the t sc young as well - | played a lot a : oo other things kids loved to do such as going out on bike rides after schoo} and things. Have your leisure activities ¢ time alone or with other people? It depends on my mood really. | think most people need some time on their own. Sometimes my work is quite stressful and | spend a lot of time there with others, so it’s good to just get home and relax and read a book or something. But | get bored if | am alone too much so | like to go out and meet friends in the evening or play football. ~ FUTURE PLAN ¢ 08) Why do you take the IELTS test? > | am taking the IELTS exam because | want to get admission in a Canadian University. > Well, IELTS is very important for me because | want to apply for studying overseas. Besides, having an English certificate will help me get a better job with high salary in the future. . What are you planning to do in the next five years? > My goal is to become a lead in five years. Although not everyone gets promoted to this level, | believe that | can achieve this goal through hard work. > Five years from now, | would like to see myself in a management position. I'm going to be learning and gaining practical experience until then, but eventually, | want to become a marketing manager. | know there are a lot of things to learn, but I'm going to be working hard for the next five years. | believe opportunities come to great workers and I’m going to try to be one of them. . What are you planning to do in the next ten years? tt years from now, | want to bea senior sales manager. I'm currently training to oe a manager, and if | continue to work hard, | feel Ill have a management position soon. After gaining several years of experience as a sales manager, | want to be in a position where | ¢; i ‘an train and provi i soles naan! Provide my expertise to newer