Ilets Common Question

Saskia, you have finished

00:01

your IELTS practice speaking test.

00:04

How was it for you?

00:05

I found it pretty good,

00:06

it wasn't too tough.

00:09

It's like carrying a normal  conversation in English

00:11

and I found it to be pretty good.

00:13

You've taken the IELTS test before.

00:15

I have, yes.

00:16

so compared to the real test,

00:17

which is obviously a lot more nerve racking,

00:20

how are the questions in this one?

00:22

Well, I took my real test three years ago,

00:24

so I don't fully remember it.

00:27

I feel like the questions here

00:29

were a little more streamline.

00:31

Whereas when I did the actual exam,

00:33

it was a lot broader, and there was just

00:35

a lot more space for me to talk.

00:39

But yeah, this wasn't too different.

00:47

Hello, wonderful IELTS daily friends!

00:50

My name is Chris from IELTS daily,

00:52

and we're back today for another,

00:54

in our super mock exam speaking videos.

00:58

Today, we have the student Saska,

01:01

and she is going to talk as though

01:04

she speaking in the real mock exam.

01:07

So we have a practice examiner.

01:10

and we have feedback throughout the video.

01:13

And I hope that this feedback

01:15

is really useful for you

01:17

So you can learn some of the

01:18

techniques which Saski uses,

01:20

and maybe you can take on  some of the language she uses.

01:24

I'm going to tell you,

01:25

she's a great speaker today,

01:27

so pay attention. Let's go.

01:30

Hello,

01:30

and welcome to this practice exam

01:32

conducted by IELTS daily.

01:34

My name is Mattie,

01:34

and I'm your practice examiner.

01:36

The questions in this test are designed to

01:38

simulate the IELTS speaking test.

01:41

Let's start.

01:42

What's your first name, please?

01:44

Saskia.

01:45

Thanks, Saskia.

01:46

At the beginning of the IELTS test,

01:47

you will be required to provide some ID.

01:50

But as this is a practice test,

01:51

we don't need to do that today.

01:54

So I want to begin by talking about you.

01:57

Do you work or do you study?

01:58

I am a student at the moment.

02:00

And what do you study?

02:02

I'm at university, and I'm in my first year.

02:04

I'm doing a bachelor of arts in literature.

02:08

As you know,

02:09

really common question is:

02:11

Do you work or study ?

02:12

I would really advise you that

02:14

you should prepare for that type of question.

02:16

Are you working or are you studying?

02:19

Are you a full time employee

02:20

or are you a part time employee?

02:22

Maybe you're a job seeker,

02:24

maybe you're looking for a job.

02:25

Whatever you are, whoever you are,

02:27

make sure that you're ready.

02:29

Let's move on to the topic of math.

02:31

Do you like math?

02:32

I'm not particularly a fan, no.

02:35

This is some great language by Saski.

02:37

She says:

02:38

I'm not particularly a fan, no.

02:41

I'm not particularly a fan, no,

02:43

this is a great way to say, no.

02:46

But it's adding some language.

02:47

So if you're a fan of something,

02:50

yeah, you could say:

02:51

I'm really a fan of.

02:54

And why is math so important?

02:56

I think it is very fundamental  for a lot of degrees

02:59

and a lot of not just educational

03:02

but occupational things that you might go into.

03:05

Math has always provided to  be a basis for everything.

03:12

And is maths easy for everyone?

03:14

No, I can't say that it is.

03:16

I think it's a personality trait

03:19

that you are either more inclined

03:21

towards mathematical thinking or you are not.

03:25

In this section, she talked about math.

03:28

or you can say maths.

03:30

You know that math is the

03:32

American way to say maths or mathematics.

03:35

You can say either, doesn't really matter.

03:38

But in this section,

03:40

Saska used some great language.

03:42

She says:

03:44

You are more inclined.

03:46

She talked about personality.

03:48

Some people are more inclined.

03:51

Other people are not inclined,

03:53

and that means that they have some tendency

03:56

or trait that they have an  ability to do something.

04:02

Great!

04:02

Now I want to talk about smiling.

04:05

What makes you smile?

04:07

Everything, as you can tell.

04:10

Everything will make me smile.

04:11

I think I'm a very smiley person.

04:14

And how often do you smile?

04:15

A lot of the time, I can honestly say.

04:19

I really like this because

04:20

Saskia has a great rapport

04:23

or relationship with the practice examiner.

04:26

Make sure that in your test,

04:27

you're not feeling too nervous.

04:29

Try to pretend that you're talking to a friend,

04:32

have a natural conversation.

04:34

Sometimes your sentences will be short,

04:36

sometimes you can expand on them.

04:39

It doesn't really matter,

04:40

just make sure that you properly

04:43

address the question so that

04:45

you feel confident that you've answered it.

04:48

And when do people smile at each other?

04:50

When they're happy,

04:52

when they're loving, in love, just excited.

04:57

Sometimes when you are sad,

04:58

you can give a sympathetic smile,

05:00

and smiles can convey so much.,

05:03

Great language here.

05:04

She said:

05:05

Smiles can convey.

05:08

To convey.

05:09

To show or to get some meaning across.

05:13

So she said:

05:14

Smiles can convey.

05:16

It can convey good things or bad things.

05:20

Do you smile when you're having a photo?

05:22

I try to.

05:25

I try to, but you know,

05:26

sometimes you've got to give that,

05:28

that steel, the blue steel  look, I think it's cool.

05:32

That's the one.

05:33

Pose.

05:34

Pose.

05:35

I'm going to give you a topic,

05:36

and I'd like you to talk about it

05:37

for one to two minutes.

05:39

The only piece of feedback that I'd give to Saskia

05:42

here is that at times,

05:44

some of her answers are a little bit short,

05:46

and I feel that she could elaborate

05:48

a little bit more on her answers.

05:50

For example:

05:51

She talked about whether  people smile in photographs.

05:55

And she could say:

05:55

Well, yeah, I tend to smile often in photographs,

05:59

but I suppose it depends on the situation.

06:01

If it's an active photograph  and we're doing something,

06:05

then maybe there's no chance to smile.

06:07

But she did use a word which  I'm not that familiar with,

06:13

but I'm not doubting her.

06:14

It was a blue steel smile.

06:17

I don't really use that phrase very often,

06:18

but I think it's probably true,

06:20

you can talk about having a steely complexion,

06:23

which means that you're quite stern

06:26

and you don't always smile.

06:28

So somebody who has a steely complexion

06:30

might not smile so often.

06:33

Before you talk,

06:34

you will have one minute to think

06:35

about what you're going to say,

06:36

and you can make notes if you wish.

06:39

So here is a paper and pencil for making notes.

06:42

And here is your topic:

06:45

I would like you to describe  an advertisement you remember.

06:49

You'll have one minute.

07:04

Ok.

07:06

So remember,

07:06

you have one to two minutes for this.

07:09

Don't worry if I stop you;

07:10

I'll tell you when the time is up.

07:12

You can start speaking now, please.

07:14

Well,

07:14

an advertisement that has stuck to me a lot is,

07:17

I don't know if you remember it,

07:19

The 2016, I believe,

07:20

the Pepsi advertisement with Kendall Jenner.

07:23

Basically, she breaks up a protest between

07:28

the protesters and the cops

07:31

by handing a can of Pepsi.

07:34

And this was a video,

07:35

and it went viral across the Internet

07:37

because of the racial backlash that it faced.

07:42

After you know, it came out and went so popular,

07:44

because I think the idea was that

07:48

it would, it trivialize the ideas

07:51

of race and protesting, and things

07:54

that people might believe in.

07:56

And also just the social values

08:01

of culture, race, everything.

08:04

And basically by, you know,

08:06

dissolving a protest and

08:08

dissolving tension by a can of Pepsi,

08:11

It just trivialized things  like the Black Lives Matter,

08:15

any sort of protest,

08:16

whether it was racial, cultural, sexual, anything.

08:20

And this went viral, and I do remember it

08:24

because people still talk about it today,

08:26

and I was actually having a conversation recently.

08:28

about how even though this was so long ago,

08:32

and people have apologized,

08:33

Kendal Jenner has apologized,

08:35

Pepsi has apologized,

08:37

it has not taken away from just how iconic it was

08:41

and how it commemorated how people saw,

08:47

how people trivialized racial tension.

08:51

And so that's an advertisement

08:52

that I fully remember very, very vividly.

08:56

And that's it. Yeah.

08:57

Where were you when you first saw it?

08:59

I think I was in Sri Lanka.

09:00

And it just came up on a Youtube post, like,

09:03

you know how they gave you the advertisements

09:05

before they actually get to the actual video?

09:08

It was one of those things,

09:09

and you don't actually think about

09:11

how iconic it is,

09:13

because you just skip, get to the skip button.

09:16

But I actually watched the entirety of that video,

09:19

and I remember thinking,

09:20

"You know, what are you doing?"

09:22

I remember considering Pepsi's like,

09:24

what, that is not what you should be doing.

09:27

As you know, such a multi-million dollar company,

09:32

and even Kendall Jenner as an individual

09:34

and as somebody who signs up

09:35

to do this sort of protests

09:38

Exactly.

09:39

You just have to question where their morals are.

09:42

Yeah.

09:42

No, great.

09:44

Wow!

09:46

So much excellent language in here.

09:49

I think Saskia did a fantastic job.

09:53

However,

09:55

There's one piece of her speaking.

09:58

which may limit her from a band 9.

10:02

At the moment,

10:03

I think Saskia is heading towards about 9 in this,

10:07

in the speaking practice.

10:09

But there's one word

10:11

which I don't know if you noticed,

10:14

she didn't pronounce it in the way

10:16

that most people would pronounce it,

10:19

and it was the word, "advertisement".

10:23

Advertisement.

10:25

Now, some people may say, "advertisement".

10:29

And there are two ways

10:30

that you could probably say this, which would be:

10:32

Advertisement or advertisement.

10:36

You can choose most of those,

10:38

or both of those are just accepted ways.

10:41

The problem here is that  she said, "adverTEASEment".

10:46

And I spoke to Saskia after her test,

10:49

and I said,

10:50

why did you use the word "adverTEASEment"?

10:53

And she said,

10:54

Yeah, I know.

10:55

Actually, in my country, in Sri Lanka,

10:58

we say "adverTEASEement".

11:01

And I said,

11:01

Really? That's very interesting.

11:04

The problem with IELTS is that

11:08

they have specific ways

11:11

which are acceptable for pronunciation.

11:15

And those ways are usually

11:19

Standard British, American,

11:21

South African, Canadian accents.

11:25

But any deviation may be

11:27

Australian and New Zealand as well,

11:29

but any deviations from those  standard ways to pronounce things,

11:34

and this doesn't account for accent.

11:36

Remember the accent,

11:37

you can have an accent, that's okay.

11:41

The pronunciation of words  is actually quite important,

11:44

and I think that a really strict examiner.

11:49

Would say,

11:50

because she said, "adverTEASEment",

11:53

she probably would score

11:55

an 8 in the pronunciation section,

11:58

which I think is really unfair,

12:00

because she has been brought up.

12:02

speaking and using the word, "adverTEASEment".

12:06

Anyway,

12:07

that's a little bit about pronunciation,

12:08

and how important pronunciation is,

12:10

to have some sort of standard pronunciation.

12:13

But let's talk about her language.

12:15

She said, well so much language, she said:

12:18

Went viral,

12:20

racial backlash,

12:22

trivialized the idea of,

12:25

Social values,

12:26

dissolving the protest.

12:29

Trivializing the Black Lives Matter protest.

12:32

So. so much excellent, high level language

12:36

with a variety of complex grammar.

12:38

For me, she's on a 9, 9, 9.

12:42

8 for the pronunciation,

12:44

but that's because

12:45

I'm looking from a really  strict examiner's point of view.

12:49

Well done, Saskia.

12:51

Let's continue to section three.

12:53

Thank you.

12:55

Now let's talk about advertisements generally.

12:59

Why do companies advertise?

13:00

Because it attracts the attention of consumers,

13:04

and they can capitalize on their product.

13:07

And is advertising becoming too commonplace?

13:11

I think it might be,

13:12

because we're at a point now

13:14

where we see product placements in the news,

13:16

in TV, in movies, and we don't actually realize

13:21

how it's so commonplace,

13:22

that we don't actually realize that

13:23

we are being advertised too.

13:25

We're just there and we see it was like,

13:27

"Oh! I could do with a coke,

13:29

because I have seen somebody

13:30

drink a coke in this film",

13:32

it's that sort of thing

13:33

that's made it ridiculously commonplace, yes.

13:38

Saski's fluency is excellent.

13:40

In this section,

13:41

she is elaborating on her answers

13:43

and giving lots of supporting points.

13:46

She had some great language as well,

13:48

and we'll talk about those words now.

13:50

She said:

13:51

Product placement.

13:53

Do you know what a product placement is?

13:55

Well, it's when you see something

13:56

on a TV show or on TV.

14:00

which is advertising a product.

14:02

But you don't actually  realize it's an advertisement.

14:06

It's sitting, maybe there's  a cup sitting on the desk,

14:09

or maybe there's a car in the background,

14:12

that's called product placement.

14:14

She also said:

14:15

It's commonplace.

14:17

She said:

14:17

It's so commonplace,

14:19

which means it's really common,

14:21

but it's a different way to say common.

14:24

Commonplace.

14:25

And she also said:

14:26

I could do with a coke.

14:29

I could do with a coke,

14:30

means I really want a coke.

14:33

I could do with a cup of tea.

14:34

I really need a cup of tea.

14:37

Should advertising be regulated?

14:40

I think it should be

14:41

because otherwise we fall into.

14:44

Were in a very capitalist economy and society,

14:47

and I think that without

14:48

the regulation of advertisements,

14:51

you don't actually realize

14:53

that you are being advertised, too.

14:54

And you lose that sense of control over yourself,

14:59

you're spending,

15:00

you don't have any autonomy.

15:03

Did you catch Saskia

15:05

saying the word, "adverTEASEment", again?

15:08

Yep, it crept in,

15:10

and I think the examiner would notice that.

15:12

Such a shame.

15:14

Great speech, by the way.

15:15

She's talking at length,

15:16

using great, great language.

15:20

Is celebrity endorsement a good or a bad thing?

15:23

I understand how for the company,

15:25

that could be a good thing,

15:27

it's an excellent way to get,

15:29

you know, the layman's attention.

15:31

But at the same time, like you said,

15:33

I do believe that it has to be regulated.

15:36

Because celebrity endorsement is excellent.

15:40

And it's very, very effective.

15:43

But at the same time,

15:44

it does come with its issues.

15:47

Have you ever found yourself buying something

15:48

because a celebrity promoted it ?

15:50

I have found myself considering things

15:52

because a celebrity celebrity has promoted it.

15:54

Because I'm just saying, "Aha!

15:56

I mean, her skin is great,

15:57

she's using the skin care product".

15:58

There has to be some sort of correlation.

16:00

But you don't actually think about,

16:02

you know, the amounts of editing etc

16:03

that goes into her skin being great,

16:06

that sort of thing

16:07

And what celebrity might that be?

16:08

I think it was just some model, I remember.

16:11

I think it was Gigi Hadid

16:12

because I think when it comes to

16:14

young girls, and women, and fashion industries,

16:17

you see a model of somebody

16:20

who is very high up and very popular,

16:21

and immediately you think,

16:23

"Oh, well, you know,

16:24

if they're doing, it must be right".

16:26

So that's just that sort of thing.

16:29

Thank you very much.

16:30

That is the end of the speaking test.

16:33

Wow, Saskia had an excellent speaking test.

16:37

In this example, do you agree?

16:40

I think she would score overall a band 8.5,

16:44

and she definitely has the  opportunity to score a 9.

16:48

I can't really find anything to falter with.

16:51

No mistakes, really,

16:52

and if there were any mistakes,

16:54

they were called slips.

16:55

And you are allowed to make slips

16:57

at the band 9 level.

16:59

The same thing for language,

17:01

you can make slips at the band 9 level.

17:03

So I think he has asked you would

17:05

really be close to a band 9.

17:08

Fantastic,

17:09

fantastic opportunity for you guys

17:12

to watch and learn

17:13

from some of the things she says.

17:15

Notice how she delivers her speech,

17:17

she's very calm and confident.

17:19

She doesn't worry about it,

17:21

and she talks naturally.

17:22

I know that's really hard  for some of you guys to do,

17:25

but you've got to keep practicing.

17:27

Come and download the IELTS daily app,

17:28

and you can submit some of your speaking practice,

17:31

and we all mark that

17:32

and give you a score as well.

17:34

It's been such a place as talking to you today.

17:36

I love watching these mock exam videos.

17:38

Come back for another one,

17:39

because we have lots more

17:41

for you guys to learn from.

17:42

So for now,

17:43

take care,

17:44

be kind and see you in the next session