five useful idioms you can use for the IELTS Speaking hi there my name is Ben Worthington
in this video you're going to learn about five useful idioms as I just said these will
help you sound more natural when you're speaking when you're doing the test and what I've done
is I've used them and I've applied them by giving you sample answers to recent IELTS
Part 3 questions so I found these questions like follow-on questions and then I will give
you an example on how to use the collocation how to use the idiom sorry in your answer
so the first idiom we can use is the ‘fact of the matter’ okay the ‘fact of the matter’
means the real issue one example the fact of the matter is that I've taken IELTS three
times and I'm still getting 6.5 okay it's like what some students might say so I'll
give you an issue now I'll give you a typical or a recent actually a recent Part 3 question
that was asked and how you could answer it using an idiom so what business would young
people do well the fact of the matter is that young people would probably be more inclined
to do something technology-related I guess in that field they have an advantage over
older people so this is a good answer for two reasons for three reasons actually one
I've used the idiom, well the fact of the matter is I've used it correctly in a natural
way I didn't force it into the sentence also I've also answered in the same tense that
was asked that was used to ask me so it's what business will young people do and halfway
through the sentence I addressed it and I said the fact of the matter is that young
people will probably be more inclined to do something technology-related okay so I'm matching
the tenses and then the final reason why it's a good answer is because I've really listened
to the question and I said I've come and you can see that I've listened or you can hear
that I've listened to the question because I've said they have an advantage over older
people so I'm quite specific I’m saying one is that young people will probably do
something technology related and then second because they've got an advantage over the
old people okay so I'm giving a reason this is what we should be aiming for if you want
to get a 7 or above let's move on ‘out of the question’ ‘out of the question’
it just means it's like completely irrelevant of it's not really going to – it’s completely
irrelevant so typical a recent Part 3 question that was asked when do people in your country
retire my answer well they used to retire around 50 but nowadays that's out of the question
I think currently legal retirement age is 64 but I'm not too certain about that though
so once again I've answered the question okay as far as I know it's like you know the best
of my knowledge is this I also used the past I said well they used to retire but nowadays
that's out of the question they used to retire around 50 but nowadays it's out of the question
then I answer the question directly when do people in your country retire I think currently
the legal retirement age is 64 but I'm not too certain okay so the question was in present
simple eventually halfway through the sentence I answer I think currently the legal retirement
age is 64 so I answered it in a present simple as well okay so once again out of the question
and remember the best way to use these is to use them in context don't force them just
try and incorporate it into your natural everyday speaking to your natural everyday conversations
and then eventually you'll able to use them more appropriately or more aptly so’ wrap
your head around something’ okay so this is when it is difficult or difficult to comprehend
or difficult to grasp yeah so I have difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that if you
ask your IELTS score to be reevaluated i.e. it takes 30 days okay so personal example
there it's I have difficulty wrapping my head around this grasping the fact or comprehending
it now let's use this in a typical Part 3 follow-on question or a typical of recent
one the recent question was do you think weather has changed comparing it to the past in what
way so there are two questions here remember I said before the speaking test is a listening
test because we really need to pay attention to what is being asked so we can ascertain
so we can determine what the tenses and also our answer so again do you think the weather
has changed comparing to the past in what way two parts there so my answer well it's
difficult to wrap my head around that because where I've lived all my life the weather has
been very very constant it's just sunny all the time however I have heard that weather
patterns are changing compared to the past typhoons in Asia flooding in Europe and droughts
in North America so I guess maybe they are changing you could say they are becoming mark
erratic and violent okay so this is my answer and this is quite a long answer but there
were two questions in the initial question first I managed to get the ‘wrap your head
around something’ okay assuming that I'm from a country where it's just always hot
there's no rain it's just always sunshine then I could say this okay and the changing
weather patterns is not relevant to me because like I said it's quite stable where I’m
f from so it's difficult for me to wrap my head around the idea to comprehend these changing
patterns but I am aware that they are changing in certain places now the other reason why
this is a good answer is because I've put in some really good vocabulary specifically
related to the weather I'm talking about typhoons flooding droughts all these that I wouldn't
talk about unless when we're talking about weather but it shows the examiner that I've
got very vast lexical reasons that I've got some good vocabulary and then I can answer
this question and then the final bit you could say they are becoming more erratic you could
say the weather is becoming more erratic and more violent okay so in what way and then
the final part of the question I got was in what way are these weather patterns changing
I answer that because they're becoming more erratic and violent you see pay attention
to the question here I got the terms right it did come later that I remembered okay it's
not a perfect match it doesn't have to be always a perfect match it’d just have to
be appropriate getting the perfect tense is useful okay it's useful if you just want to
be absolutely certain but if you've got more confidence then you can play with it a little
bit next one ‘beyond the shadow of a doubt’ okay I will get a band 8 in my writing beyond
the shadow of a doubt I will get it this time okay beyond the shadow of a doubt I will get
it this time so this is when you're definite when you're absolutely certain okay so typical
question do the same question as before do you think the weather has changed compared
to the past in what way yes I definitely think the weather has changed there' are more typhoons
in Asia more flooding in Europe more droughts in North America and it's changed considerably
probably because of global warming in what way well it's become more drastic more dramatic
and the effects seem to be more frequent as well okay so I think I included ‘beyond
a shadow of a doubt’ I think you can see that at the beginning anyway it's quite clear
that the answer you can use it when you're absolutely certain about something and like
I've said before in other videos we use this in context okay if the examiner’s asking
you what’s your name you don't say beyond the shadow of a doubt my name's Ben all right
we use it in context we use it when it's appropriate and we don't force it so what is it the next
one ‘to go the extra mile’ ‘to go the extra mile’ what does that mean it just
means to go a little bit further often to get your goals to get your objective okay
so if you want to get ahead in life it's common to say well if you want to get ahead in life
you have to go that extra mile you have to do that extra task you know like we used to
say in the past first one in last one out and you'll never be out of a job okay according
to business and so if you're booking enough if you’re the first one and the last one
out you'll never be fired the truth of that is somewhat debatable nowadays however you
know the point I want to make is the extra mile to go the extra mile so if you want to
get a band 7 or above you've got to go that extra mile you’re going to do the extra
work you're going to write that extra essay you've got to invest in yourself in your own
success and then you'd be able to get up okay so a typical question that we might get a
recent question for the Part 3 follow-on questions what are interesting activities around the
river area okay assuming we've been talking about rivers of tourism related to rivers
beforehand so well interesting okay so let's see what are interesting activities around
a river area well there's lots of different activities you can do you can go canoeing
you can hire a speedboat and I think you can even go whitewater rafting and sometimes you
can pay the tour operator to go that extra mile and they will take you to the other let’s
see to take you to higher up the river where it's a little bit more exciting but also a
little bit dangerous so it wasn't the best use to go the extra mile there so that's a
good example of just don't force it just try and wait for the natural opportunity to use
it okay so those are our five idioms we can use in our speaking remember context is important
if you can match the tense also remember that the speaking test is also a listening test
okay and likewise the writing test is also a reading test I've said this before now if
you want any more help with your IELTS go to ieltspodcast.com a good look with your
IELTS preparation take care