Hi everyone! I'm Jay from IELTS daily.
Welcome back!
Today, we're going to be answering a question
from the IELTS speaking exam part two.
So come along,
let's get started!
So today, we're going to be looking at a question from part two of the IELTS exam, and once again,
I have my good friend and colleague, Chris here.
How are you doing, Chris?
Hey Jay!
I'm doing really well.
This question today is about reading and writing.
And do you enjoy reading and writing?
I guess I would say I do.
I'm an avid reader,
and I also... well,
I'm big into research with my master's degree.
So...
yeah.
I'll be sending a question to your iPad, and we'll have a look at that question.
Now together, you'll see it on the screen,
which is, "Describe a place you go to".
If you want to read or write,
you should say where this place is,
why do you go to this place,
what is this place like, and explain
if other people go to this place.
You have a minute in the exam to prepare.
Make some note. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
Your minute starts now.
All right.
I said I'd like to go... if I want to read or write.
Well,
I would have to say my study in my home.
I have very particular tastes when it comes to a place that I want to read in, or
study, or do any type of academic pursuit.
And I love my study.
It's one of my favorite places in my house.
I go there because it's quiet,
It's cozy,
It's filled with books, and bookshelves, and a nice desk.
It's also got my computer in there,
and it's just a really...
It's quiet, and it's dark as well.
So the pictures on the walls in the room are darkly painted: dark blue,
and the wooden paneling of my... my bookshelves are like a dark wood.
I kind of like it too, maybe like an English-style study.
A minute is up.
So in the test, we want you to speak for over one minute,
and I'll be making notes on some of the excellent language that you use.
Your minute starts now,
Alright,
so the question is asking me a place.
Describe a place that I would like to go to if I want to read or write,
so I'm going to talk about my study today.
The study in my home is really,
really nice and cozy.
It's probably the one place in the house that I had a say in its decoration.
So, I've tried to liken it to an
old English study,
or an old English sitting room, where
it has dark walls so that instead of the traditional white walls
of most homes, or light colours,
the walls in my study are dark blue.
And the furniture in there is a really dark wood.
So, kind of like an oak-feel to it.
And that darkness helps give the study a bit of a...
a cozy and comfortable atmosphere.
I go there because of it. Because it's cozy and it's comfortable,
and it's a place that I can just kind of step away from everything.
It's really...
It's really not like anyplace else in a house, in my house,
but because it's separate and it's different.
it's a nice getaway for me,
and it's just a really good, quiet place to read.
Because reading is one of my favorite hobbies,
so, it's definitely something that is connected to me in it.
I feel really comfortable there.
Fantastic,
wondeful!
I think this is a hard question and you did really well. In the test,
you may want to think about
moving on to a different place.
So you could talk about one particular place: your study.
Then you might want to talk about...
Ah,
I just thought about the library close to where I live.
And you could change the topic if you are struggling,
but you didn't struggle.
I'm just giving some advice for the students.
You said in your test,
"I'm gonna talk about".
Could you talk about the contraction of "I'm gonna"?
Well, actually in speech.
It's called a reduction,
Chris.
So gonna is the reduction of two words: going to,
and actually, it's three words: am, going, to.
So instead of saying I am going to...
blah blah blah...
We say, "I'm gonna".
And there are a lot of these instances in spoken English,
where we reduce the sound of two or three words to combine them into one.
And sometimes it's really hard for non-native speakers to understand
when we do that.
Another one is,
what are you gonna?
So, that is,
If I'm going to say,
"What are you going to do tonight, Chris?".
But if I'm speaking at a normal speed in English,
I'm just going to reduce that to, "what are you gonna do, Chris?"
So, you've got going to is gonna.
Can you think of any more?
I want to.
There are many bit off the top of my head.
Want to. Wanna?
Wanna? Yeah, Want to. I wanna.
I wanna have pizza tonight for dinner.
Wanna.
I, in English,
I know, "What are you - watcha?".
What?
Yep?
Yeah,
that's more British.
Yes,
watcha.
But we could... we might say, "whatcha gonna do?".
Yeah,
watcha.
Good. You use the word cosy.
What does cosy mean?
To me cosy is warm.
It's comfortable.
It's a place when you...
when I think of cosy,
it's a place you can sit when you're in your your pajamas,
you know.
And it's soft and warm.
It's the opposite of cold, and austere, or hard.
normally, quite small right, right?
Normally.
Yeah, normally small,
yes.
I had a say in its decorations.
So, you had a decision in it had some part to play in how it was decorated, right?
Yes.
"And I tried to liken it to, to liken something to", explain that one.
Ah...
Compare?
Yeah.
When I say liken, and if you use that term,
you are comparing two things.
Yes.
Good.
Another way of saying that.
It's a place where you can step away from everything. What does step away mean?
Step away, would just be to remove yourself from the everyday life,
the craziness of work and school.
And you know, everything that you do encounter in your average day.
So step away,
get away is another way,
another term that you can use.
That's a term that you did use.
You said it is a getaway, you used it as a noun.
Yes.
So it is a getaway.
I really enjoyed that speech.
I learnt a lot about.
I can picture your a cozy, study where you do lots of work.
That's it for me, thank you.
Thank you, Chris.
And thank you guys for watching,
we'll see you next time.
Take care.