TRANSCRIPT

EPISODE 9: SPEAKING COHERENTLY

Hello, and welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation. Im Margot Politis. Today well look at some aspects of discussing a topic, which is something you are expected to do in Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking Test. In Part 3 of the Speaking Test you participate in a two-way discussion to test your ability to discuss a topic in depth in a number of ways. These may include speculating, comparing and contrasting or identifying a trend. The speaker in the next clip identifies a trend. What is the trend? The fastest-growing area of identity fraud is in internet services, such as people breaking into Internet banking accounts, credit card fraud over the internet, people using fraudulent credit cards, fraudulent identities to, essentially, break into other people's accounts and, essentially, steal their money. The trend hes identified is the fastest-growing crime in the world, identity fraud. If we listen further he explains why its a problem. The traditional way to protect internet banking and other secure applications is through passwords and PIN numbers. And these are totally inadequate in an area where identity-related fraud is growing at such a high rate. He tells us its a problem because the traditional ways to protect internet banking are inadequate. But he has a solution. Lets hear what it is. What we've actually developed here is a technology that allows us to analyse a person's voice - a person that is actually sitting at their computer screen accessing a secure website. We're able to analyse their voice in order to confirm that they actually are who they say they are. [Voice Authentication Demo: Big bird - Congratulations you have been successfully verified]. His solution is to use technology which produces a voice signature. He demonstrated three of the language functions which are used to assess your communication skills. He identified the issue - that identity fraud is a problem and then explained why its a problem. The third language function was providing a solution - he talked about what could be done to prevent identity fraud.

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Now lets listen to this woman responding to the question: What makes a person famous? I think there are different ways to see what makes a person famous. One is the publicity and the marketing around a person, but I dont think thats a real, honest way to be famous. I think if I have to choose Id rather be famous for being honest, for being kind and for trying to help and solve conflicts or problems in the world, instead of being on the cover of a magazine. So my characteristics for a, a famous person, I will go for honesty and kindness. She shows that she understands the question by incorporating it into her response at the start. By repeating the question she is clarifying the topic. I think there are different ways to see what makes a person famous. The question is designed to see if you can identify. She identifies what she believes makes a person famous - publicity and marketing. She uses the listing word 'one' to make this clear and to logically link her first sentence with the next: I think there are different ways to see what makes a person famous. One is the publicity and the marketing around a person Having identified what makes someone famous, she then shows that she doesnt agree with this idea. The disagreement is expressed through the word 'but' and she logically continues by saying why she disagrees: One is the publicity and the marketing around a person, but I dont think thats a real, honest way to be famous. She develops and expands her ideas further by justifying her opinion. Advising her listener by using the conditional if - if I have to choose - she then expresses her preference by using a modal - Id rather: I think if I have to choose Id rather be famous for being honest, for being kind and for trying to help and solve conflicts or problems in the world She contrasts her idea of what she believes a person should be famous for with the idea she suggested originally. She links these two ideas appropriately using instead of: Id rather be famous for being honest, for being kind and for trying to help and solve conflicts or problems in the world, instead of being on the cover of a magazine She rounds off her answer by summarising concisely her idea of what makes a person famous. She uses the conjunction - so to make this final statement: So my characteristics for a, a famous person, I will go for honesty and kindness. So she clarifies, identifies, disagrees, gives an opinion, advises, shows a preference, contrasts ideas and summarises.

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In order to respond fully, appropriately and coherently, there are a number of skills you need. You should be able to quickly recognise what the question is asking. A do you think question such as: Do you think there is too much violence in films today? Needs a reply that gives your opinion. A question such as: What makes a person famous? Requires you to identify. Look at this question: Why do children like eating fast food? You may have an opinion about this, but before you give it, you might explain and give reasons why children eat fast food. Its very likely that you will be asked to compare things with a question such as: What are the differences between urban and rural homes in your country? Another thing the examiners are looking for is the ability to speculate or say what might happen with a question such as: What kind of transport will people use in the future? Now lets look at part of a professional discussion, a television interview with an expert on diet: Do you think that some people put on weight more easily than others? Oh, that's definitely the case. We do know that there are genetic differences in how easy it is for people to put on weight. That's not necessarily related only to their metabolism. It may also have to do with how much they are driven to eat. And so the degree of appetite control is better in some people than others. And it's got nothing to do with willpower - it's just the way people are wired. She was asked for her opinion with the question: Do you think that some people put on weight more easily than others? Being an expert, she gives it quickly and decisively: Oh, that's definitely the case. She means that she completely agrees with the idea that some people put on weight more easily than others. She goes on to give the reasons why she believes that: We do know that there are genetic differences in how easy it is for people to put on weight. Thats the first reason - some people put on more weight from the same amount of food because theyre born that way - there are genetic differences. But theres another reason. Listen to the way she develops this: That's not necessarily related only to their metabolism. It may also have to do with how much they are driven to eat.

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Thats not necessarily related only to their metabolism. Metabolism is how your body responds to food. The important words are not necessarily related only to This means that metabolism is not the only reason people put on weight. Another reason may be how hungry people are - how much they are driven to eat. Notice she introduces this idea with the word may - this means this time shes not completely certain that this is the case. Listen again: That's not necessarily related only to their metabolism. It may also have to do with how much they are driven to eat. She concludes with a hypothetical example using 'if'. So that if you put some people in a situation where there's a smorgasbord, some people will be able to control exactly how much they need to eat. And some of them don't have an 'off' button. And some people don't have an 'off' button. Thats all for now. To find more information about Part 3 of the Speaking Test visit our Study English website. The address is: australianetwork.com/studyenglish. Good Luck with your studies. Bye for now.

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