Buzz
IELTS Speaking Part 1: Sách
Example
Do you frequently read books? When?
I consider myself a bookworm. I read books indiscriminately. Fiction, nonfiction, adventure, fantasy, romance… you name it. I read books almost every day.
- Indiscriminately (adv): một cách không phân biệt
- You name it: vân vân
Are your reading habits different now compared to before?
Yes, when I was younger, I used to read strictly as a recreational activity. However, now that I am a college student, I spend around 2 hours every day reading textbooks and research articles to make sure I have a good grasp of my major.
- Recreational activity: hoạt động giải trí
- Grasp (n): sự hiểu bài/hiểu vấn đề
Have you ever read a novel that was made into a movie?
My friends and I have all read the Harry Potter book series. To me they’re as impressive as the movies. Those books have given me a lot of fond childhood memories.
- Fond (adj): yêu thích
Do you prefer reading books or watching movies?
It really depends on my mood. On rainy days when I don’t feel too energetic, nothing beats a book and a cup of hot coffee. And when I want to wind down, I like to watch a comedy and action film.
- Nothing beats + n: không gì qua được
IELTS Speaking Part 2
Describe a friend who is a good leader
You are required to:
- who this friend is
- how you first met
- how other people behave towards him or her;
And justify why you believe he or she excels as a leader.
Example
I’m going to tell you about a friend whom I met in university and she’s an example of a born leader.
Her name is Thao. And from the outside she seemed to be an ordinary college student. She’s of average height and has somewhat small stature. In school, she often wore trousers and a comfortable yet polite t-shirt. My first impression of her was that she was a reserved person so I assumed that she was very shy, unassertive. I couldn’t be more wrong.
I met her in a course about design and marketing in our freshman year, in which one of the most important exercises was to come up with a product and a marketing campaign. By chance, we were assigned to a group of four.
In our first meeting, I realised that I know very little about teamwork. My two other friends and I kept arguing about superficial issues and jumping aimlessly from ideas to ideas. Thao just sat and listened to us attentively for 10 minutes. Then, she motioned to us that she wanted to speak and with a confident and assertive voice, she carefully laid out a plan with specific milestones and dates.
She also proposes each of us to contribute based on our strength. For example, I was in charge of the design of the product because I was good at photoshop and Thao herself was responsible for researching the market. The three of us reluctantly accepted her leadership at first but were impressed with her dedication and decisions.
Ultimately, we completed this assignment as the top project. It’s been two years since I last saw her, but I've heard she’s advanced to a managerial role at her current company. I've gained valuable insights from her and wish her continued success in her career.
- A born leader: người có năng khiếu lãnh đạo, nhà lãnh đạo thiên bẩm
- Unassertive (adj): thiếu quyết đoán
- I couldn’t be more wrong: (thú nhận) tôi đã lầm.
- Be assigned to a group: được phân vào nhóm
- Superficial (adj): thuộc về bề nổi
- Aimlessly (adv): một cách lan man, không có định hướng
- Assertive (adj): quả quyết
- Milestone (n): cột mốc
- To propose (v): đề xuất
- Reluctantly (adv): một cách dè dặt
- Dedication (n): sự đóng góp, quyết tâm
IELTS Speaking Part 3: Leadership qualities
Example
1. What are the primary attributes of effective leadership?
To me, decisiveness, endurance and empathy are the most important traits of a leader. The reasons for choosing the first two qualities are quite obvious. As a leader, you need to make quick and accurate decisions. Sometimes, you even have to fend off the criticism of those decisions brought by others. Furthermore, in the last couple of years, the ability to empathise you’re your subordinates has been highlighted as a desirable quality in a leader. If you’re able to understand the struggles of other people who are working for you, naturally it will improve the effectiveness of your team.
- Decisiveness (n): sự quyết đoán
- Empathy (n): sự đồng cảm. To empathise (v): thông cảm, thấu hiểu
- To fend off (v + adv): chống lại
- Criticism (n): sự phê bình, chỉtrich1
- Subordinate (n): cấp dưới
2. Is it possible to teach leadership abilities? Why/ Why not?
Absolutely, much like a soft skill, say cooking, even for a person without any natural cooking talent can benefit from learning the basic techniques and coming out a better cook. There are so many aspects of leadership that can be taught to anyone such as logistics, plan making, communication and so on. I would go as far as saying even if you have some talents for leadership, you still need to be taught a lot about it.
- Technique (n): phương pháp, kỹ thuật
3. How does leadership manifest among schoolchildren?
School children are exposed to leadership every day. To them, their teachers are leaders who guide them and help them become better. Children also have loads of opportunities to practice leading others through group projects and sport games. So I’d say school is a good place for children to train and show their potential for leadership.
- To be exposed to: được tiếp xúc với
- Potential (n): tiềm năng
