COURSE: IELTS Fighter Target 6.

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Speaking 6 EDUCATION
LECTURE

I. Part 1-style questions

EXAMPLES

1. Do you work or are you a student? Why did you choose that subject?

“At the moment I'm studying. I’m doing a graduate degree in molecular biology at Hanoi University of Science.”

To do a graduate/undergraduate degree in ....... at......university /ˈɡrædʒuət/ /dɪˈɡriː/ /juːnɪˈvɜːsəti/

Bachelor's degree /ˈbætʃələ(r)/: an undergraduate course which usually lasts 3-4 years (bằng đại học)

Internship /ˈɪntɜːnʃɪp/: a period of time during which a student or new graduate gets practical experience in a job
(thực tập) => to take an internship

To pursue career in.../pəˈsjuː/ /kəˈrɪə(r)/: theo nghề…

2. Can you describe yourself as a good student?

“Well, overall I think I am a good student. ... I am not an eager beaver, nor the teacher's pet... but I'm good at
scientific subjects and, most importantly, I like studying.”

Eager beaver /ˌiːɡə ˈbiːvə(r)/: a very enthusiastic and hard-working person

Teacher's pet: a student whom teachers like the most

3. Do you study English now?

“Yes, of course. I've taken an intensive course this year, where I've attend classes three times a week... And I plan
to continue my studies in the future, too...”

Intensive course /ɪnˈtensɪv kɔːs/: a course that offers lots of training in order to reach a goal in as short a time as
possible (khóa học tăng cường)
Attend classes /əˈtend/: to go to classes
 4. Did you enjoy/Do you enjoy studying at school?

“I've never really liked school... I'm not a bookworm and a lot of humanities subjects seemed too boring to me.
However, the workload was not too big... The other good thing about school is being able to see your friends. And
fortunately, I had wonderful classmates.”

Bookworm /ˈbʊkwɜːm/: a term to describe someone who really likes reading and spends a lot of time on it (mọt
sách)

Humanities /hjuːˈmænətiz/: the subjects of study that are concerned with the way people think and behave, for
example literature, language, history and philosophy... (khoa học nhân văn)

Workload /ˈwɜːkləʊd/: an amount of work one should do in a specific time period (lượng việc phải làm)

II. Part 2-style questions

EXAMPLES

Describe a period of time from your studies that was the most difficult for you so far. You should say:
- When it was
- Why it was hard
- What you were doing at that time
and say why you were so happy.

“I would like to talk about my last school year. It was really difficult due to enormous amounts of homework I had to
do and all the exams I had to prepare for... Em, so I studied hard, having no time to goof around ... Moreover, I
forgot a lot of things from the school curriculum, that's why I had to do a lot of revision... Despite the tough
preparation, I managed to set aside some time to rest and interact with my friends and family... After all, my efforts
were not in vain... I passed all the exams well and was admitted to the university of my dream.”

Goof around /ɡuːf/: to spend time doing nothing important

Curriculum /kəˈrɪkjələm/: the subjects that are included in a course of study or taught in a school, college, etc.
(chương trình học)
Revision /rɪˈvɪʒn/: learning for an exam (ôn tập)
In vain /veɪn/: not producing the result you want (vô ích)

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to be admitted to (a university ...etc) / ədˈmɪt/ (được nhận vào)
to set aside time

II. Part 3-style questions

EXAMPLES

1. What are some essential qualities any teacher should have?

“As for me, every teacher should be able to catch student's attention. It is very important to make your subject
interesting to the others... Also, teacher should be a subject specialist and a kind, helpful person..”

Catch sb's attention: to attract sb (thu hút sự chú ý)

Subject specialist: a person who is very talented in one specific field (người giỏi chuyên môn)

2. What are some pros of studying on a distance learning course?

“To be honest, I think it's very advantageous to study in such way... It gives you more time flexibility, especially if
you have a job... Not to mention that it is fairly cheap, compared to face-to-face classes...”

Distance learning course: a course where people study at home with the help of special Internet sites and
television and radio programmes, and send or email work to their teachers
Face-to-face class: a traditional way of studying in a classroom with a teacher

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3. Does everybody get equal opportunities to study?

“Definitely not. I think it really depends on a country you live in... Moreover, it depends on your financial
capabilities... Some schools and universities are just too expensive... Only a small fraction of people can afford to
study there.”

Financial capability /faɪˈnænʃl ˌkeɪpəˈbɪləti/: an ability to pay for sth

Small fraction = a small number

Can afford to do sth = have enough money to do sth

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 HOMEWORK

Part 2-style question

Describe a teacher who has influenced you in your education

You should say:
● Where you met him/ her.
● What subject s/he taught.
● What was special about him /her
● and explain why this person has influenced you

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 ANSWER KEYS

I consider myself lucky to get several very good teachers throughout my academic years. Among them, I'd like to
talk about Mr Kien who was an extraordinary teacher, a really good mentor and who has a great influence in my
education.
I met Mr Smith when I was in class 4 and he was our math teacher. He is a very friendly person and teaches us
very well. He had a unique way of teaching. Seems like he would start an interesting story and later we would find
that he would relate the math to the story. Thus everything we learned from him was interesting.
I'd say he has a great influence in my education because he made a very strong foundation on Mathematics. Later
on, I studied that Science and Mathematics were the most important subjects. I have always been good at math
and that's mainly because of Mr Kien. Before I learned math from Mr Kien, my impression on math was not good
and I considered mathematics to be a very difficult and uninteresting subject. But his teaching and influences
changed my way of thinking about math and later on math became one of my most favourite subjects.