IELTS Preparation Series 3, Episode 11: Grammatical Range in the Speaking Test
(Bấm vào đây để chọn bài học kế tiếp)
Xem lời thoại bên dưới:
0:12
Hello, and welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation. I'm Margot Politis.
0:18
Knowing how to compare and contrast is something you are likely to need for the IELTS Speaking
0:23
Test.
0:25
There are a number of grammatical structures that you can use to make comparisons and express
0:30
differences.
0:32
Listen to this candidate comparing and contrasting his teachers:
0:37
What differences in teaching styles have you experienced with different teachers?
0:42
Well, I think, you have to make a difference between a teacher's knowledge and personal
0:46
style. Some teachers, you know, are very knowledgeable and have a lot of experience and everything.
0:53
Both my history and science teachers knew their subjects really well, but my maths teacher,
0:59
who was much older - maybe that's why - just didn't have the skills to convey all that
1:05
to the students. If I were to compare all my classes, I would say his were the most
1:11
boring. My history teacher, on the other hand, he knew how to communicate to students and
1:18
his lessons were more enjoyable and we learnt faster.
1:22
He said that "both my history and science teachers knew their subjects".
1:28
He uses the word 'both' to say 'the two together'. They're similar in the way they know a lot
1:34
about their subjects. He then contrasts them to the maths teacher by using the word 'but'.
1:43
Listen:
1:44
Both my history and science teachers knew their subjects really well, but my maths teacher,
1:51
who was much older - maybe that's why - just didn't have the skills to convey all that
1:56
to the students.
1:58
To justify the contrast he compares the ages of the teachers. The maths teacher is much
2:05
older. Older is a comparative adjective. Someone who is 50 is older than someone who is 40.
2:16
'Much older' is a way of saying the difference is larger - someone who is 80 is much older
2:23
than someone who is 40.
2:26
He also compares the teaching styles of his teachers:
2:30
If I were to compare all my classes, I would say his were the most boring.
2:36
This time he uses the superlative - the most boring, because he is comparing more than
2:42
2 things. He does this using a conditional 'if' sentence which is a polite way of criticising
2:49
someone:
2:50
If I were to compare all my classes, I would say his were the most boring.
2:57
He goes on to talk about his history teacher. How does he show that he is comparing him
3:02
to the boring maths teacher? My history teacher, on the other hand, he
3:08
knew how to communicate to students and his lessons were more enjoyable and we learnt
3:13
faster.
3:14
He says 'on the other hand' to show that he is now talking about a different style of
3:20
teaching. And again he uses comparative forms - more enjoyable and faster - to express this
3:29
difference.
3:34
Now listen to another candidate responding to a question designed to encourage her to
3:39
compare and contrast:
3:41
Is it better to grow up in the city or in the countryside?
3:45
Well, I think that, mm, both places have their pros and cons. I've grown up in a city, and
3:56
I've lived in a city all my life. And sometimes when I see those families who have their kids
4:02
in the countryside I envy them, because they can run about, you know. They are free and
4:12
the environment is cleaner and safer, but then, on the other hand, you know, living
4:18
in a city gives you other, um, opportunities to socialise, have more contact with culture,
4:24
and better opportunities for education. So, I don't know. It's difficult to say. Both
4:31
things have advantages and disadvantages.
4:36
She begins by saying that "both places have their pros and cons". Saying 'both' means
4:43
she is referring to the city and the country. Pros and cons is an idiom meaning advantages
4:52
and disadvantages. Then she establishes that her point of view is that of a city person:
5:00
I've grown up in a city, and I've lived in a city all my life.
5:06
Then she says what the advantages - the pros - of living in the country are:
5:11
Sometimes when I see those families who have their kids in the countryside I envy them,
5:19
because they can run about, you know. They are free and the environment is cleaner and
5:27
safer.
5:28
The advantages are that in the country you can run about and be free. She also uses the
5:35
comparative adjectives 'cleaner' and 'safer' to describe the country compared to the city.
5:43
Often you use comparatives with 'than' a word that means 'in comparison with'.
5:50
The country is cleaner than the city.
5:55
She chooses to contrast with the word 'but' and talk about the advantages of living in
6:00
the city:
6:01
They are free and the environment is cleaner and safer, but then, on the other hand, you
6:09
know, living in a city gives you other, um, opportunities to socialise, have more contact
6:15
with culture, and better opportunities for education.
6:20
Like the previous candidate, she uses the phrase 'on the other hand' to show she is
6:25
talking about something different - the city.
6:30
And again she uses the language of comparison, this time the irregular comparative form of
6:36
good, 'better'. Listen again:
6:40
They are free and the environment is cleaner and safer, but then, on the other hand, you
6:48
know, living in a city gives you other, um, opportunities to socialise, have more contact
6:53
with culture, and better opportunities for education.
6:58
Now let's listen to the way she rounds off her comparison of city and country living:
7:04
So, I don't know. It's difficult to say. Both things have advantages and disadvantages.
7:11
She ends by saying both have advantages and disadvantages which means that one isn't better
7:18
than the other. You don't have to say that one thing is better than another if you don't
7:23
think so. The phrase for this is 'as good as'. She thinks that the country is as good
7:30
as the city.
7:35
The structures you use to compare things in the speaking test are assessed as grammatical
7:41
range and accuracy, one of the IELTS marking criteria. Other things that are assessed in
7:47
this area are the number of mistakes you make and the range of sentence types you use.
7:54
Don't be overly concerned about being perfectly correct all the time. Some mistakes will occur
7:59
in your speech.
8:04
It's good to review the rules for forming comparatives.
8:07
One syllable words have the -er comparative form: big, bigger
8:15
You need to memorise the forms for 2 syllable words because they can be either -er or have
8:22
'more' before them: narrow, narrower
8:27
useful, more useful
8:30
Words of 3 syllables and longer have the 'more' form:
8:36
intelligent, more intelligent spectacular, more spectacular
8:44
You can emphasise the degree of difference and say 'much older'.
8:50
With 'more intelligent', you say 'much more intelligent' and with 'more spectacular',
8:58
you say 'much more spectacular'.
9:05
And don't forget to review irregular comparative adjectives like:
9:09
good, better bad, worse
9:14
far, further or farther
9:20
Whenever a question has a comparative adjective in it, you can be confident that you are expected
9:25
to reply with the language of comparison.
9:32
That's all for now. To find more information about grammatical range and accuracy in the
9:37
Speaking Test visit our Study English website. The address is: australianetwork.com/studyenglish.
9:41
Good luck with your studies. Bye.
