SPEAKING

  Speaking Part 4 Key words Cover people’s basic needs     create cultural diversity    encourage tolerance towards other ways of life            help them integrate    live side by side      open up people’s minds                    Provide housing    make the transition to a new society     make society a richer place People from different backgrounds with different outlooks  Questions What are the benefits of a multicultural society? Should people who go live in another country adopt the culture of that country? Why not? How can governments help immigrants? Laura, what do you think are the benefits of a multicultural society? I think it encourages understanding of other cultures and tolerance towards them and towards other ways of life, other religions perhaps, and that can be very educa...

  Speaking part 2 Here are your pictures. They show people involved in physical activities. I'd like you to compare two of the activities, and say how effective the activities are as a means of keeping fit, and why they are so popular.  Ok.. I'm going to choose gym exercises and walking, I think, because they seem to me to be quite different. I think gym exercises are becoming more and more popular because people don't have the opportunity to go out into the countryside, especially if they live in a town -so lots of people join a gym because they think that's a good way to keep fit. I think it's to do with time and space and not having the opportunity to walk. Whereas walking is something you can do only if you have access to the countryside - which a lot of people don't have these days. Anyone can join a gym and plan their visits to fit in with their other commitments. Personally, I prefer walking to gym exercises, which I think are dreadfully boring. Walking’s...

  Speaking part 3 Look at the three photos showing environmental problems. Discuss these questions.  What problems do the photos show? To what extent are humans to blame for the problem? Read these part 3 written prompts and spend a few moments thinking about possible answers.  Now I'd like you to talk about something together for about two minutes. Here are some environmental threats that can affect people’s lives. Talk to each other about how these threats can affect people’s lives.  Well, this ones really relevant at the moment because it's in the news now - literally as we speak. There are lots of forest fires all over Australia and they're having a terrible effect on people’s lives. The experts seem to think it's one of the results of climate change and global warming.  Yes, but forest fires only affect certain parts of the world, don't they? I mean, I'd say flooding is probably more widespread, it affects more different places- Asia, America and Europe. Th...

  Speaking part 1 Possible questions: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you choose to go? Why? If some friends from abroad were visiting your region, which places would you take them to see? Why? What thighs do you most enjoy doing when traveling on holiday? Why? Do you find it useful that you can speak English when you travel? Why? What's the best time of year for people to visit your country? Why? Would you enjoy going on an adventurous, possibly dangerous journey? Why? What is the most interesting place you have ever traveled to? Why? If you could choose something completely different from your usual type of holiday, what would you choose? Why? Would you enjoy working with tourists? Why? Would you prefer to spend a year traveling or to spend a year working? why? Well, it depends where to. I'm certainly not afraid of taking risks for a bit of excitement and I get a real buzz from a bit of danger. But it would have to be a journey to somewhere interesting,...

  Speaking part 4 Discuss these written prompts for a speaking part 3 task. Possible questions Why do you think lecturers are a more common as a form of teaching in universities than in schools? What are the advantages and disadvantages of one to one teaching from a student’s point of view? Some people think that individual studying is the least effective way of learning. Do you share this view? Why not? Do you think project work is an approach more suited to older or younger students? Why? Which do you think is more important from a student’s point of view: a good teacher or a small class? Why? Do you think that exams are the best and fairer means of assessing students? Why not? Key vocab Academic studying     class teaching     individual student    learning style    pair or group work       Primary school      programme of study     range of abilities    secondary school Give...

  Speaking part 2 Here are some pictures. They show people using different machines or devices. I'd like you to compare two of the pictures and say what problems the people might have with their jobs and how the machines or devices might help the people to do their jobs better.  Key vocab Clear up leaves   cover large areas     deal with infringements     find suitable pastures        give somebody a fine     have a criminal record     keep public spaces tidy      protect from predators      round up the flock      traffic or parking offenses      check identity                       conserve energy  Well. The first one is a policeman using what I think must be a tablet - you know, with an internet connection so he can check or send data. He's probably checking the identity of a driver to see if...

  Speaking part 3 They're all quite important influences, aren't they? But I'd say that nearly everyone watches television so it's got to be a big influence on people.  And the radio - there are loads of people who have the radio on all the time. Whatever they’re doing.  Yeah, that's because it's pretty easy to do things at the same time as you're listening. Tv’s not like that, you know, you've got to watch to make sense of it.  The point is, does radio have as powerful an influence as TV? No, probably not, but we are not supposed to be thinking about radio and TV separately, are we? No, I suppose not. I'd say things like the news on TV can have a great influence because you can actually see what's happening.  Ok -now we've got newspapers. I'd say quite a few people read these, but I think people tend to read the newspapers that agree with their political opinions, so they probably don't actually change many people's ideas or opin...

  Speaking part 4 Here are some team building activities which have been suggested for new members of a social club. Talk to each other about how effective these activities would be in helping people to get to know each other better.  Possible questions.  Some people say that team building activities are a waste of time. Do you agree? What qualities does a person need to be a good team member? What can managers do to make sure their teams of employees work well together on a day to day basis? Large clubs and organizations are more likely than small ones to organize theme building activities. Why do you think this is? What problems can arise if individuals in a large organization feel isolated or undervalued? Is it always best for people to avoid conflict with others? Why not? Extract 1 No, not at all. I think it's really important for people who are going to be spending time together to get to know each other properly as quickly as possible. I don't have any experience of...