IELTS SPEAKING: WORK AND STUDY

IELTS
SPEAKING

WORK & STUDY

Vocabulary
Speaking Part 1

Content

Work & Study

Vocab & Speaking

Def: the main subject or course of a student at college or university

e.g. My major is Marketing/I'm a Marketing major

Major

/ˈmeɪdʒə(r)/

Def: a person who has a university degree

Collocation:
- a graduate of + school
- a graduate in + major

graduate

/ˈɡrædʒuət/

Def: (of a person) able to do many different things

e.g. He's a versatile actor who has played a wide variety of parts.

Versatile

/ˈvɜːsətaɪl/

Def: To Create or Establish

Collocation: to carve out a career

e.g. She carved out a successful career in the music industry.

carve out

/kɑːv/

Open Ended

Generate a sentence employing the recently acquired vocabulary terms and expressions.

Major - Versatile - Graduate - Carve out

E.g. My major is quite versatile, ...

Def: to describe something that looks easy/simple to be done at first, but is actually not

e.g. Learning guitar is deceptively simple, and you might struggle more and more over time

to be deceptively simple

/dɪˈseptɪvli/

Def: to improve or develop over a period of time; to make progress/to advance

e.g. Work on the new road is progressing slowly.

progress

/ˈprəʊɡres/

Def: to become familiar with or skilled at doing a particular task or activity

e.g. Learning guitar is deceptively simple. Once you get the hang of it, you'll progress really quickly.

to get the hang of something

Def: (when used with major/skill) to be relevant and can be put into practice.
Synonym: practical

e.g. What I like about my major (marketing) is that it is very applicable. The concepts and strategies I learned in my marketing courses are directly practical to real-world business scenarios.

applicable

/ˈæplɪkəbl/

Open Ended

Generate a sentence employing the recently acquired vocabulary terms and expressions.

to be deceptively simple

progress

to get the hang of something

applicable/practical

E.g. Doing something is deceptively simple, ...

E.g. What I like about Marketing is it is practical, ...

Def: that can be used in different jobs


e.g. We aim to provide our students with transferable skills.

transferable skills/skillsets

/trænsˈfɜːrəbl/

Def: means to equip or prepare oneself with a particular set of skills or abilities.


e.g. It is crucial to arm yourself with transferable skills in this vulnerable economy

to arm yourself with adj + skills

Def: refers to the various paths or choices available to an individual in terms of their professional or occupational pursuits.


e.g. Contrary to what most people believe, youngsters tend to choose majors that offer a wide range of career options.

a range of career options

Open Ended

Generate a sentence employing the recently acquired vocabulary terms and expressions.

transferable skills/skillsets

to arm yourself with adj + skills

a range of career options

E.g. In this rapidly changing economy, it is important to...

Def: ​producing a large amount of money; making a large profit

Collocation: a lucrative profession

e.g. Contrary to what people think, F&B is not that lucrative of an industry.

lucrative
/ˈluːkrətɪv/

Def: refers to employment opportunities that directly align with the field of study or the specific skills acquired through education, training, or experience.


e.g. After completing a degree in software engineering, he was able to secure several IT-related jobs in reputable manufacturing companies

major/skill-related jobs

Def: ​producing a large amount of money; making a large profit

Collocation: a lucrative profession


e.g. Had the plan worked it would have proved highly lucrative.

lucrative
/ˈluːkrətɪv/

Def: ​means that something is not entirely satisfactory or does not meet one's expectations or standards.




e.g. Had the plan worked it would have proved highly lucrative.

to leave a little to be desired

Def: means to meet the expected standard or level of quality.


e.g. The restaurant's food is not up to par,

to be up to par

Def: low level jobs


e.g. Gen Z typically aren't too thrilled about doing entry-level jobs when they go to work for the first time, but they have to start somewhere.

entry-level job

Def: that does not stop holding something or give up something easily; determined


e.g. She's a tenacious woman. She never gives up.

tenacious
/təˈneɪʃəs/

Def: not interesting or exciting


e.g. On a more mundane level, can we talk about the timetable for next week?

mundane
/mʌnˈdeɪn/

Def: doing the same thing many times, so that it becomes boring


e.g. Entry-level jobs can be repetitive and mundane, which can be a nightmare for freshers.

repetitive
/rɪˈpetətɪv/

Open Ended

Generate a sentence employing the recently acquired vocabulary terms and expressions.

to leave a little to be desired

E.g. Although Tran Thanh is a versatile artist,

Speaking Part 1
Work & Study

​Answer = Direct Answer + Expansion

Open Ended

What do you do?

Are you working or are you a student?

What do you do?
Are you working or are you a student?

Describe your experience with the major:
- It is a popular belief that MAJOR is quite off-putting and daunting.

- But gradually, I've grown fonder of this field.

- Once you get the hang of the basic principles, it becomes very/somewhat fascinating/captivating

Expansion

Suggested structure:
- I am a junior/senior at UNIVERSITY, and my major is MAJOR

- Well, I am attending UNIVERSITY NAME IN SHORT, short for UNIVERSITY NAME IN FULL. I am a MAJOR major + REASON FOR CHOOSING THE MAJOR.

Direct Answer

Direct Answer: Well, I am a UEH fresher, short for University of Economics HCMC. I am a marketing major. You know, initially, I just put Marketing as a default as everyone seemed to be doing it.

Expansion: But gradually, I've grown fonder of this field. I understand why it is a popular belief that Marketing is daunting and off-putting to most people. Yet, once you get the hang of the basic principles, it immediately becomes captivating.

What do you do?

Are you working or are you a student?

What do you like about your major?

Describe how applicable the major is:
- In the future, I can work as a freelancer in the lucrative field of INDUSTRY.

- In the future, I will be able to effectively manage SOMETHING, that can generate substantial value to SOMEONE.

- The skillset of MAJOR-related jobs are also transferrable, so you can easily switch to something else if need be.

Expansion

Suggested structure:
- Well, what I'm quite into/fond of about my major is the fact that it is very applicable/practical

- Well, what I love about MAJOR is that it offers a range of career options.

Example
- Well, what I love about logistics/graphic design is that it offers a range of career options.

Direct Answer

Direct Answer: Well, what I love about Finance is that it offers a range of career options.

Expansion: The skillset of finance-related jobs are also transferrable.

This means that I can switch to relevant fields if need be, not to mention that these professions are lucrative and individuals with financial skills are quite sought-after to the best of my knowledge.

What do you like about your major?

What do you dislike about your school?

Describe what is bad:
- For one, frankly speaking, I believe the facilities are not up to par

- the capacity of learning facilities, a.k.a classrooms, is not enough to accommodate the whole student population.

Expansion

Suggested structure:
- Well, first of all, I have to say that UNIVERSITY is the best educational body according to my personal observation. However, there are several things that I do dislike. For one, ...

- As wonderful as UNIVERSITY is, I guess there are a host of things that leave a little to be desired, like with most schools.

Direct Answer

What are you going to do when you graduate?

Discuss the field
- Of course, at the beginning, you can only do low-level jobs like PROFESSION, but eventually, you will climb the ladder and become a SOMETHING.

- Of course, when you first start out, you have to do entry-level jobs like PROFESSION, which I guess can be mundane and repetitive. However, if you are patient/tenacious enough, you will advance quite quickly and climb to the position of SOMETHING - that's when the money starts rolling in.

Expansion

Suggested structure:
- As I was saying, there are many directions you can go when you're a MAJOR major, and lately, I've gravitating/leaning toward PROFESSION.

- I think I may give PROFESSION a try, it's a lucrative/profitable field I suppose.

Direct Answer

Open Ended

What do you like about your major?

Open Ended

What do you dislike about your school?

Open Ended

What are you going to do when you graduate?