SPEAKING
ee
SOCIAL
Trang 3PART 1 - SOCIAL INTERACTIONS SAMPLE QUESTIONS
Family
1 Describe your family
2 Do you have a large or small family?
3 How many brothers and sisters do you have? What do they like doing in their free time?
4 Can you tell me about your family? 5 What do your parents do?
Education
1 Describe your education
2 What kind of school did you go to as a child? 3 What was your favorite subject as a child? 4 Who was your favorite teacher?
5 What is the education system like in your country? Hometown
1 Can you describe your hometown or village to me? 2 Tell me something about your hometown
3 Where are you from? 4 Where is your hometown? 5 What's special about it? Travel
1 Do you like to travel?
2 What kind of places have you visited in your life? 3 Which place would you really like to visit? Why? 4 What's the best place you've ever visited?
5 Have you visited many foreign countries? What was your favorite place? Why?
1 Do you send and receive email regularly? 2 Who do you usually communicate with? 3 How often do you check your email?
4 Do you think writing email has strengthened or weakened people's writing skills?
5 What are some disadvantages of email? The Internet
1 Do you use the Internet much during the day? 2 What do you usually do on the Internet? 3 What are some advantages of the Internet? 4 What are some disadvantages?
5 Do people in your country use the Internet a lot? Hobby
1 Do you have any hobbies? /What are your hobbies? 2 Have you got any interests or hobbies?
3 What are some of your hobbies?
4 ,.What are some of the advantages of having a hobby? 5 How much time do you spend on your hobby?
Marriage
1 What is the attitude toward marriage in your country? 2 Do most young people plan on getting married in your country?
3 What are some of the advantages of marriage? 4, What are some of the disadvantages?
Trang 4Free Time
1 What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
2 How much time do you have each week for doing these things?
3 Why do you like doing these activities? 4 How did you start doing this activity at first?
5 Is there some other hobby or sport you would like to try? Why?
Shopping
1 How much time do you spend shopping every week? 2 Do you enjoy going shopping? Why (not)?
3 How do you feel about shopping? 4 Do you like shopping on the Internet?
5 Which is the most popular place to shop in your hometown?
Neighborhood
1 Can you describe the house where you live to me? 2 What is there to do in the area where you live? 3 What do you like about the area where you live? 4 How do you think it could be improved?
5 Do you think it is better to live in the centre of town or outside in the country? Why?
Reading
1 Do you enjoy reading? Why? 2 What sort of things do you read?
3 What kind of books do you like to read? 4 Tell me something about your favorite book 5 Where do you like to read?
Sports
1 Do you like sports?
2 Do you enjoy watching sports?
3 Do you enjoy participating in any sports? 4 How often do you participate in sports?
5 What equipment do you need for your favorite sport? Games
1 Do you enjoy playing any games? 2 What kind of games do you play?
3 Do you think adults should play games? 4 What do children learn from games?
5 What kind of games did you play when you were a child? Music
1 Do you like music?
2 What kind of music do you like? 3 When do you usually listen to music?
4, What kind of music did you like when you were younger? 5 What kind of music is popular in your country?
Clothes
1 What type of clothes do you like to wear?
2 What kind of clothes do people in your country usually wear?
3 How important is fashion to you? 4, What kind of clothes do you dislike?
Trang 5Going Out
1 Do you like going out or staying at home? 2 What do you like to do when you go out? 3 How often do you go out?
4 Do people in your country go out a lot?
5 How and where do people in your country usually socialize?
Celebrations
1 How do you usually celebrate your birthday? 2 How did you celebrate your last birthday?
3 How do you think you will celebrate your next birthday? 4 What is the most important day of the year for you?
(Why?)
Tourism
1 Which places would you recommend to a visitor to your country?
2 Do a lot of tourists visit your country? 3 What do they usually do there?
4 How has tourism changed your country? 5 Is your country expensive for most tourists? PART 2 - SOLUTION DISCUSSION
USEFUL EXPRESSIONS TO STATE YOUR OPINION
In my opinion, In my eyes,
To my mind, As far as Iam concerned.) Speaking personally, From my point of view, As for me / As to me,
My view / opinion / belief / impression / conviction is that I hold the view that I would say that It seems to me that I am of the opinion that My impression is that I am under the impression that It is my impression that I have the feeling that My own feeling on the subject is that
I have no doubt that Iam sure / 1 am certain that
I think / consider / find / feel / believe / suppose / presume / assume that
I hold the opinion that (I form / adopt an opinion.) I dare say that I guess that I bet that I gather that
Trang 6USEFUL EXPRESSIONS TO MAKE COMPARISONS
There are some rules to help you make comparisons in English
1 If the adjective (describing word) is one syllable, you can add -er For example, small - smaller; big — bigger; nice - nicer
2 If the adjective has two syllables, but ends in -y, you can change the end to -ier For example, lucky - luckier; happy - happier
3 With other English adjectives of two syllables and more, you can't change their endings Instead, you should use more + adjective
For example, handsome - more handsome; beautiful - more beautiful and so on
4 When you compare two things, use ‘than’ "She's younger than me."
"This exercise is more difficult than the last one."
5 When you want to say something is similar, use ‘as - as’
For example, "She's as tall as her brother" or "It's as nice today as it was yesterday."
6 When you want to say one thing is less than another, you can either use ‘less than’ or 'not as - as’
For example, "This programme is less interesting than I thought" or "This programme is not as interesting as I thought." 7 Remember that some adjectives are irregular and change form when you make comparisons
For example, good - better; bad - worse; far - further
Trang 7USING QUALIFYING EXPRESSIONS
You can vary the strength of the comparison by using "qualifying" expressions 1 Comparing two things
You can use “a lot", "much", “a little", "slightly" and "far" before "more / less than": "She's a lot more intelligent than him."
"This car is much faster than the other one."
“They are much less wealthy than they used to be." "He's a little taller than his sister."
"She's slightly less interested in football than him “We are far more involved in charity than they are."
When you use these qualifying expressions in English, remember the rules about using -er If the adjective is one syllable, or ends in -y, add -er:
"He's far taller than her." (NOT "He's far more taller ") "I'm much lazier than you!"
When the adjective is two syllables and more, you need either "more" or "less":
"He's a little more prepared for the exam than she is." (NOT "He's a little prepareder ") 2 Saying how two things are similar
You can use “almost as as", "not quite as as", " as" to change the extent of the similarity "She's almost as good as you!"
“He's not quite as confident as Susie." "I'm not nearly as intelligent as her!"
"This painting is nowhere near as famous as the first." "She's twice as old as him!
"He's half as interesting as you!"
(not) nearly as as", "nowhere near as as", ‘twice as as" and "half as
Trang 8EXPRESSING REASON as/ since because of owing to/ on account of out of that’s why/ that's the r eason why for fear of for+V-ing seeing that Examples:
Since you don't believe me, I won't give evidence
Because of his lack of training he had difficulties finding a job He gave him his jacket out of pity
On account of the weather we didn't go for a walk Billy was punished for lying to his teacher
Owing to the snow,the planes couldn't take off
As you are a foreigner you can't express your opinions on the situation in the area Seeing that you aren't interested I Il do it by myself EXPRESSING RESULT as a result asa conse- quence consequently if then it implies it means it means therefore Examples:
He missed the early train, as a result he was too late for the job interview
The result of his trial, therefore, could hardly have been other than a foregone conclusion If he locked the door, then Kitty is trapped inside
Trang 9SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1 Which do you think is the most entertaining or relaxing way of spending your free time: going to the beach, dancing, or going to the cinema?
Trang 103 Which would be the best place to live for a family with children: a small town, a city centre, or a village?
Trang 11
5 Your friend is between his/her mind about choosing one of these sports: swimming, football and boxing? Which do you think is the best for him/her?
Trang 127 Which do you think is the most beneficial activity for young people: cooking, playing computer games, or joining outdoor activities?
8 Which of these presents would attract most people to participate in a competition: a smart phone, a camera, or a gift voucher of the same value?
lssued on: 14/05/2007 and valid 1 year Bookings at: +33 1 47 34 01 50 wo Mark Spencer
A Romantic weekend in Paris together for our special day from Jane Smith
Trang 1411 Your foreign friend is considering visiting one of the following places in Vietnam: Ha Noi, Hue and Saigon Which would you recommend to him/her?
HANOI
Trang 1513 A group of high school students are considering the following places to visit: an art gallery, a history museum and a science musem Which do you think is the most beneficial for them?
Trang 17
PART 5 - TOPIC DEVELOPMENT
EXPRESSIONS OF ADDITION
When we want to add information to what we (or someone else) has said, there are a number of different words and expressions that we can use
Probably the most common and simplest two words to use are the adverbs too and also Too (adverb): (esp at the end of a sentence) in addition, also
I'd like to come too
You'll need dictionaries — and bring a notebook too
“I love Thornton’s chocolates.” “T like them too./INFORMAL Me too.” Also (adverb): additionally
She’s a photographer and also writes books I’m cold, and I’m also hungry and tired
The following words and expressions can also be used to add information: Additionally (adverb):
We were additionally (=as well as everything else) faced with trying to find somewhere to stay at two o’clock in the morning
Additionally, we request a deposit of $200 in advance
(And) another thing: is used to introduce one more in a series of arguments or complaints And another thing, why didn’t you tell me you were going out?
As well (as) (that): in addition (to) Invite Emlyn - and Simon as well
I want to visit Andrew as well as Martin He is rich and as well as that he’s generous
Trang 18
EXPRESSIONS OF ADDITION
Besides (adverb, preposition): in addition to; also
Do you play any other sports besides ice-skating and darts?
She told me that she has two other cars besides the one she drives to work
I’ve had job offers from two firms of international lawyers and plenty more besides She won't mind your being late — besides, it’s hardly your fault
Furthermore (adverb) FORMAL: in addition; more importantly
I suggest we go to the Italian restaurant - it’s very good and furthermore it’s very cheap I don’t know what happened to Rupert Ford and furthermore | don’t care
In addition: You use in addition when you want to mention another item connected with the subject you are discussing The workers have not been paid for two months In addition, we owe our suppliers £50,000
Moreover (adverb) FORMAL: (used to add information) also and more importantly It was a good car, and it was, moreover, a fair price they were asking for it
On top of (that) : in addition to (esp something unpleasant)
We missed the train, and on top of that we had to wait for two hours for the next one On top of his late arrival, he was drunk!
What’s more: (additionally and more importantly)
He won the race, and what’s more, he broke the world record
Trang 19CLARIFYING YOUR OWN IDEA In other words, What I meanis
What I'm trying to sayis What I wanted to say was To clarify,
SEQUENCE WORDS
First / firstly, second / secondly, third / thirdly etc Next, last, finally
Trang 20SAMPLE QUESTIONS 1 Cell phones are useful in many ways keep you from getting bored could save your life are a good way to meet people
1 Can people use their cell phones while they are driving in your country?
Trang 212 There are good reasons why Olympics games are popular
Olympic athletes as good
role models for young people bring people together Olympics games promote healthy lifestyles
1 What does hosting the Olympics do for a country? 2 In what way do the Olympic Games keep world peace?
Trang 223 Early marriage is not a good idea
may have a bad effect on
one's professional life has a higher risk — early marriage of divorce 8 offers women little chance of working outside the kitchen
Trang 234 We should do more to stop people smoking and drinking are a waste of money smoking and drinking are unhealthy cause problems in society
1 Why do you think it is so difficult for people to give up and quit smoking ? 2 What can we do to stop children smoking?
Trang 245 Everybody should learn English official language in more than sixty countries more career and education choices an ultimate tool of communication
Trang 256 We should try to limit traffic in city centers traffic congestion ÿ KH Air — ĐT pollution better quality of life
1 What form of transport is worst for the environment?
Trang 267 We should continue to develop computer technology
can do jobs that humans
don’t want to or can't do
can educate
people
can perform tasks
much faster and
more efficiently
Trang 27
8 Social networking is an extremely useful tool instant personal contact unlimited relationships great source of information and advice
1 Are social networking sites for people who aren't good at meeting people face to face? 2 Should children be allowed to use social networking sites?
Trang 289, Examinations are the best form of assessment measure students’ academic abilities encourage students to work Eas @Xaminations = hard are the best way for colleges to choose their students
1 What’s the best way to prepare for a test? 2 Are there too many tests in school?
Trang 2910 We don’t need to go to college to be successful
experience Is more important
college does not
really prepare you for a career the quality of degrees is declining
1 Should university education be free?