Shadowing Practice: IELTS listening actual test Part 2: vacation jobs (answer+ transcript) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
Section 2.
2
You will hear a programme on a student radio station.
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It describes the findings of a survey on vacation jobs taken by students the previous year.
4
First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16 on page 4.
5
Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 16.
6
Welcome to Student Life.
7
It's spring and many of you may be thinking about arranging work for the long vacation.
8
So on today's program, Roger Anwell reports on a survey we conducted into the pleasures and problems of vacation jobs.
9
Roger.
10
Thank you, Sarah.
11
Well, the first thing to say is that by far the majority of students we surveyed did just three types of jobs.
12
All of these obviously had their advantages and disadvantages.
13
Starting with stock taking in supermarkets, The thing that students said they enjoyed most about this job was the travelling,
14
They were often required to go to branches to do their stock takes, And this was regarded as an interesting plus.
15
The main negative, however, was that they tended to find the job tiring, with long hours spent on their feet and climbing high shelves.
16
Now, one thing we did ask the students in our survey
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was whether they had any recommendations for other people taking on their job.
18
And they said, perhaps not surprisingly, get good shoes.
19
That's the only way you can keep going.
20
Another job which lots of students did was office work.
21
And the positive feature of this actually rather surprised me.
22
Until I remembered what a hot summer it was last year.
23
Lots of students named air conditioning as the best thing about office work.
24
The downside which many talked about was wearing formal clothes.
25
Obviously, this didn't go down too well with students.
26
The advice most people gave was to select a large office.
27
That way you have more variety of social contacts.
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Otherwise, the work can get very boring.
29
The third job which had attracted large numbers of students was as a theme park attendant.
30
And again, I got a surprise here.
31
Because the big plus people talked about was good pay.
32
"'It must have improved since my day, I must say.' Anyway, the downside I did recognize, having to deal with difficult customers,
33
especially in the heat when tempers get frayed.
34
Not easy.
35
And people said that it was a good idea to live nearby, because there's a lot of shift work, and you don't have to worry about transport at difficult times of the day.
36
Before you hear the rest of the programme, you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20 on page 5.
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Now listen and answer questions 17 to 20.
38
so those were the findings from the survey on the most common student jobs
39
But not all student jobs have to be mundane and boring.
40
One of the students who responded in our survey spoke at length about his amazing job as a zoo attendant.
41
Peter Marshall had read about work opportunities on the zoo website, and just went along with a friend to talk to someone in personnel.
42
He was offered a job there and then.
43
As easy as that.
44
In previous years, he'd done singularly unexciting shop work.
45
So he was very pleased to be doing such original work.
46
He ended up working for just under three months.
47
which was actually slightly more than he had anticipated.
48
and meant that he had to miss part of university term time.
49
But he said it was well worth it
50
because he thinks he's found his future career path as a result of this experience.
51
He loved working on the educational side, in particular helping young kids understand about the animals in their natural environment
52
He said it was the most intriguing thing he'd ever done.
53
He tells us, though, that with final exams coming up, He won't be able to do any paid work this coming vacation...
54
So, Why don't you apply?
55
If you're interested in getting further information about the findings of the survey...
56
That is the end of section two.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.
58
Now turn to section 3 on page 6.
59
Welcome to student life.
60
It's spring and many of you may be thinking about arranging work for the long vacation.
61
So on today's program, Roger Anwell reports on a survey we conducted into the pleasures and problems of vacation jobs.
62
Roger.
63
Thank you, Sarah.
64
Well, the first thing to say is that by far the majority of students we surveyed did just three types of jobs.
65
All of these obviously had their advantages and disadvantages.
66
Starting with stock -taking in supermarkets, The thing that students said they enjoyed most about this job was the travelling.
67
They were often required to go to branches to do their stop takes, And this was regarded as an interesting plus.
68
The main negative, however, was that they tended to find the job tiring, with long hours spent on their feet and climbing high shelves.
69
Now, one thing we did ask the students in our survey
70
was whether they had any recommendations for other people taking on their job.
71
And they said, perhaps not surprisingly, get good shoes.
72
That's the only way you can keep going.
73
Another job which lots of students did was office work.
74
And the positive feature of this actually rather surprised me.
75
Until I remembered what a hot summer it was last year.
76
Lots of students named air conditioning as the best thing about office work.
77
The downside which many talked about was wearing formal clothes.
78
Obviously, this didn't go down too well with students.
79
The advice most people gave was to select a large office.
80
That way you have more variety of social contacts.
81
Otherwise, the work can get very boring.
82
The third job which had attracted large numbers of students was as a theme park attendant.
83
And again, I got a surprise here.
84
Because the big plus people talked about was good pay.
85
"'It must have improved since my day, I must say.' Anyway, the downside I did recognize, having to deal with difficult customers,
86
especially in the heat when tempers get frayed.
87
Not easy.
88
And people said that it was a good idea to live nearby, because there's a lot of shift work, and you don't have to worry about transport at difficult times of the day.
89
So those were the findings from the survey on the most common student jobs.
90
But not all student jobs have to be mundane and boring.
91
One of the students who responded in our survey spoke at length about his amazing job as a zoo attendant.
92
Peter Marshall had read about work opportunities on the zoo website, And just went along with a friend to talk to someone in personnel.
93
He was offered a job there and then.
94
As easy as that.
95
In previous years, he'd done singularly unexciting shop work.
96
So he was very pleased to be doing such original work.
97
He ended up working for just under three months.
98
which was actually slightly more than he had anticipated.
99
and meant that he had to miss part of university term time, But he said it was well worth it
100
because he thinks he's found his future career path as a result of this experience.
101
He loved working on the educational side, in particular helping young kids understand about the animals in their natural environment
102
He said it was the most intriguing thing he'd ever done.
103
He tells us though that with final exams coming up, He won't be able to do any paid work this coming vacation...
104
So, Why don't you apply?
105
If you're interested in getting further information about the findings of the survey...
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Practicing speaking with this video provides a unique opportunity to engage in real-life conversations about common student experiences, specifically vacation jobs. Through listening to the engaging program, learners can immerse themselves in the context of workplace environments, which not only enhances vocabulary but also boosts confidence in discussing practical themes. By making use of the shadowing technique, you can mimic the speaker’s intonation and pacing, allowing for seamless integration of new phrases and expressions into your own speaking repertoire. Incorporating this kind of content into your English speaking practice routines can significantly improve your conversational skills while preparing for situations similar to the IELTS speaking test.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Within the transcript, several key structures are beneficial for learners aiming to expand their grammatical range:
- Passive voice: "were surveyed" highlights how the focus shifts from the doer of the action to the recipients, which can be useful in formal writing and speaking.
- Comparative phrases: "better" and "worse" are employed to articulate differences in job perks and drawbacks, essential for contrasting opinions in IELTS speaking.
- Direct speech: Use of quotations, such as "get good shoes," provides a natural way to express advice or recommendations personally.
- Causal links: Phrases like "because" and "as a result" are pivotal for explaining reasons and results, useful in narrative constructions during speaking tests.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As you engage with the audio portion of the video, pay close attention to certain tricky words and pronunciation nuances that may pose challenges:
- "air conditioning" – This term can be difficult due to the connection of sounds; practice breaking it down into syllables: air-con-di-tion-ing.
- "stock taking" – The blending of consonant sounds may be tricky; ensure you pronounce it clearly to avoid confusion.
- "difficult customers" – The transition between the words can be a pronunciation trap; focus on separating the syllables while maintaining fluidity.
- Regional accents – The speaker’s accent may differ from standard English; exposure to various accents can enhance your ability to understand and interface with diverse speakers.
By methodically practicing these elements, you'll improve your English pronunciation and overall fluency, preparing you more effectively for the IELTS speaking section and other conversational scenarios.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were often required · was offered |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | students who responded |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the best · the most common · the most intriguing |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was wearing |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.