Shadowing Practice: IELTS Speaking Part 1 Scenery Practice | Band 9 Model Answers | IELTS English Podcast - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Welcome to English Symbol Hub.
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It's great to be here.
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Today we are doing something that,
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frankly, I think is a bit overdue.
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We're taking a serious, unfiltered,
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deep dive into the IELTS speaking test.
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But we're not just looking at how to pass or,
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you know, how to get a respectable band six.
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We are looking at the summit.
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We're talking about securing that elusive band nine score.
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That's the holy grail for so many language learners, isn't it?
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And honestly, it requires a completely different mindset than just learning English.
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Exactly.
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And to do that, we're zooming right in on part one of the test.
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And we're tackling a topic that sounds deceptively, almost dangerously simple.
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And what's that?
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Scenery.
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Ah, scenery.
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That is a classic trap.
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It really is, isn't it?
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I feel like if I walk into an exam and they ask me about scenery,
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my brain would just kind of shut down.
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I'd probably just point out the window and say, look, a tree.
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It's green.
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It's nice.
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And that is exactly how you talk yourself right into a band six.
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The examiner has heard, the scenery is nice,
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or I like beautiful views,
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about 500 times before their lunch break.
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If you want a band nine,
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you have to wake them up.
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So our mission today is to unpack a specific set of model answers from our source material on this very topic.
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Yeah.
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We're not just going to read them.
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We're going to reverse engineer them.
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Okay.
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We want to find the exact phrases,
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the clever idioms, and I guess those little psychological tricks that make an examiner sit up and think,
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okay, this person isn't just a student, they're a speaker.
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Precisely.
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We're going to analyze not just what was said,
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but why it scores so high.
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We're looking at things like lexical resource,
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fluency markers, and the whole strategy of engagement.
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Okay, so let's define the terrain.
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When an IELTS examiner asks about scenery,
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what are they actually asking?
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Well, based on the source material,
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we have a pretty clear definition.
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Scenery is the general appearance of the natural environment,
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but specifically when it's beautiful.
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Especially when it is beautiful.
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So we're not just talking about geography or topography.
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We're talking about aesthetics.
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Correct.
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And that brings us to the first question in our breakdown,
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which is a really standard opener.
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Is there good scenery in your hometown?
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Okay, this is where I would struggle because let's be real,
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unless you live in, I don't know,
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a national park or something,
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most of us think our hometowns are kind of boring.
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And that is the instinct you have to fight,
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or actually, that's the instinct you have to use.
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The model answer in the source gives this fascinating psychological insight right off the bat.
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What does it say?
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The speaker says, when you live somewhere and have lived there all your life,
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I don't think you see it as scenic or picturesque.
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Oh, I love that.
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It's what I call the local blindness paradox.
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It's so true.
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You walk past the same mountain or the same river every day for 20 years,
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and it just becomes background noise.
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It's wallpaper.
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Exactly.
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And expressing that sentiment shows a really high level of maturity.
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You're not just describing a tree.
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You're describing your relationship with the environment.
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You're commenting on the human condition.
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You know, familiarity breeds invisibility.
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It's meta-commentary.
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Instead of lying and saying,
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oh, yes, my town is magical, you're being honest.
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but using a really high-level language to explain your honesty.
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And let's look at that language.
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The source highlights two key adjectives right there, scenic and picturesque.
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Right, let's unpack those.
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Scenic seems straightforward.
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It's just the adjective form of scenery.
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It is, but don't underestimate it.
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You need to show the examiner you can manipulate word families.
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If they ask about scenery,
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the noun, and you answer using scenic,
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the adjective, you're ticking a box for grammatical range.
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It's a good solid word. But picturesque.
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That feels a little more special.
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That feels like a word you wear a tuxedo to say.
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It does carry more weight.
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The source defines it as as pretty as a picture.
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But think about what that implies.
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Pretty is just a generic compliment.
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Hmm.
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Picturesque implies composition.
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It implies that if you framed this view,
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it would look like art.
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So pretty is an opinion,
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but picturesque is more of an aesthetic judgment.
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Exactly.
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Using picturesque instead of nice is an instant vocabulary upgrade.
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It shows precision.
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Now, sticking with this same answer,
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the speaker then does something with the flow of the sentence that I think is just brilliant.
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They admit they don't see the beauty, but then they pivot.
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Ah, yes.
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They say, mind you, when my friends from out of town come to visit,
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they tell me it is okay.
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Mind you.
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Such a great little phrase.
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I paused on this when I was reading.
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Mind you.
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It sounds so natural.
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It sounds like something you'd hear in a pub,
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not in an exam room.
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And that is exactly why it scores so highly.
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Mind you is a discourse marker.
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The source explicitly highlights this.
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It's an informal way of saying but or however.
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It signals a contrast or a little afterthought.
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So why not just say, but?
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I don't think it's pretty,
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but my friends like it.
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But is functional.
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It's just a hinge.
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However, is a bit too formal,
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a bit academic for part one.
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Mind you, is conversational.
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It signals to the examiner that you're comfortable with the flow of English.
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You aren't just translating words in your head.
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It creates a specific rhythm, doesn't it?
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I have this opinion, mind you.
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Here is a counterpoint.
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Exactly.
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And look how it sets up the rest of the answer by introducing the friends from out of town.
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The external validators.
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Right.
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The speaker uses them to prove that the town is actually scenic,
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reinforcing that local blindness idea.
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It takes a fresh pair of eyes.
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It makes the whole answer complex and layered,
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not just a simple yes or no. It's a whole narrative in just a few sentences.
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Okay, so we've established the hometown context.
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Let's move to something a bit more luxurious.
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The source moves to question two.
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Do you like staying in hotels with scenic views?
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This is a fun one.
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It allows for strong preferences.
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It's about what you want,
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not just what you see.
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And the model answer here is fantastic.
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It starts with this burst of energy, absolutely, yes. Who doesn't?
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Let's pause right there. Who doesn't?
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It's a rhetorical question.
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Is that allowed?
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It's allowed.
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It's encouraged if you do it correctly.
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The analysis in our source points out this is a major confidence play.
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It feels like breaking the fourth wall.
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It is.
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By asking who doesn't, Faye,
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you're engaging the examiner directly.
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You're appealing to a shared reality.
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You're implying, look, we're both human.
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Obviously, everyone prefers a nice view over a brick wall.
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It shifts the dynamic from interrogation to conversation.
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Correct.
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It builds rapport.
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It shows you're not scared.
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A band six student is usually terrified.
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They wouldn't dare ask a question.
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A band nine speaker knows they're an equal in the conversation.
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But you can't just rely on charm, can you?
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You have to back it up.
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And the speaker does.
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They follow up with, I've stayed in far too many hotels with views of the car park
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and I much prefer a room with a view.
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Views of the car park.
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That is so relatable.
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We've all been there.
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You throw open the curtains expecting the ocean and boom dumpsters in a Honda Civic.
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The classic disappointment.
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But linguistically, look at that contrast.
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You got view of the car park versus a room with a view.
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A room with a view.
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That's a set phrase, right?
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A collocation.
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It is.
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It's the title of a famous novel, a movie.
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It's a chunk of language that native speakers just expect to hear together.
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Using it makes you sound so much more fluent.
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And I notice the intensifier the speaker uses.
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I much prefer.
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Yes.
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Not just I prefer.
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I much prefer.
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Band 9 speakers don't just have opinions,
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they have degrees of opinion.
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They can express intensity.
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Much prefer creates this strong emotional distinction.
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And then there's the cherry on top.
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The speaker adds, if there is a balcony to admire the view, that's even better.
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Admire the view.
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So why admire?
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Why not just look at or see the view?
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Well, C is passive.
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You see things just by having your eyes open.
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Look at is active, but it's neutral.
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You can look at a spreadsheet.
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Admire?
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Implies appreciation?
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It implies wonder.
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It fits perfectly with balcony.
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You don't stand on a hotel balcony to check the view.
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You stand there to admire it.
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Exactly.
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It paints that picture.
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The examiner can visualize you standing there,
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maybe with a coffee, just soaking it all in.
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That ability to create imagery is huge.
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I can see myself on that balcony right now.
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Okay, so we're on the balcony.
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We're admiring the view.
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What's the inevitable next step in the modern world?
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You take a picture.
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You take a picture, which leads us perfectly to question three.
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Do you like to take pictures of good scenery with your mobile.
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The smartphone question, you can't escape it.
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The source gives a very honest answer here.
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Yes, I tend to do this a lot.
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Notice the phrasing again.
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Not I usually do this,
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but I tend to do this.
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What's the difference there?
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Why is tend to better?
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Usually is a frequency adverb.
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It sounds a bit like data.
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I do this 80% of the time.
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I tend to expresses more of a habit, a natural inclination.
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It's softer.
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It's a technique we call hedging.
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Hedging.
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Native speakers hedge all the time.
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We rarely speak in absolutes.
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We say, I tend to, or it seems like.
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Using tend to makes you sound less like a robot and more like a human describing their personality.
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I like that.
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It feels more relaxed.
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And then comes the description of what they're actually photographing.
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They don't just say a beautiful sunset.
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No, that would be the nice tree trap all over again.
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Beautiful is one of the most overused words in English.
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So how do we upgrade it?
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The model answer uses a really powerful collocation.
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A stunningly beautiful sunset.
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Stunningly beautiful.
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This is a classic method for boosting your vocabulary score instantly.
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Adverb plus adjective.
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You have beautiful, everyone knows that word,
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but by adding stunningly, you modify it, you amplify it.
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It's like turning the volume knob up to 11.
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It's not just pretty, it stuns you.
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It takes your breath away.
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And context matters.
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The source uses the example of a sunset,
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when the sun is setting in the evening.
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It connects the visual with the emotion.
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It shows you know which words belong together.
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You wouldn't say, for example, a deliciously beautiful sunset.
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Unless it was a sunset made of pizza.
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Right.
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But for visuals, stunningly or breathtakingly are the collocations you want to go for.
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And then the answer finishes with the social media aspect and post it on Instagram.
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Simple but effective. To post.
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It seems obvious, but I guess people get this wrong.
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All the time.
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Students might say, I uploaded Instagram or I put it on the internet.
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Post is the specific verb for social media feeds.
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Using the correct terminology for modern habits shows you live in the real world,
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not just a textbook from 1990.
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So we've covered nature, hometowns, hotels, sunsets, Instagram.
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But here's where the source takes a really cool turn.
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Question four asks, is there good scenery in cities?
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This is a pivotal moment.
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Up until now, scenery has meant the natural environment, trees, mountains, water.
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Now the examiner is challenging that definition.
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Can a city, a place of concrete and steel, have scenery?
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And the model answer pivots perfectly.
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It shifts the context from nature to architecture.
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Right.
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The speaker says, definitely, I'm really into architecture.
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I'm really into, and another great phrase.
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It's casual, it's enthusiastic.
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So many better than just saying, I like architecture.
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And then they explain how they experience this city scenery.
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They say, I love wandering around cities and urban areas.
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Wandering.
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Let's stop there.
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This is one of my favorite verbs for travel topic.
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Why wandering and not just walking?
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Walking is functional.
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You walk to the bus stop.
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It's about getting from A to B.
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Wandering implies a specific manner of walking.
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The source defines it as walking slowly in a relaxed way.
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It implies you don't have a deadline.
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You're not rushing.
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You're not sightseeing with a map and a checklist.
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You're drifting.
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It implies a sense of discovery.
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You're wandering around letting the city reveal itself to you.
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That verb choice alone sets a mood.
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And what are we looking at while we wander?
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The source mentions urban areas and differentiates between contemporary and historical buildings.
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Again, specific vocabulary is key.
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Urban area is a higher level term.
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And contrasting contemporary, meaning modern,
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with historical, meaning old, shows you can categorize what you see.
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You're not just saying new buildings and old buildings.
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Contemporary sounds so much more sophisticated.
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It does.
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But here is the part of this answer that really blew my mind.
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The idiom.
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The source brings up the phrase concrete jungle.
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Yes.
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This is the crown jewel of this answer.
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Usually when we hear concrete jungle,
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what do we think of?
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I think of noise, gray walls,
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New York in the summer when it smells like hot garbage.
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It's negative.
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That is the standard usage.
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It describes a place packed with buildings, usually implying it's unpleasant.
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But, and this is the band nine move,
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the model answer twists it.
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The speaker says, some cities are concrete jungles,
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but you can still find beauty in them.
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That is critical thinking in action.
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It acknowledges the idiom and its negative connotation,
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so you get points for knowing the idiom.
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but then it subverts it to find a positive angle.
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It's like they're saying, I know this place is technically crowded,
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but I have the perspective to see the architecture as beautiful scenery.
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Exactly.
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It redefines scenery to include the man-made, the gritty, the urban.
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It shows the examiner that you have such a flexible command of English.
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You can take a negative idiom and use it to make a positive point.
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It's not just about knowing words.
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It's about having a sophisticated perspective.
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That's what separates a band 7 from a band 9.
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A band 7 knows the idiom,
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a band 9 plays with the idiom.
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So let's try to recap the formula we've uncovered.
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We've looked at four questions,
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but there are some common threads here. For sure.
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I'd say first, it's about precision.
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Don't say pretty, say picturesque.
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Don't say old, say historical.
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And don't say very beautiful, say stunningly beautiful.
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Second, it's about natural flow.
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discourse markers like, mind you,
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using hedging like I tend to.
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Third, confidence and engagement, using rhetorical questions like who doesn't to build that rapport with the examiner.
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And finally, I think it's perspective,
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whether it's overcoming the local blindness of your hometown or finding beauty in a concrete jungle.
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It's about showing that you're thinking about the world, not just labeling things.
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And don't forget the collocations.
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Admire the view, wandering around, room with a you.
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Those chunks of language make you sound so fluent.
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It really is a complete package.
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It's amazing how much depth you can get out of a simple topic like scenery.
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That's the beauty of language.
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Even the simplest topics are opportunities to show off if you know where to look.
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Absolutely.
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You know, going back to that local blindness concept,
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it's funny how that applies to learning English itself.
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Oh, how do you mean?
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Well, we get blind to the words we use every day.
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We use good and bad and nice because they're easy.
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We stop seeing them.
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We stop trying to find the picturesque word or the stunning phrase.
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We get comfortable in our own linguistic hometowns.
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That's a great point.
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We get comfortable.
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And to get a band nine,
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you have to break out of that comfort zone.
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You have to start wandering through the language again.
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You have to look at English like a visitor from out of town.
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Exactly.
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Notice the details that the locals ignore.
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Well, this has been a massive deep dive into just one part of this speaking test,
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but these principles apply everywhere.
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They really do.
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If you want to keep improving,
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and if you want to make sure you don't miss our next deep dive,
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you need to make sure you're subscribed.
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Please subscribe to the channel for more IELTS podcasts.
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We have a lot more sources to unpack.
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We certainly do.
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Before we go, I want to leave you with a thought.
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We talked about the concrete jungle and finding beauty in the ugly.
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A powerful concept.
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It makes me wonder if a band nine score comes from describing the beauty in an ugly concrete jungle,
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maybe high level fluency isn't just about knowing the most difficult words.
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Maybe it's about having the perspective to describe the unexpected.
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Maybe the best speakers are just the ones who notice the things everyone else ignores.
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That's a fascinating thought.
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Language is a tool for observation, not just description.
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Something to think about while you're wandering around your own hometown today.
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Thanks for listening.
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Context & Background
The IELTS speaking test can be a challenging ordeal for many test-takers, particularly when it comes to part one, where seemingly simple topics like scenery can stymie even the most prepared candidates. In this section, the examiner is not just seeking a basic response; they are looking for a world-class demonstration of language proficiency that could secure a band nine score. As mentioned in the video, the aim is to transform basic observations into engaging narratives that showcase fluency, lexical resource, and an excellent grasp of English. This practice section is designed to help you improve your speaking skills and prepare you for common IELTS topics through targeted shadowing exercises that enhance your pronunciation and communication skills.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "The scenery is breathtaking." - A great way to express amazement at a beautiful view.
- "The vibrant colors of nature are invigorating." - This phrase adds depth and enthusiasm to your description.
- "I find peace in natural landscapes." - Personalizing your response makes it more relatable to the examiner.
- "The juxtaposition of mountains and valleys creates a stunning panorama." - Introducing descriptive language demonstrates advanced lexical resource.
- "Sunsets here are a feast for the eyes." - Using metaphors can capture attention and reflect higher speaking skills.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To tackle the vocabulary and pronunciation challenges presented in discussing scenery and other IELTS topics, employing the shadowing technique can be particularly beneficial. Here’s how you can integrate this method into your English speaking practice:
- Listen Closely: Start by listening to the model answers provided in the video. Pay attention to the intonation, rhythm, and pronunciation.
- Repeat: As you listen, repeat the phrases aloud. This is known as shadowspeak, where you mimic the speaker's tone and pace.
- Analyze: After mimicking, reflect on why certain phrases resonate. Ask yourself how they engage listeners and why they enhance communication.
- Record Yourself: Speaking aloud is essential, but recording yourself can help you track your pronunciation progress and diction improvements.
- Engage in Practice Conversations: Use your new vocabulary and phrases in practice dialogues with friends or tutors. This will further solidify your learning and boost your confidence.
By incorporating the shadowing technique into your preparation, you will not only improve your English pronunciation but also enhance your ability to express thoughts clearly and effectively in everyday conversations. Make it a habit to regularly practice your speaking skills—this will set a solid foundation for excelling in the IELTS speaking test.
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.
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