Trong bài giải mẫu lần này, cô Khánh Huyền của The IELTS Workshop sẽ hướng dẫn bạn trả lời topic Describe the time when you first talked in a foreign language trong IELTS Speaking Part 2. Cùng tham khảo sample, từ vựng và một vài cách diễn đạt ghi điểm trong phần thi IELTS Speaking nhé.
Part 2: Describe the time when you first talked in a foreign language
Đề bài: Describe the time when you first talked in a foreign language
You should say:
- where you were
- who you were with
- what you talked about
- and explain how you felt about it
1. Bài mẫu (Sample)
Oh, this takes me back to the time when I was a wee girl. Let me see, I was a sophomore or junior in high school, the details escaped me. But it was the only time that my tiny town held a public speaking competition in English, and I was selected as a representative for my school. What an honor! An apt one at that, considering my reputation for the foreign tongue.
For this event, I was given a topic that is now as old as the earth, but understandable for the time, environmental problems. And what do you know, being a woke teen gave mean advantage, or so I thought.
I spent a whole month preparing for this pivotal moment. In the morning, I would go to class and spend half my mind there, half think about the presentation. And in the afternoon, while my peers got stuck at cram school, I would have tutorials with a young and hungry English teacher, who, for the sake of anonymity, let’s call her Diane. So Mrs. Diane was living vicariously through me, as the Hollywood movies would say. In other words, she guided me through every slide I stacked, gave comments on every draft I made, and listened to me churning out words after words, over and over again.
And what do you know, the day finally came! I remember putting on the most formal outfit I owned as a young girl in the early 2010s, which is the aodai I wore on Monday mornings at school assembly. I would have dolled up a bit too, but there were no needs for that. As soon as I stepped out onto the stage, into the spotlight, under the examinating stares from the judges and the audiences, I felt this implosion inside of me. I mean, I’ve heard of it before, when you’re under such stress that you’re petrified though blood kept pumping through your veins and into your heart, making it pound onto your rib cage, so much so that you feel it thumping out of your throat.
Everything after that was a blur, which I would consider to be a blessing as I, of course, failed to deliver my speech. My working theory is that either my shock had blocked my brain from forming any memory about that whole ordeal, or my embarrassment from the utter blunder had triggered my mind to censor it out, in fear that I might die from the humiliation.
Needless to say, the commotion did a number on me.
Sample by Khanh Huyen – IELTS Teacher at The IELTS Workshop
2. Từ vựng (Vocabulary)
- as old as the earth: xưa như trái đất
- pivotal moment: khoảnh khắc then chốt
- young and hungry: trẻ tuổi và nhiệt huyết
- for the sake of anonymity: để giữ kín danh tính
- living vicariously through me: sống gián tiếp qua người khác
- churning out words: nói/viết liên hồi
- dolled up: ăn diện
- utter blunder: sai lầm nghiêm trọng
- censor it out: tự gạt bỏ khỏi ký ức
- did a number on me: ảnh hưởng nặng nề đến tôi
Part 3:
1. Does learning a foreign language help in finding a job?
Well, if you ask me, and you are, I could say that those who are proficient in any foreign language could find themselves at a teaching post. Be it at a proper school, or a cram school. The latter is a dime a dozen where I live, really.
Still, on the whole, I could talk your ears off about how an international language could help a person between jobs meet a certain requirement, or even give them an edge in polishing their curriculum vitae. In actuality though, I could only imagine that while some jobs require direct exchange with international partners, others merely employ computer programs that are only available in English.
- a dime a dozen: rất nhiều, không hiếm
- talk your ears off: nói không ngừng
- give them an edge: tạo lợi thế
- polishing their CV: trau chuốt hồ sơ
2. Which stage of life do you think is the best for learning a foreign language?
Haven’t thousands of studies been done on this subject? I bet my bottom dollar that there is at least one Zhang et al paper in the field, which I presume suggested that children under the age of 10 have an edge in language acquisition, be it foreign or second or third. A common rationale that I find plausible is that our tween years are when we develop self-awareness and its cousin, awkwardness. These feelings inhibit us from being comfortable with trials and errors, which are rudimentary steps in language learning. So unless you’re a teen, or adult, blessed with the ability to remain unphased and unyielding, I would suggest that you start picking up another tongue quickly.
- bet my bottom dollar: chắc chắn 100%
- language acquisition: quá trình tiếp thu ngôn ngữ
- trials and errors: thử và sai
- unphased and unyielding: không nao núng, không bỏ cuộc
3. At what age should children start learning a foreign language?
As I’d explained, as soon as possible. By that I mean when their parents are financially ready to afford an expensive course at a certified English center with qualified teachers. From my experience working at one of those, children need to come to classes regularly and sustainably, from even as early as four years old. I find that these kids would grow up to be more at ease talking to adults and foreigners. Again, uninhibited by self-consciousness.
- at ease: thoải mái
4. Which skill is more important, speaking or writing ?
This question is so ridiculous, I don’t even know where to begin! They require the same cognitive processes, except one allows a wider time frame, and thus demand a higher quality. But anyway, I would absolutely never come to the conclusion of this inane comparison. Would you ever ask Obama who is more important, he who wrote the speech or he who read it out loud from a teleprompter? It’s like the egg and the chicken debate and the idea and the execution debates all over again!
- inane: ngớ ngẩn
- egg and the chicken debate: tranh cãi không hồi kết
5. Does a person still need to learn other languages, if he or she is good at English?
Honestly, after years of working as a language teacher, I believe that no one needs to learn any other languages at all if their daily life doesn’t require it. So few people are conversed in their mother tongue, and they don’t even realize this. I would say people MUST be able to use their first language proficiently, and they SHOULD pick up something others of their choice, be it the colonizers or not. It’s a great mental exercise with a plethora of benefits, from maintaining brain plasticity to delaying dementia.
- plethora of benefits: vô số lợi ích
6. Do you think minority languages will disappear?
I’m afraid whatever answer I have to offer you would be a speculation, and a baseless one at that. I’d like to imagine that within ethnic groups and marginalized communities, they still communicate with the same lexicons and in the same syntax that their ancestors one did. But knowing what I learned about linguistics and terminology and all, I can’t help by feeling somewhat melancholic, with the realization that all languages do is morph. Even the common tongue we use in Vietnam used to be something entirely different centuries ago.
But then again, would you say that the ship of Theseus “disappeared” after being gradually replaced and repaired, bits by bits? If not, then maybe my sadness is rather unnecessary after all.
- ship of Theseus: nghịch lý Con tàu Theseus
Tạm kết
Hy vọng bài mẫu trên đã giúp bạn hình dung rõ cách triển khai ý tưởng và sử dụng ngôn ngữ phù hợp khi gặp chủ đề Describe the time when you first talked in a foreign language trong IELTS Speaking Part 2 & 3. Tham khảo các nguồn tài liệu hữu ích như KHO BÀI MẪU IELTS SPEAKING và Bộ đề dự đoán IELTS Speaking cập nhật mới nhất.
HỌC IELTS MIỄN PHÍ – lớp học độc quyền chỉ có trên website của The IELTS Workshop. Đăng ký để bắt đầu lộ trình học bài bản cùng thầy cô tại TIW ngay nhé!
