In this episode we’re going to listen to Andrea, who tried one of the free Part 2 practice tests we’ve published.
Task
Describe your ideal job. You should say:
- what this job is
- whether you would need any qualifications
- whether it would be easy to find work
and say why you would enjoy this job in particular.
Comprehension
The first time you listen decide if Andrea answers all parts of the question.
Well … my ideal job … I don’t really know what this job is I don’t even know if it exists but … I don’t wanna be stuck behind a desk and I don’t wanna work full time so it would have to be like … a great job I don’t know a part time job that I don’t actually needed to be seat on a desk working at an office I would like to work in free spaces and I would like to be creative to use my creativity to do something maybe a manual work but … I don’t really know …I only really need to be creative and to get … get along with people well and I don’t think it will be easy to find this work because I don’t even know if it exists I am actually looking for it and when I’ve found out what job it is believe me I will try everything I can to get it.
Assessment
Andrea responded to the task appropriately but her answer was rather short and she could have spent a little longer on the subject. She could have developed her answer by speculating on a particular area of work that appeals to her, such as marketing, design, photography and saying why that kind of job would suit her. Candidates don’t have to answer all parts of the task but making notes against each point during her preparation time could have helped her to extend her answer. See the transcript of this podcast for an example.
Now listen a second time. How well do you think Andrea did using the IELTS assessment criteria?
- Grammatical range and accuracy
- Lexical resource (vocabulary)
- Fluency and coherence
- Pronunciation
Feedback
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Andrea’s use of English was good. This task requires the candidate to imagine or speculate and there were several examples of where Andrea did this accurately. For example:
‘it would have to be like … a great job’
‘I would like to work in free spaces and I would like to be creative’
Andrea also finished with a well-formed statement:
‘when I’ve found out what job it is believe me I will try everything I can to get it.’
There were a couple of mistakes during her talk. Can you spot what they are in these extracts?
‘I don’t actually needed to be seat on a desk working at an office’
‘maybe a manual work’
In the first extract there were a couple of incorrect prepositions and a wrong verb. It should be something like:
‘I don’t actually want to be sat at a desk working in an office’
The second extract should be ‘maybe manual work’. The indefinite article shouldn’t be used as ‘work’ is uncountable.
Lexical Resource
Andrea had a good range of topic vocabulary using expressions such as:
full-time
part-time
manual work
stuck behind a desk
to get along with people
Andrea also showed she was able to use different forms of words accurately such as creative/creativity
Fluency and Coherence
Andrea’s fluency was very good. She used the informal pronunciation ‘wanna’ instead of ‘want to’ and this is used by fluent speakers all the time in casual, informal conversation. However, it’s questionable whether it’s a good idea to use it in a more formal context such as an exam of job interview. Speakers tend to regulate their speech depending upon the situation they are in and it might be a good idea to use the full form instead.
Pronunciation
Andrea’s pronunciation was quite clear and listeners should have little difficulty understanding her.