IELTS Speaking for Success - 👥 Classmates (Part 1) + Transcript

Episode Date: September 15, 2024

Get our IELTS Speaking parts 1, 2, and 3 episode archive: http://patreon.com/ieltssfs Did you like your deskmates in primary school? What did you usually do together? Can students choose their deskmates in your country? Is it good for children to play with their classmates? Would you like to meet your classmates? Tune in and have a great day! - Book a class with Rory here: https://successwithielts.com/rory Our course on Phrasal Verbs: https://successwithielts.com/podcourses Transcript: https://successwithielts.com/s11e02 Find an IELTS Speaking Partner: https://links.successwithielts.com/ieltspartner Our social media: https://linktr.ee/successwithielts © 2024 Podcourses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello Sunshine, I'm Maria. And my name is Rory and we are the hosts of the IEL Speaking for Success podcast, the podcast that aims to... What do we aim to do again, Maria? To give people joy and happiness and benigned vocabulary and benight grammar. Fantastic. That's what we aim to do. Oh, Rory, you'll never know who I'm going to meet today. Who?

My classmate from school We haven't seen each other for like, I don't know, 40 years? 40. Wait, how old am I? Am I 40? No, I'm not 40. You're definitely not 40. But that's fantastic.

And a fantastic coincidence. Because today we're going to talk about classmates. Classmates, dear listener, this is a strange topic to talk about. Classmates, you know, like people you used to go to school with? No, no, no, no, people who you used to study with, you know. Ages ago, they were sitting next to you in the same room. Okay, you're all classmates. Do you listen, let's talk about classmates.

Did you like your deskmates in primary school? I think we got on reasonably well, but that tends to happen when you're randomly thrown together with a group of people you barely know. You just make do, don't you? What did you usually do together? It was quite a while ago, but off the top of my head, I think we were in the same reading groups, so we would read together and do projects and things like that.

We were also responsible for keeping our desks in an orderly manner, though I'm not sure it quite went how the teachers wanted it to go. Can students choose their deskmates in your country? Well, it must have changed a lot since I was younger, but I think we could, when I was at school, for some limit. committed things like personal projects, and not for other things like mathematics work since we were at different levels, so that might not have worked too well. Students probably have much more choice these days, as far as I'm aware. Is it good for children to play with their classmates?

Well, assuming they rub along nicely enough, I don't see why not. Play is one of the ways we bring skills together and develop them. So it makes sense to do this with people of a similar age and ability. Would you like to meet your classmates? Well, now, um, I wouldn't mind seeing them again, but I won't be terribly cut up about it if I don't ever do. We're probably all very different people to how we were in school, so I doubt we'd have much in common these days. But just a random meeting in the street, I don't see why that would be a problem. When you're flying Emirates business class, dining on a world-class menu at 40,000 feet,

you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over. Fly Emirates, fly better. Hey, dear listener, so classmates or deskmates? So what is a desk? A desk is like a table, but a special table. A table you sit at for work, no? Yes, like a table for work. Because at school we don't have tables, we have desks.

But at home, you can have a table or you can have a desk. But a desk is usually like you do some work at your desk. But a table is like, is not for work, right, Rory? Or can I work at the table? You could work at a table, but most people work at their desks. Yeah. Desks for studying, for working, tables for enjoying your life. like a coffee table for some magazines, jewelry and nice cakes.

Yum, yum, yeah. And here we have like a desk mate. So who is a deskmate? I suppose that's someone who sits next to you that you share a big desk or a big table with at school. Exactly. It's a weird word. Yeah. Cambridge Online Dictione doesn't know this word,

but Oxford Dictiony does know this word a deskmate, a person who sits or sat in the past. next to you, next to you in a line with you, yeah? Because usually we have a desk for two people. So my deskmate sat in the past 10 years ago, next to me, in class, at school. In class. But deskmates and classmates are they the same? I would consider them to be the same, especially in a discussion about school.

However, the classmates might be people in the class in general, whereas your deskmate would be people who sit with you. But there, so it's a type of classmate. Yeah. So, de listen, um, careful with the verb, sit. So sit down, and in the past, 15 years ago, my classmate sat next to me, or I sat next to Rory at school in class. And we're talking about primary school. Like, no, primary. Like, you go to school for the first time and you go to primary school and then secondary school.

But Rory, these days, do schools have like single desks, would you call them? A desk for one person? They might. I mean, the teacher definitely has a desk for themselves. So they might have a desk for one person or two. Whenever I've been in schools recently, they've had groups of people at desks. Mm-hmm. So like big desks, not for one person.

Yeah. Okay, cool. And you say, we got on reasonably well. I got on reasonably well with my deskmates or classmates. We had good relationships, okay? Reasonably well, like, it was okay, quite well. So to get on with people, have good relationship. You can say that it was quite a while ago.

A while ago, some time ago, I don't. remember when. It's like, do you remember your classmates, Rory? Do you remember like sitting next to people? I remember them, but I don't remember them very vividly or in a lot of detail. So it's probably best to say this like it was quite a while ago, but off the top of my head. So off the top of my head meaning what I can just about remember or just about think about. So not very well thought out ideas. And this is a medium dear listener band nine, C2 level of the top of my head off the top of my head

like ooh I kind of just like I don't remember well but just like the first thing that pops into my head is this could you please use it in the sentence Rory first could you give me a question who did you sit next to

in class in primary school oh god well it was quite a while ago but off the top of my head I think it was someone I can't actually remember to be honest even off the top of my head. Yeah, you see, and Rory made a pause.

So first he kind of reacts to the question saying, ooh, it was quite a while ago, but off the top of my head, and now he makes a pause because he's thinking for ideas. Not for the language, but for ideas, and it is okay. You can say that you had reading groups in primary school, or you worked on some projects, you worked in pairs, in groups, or you worked alone. We were responsible for keeping our desks in an orderly manner.

So it was our job to keep the desks clean. And tidy. And tidy. Yeah, I also remember, like, we sat next to each other and everybody had a deskmate and we were also told to keep our desks tidy. So like at one desk, two students. Oh, if you don't like the person you're sitting next to. I had no choice.

Oh, wow. You just have to like them. Yeah. But normally we... Well, I actually don't remember, you know. Maybe they swapped us. So if the teacher changed places, like, your places, you can say, like, the teacher swapped us. How do we spell it?

S-W-A-P-B-E-D. Yeah. So we got swapped, so we changed places or the teachers swapped us. Or they didn't, yeah? Because yeah, I remember sitting next to people I quite disliked, especially when I had to sit next to a boy. Horrible. And now here you are working with one. So students can't choose their deskmates or they can't choose the deskmates in my country. Or, for example, in primary school, they are not given any choice, right?

But in secondary school, they can choose who to sit next to, delis. Students can choose who they could sit next to. Or they can choose their deskmate. There you go. Or maybe you can say that in some classes, students have to sit in the same place in every class. Okay, they have to sit next to the same person, every class, or they choose to sit next to the same person in every class, but students now have more choice. A stupid question from IELS, is it good for children to play with their classmates? No, not good. They mustn't play with other people.

They must not have a good time. It is forbidden. For children to play with other children. You've used a nice phrase of verb, rub along. Yes, we've talked about this before. If you rub along well with people, then you like them or you get on well. Yeah, it's UK and it's informal and perfect to be used in IOT speaking. Hey, to rub along. So if two people rub along, they work or live together in a satisfactory way.

They're kind of happy, happy, happy together. we're happy together Well, if it's satisfactory Are they getting along in a happy, happy, happy way? Yeah, yeah, kind of like satisfactory, happy, happy way or maybe happy, but it's satisfactory.

Satisfactory kind of positive. It's okay. It's adequate. Yeah. And you can say, My flatmate and I rub along okay together. Or rub along well together. Right? Could you give us a sentence

about classmates? and rub along. I used to rub along quite nicely with my classmates at school. Yeah, the stress is on alone. So say rub along. I used to rub along well with my classmates. Rub along. Along is more stressed than rub.

And about primary school, about secondary school, we usually use Eusta, because not anymore. School is over, hopefully for you, dear listener. So if it is over for you, then Eustra. Okay, so I used to sit next to a boy who was quite unpleasant or pleasant, or I didn't used to like my classmates, or I used to love my classmates, we used to rub along quite nicely. I wouldn't mind seeing them again, so I wouldn't mind seeing my classmates, so I wouldn't

mind doing something. Okay, a nice phrase, kind of, I'm okay. If I meet them, if I don't meet them, and then another phrase of verb, I won't be terribly cut up about it. But that just means not literally getting a pair of scissors and cutting myself to pieces. It's more about feeling bad about something. But I won't feel bad about it if I don't see them ever again. Like, I don't know what they're like now.

They could be really cool people. They're probably very different to me. And maybe we wouldn't be friends naturally. And could you give us another example with cut up in this context? In the context of classmates? Well, I like my classmates, but if I don't see them again, I won't be very cut up about it. Yeah, like to be cut up is an idiom. Again, the UK, English, to be upset. So to be cut up about something. For example, he was very cut up about the fact that he failed his exam. And you can say that we are probably all very different people to have.

we were at school. So we are different to like at school. We have changed. Yeah, we've changed. We used to be friends, but not anymore. And you can say that we would have little in common. So to have things in common, to enjoy the same things. And you can say that, oh, if I saw my classmates, we would have little in common. Rory Ann, have you ever seen your classmates? Have you ever met your classmates. I think I have like very briefly in the passing at different events but it wasn't very serious. I think it was just like briefly and saying, oh I were used to go to school together and then

bye. That was it. Ah, so you just bumped. Yeah, we just bumped into each other. But it wasn't, it wasn't terribly exciting or interesting. Yeah, I know. Like I think most of us have the same feelings about like teachers from school people. Oh, we used to study with the school, it's kind of like, ooh, oh, like this.

Yeah, I mean, I say this. It wasn't like a horrible experience either. It was just like, okay. I have to go. Bye. Bye, yeah. Is it the same for you, dear listener? Maybe you loved all your teachers, you loved all your classmates.

You had, like, the best time of your life. Or maybe you are at school now. I just want to look at my school photos now. Because I was a different bus. And Rory was fat. deal with someone. That's great. That's so nice.

It's so good that everyone knows about this. Oh, my God. Oh, is it a secret? Sorry. Well, it was a secret, but now all one million of our subscribers know. No, I was quite dreadful myself. Oh, well, that's fine, then. That completely justifies what you just said.

Yeah, so we are, like, I think we're on the same page. Uh-huh, okay. But Aurora is quite handsome now, like really handsome, dear listener, so he's fine. I'm gorgeous, so we are fine. That was one of the cards in a card game I was playing with my friends now. It was like, which one of your friends has had the biggest glow-up, which is a massive improvement in looks and perhaps personality?

And it was agreed that that was me. So that was nice to know. Sweet. Thank you very much for listening, dear listener, and we'll get back to you with our new fresh, IOT speaking topics. Okay. Bye. Bye.

Did you like your deskmates in primary school? I think we got on reasonably well, but that tends to happen when you're randomly thrown together with a group of people you barely know. You just make do, don't you? What did you usually do together? It was quite a while ago, but off the top of my head,

I think we were in the same reading groups, so we would read together and do projects, and things like that. We were also responsible for keeping our desks in an orderly manner, though I'm not sure it quite went how the teachers wanted it to go. Can students choose their deskmates in your country? Well, it must have changed a lot since I was younger, but I think we could, when I was at school,

for some limited things like personal projects, and not for other things like mathematics work, since we were at different levels. so that might not have worked too well. Students probably have much more choice these days, as far as I'm aware. Is it good for children to play with their classmates? Well, assuming they rub along nicely enough, I don't see why not. Play is one of the ways we bring skills together and develop them.

So it makes sense to do this with people of a similar age and ability. Would you like to meet your classmates? Well, now. I wouldn't mind seeing them again, but I won't be terribly cut up about it if I don't ever do. We're probably all very different people to how we wear in school, so I doubt we'd have much in common these days. But just a random meeting in the street,

I don't see why that would be a problem.