IELTS Speaking for Success - 🗓 Days off (Part 1) + Transcript

Episode Date: April 5, 2026

Get access to our episode archive: https://www.patreon.com/ieltssfs What do you usually do when you have days off? When was the last time you had a few days off? What would you like to do if you had a day off tomorrow? Do you usually spend your days off with your parents or with your friends? Tune in and have a great day! - Book a class with Rory here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://successwithielts.com/rory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Transcript: https://successwithielts.com/ Find an IELTS Speaking Partner: https://links.successwithielts.com/ieltspartner Our social media: https://linktr.ee/successwithielts © 2025 Podcourses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, lovely. I'm Maria. And my name is Rory, and we are the host of the IEL Speaking for Success podcast, the podcast that aims to help you improve your speaking skills as well as your listening skills along the way. We started this podcast to give you gorgeous grammar and fabulous vocabulary for a high-I-old school. Your bad night's score. Oh, Rory, you look really tired. Oh, I know. I really need a day off. Oh, you do.

But before that, let's talk about days off. Days off, dear listener. It's like, you know, like it's not the weekend, but it's a day off, you know. In the middle of the week, for example, you can take a day off. You don't go to work. It's your day off. Yeah. Plus the weekend.

Saturday, Sunday, the weekend. And then Tuesday is your day off. What do you usually do when you have days off? Anything apart from work. I think I normally play video games, do yoga or go to the gym. Sometimes all three. Oh, and I like catching up on my reading as well. That's in the day, of course, at night.

I usually head over to my best friends, and we sit and catch up on the latest gossip as well. When was the last time you had a few days off? I'm not sure, really. I think it must have been around New Year's time. All my students were away on holiday, and that's the time of year when most people focus on their families and take a break from everything to celebrate Christmas.

So it makes sense that I'd have been off as well. What would you like to do if you had a day of tomorrow? Well, even though I like my downtime, I also like being productive, so I think I'd probably book myself into some yoga classes just to take advantage of the time I had. After that, I'd probably recover from the workouts in front of the TV or with a book or a video game or something like that. Do you usually spend your days off with your parents or with your friends?

Actually, I'm usually by myself, but I live with a friend, so I'd likely be in his company if I'm not alone in the house. I do try and see my parents fairly regularly, though. We usually go around to theirs on Sundays unless I'm away for the weekend. As you know, we now release all of our premium content, for free and it's available for one month. After one month it goes into our super secret archive. To sign up for the archive, click the link in the description below.

See you soon. Days off, dear listener. So a day off is a day when you do not work or do something that you normally do. And we say, I want to take three days off next week or I took a day off last week. So to take a day off. And Rory usually plays video games. He's a gamer. He does yoga.

Go to the gym. So I go to the gym. I do yoga. I do sports. I play video games. So, you know, nothing really interesting in the other lists. They're just, yeah, boring. Do you need to be doing exciting things on a day off, though?

Well, you know, just to excite the examiner, perhaps. Because can you imagine, the examiner asks such questions. like six people and six people say yeah just nothing much doing yoga playing video games if the examiner is asking the same questions to six people in a row then they are not doing their job properly yeah yeah that's true yeah okay usually examiners have kind of like six candidates right in a row and they can choose questions and normally examiners ask different questions sometimes i head over to my best friends House, head over to somebody, means to go and visit them. There we go. That's a phrasal verb, surely, or a multi-word verb.

I usually head over to my parents. I usually head over to my best friends. Okay, because friends, please. I usually head over to my girlfriends, boyfriends. And we catch up on the latest gossip. So catch up on something to, of to chat, to share information on something. So we usually catch up on the latest gossip. So gossip is when you talk about somebody else. So you discuss other people. So, Rory, do you discuss other people?

Sometimes. Their private lives, disapprovingly. You shouldn't do that, but it's been a very boring start of the year. I see, right. The last time I took a day off was last week or last year. Or if you're not, if you're kind of sure, but kind of 90% sure, you can say, I think it must have been around New Year.

So probably it was around New Year. It must have been around New Year. It must have been. I have logically deduced. That's what it was. But here you are pretty sure. Yeah. It must have been.

It must have been around New Year. My students were away. my family was away, so I decided to take a break from everything. I took a break from everything. I want to break free. Ta-da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na. Right, continue. So, where were we?

We can use the second conditional. I'd go to Paris if I had a day off tomorrow. I'd, I would. I would go swimming if I had. So we are imagining. You don't have a day of tomorrow, perhaps, dear listener. But if I had, I would. And so we see a lot of past tense.

Like, I'd book myself into some yoga classes. I'd recover. And of course, the time that I had, not have. Because it's imaginary. You can say that I enjoy being productive. I like being productive. so I would do something. I would do yoga.

I would do sports. And then I would watch TV or I'd watch some films. I'd read a book. I'd play a video game. Usually I'm by myself. Like I'm alone. I'm by myself. I'm alone.

I'm with myself. Or I see my parents regularly. So kind of often, frequently. Fairly regularly. Fairly regularly, like almost every week. We usually go round to theirs. I usually go around to their place, to their house.

So I usually go round to theirs. It's like with friends, remember? I usually head over to my best friends. My besties. Oh, I usually go round to my parents. Go around to theirs. Go around to theirs. their place on Sundays, yeah.

If I'm not away for the weekend, unless I'm away for the weekend. Unless means if not. So if I'm not away for the weekend or unless I'm away for the weekend. Uh, where are my gloves? Come on, heat. Any day now. Winter is hard, but you're. groceries don't have to be. This winter, stay warm. Tap the banner to order your groceries online

at voila.ca. Enjoy in-store prices without leaving your home. You'll find the same regular prices online as in-store. Many promotions are available both in-store and online, though some may vary. Dear listener, if you want just something interesting, like interesting activities, all right? If you want to get a life, Maria's going to help you. Yeah, okay, there you go. The ultimate list of things to do when you are bored. Acrobatics, obviously. Baking. Okay, I bake some cake.

Basketball. Beach volleyball. Especially in winter. Belly dancing. You know, belly dances. Going to a board game club. So play a board game. Oh, that's a nice one. Board game.

Break dancing. Build furniture. What do you usually do on your day off? Oh, I usually build furniture. Oh my gosh. Yeah, I take a break through work by working even more. Build furniture. Okay, there you go.

Butterfly watching. So I watch butterflies. You know, like a popular British hobby is bird watching. They enjoy watching birds, but this one is butterfly watching. You watch butterflies. Okay, right? Chocolate tasting. Oh, okay, I taste different chocolate.

Create a family tree. I usually create a family tree on my... On your day off? You create a family tree once. That's a once-in-a-lifetime event. Yeah, but maybe it's kind of, it's a long thing. It's, you know, it's ongoing. Oh, create a bucket list.

Oh, that's a nice one. So on my day off, I usually create my bucket list. A bucket list is a list of things to do before you die. there's a cheerful thought no it's and the movie the movie is cool it's called the bucket list so watch this film nice one the list has like 100 items

I'm just you know choosing the best ones you're just choosing the craziest ones oh my god okay going to the spa oh Rory have you ever been to spa not for a long time no get a tattoo you know I usually get a tattoo on my day of

I usually get tattoos on my days off. What? I mean, you would have a day off to get a tattoo done, but you wouldn't do that like regularly as part of your normal day-to-day existence. It's crazy, you listen. And the list continues to what? To like, oh my gosh, what? 500 items?

Oh, like 382 items. Zumba is the final one because it's Zed. So they go like... Because it's the least likely for people. to do. Zumba is just dancing, you know. Like you do yoga, some people do Zumba. So is it Zumba?

What do you call it? I don't know. I don't do it. I think it's called Zumba. Zumba dancing. It's pretty cool. Actually, I've done it once. Twice.

Twice. Radio listener. So I took these activities from busy budgeta. Budget. You know, budgeta.com. Things to do when you're bored. Yes, because if you, you know, if you're doing this on a budget, then you know, getting a tattoo

seems like something that's well within the budget of normal people. And your listener, we'll finish it off with a joke. Oh, I thought the list was the joke. No, no, no, no, no, it's a serious, a serious list. Oh, very serious. Come on, super serious. Get a tattoo?

Yes, that's coming across. The joke. Right. Most people enjoy a day off on the 4th of July. Except fire. Fire works on. on the 4th of July. Rory, you're going to explain the joke. I mean, that's actually quite funny.

The 4th of July. What's the 4th of July? Fourth of July is a national holiday in America, which is celebrated with fireworks. And, of course, fireworks, fireworks, the thing. Fire, individual word, works, individual word. So, the joke is, most people enjoy a day off on the 4th of July

but not fire except fire so fire doesn't have a day off on the 4th of July because fire works on the 4th of July so you can crack this joke in the exam and then immediately we deported or you just tell a joke and then you'll laugh yourself and then the examiner will burst into laughter I promise.

Or burst into flames since we are talking about fire. Thank you very much for listening. We'll bring you more top-notch humor next time. Bye. Bye. Okay. When I sell my business, I want the best tax and investment advice. I want to help my kids.

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What do you usually do when you have days off? Anything apart from work. I think I normally play video games, do yoga or go to the gym, sometimes all three. Oh, and I like catching up on my reading as well. That's in the day, of course, at night. I usually head over to my best friends, and we sit and catch up on the latest gossip as well.

When was the last time you had a few days off? I'm not sure, really. I think it must have been around New Year's time. All my students were away on holiday, and that's the time of year when most people focus on their families and take a break from everything to celebrate Christmas. So it makes sense that I'd have been off as well, What would you like to do if you had a day of tomorrow?

Well, even though I like my downtime, I also like being productive, so I think I'd probably book myself into some yoga classes just to take advantage of the time I had. After that, I'd probably recover from the workouts in front of the TV or with a book or a video game or something like that. Do you usually spend your days off with your parents or with your friends? Actually, I'm usually by myself, but I live with a friend, so I'd likely be in his company if I'm not alone in the house. I do try and see my parents fairly regularly, though. We usually go around to theirs on Sundays unless I'm away for the weekend.