IELTS Speaking for Success - 🪑 Sitting (Part 1) + Transcript

Episode Date: March 2, 2025

Get access to our episode archive: https://www.patreon.com/ieltssfs Do you always sit down for a long time? Where is your favorite place to sit? Do you find it easy to fall asleep when sitting on a sofa? When you were a kid, did you usually sit on the floor? 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/s11e26 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, Sunshine. I'm Maria. And my name is Rory, and we're the hosts of the AILT Speaking for Success podcast. The podcast is the 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 super vocabulary for a high IELD score. Your bad night score. Rory, are you swaying back and forth? Ooh. Yes, I'm sitting on an exercise bowl.

On what? An exercise ball. They're like plastic inflatable balls that you can sit on. Oh, let's talk about sitting. Yes, dear listener, it's a comeback, okay? Sitting is the weirdest, I-out-speaking topics, the strangest topic ever sitting. And yet we have done it twice. Yes, because now it's a comeback, you know?

Hmm. Please make sure you listen to our previous episode about sitting and chairs and where Rory enjoys sitting down. Hi. Yeah, and we've used the word swaying to sway. So what do you do when you sway? You move from side to side gently or backwards and forwards gently. Yeah, imagine this like yoga ball, this like a big ball. like made out of plastic.

Plastic? Ball. And like Rory's sitting on this ball and then he's swaying. Boom, boom, boom. Left right, left right. Yeah. Okay.

Do you always sit down for a long time? Actually, I try to avoid it when I can. I read a book that said it was really bad for your posture and your general health. So I tried to stand wherever possible. Where's your favorite place to sit? Oh, well, I'm sort of in two minds about this because I love my couch. I have a big three-seater in my living room, and I love to sit and chill there for a bit.

But I also have this ergonomic chair for my office, and that's pretty comfortable too, so it's great for work. Do you find it easy to fall asleep when sitting on a sofa? I certainly didn't used to, but I've got a throw for it for Christmas, so it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, cozy that sometimes I just curl up under it and drift off. When you were a child, did you usually sit on the floor? I think so. Maybe if we were short on space, but generally we usually had enough room to share couches and seats. Do you feel sleepy when you are sitting down? Well, not as a matter, of course, but sometimes if I'm on a bus and they turn up the heating,

it's hard to stay conscious. Or maybe if I've been on a flight for something, several hours I could drift off in a seated position, but I hate that since I always wake up feeling extremely stiff and it's not particularly comfortable. 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. Right, dear listener, you know, it could be a funny topic, but actually, healthy sitting is important. Yes, de listener, we should sit in a healthy way, like correct sitting, healthy sitting, because we do

spend a lot of time sitting down in the car on a plane at the office. Tell us, prepositions are crazy. In the car, on a plane, at the office or at home. Rory, what about a chair? Do I sit on a chair, at a chair, in a chair? Well, you can sit in a chair, is usually what I would say, but you can also sit on something like a stool or a table. Bed.

Or a bed, yeah. Sit on my bed. Okay. What about armchair? Oh, you sit in an armchair, actually, don't you? But you can sit on the arm of an armchair. Hmm. Floor. You sit on the floor. Yeah. Radio listener. Learning how to sit correctly is important for your mental well-being and for your posture, posture. Posture is the way you hold your shoulders and your back. So it's interesting, huh?

Have you ever heard of healthy sitting? Yes, I have. Because I've been reading a lot about yoga recently, so I know all about healthy sitting. Like, what's the best way to sit? Ideally, on top of your sitting bones with your head in alignment with your, well, with your neck and your back. that's quite good for you.

Hmm. Relaxed shoulders. Also, dear listener, you can say that I spend a lot of time sitting while I commute to work, while I travel to work. Sitting down for a long time is bad for your posture. Posture is the way, again, you kind of hold your back. So you can say that I usually try to stand when, impossible. A very good expression is I'm in two minds about this. So I'm not sure I have different

answers. So what's your favorite place to sit? You know, I'm into minds about this. I'm not sure. I love my couch, like a sofa. And also I have this chair. What kind of chair do you have, Ronnie? An ergonomic chair. It's a chair that's designed for a fashion say in comfort in a workplace. Yeah. If you have two places, you can say, I'm into mind about this. I love my bed, but also I have this ergonomic chair. Yeah.

And you can say that I just chill there, chill, like, unwind, relax. I chill there for a bit, like on my couch. I usually sit on my couch. But in my chair, yeah? I sit in my chair or on my chair. chair again. In my chair. Sit on my couch. I'd sit in a chair. On my couch, on my bed, but in my chair. It's crazy. On a sofa, Delison. It's not crazy. It's the open space and the closed space. Okay, okay. What about a desk? Well, you sit at a desk. Exactly. You see, you sit at a desk.

I mean, I assume you sit at a desk unless you put your body on the desk, in which case you are sitting on the desk. How many people do that, though? I wouldn't do that to mine. It was very expensive. Yeah, kind of you sit on a chair and at a desk. Because kind of you sit on a chair and you have a desk. So you sit at a desk is like your place to sit. We sit down on a sofa and sometimes we can fall asleep.

Fall asleep when you start sleeping. And Rory doesn't usually do that. I certainly didn't used to in the past. But I got a throw, which is like almost like a thin sheet for Christmas, and that is very cozy. So I just wrap it up around me and I fell asleep the other day. Yeah, like it's so cozy, it's so comfy. So I just curl up on my sofa, curl up like I arrange myself in a comfortable way, and I can drift off, which is a very good synonym for fall asleep.

or drift off. So you can say, if I curl up on my couch, I can fall asleep or I can drift off. See too, dear listener, to gradually start to sleep. Yeah, for example, I drifted off in the middle of that lecture. So I fell asleep. Yeah. Oh, I tend to drift off when I see.

sit on my sofa or when I sit on my couch, when I sit on the floor. When the examiner asks you about your childhood, you should use used to. So I used to sit on the floor, but not anymore. Now you use chairs or sofas or desks or cars or planes. There's a diversity of places to sit. What about the proposition with toilet? We don't talk about that on the podcast. Why not? Toilet is just a regular thing.

Because no one goes to the toilet. Huh? Okay, Delisly, you sit on the toilet. Okay, on. Yeah, but like, if the examiner tells me, like, where's your favorite place to sit? My toilet. What? No, it's not okay.

Why not? If I enjoy sitting on the toilet. Why should you, like, ideally shouldn't be sitting on the toilet for more than, like, 10 minutes or something? Yeah, no, even 10 minutes is just a long time. Yeah, the listener, it's not healthy, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard doctors talk about this and they say, no, no, no. It's not healthy to sit on the toilet for a long time.

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So, when I was a child, I used to sit on the floor. Okay, a lot. So it used to means that you don't do it anymore now. I usually feel sleepy. sleepy or drowsy when I sit down. So when I'm on a bus, so you sit on a bus, you can drift off, right? Especially if it's very warm. Oh yeah, that's true.

If they turn up the heating, so it's really warm, you are on a bus or on a train and you just drift off. And also when you are on a plane, I could drift off. in a seated position. So another synonym is when I'm in a seated position, when I sit down. Bless you. When you feel stiff,

what does it mean? Feel stiff. Oh, when you feel stiff, it just means that it's difficult to move your arms and legs and body because you've been sitting in a particular position for a very long time.

Yeah, when your muscles hurt because you've been sitting down for a long time, so your body can't move, it's stiff, it's hard. For example, sitting still at a computer all day long can give you a stiff neck. So we say sit at a computer? Yes? Well, don't sit on your computer or you'll break it.

Yeah, kind of you sit in front of your computer. Yeah, you sit with your computer. So you should adopt a correct sitting posture. dear listener. Or an appropriate seated position. Right, dear listener, if you want Ben 9, you can use such phrases and words as like, I prefer to have one leg under my hip.

Okay. Now that can't be good for you. Yeah, but you explain your sitting position. So I usually have, I usually place one foot on the chair and another foot is kind of is tucked under my hip. So you explain how you sit exactly because it requires like special vocabulary. Or for example, I place a pillow under my butt.

Can I say butt, Rory? I think I place a pillow under myself will be appropriate. Under myself? Okay. Or I sit on the edge of the... my office chair to sit on the edge of the chair. I sit in an upright posture. Okay. I place my back leg under the chair. Place my back leg behind my neck and your yoga pose. No, place the back, leg under the chair. Or I place my foot on my knee. Okay. and I change sides.

So you see, you can kind of like Google sitting positions and read the explanation of one sitting position, remember it, and speak about it during the exams Ben 9. Super cool. And now, Rory's vocabulary show.

Yes, this is the part of the show where I asked Maria questions about the vocabulary and grammar I used, and she has to work out what I am talking about. You can join So, let's go back to our very first question. And that was about whether or not I sit for a long time. And I said that I usually don't do it.

But I didn't say I usually don't do it. I used a different expression. I try to avoid it. Yes, and the usually part, when I can. Try to avoid it when I can. Then, in the second question, we discussed my question. favorite place to sit and I actually had two answers but what phrase did I use to express this idea that I had two things to say about this I'm in two minds about this

nice question three was about whether it's easy for me to fall asleep sitting on a sofa and I said that I was given something to curl up under on the couch but what was that thing called S-Ro. Yes, that's row. Then we discussed what I did when I was a child, and I said if we didn't have enough space, then I would do this. But I didn't say if we didn't have enough space.

There was something else I said. We were short on space. Yes, if you're short on something, you don't have enough. And finally, Maria asked if I felt sleepy when I'm not. sitting down and I said not normally but I didn't use that expression I used a different one to say not normally not as a matter of course fab so if you don't do something as a matter of course it just means you don't do it norm and Maria you've got 100% so do you know what that means a bonus question a bonus question but the bonus

question could be from any question and I am not or from any answer and I am not going to tell Maria which one she has to work out what is being described. Yeah. So this was a special adjective that describes furniture designed in a way to make working more comfortable and efficient. Egonomic. Nice, yes. Eugenomic chair, ergonomic desk, ergonomic keyboard. Yeah, ergonomic design.

And usually like I have an ergonomic desk chair. Yeah. Nice. Radio listener. I recommend reading about sitting and the risks of sitting too much. Like really interesting stuff. And... And invest in an ergonomic chair.

Yeah, there has been some research, according to which, sitting for long periods of time causes health problems. Okay. And you can also say like extended. sitting. So sitting for too long, at a desk or behind a wheel. We also forgot that we do sit while driving. So we sit behind a wheel. So when you drive, you sit behind a wheel or in front of a screen. In front of a computer. Could be harmful. So prepositions, de listener. Prepositions are crazy. But we are not. And hopefully we've been helpful throughout this episode.

join us in the next one. Bye. Do you always sit down for a long time? Actually, I try to avoid it when I can. I read a book that said it was really bad for your posture and your general health. So I tried to stand wherever possible. Where's your favorite place to sit? Oh, well, I'm sorry of in two minds about this because I love my couch.

I have a big three-seater in my living room, and I love to sit and chill there for a bit. but I also have this ergonomic chair for my office, and that's pretty comfortable too, so it's great for work. Do you find it easy to fall asleep when sitting on a sofa? I certainly didn't used to, but I've got to throw for it for Christmas, so it's so cozy that sometimes I just curl up under it and drift off. When you were a child, did you usually sit on the floor? I think so. Maybe if we were short on space, but generally, we usually had enough room to share couches and seats. Do you feel sleepy when you are sitting down?

Well, not as a matter of course, but sometimes if I'm on a bus and they turn up the heating, it's hard to stay conscious. Or maybe if I've been on a flight for several hours, I could drift off in a seated position. But I hate that since I always wake up feeling extremely stiff and it's not particularly comfortable. Thank you.