Hello, Sunshine.
I'm Mariam.
And my name is Rory, and we are the hosts of the IELTS 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've started this podcast to give you super vocabulary and gorgeous grammar for a high score, and also to bring joy and happiness and smileys.
So, how is life in Scotland these days?
Oh, it's not really great.
I mean like the weather is always cold and you can't go out because of all the restrictions, and it's very boring and I just can't be bothered anymore.
Hmm.
So you're whinging and complaining, yeah?
Yes.
You aren't painting a very rosy picture, are you, Rory?
I'm not, but let's talk about drawing and painting pictures.
Drawing and painting.
Yes.
A coincidence.
A coincidence on this podcast.
Again.
We are not planning this.
So yes, dear listener, in Speaking Part 1, they can ask you questions about drawing painting, and it's a new topic which was added at the beginning of January.
Because, as you know already, every four months, four months, IELTS people change the topics.
So they add new topics and they remove some of the topics.
So every four months.
Dear listener, we have our super duper premium episodes where Rory and I are discussing speaking part two and speaking part three using fresh new IELTS speaking topics.
The link is in the description.
So let's talk about painting or drawing.
Do you like painting or drawing?
Not really these days.
I doodle when I'm in dull lectures to keep my wandering mind active.
But that doesn't really count, does it?
Have you ever learned painting or drawing?
We used to do it quite often in school, though I was never particularly good at it.
It was always a bother to make things realistic or color inside of the lines.
Since then I've made sporadic attempts at learning and trying to draw, but nothing formal in the sense of actual lessons.
Is it easy to learn how to draw?
I think that depends on how much time and patience you have for it.
In addition to whether, well, you have good teachers and role models.
I had none of that, so it wasn't very easy for me.
Although I do remember a time when I was very young that it just came naturally to me.
I'm sure it does for some talented people, but most of us just have to work at it.
How often do you paint or draw?
Well, like I say, I sometimes doodle and scribble in lectures, but that's about it, really.
I can't remember the last time I made a serious effort to draw something or someone.
It must have been years ago when I was trying to depict a character from one of my books, and even that wasn't a particularly great effort.
What do you like to draw?
Well, my doodles usually have sharp edges and dark colors, although that might just be because all I have is a it's like a fine tip pen that uses black ink.
So that just means it's these are the easiest things to draw.
But mostly there is no pattern.
It's just random shapes.
What do you know about painting?
Just how to teach it to small people, really.
We talk about mixing colours and how tones and shades and tints can be made and changed, and how to reflect on work to improve it next time.
So...
If you wanted to talk about that, then I'd be okay.
But if you wanted to talk about the history of art or how to critique it, then you'd be out of luck, because I'm a novice in that respect.
Thank you, Rory.
Now you've painted a very rosy picture of the vocabulary and grammar we can use about painting or drawing.
So first of all, what's the difference between drawing and painting?
I'll tell you.
I found some picture.
It's a rhetorical question.
What is the difference?
I will tell you.
Yeah okay, I found some random picture on the internet and I'm gonna believe it and surely it's the truth and nothing but the truth.
So, drawing is about plans and the lines and shapes.
So, usually you use one color and you usually use pencils or pens or some crayons, perhaps.
Painting is the practice of applying color to painting.
A paper or canvas.
You know, these painters have a canvas.
Imagine this Dali painting his paintings with a canvas.
Romy, did you get the difference?
Probably, but for me, painting is with a paintbrush and liquid that you.
You can't see what I'm doing, but I'm moving my hand in the way that you'd use a paintbrush if you're rubbish at painting.
And drawing is about using a pen or a pencil.
That is my definition and that's what I'm sticking to with correct?
So rory, you told us that you doodle, google doodle, you doodle, you know, when you're bored and you just draw small pictures.
So you doodle and that could be considered as drawing.
Yeah, maybe not particularly good drawing, So you can say like oh, I usually doodle to keep my wandering mind active.
So if your mind is wandering, then you're not focusing and an active mind is doing something.
Now, you said that we used to do it at school.
So, like, I think everybody used to paint or draw at school.
So, like, painting lessons.
What do you call these lessons?
Like, painting, drawing classes?
I think we just called it art.
Art lessons.
Art classes.
Ah, okay, okay.
Art lessons.
And then Rory said, it was always a bother.
So Rory is not into painting or drawing.
But, dear listener, if you enjoyed it or you enjoy it, You can say oh, I was fond of or I'm fond of, I'm a fan of, I really enjoy it.
That's my passion.
I can't live without drawing or painting.
So for some people, it came naturally.
Like they just, you know, they are born and they can draw or paint.
Just like that, right?
But for others, you need time and patience, right?
You could talk about.
There's another one that you could use for like anytime someone asks you about something like.
I think that depends how much time and patience you have.
Yeah.
So together with the doodle, now you said scribble.
You scribble in lectures.
In fairness, scribble is just like messy and fast handwriting.
So it's not quite the same.
So when Rory answers questions about painting or drawing, he uses words doodling and scribbling.
Okay.
The same for writing, to be honest.
So, dear listener, now you can understand how far Rory is from drawing or painting.
Yeah, very far.
And then the question is like, what do you like to draw?
Even if you say I hate drawing I've never drawn anything in my life the examiner would continue what do you like to draw?
And you can talk about your doodles, because to doodle is a verb and doodles you can use it as a noun.
My doodles.
My kind of silly drawings.
And then you've mentioned that you use dark colors and you have a fine tip pen.
Yeah.
Yes.
That's just one kind of pen.
There are different kinds.
You have a ballpoint pen for pencils.
You have a lead pencil.
I don't know.
Are there different kinds of pencil?
Yeah, yeah, we talked about it.
We did, but it was so long ago.
Yeah, it was.
Yeah, dear listener, if you want to know some nice vocabulary about pens, check out our episode about pens, which was ages ago.
It's one of our very first ones, I'm pretty sure.
It was like three years ago.
Yeah.
Yeah, it was fun.
So, when Rory doodles, there is no pattern, just random shapes.
And this could be called drawing, to be honest with you.
Maybe you should save it, Rory, and then we can sell it.
Like, oh, this Rory from the podcast.
These are his doodles.
And then we make millions of pounds.
How about that?
I don't think that's something that anyone is likely to pay money for.
No, just you wait, you wait, okay?
Give us 10 more years, we're gonna go like, you know, super popular and we'll sell your doodles.
Okay, come back to me in 2032 and we'll see how that goes.
Yeah, okay, I'll see ya.
Yeah, dear listener, if you enjoy painting, you do need specific vocabulary about painting.
So, we don't give you vocabulary about painting.
But again, if you enjoy painting, make sure you use different words about paints and canvas and different oil paints and brushes.
Brush strokes.
That's the movement of the brush.
Yes.
Color schemes.
Yep.
Yep.
Then what do you know about painting?
Well, nothing much.
And we said that, oh, this is what you teach to small people.
Small people like children.
I just know how to teach it to small people.
That's all.
I wouldn't say that I'm an expert, though.
And indeed, someone who is not an expert, who is just at the very beginning, is called a novice.
And you can say a novice in that respect.
That respect refers to something that you talked about previously.
So here it was art history and how to critique, which means to judge art.
But I'm a novice in that respect because I don't know how to do it.
I just see a nice picture and I'm like, oh, it's a nice picture.
It's better than anything I could do.
Fantastic.
Yeah, Rory looks at the painting and then he goes, oh, that's in this picture.
But behold, we have settled upon another phrase that we could use in any circumstance.
So the phrase is if you wanted to talk about blah blah blah, then you'd be out of luck, because I'm a novice in that respect.
So you just say like, if you want to talk about, and then like some superior subject, then you say well, you're out of luck.
And if you're out of luck, it just means that you can't talk to me about it or you can't do anything with it, because I'm a beginner and I don't know anything about it.
Sweet, sweet.
So, the vocabulary.
The vocabulary about colors first.
You did say, like, mixing colors or how tones, shades and tints... can be made and changed.
So these ones are really good about drawing and paintings.
So what tones, shades and tints are?
Well, a shade is just a color, but with black added to make it darker.
And a tint is a color with white added to make it lighter.
And a tone is any color with gray added to sort of bring it down a little bit.
Yes, correct.
That's what they are.
How they work, I have no idea.
Because, like I say, I'm a novice in that respect.
I'm not an expert in that respect.
There we go.
Listen, don't overdo it, okay?
Once is enough.
I'm overdoing it because I want to draw attention to the fact that it's useful.
Yep. and because I had too much energy drink Yeah.
And if you don't say it naturally, the examiner would look at you like, what?
You've learned this cliche and now you're just, you know, repeating what you have learned?
It's not a cliche.
It's something that I made up that can only be heard on this podcast, but is actually sophisticated enough to get you a high score.
I am a useful person.
Dear listener, thank you for listening.
And now let's listen to Rory's answers again.
This time you can notice all the nice vocabulary and grammar Rory has used.
And also you can repeat after Rory.
So you can do this listen, stop, repeat technique.
So you can pause the episode, repeat what Rory has told us, copying his intonation, his voice.
So you can just be like Rory.
Again, it's useful for your intonation.
It's useful for your fluency, and fluency and intonation are one of the two criteria in IELTS speaking.
Do you like painting or drawing?
Not really these days.
I doodle when I'm in dull lectures to keep my wandering mind active.
But that doesn't really count, does it?
Have you ever learned painting or drawing?
We used to do it quite often in school, though I was never particularly good at it.
It was always a bother to make things realistic or color inside of the lines.
Since then I've made sporadic attempts at learning and trying to draw, but nothing formal in the sense of actual lessons.
Is it easy to learn how to draw?
I think that depends on how much time and patience you have for it.
In addition to whether, well, you have good teachers and role models.
I had none of that, so it wasn't very easy for me.
Although I do remember a time when I was very young that it just came naturally to me.
I'm sure it does for some talented people, but most of us just have to work at it.
How often do you paint or draw?
Well, like I say, I sometimes doodle and scribble in lectures, but that's about it, really.
I can't remember the last time I made a serious effort to draw something or someone.
It must have been years ago when I was trying to depict a character from one of my books, and even that wasn't a particularly great effort.
What do you like to draw?
Well, my doodles usually have sharp edges and dark colors, although that might just be because all I have is a it's like a fine tip pen that uses black ink.
So that just means it's these are the easiest things to draw.
But mostly there is no pattern.
It's just random shapes.
What do you know about painting?
Just how to teach it to small people, really.
We talk about mixing colours and how tones and shades and tints can be made and changed, and how to reflect on work to improve it next time.
So...
If you wanted to talk about that, then I'd be okay.
But if you wanted to talk about the history of art or how to critique it, then you'd be out of luck, because I'm a novice in that respect.
