Hello, lovely.
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 started this podcast because we want you to use high-level words and gorgeous grammar in your IELTS speaking and in your everyday English life.
Dear listener, have you noticed any changes?
Yay, the music.
We've decided to add some Christmas spirit, some positive vibes, into the podcast and change the music to add some Christmassy stuff.
Oh, talking about Christmas.
Rory, what's your Christmas plan?
I'd really like to take a holiday in my hometown.
I don't know if it's possible, but it certainly seems like a good idea.
Oh, in your hometown you say.
Because what a coincidence!
We're gonna be talking about hometown today Rory, let's talk about hometown.
What's your hometown like?
Oh, I don't know.
Imagine a dumpster that's on fire.
No, not really.
Actually, there have been a lot of changes for the better made there recently.
For example, we've developed the waterfront and all of the historical sites there so they're more accessible and just the whole thing is much more presentable than it used to be.
And, despite the crisis, the music and club scene is still quite good, although it's less so than it was just because of everything that's happening.
So I think if you go there there's actually a lot to write home about.
How long have you been living there?
Oh, I've lived there.
Well, I lived there on and off for about 24, 25 years before I moved to Russia.
So quite a long time, actually.
Probably about more than 70% of my life.
Do you like your hometown?
Most of the time.
Yes, actually.
There are some cultural aspects I wish people wouldn't indulge in so much.
Like, oh, I don't know.
There's this thing about people think it's like the superior, your virtue of being from a bad area or having a bad background or things like that, so people think that they.
Sometimes people think they feel that they're superior to other people because they've come from a rough part of town and But that's just like a small part of what is otherwise quite a really good tapestry, a cultural tapestry of the area.
Lots of...
Sort of cultural events happen in my hometown, for example, and there's lots of things to do and see there.
So in general, yeah, I feel really positive about it.
What did you like about your hometown when you were a child?
I loved the coast or living near the seafront or this idea of living near the water.
Although actually I suppose it's more like living near the riverside, because we live at the mouth of the river or I lived there.
And my family still lives there to this day.
It's full of all these little nooks and crannies that you could get lost in and have adventures.
For example, there's some gorse bushes near the burn close to my home.
And we used to play in there all the time.
So I think that's my favorite thing.
And then more broadly, the people there.
Most of the people are really cool.
I really like the attitude and the atmosphere there.
What's your hometown known for?
Well, actually, historically it was known for the three Js, which were jute, jam, and journalism.
I should explain for those of you that don't know.
Jute is like.
It's a kind of textile that's used in sack making, which was extremely useful in the Industrial Revolution.
And jam, of course, is the thing you put on your toast.
And journalism, well, there were lots of newspapers and printing presses located in Dundee.
Unfortunately, the jute industry collapsed and the jam industry is more spread out.
The journalism is still going, though.
There's lots of publications.
Most of them are moved online, but there's still that there.
Moreover, it's also known for its historical sites.
And we have a huge extinct volcano next to, well, next to the town, which is called the Law Hill.
And that forms like a core part of lots of the cultural touchstones of different parts of the city.
I think it's in the logo, actually, for the city council as well.
So we're known for lots of things.
It's quite impressive for such a small town relative to all of the other cities in Scotland which are much bigger.
How has your town changed in the last 20 years?
Oh, it's changed a lot for sure.
The city council has really put or sorry.
They've invested a lot of money into revamping the image both in the real world and in people's minds.
I think we were the city of culture one year for the UK.
And we have brand and city ambassadors floating about.
So they do a lot to promote the image of the city.
It's not all superficial, though, like there have been some really tangible changes.
Like I say, we redeveloped the waterfront close to the city centre.
There are a lot of new businesses starting up.
They're struggling a little bit now in the crisis, but still I think the culture is much more vibrant than it used to be.
When I look at pictures from the 70s and the 80s, it seems a bit almost dismal compared to now.
What changes would you like to have in the future?
Well ideally, I think there should be an expansion of housing for homeless people and people with serious social problems.
I think it's a bit of a blight on the town, to be honest, and these people really don't get enough help.
You see lots of homeless people and people with problems.
I don't think that's the fault of the people whose job it is to do this.
I think they just don't get enough money.
So if they could have a budget increase, that would be cool.
Although that's my personal social crusade.
I think my parents would probably just prefer the bins were collected on time.
They're much more realistic and they live there properly.
I don't.
Is there good public transportation in your hometown?
Um...
I think so.
I've not been there in a while, but I think the buses come fairly regularly and the trains run mostly on time.
The infrastructure isn't as well developed as Moscow, but there are far fewer people, so we need fewer services.
But certainly, I never have huge problems.
I suppose there could be more buses, but it seems to work for the vast majority of people.
Do you think you'll continue living there for a long time?
Well, I don't live there now and I don't think I'll live there again, unless I'm seeing my parents, for example.
Ironically because I live in Moscow now.
I actually want to live in a smaller, quieter town to the north of the city and escape the rat race for good.
But it would be okay to visit from time to time.
I have lots of friends there.
And like I mentioned in my previous answers, there's a lot to like about the city.
So it's not a complete loss, even though I won't live there forever.
Thank you very much.
Right, so, Rory, when I say hometown, I mean the place where I was born, right?
Yeah, the place where you... or the place where you grew up.
Sometimes these are different things, because you can be born in one city but you can grow up in another one.
I just like Edinburgh.
Can I say that?
You could.
There's another phrase like my home away from home.
So for example, Moscow is my home away from home.
I feel just as at home in Moscow as I do in my hometown in Dundee.
Oh, wow.
Interesting.
So, dear listener, if you want to talk about your hometown, you should choose what place you want to talk about.
Well, you can tell a lie, but choose what's easier for you.
Okay, when we talk about our hometown, we talk about different things that are in the hometown.
For example, Rory has mentioned that he likes the coast, the riverside, or he enjoys living next to the waterfront.
Or the mouth of the river.
It's important to point out that the mouth of the river is like an open part of it.
There are historical sites and we say historical sites, different like places of interest.
And there is a good music and club scene, scene like different clubs.
And Rory, you've used one like nooks and crannies.
Yes.
Well, nooks and crannies are usually used to describe places in a house where you can hide or conceal things, or places where dust collects but you don't really clean them.
But it can also be used to describe small parts where you can hide away from the world with your friends outside also.
It's less commonly used in this sense, but we can still talk about it that way.
And you say that it's a town.
A town or a city?
Well, I think of Dundee like a town, but it's actually a city.
The way that cities are defined I think is in the UK it's if it has a cathedral or a large church.
But for me, a city is a place like Moscow, which is huge.
I mean, by comparison, Dundee only has something like 150,000 people living there, I think.
So I think of it like a town.
A town is smaller than a city.
Yeah so, like Moscow is a city, so we can say that my hometown is a city of culture.
There are a lot of cultural events, like historical sites, cultural events, and then you can mention like what is there, for example, like high-rise buildings, cycle lanes, green areas, skyscrapers.
I like again like the coast.
When we talked about infrastructure, so we can say that the infrastructure isn't developed or there is efficient infrastructure.
And about problems, you talked about like there's a blight on the town.
Yeah, so if something is a blight on something, it means that it damages the reputation of the tyrant.
It makes it seem like not a very nice place to live.
And...
Well, I think if there's a lot of homeless people in a place, then it does not encourage, like it doesn't give people a very positive impression of that place, which is unfortunate because my hometown is quite nice.
We can also say that there are some run-down areas, like areas in poor condition, and these run-down areas are a blight on the town.
You could also say that they're dilapidated, which means the same thing.
Oh, yeah.
But that's a band 9 word to describe it.
I've been waiting for it.
Dilapidated areas.
Yeah.
Can I say there are some dilapidated churches?
Yeah, usually it's to talk about areas, but you can talk about individual buildings with the same word, for sure.
Yeah, and about the transport, you can say that trains run on time.
And to describe your hometown, we can say that it's vibrant.
So, Rory, you've used this word, vibrant.
Yeah it means that it's lively and active.
Maybe not as much as it used to be, but then I think there are very few places that are like that in the current situation vibrant yeah, or bustling lively, you can also say like traditional modern, cosmopolitan or touristy.
If there are many tourists in your hometown, it's touristy.
And Rory, you said that there's a lot of culture going on and cultural events.
However, You said, I wish people wouldn't indulge in some cultural aspects.
Okay, tell us first, what does it mean, indulge in something?
If you indulge in something, it means that you spend a lot of your time doing something that's very pleasurable.
So some people like to indulge in shopping, for example, or they like to indulge in watching soap operas.
So watching like spending a lot of time doing this.
You can also indulge in bad habits as well.
And I think a bad habit that a lot of people have is saying or expressing how better they are or how much better they are than other people because of their background.
And I'm not really sure that that's a very wise thing to do.
So I can say that on the weekend I'm going to indulge in watching Netflix all day.
But the phrase is very cool because Rory said I wish people wouldn't indulge in some cultural aspects, or I wish people wouldn't indulge in drinking.
Usually we say I wish people could, right?
Or I wish I were, I wish people didn't litter so much.
But here Rory has used I wish people wouldn't.
Rory, what's going on?
It's almost like you're expressing regret on behalf of other people.
So it's like I wish, I want, I desire other people not to do this behavior.
But they already do it, or it seems likely.
Is that the best way of expressing it or is there another way?
Yeah, you're pretty good at grammar of your own language.
Well, yeah, but, you know, it's always interesting to see how other people talk about it.
Yeah, it's like when I want something and I don't have it, I say like I wish I had a Maserati right.
But I don't have it.
I talk about myself.
But when I talk about other people, I can use this wood.
I wish people would stop complaining.
I wish people wouldn't drop litter everywhere.
I wish people wouldn't be sad.
So when we talk about other people, we can use would.
And sometimes it's about annoying habits.
So, for example, you go to the cinema and these people are munching on this popcorn and you can't concentrate on your favorite film because they're making stupid noises and you say like, oh God, I wish people would stop eating in the cinema.
I really do wish people would stop eating.
That and talking.
That annoys me at the cinema.
Yes, people, let's stop eating at the cinema.
Positive vibes.
Anyway, back to the hometown.
Yeah, back to the hometown.
So there are questions about changes.
And Rory, you've mentioned that the city council has done a lot of things, right?
Yeah, they've made changes.
They've made a lot of changes for the better.
So we talked about this in a recent episode, about change, but it's worth saying again it's usually change for the better or for the worse.
Tangible changes.
They've made tangible.
Yeah, tangible changes are things that you can see and touch.
So you can definitely see the development in the city over time.
You just need to look at pictures, for example, or you could go there and you can see what it looks like.
It's quite remarkable.
It's not perfect, but it's definitely a...
It's definitely a change in the right direction.
Yeah, you can say there have been many changes in my hometown.
And the authorities have put a lot of effort into revamping its image.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So if you revamp your image, it's like changing it to make it more interesting.
Dare I say more sexy to attract people in.
And that means that, well, they have like a lot of people want to live in Dundee now.
Thanks to these efforts, there have been efforts made by other people in different areas.
But this effort to make the town more attractive by the city council is one of these things that's encouraged people.
Yeah, you can say I've lived here for all my life or I've been living here for some time.
You've used a nice one tapestry of the area.
So a tapestry is like well, sort of like a large, more primitive painting from medieval times, but it's also used to describe the culture of the area.
The reason why is a tapestry has different parts to it showing different scenes.
And a culture also has different parts to it that demonstrate different parts of the aspects of lives of people there.
So we talk about a tapestry you can see in a museum or an art gallery, but you can also talk about the cultural tapestry of the area, how it changes, how it looks, how it feels.
Nice.
And we can say that I'm positive about my hometown.
I love my hometown.
There is no place like home.
Home, sweet home.
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Thank you very much for listening.
We hope that you've learned good vocabulary and juicy grammar to talk about your hometown.
For a high score.
Ben 9 score.
Bye.
Bye.
Rory, let's talk about hometown.
What's your hometown like?
Oh, I don't know.
Imagine a dumpster that's on fire.
No, not really.
Actually, there have been a lot of changes for the better made there recently.
For example, we've developed the waterfront and all of the historical sites there so they're more accessible and just the whole thing is much more presentable than it used to be.
And, despite the crisis, the music and club scene is still quite good, although it's less so than it was just because of everything that's happening.
So I think if you go there, there's actually a lot to write home about.
How long have you been living there?
Oh, I've lived there.
Well, I lived there on and off for about 24, 25 years before I moved to Russia.
So quite a long time, actually.
Probably about more than 70% of my life.
Do you like your hometown?
Most of the time, yes, actually.
There are some cultural aspects I wish people wouldn't indulge in so much.
Like, oh, I don't know.
There's this thing about people think it's like the superior, your virtue of being from a bad area or having a bad background, or things like that.
So people think that they sometimes people think they feel that they're superior to other people because they've come from a rough part of town.
But that's just like a small part of what is otherwise quite a really good tapestry, a cultural tapestry of the area.
Lots of...
Sort of cultural events happen in my hometown, for example, and there's lots of things to do and see there.
So, in general, yeah, I feel really positive about it.
What did you like about your hometown when you were a child?
I loved the coast or living near the seafront or this idea of living near the water.
Although actually I suppose it's more like living near the riverside, because we live at the mouth of the river or I lived there.
And my family still lives there to this day.
It's full of all these little nooks and crannies that you could get lost in and have adventures.
For example, there's some gorse bushes near the burn, close to my home, and we used to play in there all the time.
So I think that's my favorite thing.
And then more broadly, the people, Most of the people are really cool.
I really like the attitude and the atmosphere there.
What's your hometown known for?
Well, actually, historically it was known for the three Js, which were jute, jam, and journalism.
I should explain for those of you that don't know.
Jute is like.
It's a kind of textile that's used in sack making, which was extremely useful in the Industrial Revolution.
And jam, of course, is the thing you put on your toast.
And journalism, well, there were lots of newspapers and printing presses located in Dundee.
Unfortunately, the jute industry collapsed and the jam industry is more spread out.
The journalism is still going, though.
There's lots of publications.
Most of them are moved online, but there's still that there.
Moreover, it's also known for its historical sites and we have a huge extinct volcano next to well, next to the town, which is called the Law Hill and that forms like a core part of lots of the cultural touchstones of different parts of the city.
I think it's in the logo actually for the City Council as well.
So we're known for lots of things.
It's quite impressive for such a small town relative to all of the other cities in Scotland which are much bigger.
How has your town changed in the last 20 years?
Oh, it's changed a lot for sure.
The city council has really put or sorry.
They've invested a lot of money into revamping the image both in the real world and in people's minds.
I think we were the city of culture one year for the UK.
And we have brand and city ambassadors floating about.
So they do a lot to promote the image of the city.
It's not all superficial, though, like there have been some really tangible changes.
Like I say, we redeveloped the waterfront close to the city centre.
There are a lot of new businesses starting up.
They're struggling a little bit now in the crisis, but still I think the culture is much more vibrant than it used to be.
When I look at pictures from the 70s and the 80s, it seems a bit almost dismal compared to now.
What changes would you like to have in the future?
Well ideally, I think there should be an expansion of housing for homeless people and people with serious social problems.
I think it's a bit of a blight on the town, to be honest. these people really don't get enough help.
You see lots of hopeless people and people with problems.
I don't think that's the fault of the people whose job it is to do this.
I think they just don't get enough money.
So if they could have a budget increase, that would be cool.
Although that's my personal social crusade.
I think my parents would probably just prefer the bins were collected on time.
They're much more realistic and they live there properly.
I don't.
Is there good public transportation in your hometown?
Um...
I think so.
I've not been there in a while, but I think the buses come fairly regularly and the trains run mostly on time.
The infrastructure isn't as well developed as Moscow, but there are far fewer people, so we need fewer services.
But certainly, I never have huge problems.
I suppose there could be more buses, but it seems to work for the vast majority of people.
Do you think you'll continue living there for a long time?
Well, I don't live there now and I don't think I'll live there again, unless I'm seeing my parents, for example.
Ironically because I live in Moscow now.
I actually want to live in a smaller, quieter town to the north of the city and escape the rat race for good.
But it would be okay to visit from time to time.
I have lots of friends there.
And like I mentioned in my previous answers, there's a lot to like about the city.
So it's not a complete loss, even though I won't live there forever.
