Hello lovely, I'm Mariam.
And my name is Rory.
We are the hosts of the IELTS Speaking for Success podcast, a 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 gorgeous grammar and lovely IELTS speaking samples from a super-duper Scottish native speaker.
Educated native speaker.
Allegedly.
Rory himself.
Yeah.
We have our premium episodes where Rory and I are talking about IELTS Speaking Part 2 and 3.
You can take a look, click on the link in the description and check out our premium episodes.
This week, we're going to talk about...
Describing a time Rory was friendly to someone he didn't like.
And in Speaking Part 3, we're going to be talking about being polite and friendly.
And if you don't like speaking but you do like writing, then you can check out our Writing for Success podcast.
IELTS Writing for Success.
We write about graphs, we write essays on the spot, so it's pretty cool.
The link is in the description.
Go check it out.
Rory, what have you been doing in your free time?
Oh, lots.
I started watching Firescape again.
That's a show that I used to watch on TV when I was younger.
Oh, shall we talk about watching TV?
Shall we?
It's a coincidence after all.
Yeah, it is a coincidence.
So, let's talk about watching TV.
This topic is now in IELTS Speaking Part 1 questions.
So, if you take IELTS before January 22, be ready to talk about watching TV.
What types of TV programs do you like to watch?
Well, I'm a big fan of science fiction series.
I've been watching them ever since I can remember picking up a TV remote control.
I used to like detective shows but I sort of fell out of watching those when I went to university.
I really should go back to them now that I think of it.
Do you think you watch too much television?
Well, maybe a little bit.
However, I work a lot, so why shouldn't I indulge a bit from time to time?
I think I'll know when it gets really out of control because I'll stop getting things done.
Why do some people watch TV shows online?
Well, everyone has the internet these days, don't they?
And you can pretty much log on or log in anywhere and watch any number of whatever show you like.
The sky is probably literally the limit when it comes to the internet.
And even then, I think we have on the International Space Station.
Why do people dislike watching TV?
I suppose it looks like a bit of a time sink on the face of it, and it probably is to a certain extent.
I wonder what else they're doing if they never watch TV, though.
Surely they have at least once.
What benefits can people get from watching foreign TV programs?
I suspect the most obvious one for everybody is exposure to another language, especially if they're practicing it.
And you can also experience another culture and enjoy its mores.
I think that's why is it Mexican or Brazilian dramas that are really popular in Russia, for example?
Can you watch TV programs in English in your country?
I can, because it's an English-speaking country.
And I think anyone can in their countries too, thanks to the internet.
It's pretty much open to anyone, isn't it?
Rory, thank you so much for your answers.
That's okay.
So watching tv gosh, do people watch tv these days?
Or everybody is on netflix and like do people watch tv, dilson?
Do you watch tv like tv the box?
Watching TV used to mean watching TV on the actual TV device, but now I think it just means watching any series on a laptop or a desktop computer, if you want to.
Yeah, so watching TV means anything now.
So if you watch shows on your phone on YouTube, on Amazon, on Netflix, so if you watch programs, different channels, so it doesn't have to be a TV like a piece of technology right, it could be tv, but you can talk here about netflix, about anything, even if you don't have a tv like a piece of equipment, but you watch netflix.
So talk about netflix And we say watch TV, TV shows, TV programs channels, stuff like that.
And then you go like, what types of TV programs?
And you go, I'm a big fan of science fiction.
Then you go with, I'm a big fan of series, Netflix series.
But you could pick any genre and add it to I'm a big fan.
Like I'm a big fan of horror.
I'm a big fan of drama.
I'm not a fan of drama.
I like my life to be simple.
Reality shows or cookery programs.
I watch football, sports, anything.
Okay, and you said something about picking up a TV remote control.
So a remote control is.
A remote control is what you used to use to control the TV, but everybody uses their phones now for everything.
Yeah, phones or laptops.
I don't know.
You connect Netflix to all the devices.
And then you said, I sort of fell out of doing that.
Yeah, which just means I stopped doing it.
Yeah.
But if you say you stopped doing something, it's like you consciously chose to do that, whereas if you fell out of doing something, it's because you just unconsciously started doing other things instead of the thing that you were doing.
Like you fell out of a habit of doing that.
Yeah.
So, Rory, do you actually watch TV?
Like TV, do you have a TV box?
There is one in my living room, but I don't watch it.
Or I don't watch things on it.
So you never switch it on?
No, I haven't switched it on in two years.
My parents do.
My parents are, you know, 3,000 years old.
Yeah, now kind of like watching TV, television in a traditional way.
It's like more for elderly people, isn't it?
Interesting.
Well, watching broadcasts on television is more common for older people, but you can watch things on TV from the internet if your TV is connected to the internet.
Yeah, yeah.
So you're using the TV or watching Netflix, for example.
Yes.
Do you think you watch TV too much?
So how much is too much?
I really should have said that.
It's like, how much is too much?
And you can actually ask this question, oh, how much is too much?
You said like, okay, I work a lot and I indulge in a bit from time to time.
So if you indulge in something, it means you enjoy it.
You enjoy doing it.
You do it.
I indulge in watching a bit of television.
You know they say that three hours a day is a bit excessive.
Who?
Who says it's a bit excessive?
Well, research.
Research from where?
Psych2R sources.
British scientists, of course.
British scientists swear i don't know, i just read it on the internet.
Perhaps you should stop reading things on the internet.
Everything i read on the internet is true.
Okay, so they say that three hours a day of watching television is not normal.
It's too much.
So we believe it.
Right.
So people watch TV shows online.
So TV shows, programs online.
And then you go, everyone has the Internet these days, don't they?
Yes.
They do.
The sky is literally the limit.
That just means that you could do anything you wanted to Yeah, like log in anywhere, watch any number of whatever shows you want.
We also should mention the verb to binge watch, right?
So binge watch different programs.
You're in love with this expression.
Yes, I love binge watching.
Because when you start, you just can't stop yourself, right?
Yeah, but no one says that.
They just say, like, I just watched the whole thing.
I just watched the whole thing.
So nobody uses binge anymore?
I haven't heard.
I think binge watch was a meme and I think it hasn't actually been said seriously by a native speaker in about two years.
Because, of course, we were all trapped indoors.
What were they supposed to do apart from just watch things constantly?
So then it just became a normal behavior.
Yeah, 2020, the TV numbers went through the roof.
So everybody was at home watching stuff. the n-word netflix the n-word oh okay that's sailing close to the breeze don't you think n-word netflix thank you oh so like i say watch watch the whole thing i don't say binge watch I like binge watch.
I like how it sounds.
Okay.
All right.
So be more natural.
Avoid saying binge watch.
However, you might come across the word binge watch in magazine articles and somewhere online in articles and on blog posts.
Why do people dislike watching TV?
And you said something like, I suppose it looks like a bit of a time sink on the face of it.
A bit of a time sink on the face of it.
Yes, so a time sink is something that you waste a lot of time on and it doesn't do anything productive.
And then on the face of it is just the first impression.
So when people watch TV, they kill time.
So watching TV, watching television is a bit of a time sink.
In terms of benefits of foreign TV programs.
People have the exposure to another language, so they are exposed to another language.
They hear another language, they can listen to it, to some natural examples.
Yes.
Why did you say that Mexican dramas are popular in Russia?
Well, I didn't know if they were Mexican or Brazilian, but there was like some kind of dramas that were popular.
Well, 20 years ago.
Now everybody's on Netflix.
Rory, like, what?
So they watch them on Netflix.
What's your problem?
No, they watch... What do people watch on Netflix?
Now they watch Squid Game.
I like how it's turned into watch the boomers try and work out what the kids are into these days.
We're so old.
Yeah, what kind of soap operas?
Nobody... No, I don't know.
Maybe you watch some soap operas.
But now I think most people are on Netflix, for example.
Trending now.
Okay, there we go.
Top 10 in Russia today.
Squid Game number one.
You...
New episodes, number two.
Maid, sex education, honey heist, money heist.
So these kind of things, you know.
Yeah.
Downtown Abbey.
So kind of, I don't know.
Murder, Vikings, Gossip Girl, The Queen's Gambit, these things.
A funny question was, can you watch TV programs in English in your country?
Yes.
Oh, you're from Scotland.
Do you have anything in English at all?
Or you speak like your Scottish special language in that faraway land.
How rude.
Yeah.
Yeah, but for example, if I take the exam in Russia and then the examiner asks you okay, so can you watch TV programs in English in your country?
You go, yes, Netflix.
I've subscribed to Netflix and yep, I can watch it in any language I want.
And, yeah, on Netflix you can't change the language, right?
I don't know.
This is, again, it's like watch the boomers try and work out what to do.
No, because you can add subtitles, you can change languages, you can do all sorts of things.
Oh, there we go.
So, audio, for example, German, English, French, Russian, subtitles off on German, Finnish.
I can watch the series in German with Finnish subtitles.
Finnish like Finland, right?
Or in French with Russian subtitles.
You see, so I can go wild and crazy.
Why not?
Have you ever tried watching some series in Japanese just for the fun of it?
Why?
Why would I do that?
Just for the fun of it.
No.
No?
Jealousy?
You don't do this?
Anyway.
There's lots of question tags, don't they?
Isn't it?
Yes.
Question tags.
It's pretty much open to anyone, isn't it?
Intonation, yeah.
Intonation?
Everyone has the internet these days.
Intonation?
Yeah, intonation.
That's basically what you should say, like, everyone could do anything they like.
Intonation.
No, but that's how you remind yourself about the intonation, because you should be using it so that you can show to the examiner what you can do with your intonation.
Yeah.
But, surprisingly, no conditionals.
Oh.
How dreadful.
No, for example, can you watch TV progress in English in your country?
Well, if I paid for Amazon, I'd be able to watch all I want in English.
But I didn't say that.
The second conditional.
No, because you're in Scotland.
You don't have to pay for foreign problems.
No, because you're in Scotland.
You don't have to use conditionals.
Thank you very much for listening.
Not watching.
Control your Netflix intake, okay?
That's what the scientists say.
More than three hours a day.
That's what the scientists say.
It was on the internet, okay?
So, control it, right?
Have a mix of podcasts, Netflix series in your mother tongue, in English, you know.
Have a varied diet.
This is what they call it?
Varied diet?
No, diverse diet.
Balanced diet?
Balanced diet.
There we go.
Have a balanced diet of your TV intake.
Right.
We should stop now.
Thank you very much.
We should have stopped about 10 seconds ago.
Hugs and kisses.
Bye.
Well, I'm a big fan of science fiction series.
I've been watching them ever since I can remember picking up a TV remote control.
I used to like detective shows, but I sort of fell out of watching those when I went to university.
I really should go back to them now that I think of it.
Do you think you watch too much television?
Well, maybe a little bit.
However, I work a lot, so why shouldn't I indulge a bit from time to time?
I think I'll know when it gets really out of control because I'll stop getting things done.
Why do some people watch TV shows online?
Well, everyone has the internet these days, don't they?
And you can pretty much log on or log in anywhere and watch any number of whatever show you like.
The sky is probably literally the limit when it comes to the internet.
And even then, I think we have on the International Space Station.
Why do people dislike watching TV?
I suppose it looks like a bit of a time sink on the face of it, and it probably is to a certain extent.
I wonder what else they're doing if they never watch TV, though.
Surely they have at least once.
What benefits can people get from watching foreign TV programs?
I suspect the most obvious one for everybody is exposure to another language, especially if they're practicing it.
And you can also experience another culture and enjoy its mores.
I think that's why is it Mexican or Brazilian dramas that are really popular in Russia, for example?
Can you watch TV programs in English in your country?
I can, because it's an English-speaking country.
And I think anyone can in their countries too, thanks to the internet.
It's pretty much open to anyone, isn't it?
