Hello, lovely.
I'm Maria.
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 to give you a look at how a native speaker could answer some of the most common IELTS speaking questions.
For a high score, Ben 9 score.
Rory, you're late today and you've overslept.
I know, I'm sorry.
I almost forgot.
Hmm, shall we talk about memory?
Yeah, it seems appropriate.
It's a coincidence.
On this podcast again.
Not manufactured at all.
Memory.
We are a factory of coincidences.
Coincidences and irony.
Thank you.
Rory, do you have a good memory?
I have a better one than I did since I started organizing everything in my head.
I organize my head and my life and my days more effectively now.
I have a routine and a planner and I take notes a lot and that helps greatly.
Do you have a good memory for faces?
I have a memory for faces, but I don't have a memory for names or numbers.
I wish I could remember names better, but for me it's always a challenge.
I suppose it's because I meet new people so often that it's hard to recall some names, especially if it's a lot of people at once, like new classes, for example.
And the other thing i don't have a memory for is numbers.
I don't even know my own phone number.
I can't even remember that and there's no way except repeating it like i don't know.
What's it called rote learning.
Maybe that would help me remember it.
Do you do anything to improve your memory?
Well, like I said, I take notes when people tell me things.
That helps a lot in terms of abstract concepts and locations and things like that.
Sorry, more concrete things like locations, and then I make sure the notes are displayed where I can see them.
So I'll write something on a post-it note and then I can stick that on the appropriate page in my diary and then I can see it there.
And because it's a bright color, it highlights what I need to do.
That usually means that the notes section of my planner is overflowing, but at least I know what I need to remember.
Did you have a good memory when you were a child?
Oh, not in the slightest.
I had a memory like a sieve.
I'd have forgotten my head if it weren't attached to me, probably.
Has your memory changed over the years?
Oh, absolutely.
Mostly due to having to deal with the consequences of having a bad memory.
So I used to get in trouble for forgetting things, for example.
So after that I would reflect on the situation and think How can I prevent that from happening in the future?
And what I would do usually is things like make a note in my diary or set an alarm.
And you can set reminders on your phones.
I haven't done that in a while, but that's one of the things that I do or did to change.
Is it important to have a good memory?
I think it used to be, since you couldn't record everything with as much ease as these days.
But now we have computers and phones and other things to help us out, so that you don't need a good memory so much.
You don't need it as much as you need good organizational skills, perhaps.
So if someone tells you something, then you can write it in your planner or you could put it in your phone.
I think actually some phones have this like algorithm or it's an automatic setting where if someone sends you a date, it underlines it and sets up a kind of hyperlink.
So you press the hyperlink and it opens up a page in your planner on your phone.
And then you can input all the details there.
So it happens almost automatically by default on your phone.
Rory, thank you so much for your memorable answers.
No problem.
Hopefully they'll be memorable.
There aren't many puns for this subject.
Okay, so let's talk about memory, words, and grammar.
So, first of all, we have a good memory or a bad memory.
Memory can also be excellent, short, long-term, short-term, visual, photographic.
Roy, do you have a photographic memory?
Well, I have a photographic memory.
Like I say, I can remember what things look like.
I just can't remember any of the other details that go with it.
And we talked about long-term and short-term memory before, I think, haven't we?
Yeah.
So you are more like, you have a visual memory, right?
Rather than... Pretty much.
Yeah.
I think most men are like that.
Hmm.
They can remember the visual markers, which is another good expression, actually.
Visual markers are just what things look like in their memory.
And that means that they can find their way around easily.
But then if you ask where or like to give the directions in a succinct manner, then they can't do it.
Yeah, if you ask for details, then it's... Give me a map and I'll show you.
I can't remember street names, for example, but I could tell you I could find the place if I needed to.
Okay, so we have memory of something, right?
But we have a memory for faces.
I have a good memory for faces.
Rory has a good memory for faces, but he doesn't have a good memory for names. or numbers.
Yes.
But Roy, you are into mathematics, so you don't remember... I tried to get into mathematics.
I can remember like the vaguest details of how to do things, but it's really difficult for me.
Oh, wow.
Okay.
But we're going to talk about mathematics in a later episode or an earlier one.
I can't remember what order we're recording them in, but maths is coming.
Spoiler.
Spoiler.
Okay, and then you said this I wish structure.
Yay, on this podcast.
I wish I could remember faces better.
There you go, dear listener.
So if the examiner asks you a question, do you have a good memory for faces?
And you go, I wish I could remember names and faces better.
Yes, I wish I could but you don't because here with I wish we use the past simple.
I wish I could remember or I wish I remembered.
Or I wish I had a better memory for faces.
But the preposition is for faces.
So, Rory, you've used a good synonym, which means remember, recall.
Yes, paraphrasing effectively.
Yeah, so recall some names, recall numbers.
So it's hard for me to recall names, recall my life.
So really you don't remember your phone number?
Seriously?
I really can't remember my phone number.
I'm really bad at it.
I can remember that it ends in 05, but apart from that, it's lost on me.
Wow.
Which is another good expression.
It's lost on me.
Which means what?
You lose stuff in yourself, in your life?
Um, just if something is lost on you, then it doesn't have any relevance, or it's just something that you can't really remember in any great detail.
Oh, actually, no.
If something is lost on you, then it's not important.
But if something is lost to you then you can't remember it.
Oh okay, okay.
So you said that you take notes, i take notes.
You can say i make notes, like to remember things, and rory has a routine and he has a planner, a planner on your phone.
I have a planner on my phone which tells me things.
I don't really know what they are, but it tells me things.
But I have my diary planner, which is much more effective for me.
I think writing things is much more useful for remembering things, physically writing them, as opposed to typing them.
Yeah, I agree.
And now we know that Rory's notes are displayed everywhere where he can see them.
And he writes things on post-it notes.
And then you stick the notes everywhere, like on the ceiling, on the floor, on your walls, in the shower.
Yes.
And it's important, like post-it notes are a particular well piece of vocabulary for something that helps you remember things.
That's the purpose of them.
Yeah, so post-it notes like sticky notes.
You know they can be of different colors yellow pinky, green.
Yeah, so good for learning vocabulary, by the way.
And your planner is overflowing, it doesn't mean that you have a lot of things to do.
Basically, yeah.
If something is overflowing, metaphorically speaking, then there's a lot of things there.
Like you're cooking something and then it's overflowing.
Stuff is coming out.
Yeah, usually water if you're boiling something, for example.
Right, so you can say that my plan is overflowing, but I can remember a couple of things.
Your memory was like a sieve, Rory.
So back to cooking.
Yeah, a sieve is her best to explain.
A sieve is like a net and it's got a really fine layer of metal with holes in it and you use this to drain water from things.
It's different from a colander.
A colander is all metal and is inflexible.
And a sieve is flexible.
Colander could be plastic.
Could it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But sieve does have metal.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So you guys, you should Google it now.
So go to Google, click images and write colander.
How do you spell it?
Colander? so it's a good question c-o-l-l-a-n oh that one d-e-r colander Colander, yes.
You should Google images, colander, take a look, and then you should Google sieve.
S-I-E-V-E.
So we can say that my memory is like a sieve.
Or my memory used to be like a sieve.
Oh, yeah, definitely.
Is it a sieve?
Is that how you pronounce it?
I was always told it was sieve.
Sieve.
Sieve.
Ah, so not like sieve, but sieve.
Oh, okay.
Sieve, yes.
Either way, people know what you're talking about.
And you can say, for example, that my memory is like a sieve, or my memory was like a sieve when I was a child.
And then Rory used the conditional, I'd have forgotten my head if it weren't attached to me.
This is actually like a common phrase in English.
So it's helpful that like you don't have to use it flexibly.
You can just come out with this expression like I would forget my head if it weren't attached to me, or you would forget your head if it wasn't attached to you.
Yeah, so attach when you attach something to something, like you stick something to something.
So your head is kind of attached to you, right?
And I'd forget my head if it weren't attached.
You can say if it weren't attached, like were not, or if it wasn't attached, like was not.
Both are fine.
We have consequences of having a bad memory.
Consequences.
So many consequences.
So, consequences are usually just the outcomes of something.
Usually, it's negative.
Usually, we talk about negative consequences.
Of your actions.
Yep.
So, and to avoid having these consequences, what do we do to help our memory?
We set an alarm clock, right?
Or we set a reminder.
Yeah, always set.
Set an alarm clock, set a reminder...
Romanja on your phone, right?
So kind of, oh, remember.
Yeah.
There is this nice thing as Google Tasks.
Have you heard of this?
No more technology, please.
Okay, okay.
Yeah.
And the question was, like, is it important to have a good memory?
And Rory said, like, I think it used to be blah, blah, blah, since... You couldn't...
Couldn't record.
Since here means because.
It's a good synonym.
Used to be, well, it was before, but it's no longer true.
So this is a nice chunk.
And Rory, tell us about these algorithms in your phone.
Well, isn't an algorithm just... It's like a system on your phone.
And it follows a pattern of logic that's programmed into it.
So it's designed to respond when you put in information, to give you an answer that's more personalised to you or that's more relevant.
So, for example, if your phone sees that there's a date being mentioned in your messages, then it might highlight it and provide you with some options to remember things, because it thinks that this is something important connected to that date.
Wow.
Yeah, but algorithm is a nice word.
It is.
So I know that there are some algorithms in your phone.
I don't know.
I don't know that's the best description of algorithms.
There's probably some computer scientists having a nervous breakdown listening to this podcast, like that not what it is, but it's something to do with that.
It's to do with automated processes on your phone, and that is another piece of band 9 vocabulary automated processes.
So if you're uncomfortable with algorithm, then just say automated processes, and it's the same thing.
When you answer this question about improving your memory, you can also talk about food, which Rory didn't mention.
So Rory, if you were to boost your memory, what food would you go for?
Apples, dark green leafy vegetables peanuts, dark chocolate walnuts, blueberries or fatty fish?
Probably the fish.
The fish, fatty fish.
Yeah, fish contain omega-3 oils, which is supposed to be good for your memory.
Fatty, fatty fish.
Fatty means like it has this fat, you know, but in a good way.
Well, all fat is good for you.
This is the... Oh, no, sorry.
I have beliefs about diet that I'm not going to impose on the podcast, but people shouldn't have a nervous breakdown if they eat fat.
It's good for you.
You need this to live and be healthy.
Yeah, it helps us with the depression and unhappiness if we eat all these fatty foods, comfort foods.
Yeah, but anyway, food to improve your memory, to boost your memory.
So you'd go for the fish, right?
Bananas, by the way, Rory.
Did you know that bananas, according to BBC Good Food, have memory enhancing properties?
Yes, because they traumatize you in terms of remembering them when you eat them.
And I'm not doing it.
I don't care.
Now, Rory hates bananas.
And Rory also hates peanuts.
Worry, and peanuts also have memory enhancing properties.
I don't did i say i hate peanuts?
Oh raisins, was it?
Oh god, i hate raisins.
Peanuts are fine.
Oh, you're fine with peanuts.
Okay yeah, i have peanut protein bars.
That's okay Yeah, Rory.
In the morning?
You should eat rosemary.
I don't know what that is.
And I already remember what I have to do in the morning because it's the same thing every day.
Dear listener, I don't remember what I have to do in the morning, so I should eat rosemary.
Yum, yum, yum.
It's a herb, rosemary.
Okay, and about verbs, so we remember things, we recall things.
We also can say memorize, okay?
Memorize or we learn things by heart.
Yes.
Oh, I talked about rote learning, which is when you memorize things by heart as well.
Oh, yeah.
But when you memorize things like a robot, then you forget everything you've memorized.
Well, not necessarily.
It can be quite effective for some things, like phone numbers.
But it's not very effective for me because I have a memory like a sieve.
You can commit something to memory.
So, for example, we've discussed all this beautiful, gorgeous vocabulary, so you can commit this vocabulary to memory.
However, it's important that we commit to the end of this particular recording.
I'm gonna go get myself some rosemary to eat.
Don't forget to check our Patreon, where we post exclusive parts 1, 2 and 3 episodes.
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Bye!
Rory, do you have a good memory?
I have a better one than I did since I started organizing everything in my head.
I organize my head and my life and my days more effectively now.
I have a routine and a planner and I take notes a lot and that helps greatly.
Do you have a good memory for faces?
I have a memory for faces, but I don't have a memory for names or numbers.
I wish I could remember names better, but for me it's always a challenge.
I suppose it's because I meet new people so often that it's hard to recall some names, especially if it's a lot of people at once, like new classes, for example.
And the other thing I don't have a memory for is numbers.
I don't even know my own phone number.
I can't even remember that.
And there's no way except repeating it.
Like, I don't know, what's it called?
Wrote learning, maybe, that would help me remember it.
Do you do anything to improve your memory?
Well, like I said, I take notes when people tell me things.
That helps a lot in terms of abstract concepts and locations and things like that.
Sorry, more concrete things like locations, and then I make sure the notes are displayed where I can see them.
So I'll write something on a post-it note and then I can stick that on the appropriate page in my diary and then I can see it there.
And because it's a bright color, it highlights what I need to do.
That usually means that the notes section of my planner is overflowing, but at least I know what I need to remember.
Did you have a good memory when you were a child?
Oh, not in the slightest.
I had a memory like a sieve.
I'd have forgotten my head if it weren't attached to me, probably.
Has your memory changed over the years?
Oh, absolutely.
Mostly due to having to deal with the consequences of having a bad memory.
So I used to get in trouble for forgetting things, for example.
So after that I would reflect on the situation and think How can I prevent that from happening in the future?
And what I would do usually is things like make a note in my diary or set an alarm.
And you can set reminders on your phones.
I haven't done that in a while, but that's one of the things that I do or did to change.
Is it important to have a good memory?
I think it used to be, since you couldn't record everything with as much ease as these days.
But now we have computers and phones and other things to help us out, so that you don't need a good memory so much.
You don't need it as much as you need good organizational skills, perhaps.
So if someone tells you something, then you can write it in your planner or you could put it in your phone.
I think actually some phones have this like algorithm or it's an automatic setting where if someone sends you a date, it underlines it and sets up a kind of hyperlink.
So you press the hyperlink and it opens up a page in your planner on your phone and then you can input all the details there.
So it happens almost automatically by default on your phone.
