Hello, lovely.
I'm Maria.
And my name is Rory.
And 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 started this podcast to give you a look at how a native English speaker would answer some of the most common IELTS speaking questions, using high-level vocabulary and grammar for a high score.
A band 9 score.
Rory, you're paying attention today.
Yeah, I took up meditation.
It's kind of improving my concentration a lot.
Oh my gosh, meditation.
So you've started doing something new.
Yes, it's a coincidence because we're probably going to talk about that today.
Yay, it's another coincidence on the podcast.
We are talking about new activities because in IELTS Speaking Part 1, they can ask you questions about new activities.
Rory, do you like to try new activities?
Absolutely.
I like an adrenaline rush every now and then, so I have a lot of experiences like flying a glider, going shooting and going zorbing lined up for when I go back home.
Is it good for people to try new things?
Well, if they've got a high level of openness, then yes.
But some people are quite set in their ways and they don't like taking risks.
And that's OK, too, most of the time.
Personally, I think getting out of your comfort zone helps build character and creativity.
But that's just me.
Why are some people afraid of trying new things?
Well, like I said, some people are naturally conservative, so they can react that way.
And it's usually scary the first time you try something.
Like, for example, when I first started going to the gym.
It was kind of scary doing everything for the first time in front of people.
So that can be a bit daunting and can be kind of off-putting, I suppose.
But you get used to it and you get over it.
What help do people need when they're trying new things?
I suppose they probably need confidence and curiosity.
And if it's a skill, then they'll need a good memory or a pen and paper to take notes.
Oh, and probably a patient teacher or instructor.
I think it makes a difference as well to have realistic expectations.
Experts and videos can help with that, because they can show you what you should expect from the experience.
What are some of the difficulties a person might have when they try something new?
Well, I suppose persevering with it and maintaining confidence.
We've just talked about how they might be scared as well, actually, haven't we?
Do you think it's better to have new experiences when you're young or when you're older?
But I don't think age is a very serious factor, to be honest.
I suppose either way, it doesn't really matter unless it's something super demanding.
Like, if you're 80 years old, you're probably not going to go mountain climbing.
Well, most people aren't going to go mountaineering anyway.
I guess when you're young, everything is new as well, isn't it?
Whereas when you're old, you appreciate it more.
So I don't think age matters, but I think it will influence how you see whatever it is you're doing.
Did you try new activities when you were younger?
Not really, actually.
It took me a very long time to come out of my shell.
I'm much more open to new experiences now.
Do you like to try new activities alone or with friends?
That's a very good question, actually.
I suppose it depends on the kind of activity, because you have traditionally group activities like having a barbecue or going camping, this kind of thing.
Then you'd probably want to do that with your pals.
But if it's something like maybe working out at the gym, then maybe it's a good idea to do it alone so you're not distracted.
Unless you were with somebody who has some experience.
Maybe your friends have some experience there and then they could help you.
So it depends on a lot of things, actually.
I think, on balance I'd probably prefer to do most things with friends, or at least with somebody, because then you have someone to help you out.
Rory, thank you so much for your answers.
Okay, let's go over all this nice vocabulary and grammar you've just used.
So, new activities.
How can I paraphrase new?
Novel.
Yeah, novel activities and novelty is the noun, right?
Yes.
So, I do love the novelty or just novelty, no article.
So article or no article?
Of what?
You guys, he's getting distracted again.
We have concentration issues.
So if I say novelty, do I use the novelty or novelty?
I love novelty or I love the novelty?
Oh, right.
Okay.
Well, if you want to talk in general, then you could say, I love novelty, like as a concept.
But if you wanted to talk about something specific, something new, about the experience, then I like the novelty of And then doing an activity.
Yeah.
And we usually say like do new activities or do something that I've never done before, present perfect, you know, and try out new things, right.
Yes.
So you always want to try something out as opposed to just trying it.
Yeah, try out mountain climbing, for example.
Can we engage in new activities?
You can.
It's very formal though, isn't it?
Yeah, and IELTS speaking is more informal, so you can say just try out new things.
And you've said like take risks, right?
Yes.
We can also say like I'm a risk taker and something is risky.
A very nice expression you've used like get out of your comfort zone.
Yeah, so that's when you do something that you're not used to, that makes you a little bit uncomfortable, but hopefully it will make you grow as a person as a result.
Yeah, so get out of your comfort zone, or move outside your comfort zone like push yourself.
You know I enjoy pushing myself.
Like, put myself out there.
Like, do it.
And, Rory, you do enjoy an adrenaline rush once in a while.
Yes.
Or every now and then.
Every now and then.
Adrenaline rush like a drink, yeah?
Well, there's a drink called adrenaline rush, but adrenaline rush is also the feeling you get when you do something wild and scary.
Wild and scary.
And actually, you've given us good examples of activities.
What were the activities?
Like glider or something?
Yeah, I wanted to learn how to pilot a glider.
That's the kind of plane that doesn't fly independently, it just glides on the wind like a paper aeroplane, only much bigger.
And I was going to do that before the crisis happened, so hopefully I'll get the chance to do it next year.
What were the other activities?
I wanted to go shooting and clay pigeon shooting, to be exact which maybe isn't as adrenaline fueled or filled as flying a glider, for example, but it's still pretty cool, I think.
And then I also wanted to go zorbing, which is when you climb inside a plastic ball and you roll around.
And that's quite fun.
Oh, shooting, so you would actually kill those poor little birds?
No, no, it's clay pigeons.
So they're like little discs that you shoot and they explode.
It's not like real birds.
Oh, good.
Oh, you're very lovely.
Yay.
Yeah, you've mentioned mountaineering.
So mountaineering, that's mountain climbing.
Yeah, it's basically mountain climbing.
Cool.
And when we talk about new activities, so be ready to actually name a new activity that you'd like to try out.
For example, Rory, I'm going to name three activities.
Could you tell me which one you'd like to try out?
Okay, are you ready?
Would you learn how to juggle?
Would you take up underwater weaving, or you would like to raise ducks?
So I don't know.
Underwater weaving sounds interesting.
It's something that I have never heard of before up until this very moment.
It's definitely not been mentioned previously.
You can Google. underwater basket weaving seriously google it now there are videos there are pictures with people doing underwater basket weaving weaving weaving how do you spell weaving weaving w-e-a-v-i-n-g So, Rory, you would go for underwater weaving, not raising ducks.
Yeah.
Okay, good.
Good for you.
Okay, Rory, you've used quite a lot of adjectives.
So, for example...
About new activities.
You said that people are afraid of doing new things because it could be daunting.
Yes, daunting is like, well, it's something that looks scary or overwhelming.
What can be daunting?
Well, a mountain can be daunting.
It's very tall and standing over you.
A person could be daunting if they're very tall as well.
Or trying out something new could be daunting.
Or off-putting.
What does it mean, off-putting?
Off-putting just means that you don't want to do it because it looks too difficult or looks too scary.
So it means you would prefer not to do something.
Yeah, but eventually you can get over it.
Get over it.
If you try hard enough, you can get over it.
That means that you recover and you stop avoiding it.
Yeah, you overcome your fears.
And actually, there is a term which means a fear of doing something new.
It's called neophobia.
That's a new word.
Yeah, it is a new word.
Neophobia.
Yeah, but if you are not scared of doing new things, you can say that I'm quite open-minded.
Yeah, I'm willing to experiment.
I'm adventurous.
Adventurous.
It means that you like adventures.
Yay.
And you've mentioned having a high level of openness.
Yeah.
So this is one of the dimensions of people's personalities is openness to new experience, which is just how willing are you to do new things.
How much do you want to do something new?
Yeah, and also you've mentioned curiosity, so you can say that you should be inquisitive.
That's a nice adjective, inquisitive.
Or curious.
Are they synonyms, inquisitive and curious?
They are.
Yeah, about adrenaline.
Can you say that I enjoy trying out new things because I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie?
You can say that.
It's a bit of a cliche at this point, but yes, you could.
Or like I'm a daredevil.
That's the name of a comic book character, isn't it?
Daredevil, yeah, I think so.
So if you do enjoy some adrenaline, I'm a daredevil.
Yeah, about fear of doing new things, we can say that doing new activities induce anxiety and panic.
Yes, it can, which means to create or to cause something.
Or learning new things provides a sense of accomplishment.
Yes, so you feel good about what you did.
But it could be demanding.
And Rory, you've used that word demanding.
Incredibly demanding, which just means that it means you need to do a lot for it.
Now, Rory, you've mentioned a good synonym to friends, your pals.
Is it British or American, pals?
I think it's actually used more in America, but we say it quite a lot where I'm from.
So you can say, like, my pals or my mates.
Absolutely.
My buddies, my best buddies.
Thank you very much for listening.
We hope that you've learned some new words about new activities.
Check out our online speaking course and you can sign up for our Telegram chat, where you can find a speaking partner.
Just click on the link in the description to join the chat.
Remember that trying new things is worth the risk.
Yay bye bye rory, do you like to try new activities?
Absolutely.
I like an adrenaline rush every now and then.
So I have a lot of experiences like flying a glider, going shooting and going zorbing lined up for when I go back home.
Is it good for people to try new things?
Um well, if they've got a high level of openness, then yes, but some people are quite set in their ways and they don't like taking risks.
And that's okay too, most of the time.
Personally, I think getting out of your comfort zone helps build character and creativity, but that's just me.
Why are some people afraid of trying new things?
Well, like I said, some people are naturally conservative, so they can react that way.
And it's usually scary the first time you try something.
Like, for example, when I first started going to the gym.
It was kind of scary doing everything for the first time in front of people.
So that can be a bit daunting and can be kind of off-putting, I suppose.
But you get used to it and you get over it.
What help do people need when they're trying new things?
I suppose they probably need confidence and curiosity.
And if it's a skill, then they'll need a good memory or a pen and paper to take notes.
Oh, and probably a patient teacher or instructor.
I think it makes a difference as well to have realistic expectations.
Experts and videos can help with that, because they can show you what you should expect from the experience.
What are some of the difficulties a person might have when they try something new?
Well, I suppose persevering with it and maintaining confidence.
We've just talked about how they might be scared as well, actually, haven't we?
Do you think it's better to have new experiences when you're young or when you're older?
But I don't think age is a very serious factor, to be honest.
I suppose either way, it doesn't really matter unless it's something super demanding.
Like if you're 80 years old, you're probably not going to go mountain climbing.
But most people aren't going to go mountaineering anyway.
I guess when you're young, everything is new as well, isn't it?
Whereas when you're old, you appreciate it more.
So I don't think age matters, but I think it will influence how you see whatever it is you're doing.
Did you try new activities when you were younger?
Not really, actually.
It took me a very long time to come out of my shell.
I'm much more open to new experiences now.
Do you like to try new activities alone or with friends?
That's a very good question, actually.
I suppose it depends on the kind of activity, because you have traditionally group activities like having a barbecue or going camping, this kind of thing.
Then you'd probably want to do that with your pals.
But if it's something like maybe working out at the gym, then maybe it's a good idea to do it alone so you're not distracted.
Unless you were with somebody who has some experience.
Maybe your friends have some experience there and then they could help you.
So it depends on a lot of things, actually.
I think, on balance I'd probably prefer to do most things with friends, or at least with somebody, because then you have someone to help you out.
