Hello, Sunshine.
I'm Maria.
And my name is Rory.
We're 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, and have a joke along the way.
We started this podcast to give you a look at how an educated native speaker would answer some of the recent IELTS speaking questions for high score band 9 score.
But none were available, so I'll have to do.
Maria, what are you doing?
I'm surfing the internet.
Oh, you're so athletic.
I am.
I do it every day.
And it's also quite a coincidence, because today we're going to talk about sport.
Sports, yes.
In IELTS Speaking Part 1, they can ask you questions about sport.
Rory, do you like sport?
I suppose not particularly when it comes to mainstream sports.
I watched the odd football match in the passing and I came up with some news back home, but I wouldn't say I was a huge sports fan or anything.
Do you like extreme sports?
Ah, okay.
Well, that's the one that tickles my fancy.
I love extreme sports.
I've been bungee jumping and the second the coronavirus restrictions go, I'll be shooting and I want to go glider flying and skydiving and zorbing.
I think they're great ideas.
Do most people in your country like sport?
I think so.
I mean Britain's kind of renowned as a football and rugby obsessed nation.
So it certainly seems this way.
What sports do people in your country play?
Well, like I said, I think football and rugby are sort of the mainstay sports, just going by the TV coverage.
But a lot of people also play golf, including my auntie and uncle.
And in fact, I think golf was invented in Scotland.
And of course, I think well diving gets a lot of attention because there's like, famous divers, like Tom Daley, that are well, quite well known, I guess.
What was your favourite sport when you were a child?
Oh, I loved swimming.
That was the one I liked the most.
I used to go every week before breaking for the weekend.
That was great fun.
I'm not so sure it was great fun for my parents who used to transport me there, but I enjoyed it.
Did you do much sport when you were younger?
Eh, well, aside from swimming, not really.
I was actually more of a bookworm, to be honest with you, and I probably still am.
What are the benefits of doing sport?
I think the health benefits are certainly the most obvious.
So, for example, if you go and run around for a period I think it's supposed to be you're meant to have 30 minutes of intense exercise.
So doing contact sports like...
Football or rugby would count as that.
So they're the most obvious.
But there are social benefits to it as well, because you meet new people at football clubs, for example.
Or if you do martial arts, then you could meet people at your local jujitsu club.
What's it called?
A dojo.
That's what it is.
And you, well, like I say, you can network there.
Do you like to watch sports on TV?
Well, like I said, I'll have a glance in the passing, but I wouldn't spend a great deal of time on it.
Actually, I have a lot on my plate right now, so there's not really a great deal of time to just sit and stare at the screen all the time.
Maybe when I'm older, I'll probably do it more often.
You tend to see that in...
In places where people hang out back home.
There's lots of older men who go to the pub and watch football, for example.
So maybe that's the destiny I have to look forward to.
What kinds of sports would you like to try in the future?
Well, like I said, all of the extreme sports.
I'm particularly looking forward to going skydiving and flying a glider.
I think that will be really good fun.
But there's not really anything normal.
I think the closest thing is probably taking up jiu-jitsu again.
I think I'd really like to start that over.
Who's your favorite sports star?
I don't actually have one, to be honest.
I can think of some famous ones, but outside of their contributions to sport, I don't think they're particularly any more or less interesting than the people I know.
So the short answer is I can't say.
And the long answer is I can't say, because I find people closer to me to be more interesting and famous people.
Rory, thank you so much for your sporty answers.
Thank you for being a good sport about listening.
I'm a good sport.
So am I. Hey, sport.
Do you remember this film, The Great Gatsby?
And Gatsby in the film, he calls his friend, hey, sport.
You're a good sport.
Now seems a good time to be honest and say that I never watched that film or read the book.
How are you living your life?
Without The Great Gatsby.
I'll find the time when I'm older.
I'm busy.
Hopefully, you've watched The Great Gatsby, and The Great Gatsby goes like, hey, good sport.
You're a good sport, meaning you're a good person, right?
Yeah, I think that's supposed to mean like.
It's like meant to be a cute way of saying friend, like hey, sport.
And that's meant to mean like, hey, friend, chum, pal.
I think it's more common in America, to be honest with you.
I've not really heard any British people saying it.
Yeah, because The Great Gatsby was written by an American author.
Was it?
Yes.
Oh, why do I think it was written by Oscar Wilde?
Is this just one of these things that I don't know about, that I've just made up in my head?
Okay, dear listener, now we are going off on a huge tangent.
So, The Great Gatsby, a novel written by American author Scott Fitzgerald.
Who is right?
Maria is right, because Maria graduated from Moscow City Pedagogical University.
Yeah, okay.
Yeah, but now we kind of we don't say old sports, we say hey, mate or dude, so it's perhaps a bit old-fashioned.
Rory, shall we go over the sports vocabulary and grammar?
I think we should, for a high score.
Right, so sport or sports?
Sports.
Doesn't matter.
Like, for example, if you're talking about one sport in particular, then you could say sport.
But if we talk about it in general, you could say sport or sports.
It doesn't matter.
Sports is good for you or sports are good for you?
Well, sport singular is good for you.
And sports, plural, are good for you.
Doesn't matter.
Sports are good for you?
Yeah.
Okay.
It's a different kind of sport.
We do sport or we play sport.
Yes.
Or...
You could go, but only certain kinds of sport.
And you don't say go sport.
You'd have to say what the sport is.
Like go swimming, for example.
Go jogging, go snowboarding, go riding.
Go skydiving, go skydiving.
Yeah, go skydiving.
What about zorbing?
Go zorbing as well.
Jiu-jitsu.
Is it jiu-jitsu?
Jiu-jitsu.
Jujitsu.
Jujitsu or judo?
Yeah, but you don't play or go.
You do judo.
Exactly, yes.
So why?
Maybe because it's a skill.
Whereas you play sports with balls, like I play tennis, I play football.
You do sports that require skill and you go.
Well, it's funny.
Like, maybe it's something that involves... freedom of movement.
So for example, you go swimming, you go running, but you can choose where to go.
Maybe it's to do with freedom of choice.
Yep, possibly.
We're having a grammar moment.
Yeah, we have a grammar moment.
We do yoga or do gymnastics, do aerobics, play balls games.
And I have a joke, Rory.
You know, like it takes one ball to play football.
But doing triathlon takes two.
Ha, ha, ha, ha.
So basically, it takes balls to do triathlon.
Triathlon is when you swim, swim, run, and ride a bicycle.
Yeah, it takes balls.
Extremely rude and unprofessional.
Yes, it's a bit of an unprofessional moment on the podcast.
Yeah, also Rory, you said take up jiu-jitsu.
Yes, so if you take up a sport, then you start doing it.
Yeah, so Rory wants to take up skydiving, take up jiu-jitsu.
Oh, I just want to go skydiving once.
So I want to go skydiving, but I want to take up jiu-jitsu as a hobby.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And if the question is like, what would you like to do in the future?
So you say I'd like to take up, and then name the sport or activity that you'd like to take up, basically start.
I'd like to take up yoga.
I'd like to start yoga.
And you should know the name of your favorite sports, like football, rugby.
Rory, you've mentioned some different activities.
Zorbing, skydiving.
What else did you say?
Paragliding?
No, I want us to go glider flying.
Glider flying.
Isn't it the same as paragliding?
No, no.
If you're glider flying, then you're inside a big... Well, it's kind of like a plane.
A plane has engines, so this is more like a structure with wings.
The concept is the same, though.
Okay.
You can also say football or soccer.
There's no difference, right?
Football or soccer.
I'm soccer in the United States and football everywhere else, because football in the United States means something very different.
Yeah, different, yeah.
Okay.
Rory, you've mentioned mainstream sports, so kind of like football, tennis, yeah?
And also you've mentioned mainstay sports.
Mainstay.
Yeah, mainstay is like what people well use the most often, or what people watch the most often, in this case.
So like football is a mainstay sports.
I think so.
Okay.
We can also say contact sports.
So I'm into contact sports.
Like I like contact sports.
Do you like contact sports?
No, I like contact dancing.
Like tango or bachata.
Yeah, more intimate than salsa, for example.
Right.
And so contact sports, like team sports, individual sports, extreme sports, popular sports, competitive sports, risky sports, you know, and martial arts.
Right.
Yeah well, martial arts is just a really nice way of saying sports where you're fighting, so jiu-jitsu, karate.
Karate, yeah, judo.
Right, Rory, what tickles your fancy?
Oh, extreme sports.
So if something tickles your fancy, it attracts your interest.
For example, you can say oh, skydiving tickles my fancy, or yes, although it should, it's usually used to refer to things that are like small and not so serious.
Um, but i was using it ironically there because obviously skydiving is quite a major procedure.
But what can usually tickle your fancy carving?
Oh, it's usually talking about food.
Bananas and raisins?
No, they don't tickle my fancy because I hate them.
Rory hates them.
Syrniki.
Syrniki tickles my fancy.
I love Syrniki.
Alright, okay.
Syrniki, traditional Russian food, syrniki tickle Rory's fancy.
Rory, you've used a very interesting expression twice.
I'll watch football in the passing.
Oh, right.
In the passing just means when you're walking past or if you're not particularly doing anything and your eyes are sort of wandering, and then you look at the screen and then you're like OK, there's some football on and that team is winning.
And then you just go back to whatever it was you were doing before.
So it's kind of in the background?
Yeah, it's kind of like that.
It's a bit more of an active process though, but it's still pretty... it's not very involved.
So can you say, I don't usually watch sports, but I can watch football in the passing?
Yeah.
While doing something else, I can watch football?
Yes.
Okay.
And you said, I'll watch, but the question was about the past, but you used the future.
What on earth is going on?
I think that's because I'm 100% certain about what I'm probably going to do in the passing.
Oh, this is so confusing.
It's like future in the past.
But will isn't used for just the future.
It's used for expressing certainty.
And I know for a fact that if there's a football match on, then I'm 100 likely to at least look at it for a minute or so just to see what's happening.
Yeah.
So instead of saying... We are talking about grammar here.
Yeah, we're talking about grammar, like Ben 9 grammar.
So instead of saying, I watch football in the passing, I'll watch football in the passing.
But if you were more traditionally minded you would say if a football match was on, I would watch it in the passing.
The second conditional, yay!
So even if you have a more traditional idea about grammar, then you can still win.
Or you can say, if I had more time, I'd definitely watch some football.
Yes.
Yes.
And then you were using would...
When you talk about sports, you should use the present perfect continuous.
Like I've been playing tennis.
Like I've been playing tennis for 10 years.
Or I've been doing yoga for one week.
I've been playing, I know, basketball.
I've been going jogging, right, for two months.
You can lie.
You can just make it up.
So choose an activity or a sport and just make up the sentence.
Rory, how long have you been doing, how long have you been going to the gym?
Is it about two months now?
Yeah, so I've been going to the gym for about two months.
Beautiful.
You just reminded me though, when I go back home, I need to book a session of yoga.
Oh, so Rory is gonna take up jiu-jitsu, take up yoga.
Wow.
You are a very sporty person.
I'm only doing yoga, I don't know, maybe once, maybe twice.
Playing bagpipe, drinking whiskey, yoga.
At the same time.
At the same time.
Scottish yoga.
Scottish yoga.
We're very famous people for yoga in Scotland, I'll have you know.
Yes.
Scotland, freedom!
I thought yoga was more about not having freedom.
Am I wrong about that?
No, it is about freedom.
The freedom to do what the yoga person says.
Rory, you've mentioned that your country is renowned as a rugby-obsessed nation.
I think it is.
Yeah, renowned is a good word.
I think after football, most people think about rugby.
Sorry?
Renowned is a good word.
It's like a combination between respectable and popular, I think.
Yeah, but also, Rory, you should know that something else is very popular in your country.
And I've got a joke here.
Is it drinking?
No no no, not drinking, not drinking, but actually not like Great Britain if we speak about Great Britain.
Some kind of sport was born in Great Britain.
So, answer the question.
What's a pumpkin's favourite sport?
A pumpkin?
What's a pumpkin's favourite sport?
Is it going to be something about carving?
Squash!
Ha ha ha, because squash is a type of pumpkin.
Squash was born in Great Britain.
It's a posh British sport.
Squash.
I used to play squash, actually.
I used to be pretty good.
Is it posh?
My parents used to play squash.
I used to play it with my mum.
Oh, wow, nice.
I used to play squash.
Yeah.
Google it now, squash.
And not the pumpkin squash, but squash as a sport.
So here we go again.
I used to play squash, but now I don't.
Now I dance tango on a regular basis.
The tango Argento.
Argentinian tango.
Yay.
Oh, I was right.
The tango Argento.
That's what it's called, isn't it?
No, it's just Argentinian tango or just tango.
I'm sure it's called the tango Argento.
Maybe in Scotland.
No, maybe in the world.
So I can say that I've been dancing, right?
Or I've been playing squash for 10 years.
Nice.
Can you say I am an avid squash player?
Or I'm an avid swimmer?
I'm an avid...
I think it's usually like when you talk about being a fan, that's the most common collocation.
Like I'm an avid sports fan is what I hear.
You could say like I'm an avid swimmer or I'm an avid squash player, but I think it's more common to say you're an avid fan of something.
Yeah, enthusiastic.
But also I can say I'm an avid reader.
Or I was.
I used to be an avid reader.
Yeah, but then you just say I'm an avid fan of reading.
Yep, yep.
And when we talk about sports, amateur is a nice adjective to mention.
Amateur.
Are you an amateur rugby player?
No, I'm too small to be a rugby player.
So if Rory was a professional, we'd call him a professional rugby player.
A pro rugby player.
Let's not imagine that because, first of all, rugby players are terrifying and, second of all, I would be annihilated by them probably.
You called yourself a bookworm.
Yes, because I usually read books more than play sports.
I haven't had the chance this year because we've been in the middle of a crisis, but normally I get through quite a few books every year.
Yeah, we can call Rory a bookworm because he reads a lot.
And also Rory is a walking encyclopedia.
So he knows lots of facts from encyclopedia.
I'm not that clever.
You're cleverer than I am.
I didn't know who the great Gatsby was.
No, I'm very silly.
I'm sorry, I didn't know who wrote The Great Gatsby.
I know who The Great Gatsby is, sort of.
Now everybody knows who wrote The Great Gatsby, and it's a great film with DiCaprio.
Go watch it now in English.
And check out how he says Old Sport.
No, it's a film with DiCaprio also.
It's a great film.
It's a...
Yeah, but, like, it's a book.
We should be talking about the books first if we're pretending to be clever people.
Yes, yes.
Well, you can choose to read the book or to watch the film with DiCaprio.
It's amazing.
But you should probably read the book.
Right.
We are going off on a tangent again.
Is that your way of saying Rory's disagreeing with me?
So let's talk about something different.
Let's agree to disagree, shall we?
Rory, you said a good collocation, sports coverage.
Yes.
Yes.
So this is when we talk about sports, that well, whenever anything is broadcast on TV or broadcast in general, then it's getting coverage.
You can have sports coverage on TV or in newspapers, but you also have news coverage of any topic.
So it's more flexible this way.
You don't need to talk about it with only sports.
Yeah, you can say... Sometimes I watch sports.
Sports coverage in my country is pretty good.
So on TV or in newspapers.
When we talk about the benefits of sports, we can mention social and healthy benefits.
And Rory said that when you are doing some kind of sports you go to a sports center.
You can network with people network, make friends.
Yes, it's make friends if it's like well, I think the worst way of describing it is make friends if it's real network, if it's fake.
But it's not really like that.
You network with people for business purposes and you make friends with people for fun.
Thank you very much for listening.
We hope that you keep fit and do sports on a regular basis or at least you watch some sports on TV.
And remember, if you can't do sport, at least be a good sport.
Yay.
Bye.
Rory, do you like sport?
I suppose not particularly when it comes to mainstream sports.
I'll watch the odd football match in the passing.
And I came up with some news back home, but I wouldn't say I was a huge sports fan or anything.
Do you like extreme sports?
Ah, okay.
Well, that's the one that tickles my fancy.
I love extreme sports.
I've been bungee jumping and the second the coronavirus restrictions go, I'll be shooting and I want to go glider flying and skydiving and zorbing.
I think they're great ideas.
Do most people in your country like sport?
I think so.
I mean Britain's kind of renowned as a football and rugby obsessed nation.
So it certainly seems this way.
What sports do people in your country play?
Well, like I said, I think football and rugby are sort of the main stage sports, just going by the TV coverage.
But a lot of people also play golf, including my auntie and uncle.
And in fact, I think golf was invented in Scotland.
And of course, I think well diving gets a lot of attention because there's like, famous divers, like Tom Daley, that are well, quite well known, I guess.
What was your favourite sport when you were a child?
Oh, I loved swimming.
That was the one I liked the most.
I used to go every week before breaking for the weekend.
That was great fun.
I'm not so sure it was great fun for my parents who used to transport me there, but I enjoyed it.
Did you do much sport when you were younger?
Eh, well, aside from swimming, not really.
I was actually more of a bookworm, to be honest with you, and I probably still am.
What are the benefits of doing sport?
Well...
I think the health benefits are certainly the most obvious.
So, for example, if you go and run around for a period I think it's supposed to be you're meant to have 30 minutes of intense exercise.
So doing contact sports like...
Football or rugby would count as that.
So they're the most obvious.
But there are social benefits to it as well, because you meet new people at football clubs, for example.
Or if you do martial arts, then you could meet people at your local jujitsu club.
What's it called?
A dojo.
That's what it is.
And you, well, like I say, you can network there.
Do you like to watch sports on TV?
Well, like I said, I'll have a glance in the passing, but I wouldn't spend a great deal of time on it.
Actually, I have a lot on my plate right now, so there's not really a great deal of time to just sit and stare at the screen all the time.
Maybe when I'm older, I'll probably do it more often.
You tend to see that in...
In places where people hang out back home.
There's lots of older men who go to the pub and watch football, for example.
So maybe that's the destiny I have to look forward to.
What kinds of sports would you like to try in the future?
Well, like I said, all of the extreme sports.
I'm particularly looking forward to going skydiving and flying a glider.
I think that will be really good fun.
But there's not really anything normal.
I think the closest thing is probably taking up jiu-jitsu again.
I think I'd really like to start that over.
Who's your favorite sports star?
I don't actually have one, to be honest.
I can think of some famous ones, but outside of their contributions to sport, I don't think they're particularly any more or less interesting than the people I know.
So the short answer is I can't say.
And the long answer is I can't say, because I find people closer to me to be more interesting and famous people.
