1 Read the information cards below about two people.

Use the notes in the cards

and talk to your partner about them.

Name: Sally
Nationality: Lebanese
Favourite subject at school: History (likes learning about the origins of
human & things around us)
Bachelor’s/Master’s degrees in: Greek & Roman Archaeology from Alexandria
University in Egypt (get deeper knowledge of
the human past; interesting fieldwork
programs)
Dream job: Archaeologist (challenging and exciting career,
opportunities to work at many historical sites all
over the world)

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2 01 Listen to Mubarak talking about his studies and dream job. He uses some
useful vocabulary. Listen and write the words and phrases which correspond to
definitions 1-10.

3 In pairs, create a similar card for yourself and tell your partner about yourself.

Name:

Nationality:

Favourite subject at school:

Bachelor’s/Master’s degrees in:

Dream job:

Task Practice

4 Speaking Part 1

Below are questions that are typical of Part 1 of IELTS Speaking exam. In pairs,
ask and answer the following questions. Try to use some of the vocabulary and
language you have learnt in this unit.

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 Do you work or are you a student?

Study

 What’s your major? (or) What is your favorite subject?

 Why did you choose that subject/course? How long have you been studying them?
 What do you find most interesting about your course?
 What is the most difficult thing about your course?
 Are there many job opportunities for you?
 What is the best thing about studying?

Work
 Can you describe your job to me?/ What do you do for a living?
 How long have you been doing it?
 Can you describe one of your typical working days?
 Why did you choose to do that job?
 What things do you enjoy about your work? Why?
 Do you want to change your current job? Why or why not?
 Are you willing to keep your job permanently?
 What are your plans for the future?

5 Speaking Part 2

Read the question in Part 2 above and discuss which verb tense you will use in your
answer and why.

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 Grammar: Speculating

The question above asks about an unreal situation. To talk about an unreal
situation, you can use would (probably) + infinitive.

Example: My dream job would be to teach children to sail.

6 Read the following example answer for the Part 2 question and underline
all the speculating language

My dream job would be to work with animals perhaps in a safari park. I’ve always loved
watching wildlife programmes on TV and often thought how much I’d enjoy it … you’d
probably need a degree in animal studies or some special qualification to have any chance
of being called for an interview. I imagine the job would involve… something like… being
responsible for the welfare of animals and the safety of visitors to the part and providing
guided tours perhaps. One difficult thing about his job is I don’t know whether there are
many full-time jobs … I’m sure a lot of parks rely on voluntary work so it might not be
easy … and it probably wouldn’t be well-paid either but money isn’t everything … I’d get
so much job satisfaction … I can’t imagine it being the kind of job where you get stuck in
a rut … and I think I’d be good at it as well … I’d love to work with animals I enjoy
manual work and I’m a good team player … so even though the working conditions
might not be the best I think that would be my ideal job …

Here is some other useful language for speculating:

 maybe, perhaps: Perhaps the job is more difficult than it seems.

 It is quite (un)likely that…: It is quite likely that finding a good job
would become even more competitive by the time I graduate.
 It is quite possible that …: It is quite possible that your opportunities for
a well-paid and interesting career are increased if you have good
knowledge of English.
 I imagine that…: I imagine that I would need to work very hard and long
hours in my first few years if I would want to be promoted to a
management position.

You can also use modals to speculate:

must/can/could /may/might + infinitive

It could be rewarding working as a teacher.

Being a policeman must be a dangerous job.

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7 Speculate about jobs 1-8 using the speculation language. Think about work hours
(how long and what part of the day they work), how much job satisfaction they
have, what their job involves, etc.

Examples: Being a politician must be difficult because there’s always somebody

who disagrees with you.
I’d guess that a chef works longer hours and a clown.

1 a politician 4 a chef 7 a soldier

2 a university lecturer 5 a musician 8 an actor
3 a clown 6 an astronaut

 Language notes:
 Remember to use an article before a job.
Examples: I’m a primary school teacher.
I’d like to be a flight attendant.

8 Plan your answer to the Part 2 question in section 5. Make notes if you wish and
then talk for one-two minutes.

Pronunciation: Word stress

Word stress is crucial in English. If you stress the wrong syllable, the
listener may have trouble understanding you. Always mark the stressed
syllable when you note down a new word.

9 Put the words below in the correct column, 1-4, according to their stress pattern.

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 02 Listen to the recording and repeat after it.

 More Practice

Talk about a job you have done or would like to do in the

future

You should say:

- Why you chose that job
- What the good things about that job are
- What the difficulties of doing that job are

And describe how it is different to other jobs

Talk about a job someone you know does

You should say:

- How long they have had that job
- What their job involves
- What the disadvantages of that job are

And say if you think that job suits that person and why