IELTS Recent Actual Test 8 - Part 3 (Listen and Read)

Hi Bobby, go ahead and sit down.

Tell me about your research project.

Well, I decided to research football,

and keys for success on a football team.

That sounds great.

What are the guidelines for the test?

Did the teacher talk to you about it in class?

No, everything is on a handout that was passed out.

It says that the first draft is due at the end of next week,

and the second and third are due later on in the month.

I don't understand why we have to keep revising and fixing it.

Is this assignment really that important?

Well, this project is a major requirement for passing 11th grade English and will go on your permanent record.

Oh really?

Does that mean it will affect what English level I am placed in next year?

Well, not exactly.

You need a good grade to move on, but it is your overall grade

and teacher recommendation that determines what level of English you are placed in next year.

Anyway, tell me about your topic choice.

Do you play football?

Well, actually it's because my father loves the sport.

He watches it every weekend.

Cool! It's a good idea to report on something you're interested in.

I see you worked hard calling players and the head coach to talk,

so let's see what information you got.

Well, you have to listen carefully to the first call on the recording.

It's really hard to hear because the background noise is louder than the person's voice.

Yes, it is a bit tough to discern.

I'm afraid the player's answer is too short as well.

You will have to interview him again and try to get him to give a better answer.

Okay.

I thought that might happen.

I will call him again tomorrow.

Moving on, let's look back at this question.

You asked, “Tell me about a time when you learned a major life lesson through playing football,

and explain how that has shaped the person and player you have become now,

and how you hope to pass on that lesson.”

It is a great idea for a question,

but in an oral interview it is far too complex.

I would advise you to break it up into multiple parts to get a better response.

I guess you're right -

I wouldn't want to have to provide an answer to a question like that.

I will simplify it.

I found that when I asked players this question, it took too much time

because they were struggling to answer the question completely.

In fact, this is the question Joe Billings was answering when the tape ran out.

He did tend to ramble on all the questions, didn't he?

He sure did.

I would recommend that when you go back and interview players again

that you use a more sophisticated recording device.

This recording is spotty,

which indicates that the equipment wasn't working consistently.

Okay.

I guess it probably wasn't the best idea to use the sound recorder on my phone.

Hey, could you give me some feedback on the content of the report itself?

Sure!

Let's start by focusing on your topic.

While I like that you chose to cover football,

it seems inexplicit.

The keys for success of a player and team is quite an interesting topic,

but what is your thesis?

That is to say, what conclusions can you draw from your research?

I would suggest coming up with a strong thesis statement

and then shaping your report based on that.

Is it really too vague?

I put a whole lot of facts into it.

I list the top 10 goal-scorers in football history,

and later on provide statistics for a few of the most famous coaches and their records as coaches.

I think that's great that you included these facts,

but I think you focused too much on the facts

and not enough on connecting these facts to make your point.

Ah, I see. Okay.

So it looks like I have quite a bit of work to do before the deadline!