This week’s IELTS Speaking Part 3 lesson examines information sources. Use this lesson as a form of speech therapy to help correct any deeply engrained speech habits you might have when speaking English.

Step 1: Tune in to this week’s podcast episode (audio and video version available below).

Part 3 Questions Will you continue to follow this person on social media? Is social media important? Where do people get most of their information from nowadays?  Do older people get information from different sources? Do you think you will continue to get information from the same sources in the future?

🧑‍🎓Target language: You’d be hard pressed to find -a phrase used to talk about something very difficult to find “You’d be hard pressed to find a young adult reading a newspaper unless it was for the novelty value of it.”

Step 2: Listen to the sample a few times to get more familiar with the language.

Step 3: Engage this week’s full speech shadowing lesson.

Step 4: Below is Monday’s speech exercise. Post yourself saying this excerpt to your Whatsapp group. Exercises for Tuesday to Friday will be posted in the group by your instructor.

Post yourself saying this into your Whatsapp group!🗣️📲 “Yes, I think I will continue to follow her as her content is interesting, informative and appealing.”

Step 5: It’s very important that you note any new language items or pronunciation points from this week’s lesson in your journal to help you chronicle your improvement.📝

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Transcript

Will you continue to follow this person on social media?

Yes, I think I will continue to follow her as her content is interesting, informative and appealing. 

Is social media important?

If you had asked me fifteen years ago I would have said no, that it’s just a way to keep in touch with friends but now social media is unavoidable. It has become something far greater than a means to keep in touch with loved ones and has expanded to become a source of all information. For companies, it is a whole new vehicle for them – to be seen and to communicate with customers and potential customers. So much so, in fact, that companies hire staff that focus just on their social media presence. 

Where do people get most of their information from nowadays?

I think many people still use the TV and radio for information but the importance of the internet as a source of news cannot be overstated. Personally speaking, I use the internet exclusively for information because I can learn about events from multiple sources instantaneously. I would say that I am not alone in this and the sheer number of news websites or publications that have a web presence can attest to that. 

Do older people get information from different sources?

I think older people feel more comfortable with more traditional sources of information like the TV, radio or newspaper. You’d be hard pressed to find a young adult reading a newspaper unless it was for the novelty value of it. 

Do you think you will continue to get information from the same sources in the future?

I hesitate to say yes because I fear that one day soon those of us that get news from the internet will be deemed dinosaurs. I think just like with the TV, something new will eventually come up to replace the internet as a source of information and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone then said to me quote unquote “keep up with the times”.

Thank you.