Transcript
Hello, my name’s Pete Travis and you’re listening to the Splendid Speaking Interviews. This podcast features Solange from Brazil.
This was the first time myself and Solange had met in Skype and the session was a getting-to-know-you opportunity. The focus was on giving full answers to questions, particularly when closed ‘Yes/No’ questions are asked such as: ‘Do you …?’, Have you …?’, ‘Is it …?’ As you listen, decide how well Solange managed to do this. Did she give full answers, even to closed ‘Yes/No’ questions? Finally, make a note of her use of English, which we’ll look at in the feedback section.
Let’s listen to Solange.
… Peter: I’m speaking now to Solange. Is that correct pronunciation?
Solange: That’s perfect!
Peter: OK. Good. Solange. I’m speaking to Solange from Brazil from Sao Paolo. Solange, tell me about your English. How long have you been studying English for?
Solange: Well, … since I was in senior school, maybe back 20 years ago but as far as I had English as a subject in school and … I went traveling to the United States and I saw I knew nothing about English so I decided to start studying properly and this was in 1998 so since then I’ve been studying English.
Peter: Do you like studying English?
Solange: I love English. I think it’s a wonderful language and you learn a lot of culture and I’m particularly in love with London, because I lived there for a while. I just love English.
Peter: Tell me about the place you study, where do you study your English?
Solange: I study in the Cultura Inglesa. It’s a big school in Brazil. It’s an association of schools and they have from basic to proficiency classes. It’s a wonderful school. They have lots of students and … by the way I work there as well but not as a teacher. I work … in the multimedia centre helping students to choose books and help them with computers. It’s quite interesting. The school is very good.
Peter: OK, and how many people are in your class?
Solange: Eighteen.
Peter: Is that a nice way for you to study do you think in a class full of people or do you prefer studying on your own like this?
Solange: Personally, I prefer with few people but the methodology of this school is to work with a lot of students because you can interact more you can know different ideas, but I prefer to study two, three people in class. I just felt like when we had to do in groups the teacher cannot be … for so long with their students because they are so many so you feel a little bit worried if you saying something right or if its wrong the teacher’s not listening and you don’t know if you’re going to be corrected but it’s a way of learning as well.
Peter: Aha OK that’s going to be the end of our interview now so thanks you for the chance to speak to you.“
Feedback
First of all a big ‘Thank you’ to Solange for agreeing to be recorded. I’m sure she’d appreciate any comments you’d like to make on her talk. Time for some feedback.
Solange was perfectly able to give full answers to questions and her enthusiasm was clear from her intonation.
“…I’m particularly in love with London. Because I lived there for a while I just love English …”
“…I work there as well but not as a teacher I work in the multimedia centre helping students to choose books and help them with computers it’s quite interesting,. The school is very good …”
She gave personal details to questions, making her replies interesting and memorable. In the main Solange’s English was very accurate. Can you spot the mistakes in these extracts?
“…And they have basic to proficiency classes …”
“…Personally I prefer with few people …”
“…You can know different ideas …”
“…I just felt like when we had to do in groups the teacher cannot be for so long with their students because they are so many …”
The corrections are: Number 1: Solange missed the final syllable of ‘Proficiency’. Instead of ‘I prefer with few people’ it should be ‘I prefer it with a few people’. Rather than ‘you can know different ideas’ it should be ‘get to know different ideas’. And finally, not ‘do in groups’ but ‘work in groups’ and not ‘they are so many’ but ‘there are so many’.
OK, that’s the end of the podcast. Come back soon for another episode of Splendid Speaking.