S05 - 4 School

Native English speakers answer questions about school from previous B2, C1, C2 and IELTS exam papers.

This is definitely one of the most common topics in English exams, especially if you are a teenager and are doing exams like First for Schools for instance.  So we talk about useful school subjects, school trips, positive learning environments and a bunch of other schooly things. We focus on using auxiliary verbs for emphasis and on question tags, which are always in need of some practice! We have some nice phrasal verbs too and quite a few idioms. 

For classes or transcripts go to https://realexamenglish.com/podcast/

Music: Wholesome by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Thanks to all of the contributors, including Emma, Mike, Noel, Konner, Jen, Dan from the Roar and Score Trivia Podcast and the girls from the Butt Stuff Podcast.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Real Exam English podcast. This episode is about school. This is definitely one of the most common topics in English exams, especially if you are a teenager and are doing exams like First for Schools for instance.  So we talk about useful school subjects, school trips, positive learning environments and a bunch of other schooly things. We focus on using auxiliary verbs for emphasis and on question tags, which are always in need of some practice! We have some nice phrasal verbs too and quite a few idioms. 

Remember for the transcript for this, and all episodes, you can go to the Real Exam English webpage and subscribe there. 

Ok then, let’s go with the questions:

What was your favorite subject at school? 

Well, I'm a music teacher now, so I always really enjoyed music in school. Also was a bit of a drama nerd in school as well, so music and drama, the performing arts, which is funny because I'm not actually that outgoing in real life, but I do like to get up on stage and perform. Yeah, obviously music's had a big effect on me because now I'm a music teacher. I'm in a couple of bands and things like that. So definitely music. 

How important do you think it is to include physical exercise at school? 

Super important. Kids should be getting 30 to 60 minutes a day minimum, and there are so many teachers because again, I work in a school, so many teachers that just don't bother with it, they give it to them once a week with the PE specialist and they never get it for the rest of the week. And they wonder why their kids are all little ferals in class. Because they're not getting exercise, they're pent up. So yeah, super important exercise every day in school. 

Lovely answers there to kick us off. He said in school he was a bit of a drama nerd. If you are a nerd at something then you are really into that thing and you know a lot about it, particularly something quite specialist. For example, I´m a total Star Wars nerd, or she’s a grammar nerd. 

He said that despite not being outgoing he was into the performing arts. This is the name we use for arts like dancing, theatre and music, which, as the name suggest, are performed. So what he said was I’m not that outgoing in real life but I do like to get up on stage. He uses do here to contrast a negative point with a positive one. Another example would be I hate most Italian food, but I do like pizza. Or if you don’t want to come tonight, no problem, if you do want to, then I’ll pick you up. 

We had another negative expression in the second answer, many teachers don’t bother with PE, meaning they don’t make an effort to do it. When you say don’t bother it kind of has a negative or hostile meaning, like you’re annoyed with the other person. For instance, I was sick and you couldn’t be bothered to call me even once! Or you might hear a mum ironically saying to her teenage child, oh don’t bother making the bed, I’ll do it. 

He used this great word to describe the kids in his school, the little ferals, indicating that they are wild or out of control. As he said they are pent up. This means they are unable to release their energy and their emotions so they kind of bottle it all up inside themselves. You can have pent up anger or frustration for example and screaming and shouting can be great for releasing this pent up anger, like what happens with the poor teachers!

What creates a positive learning environment?

Well, as a uni experience, I didn't have a very positive learning environment. It actually made me more anxious, and I came out thinking I was a failure, so I'm probably not the best person to ask that question for, but the positive learning experience is you've got, you've got to somehow balance studying with socializing. Because my brother's experience was: he went social and forgot about the studying side. I kind of didn't have any friends, but I wasn't paying attention either. So no wonder I nearly failed, I didn't actually fail, I got a 2.1 in the end, but it was not…..It was an anxious experience all the way through. So don’t be anxious. Easier said than done.

What do you think the most important school subjects are?

Music, obviously. Well, yeah, I'm an advocate for making music accessible. I literally just wrote a blog on that yesterday which came out on my friend's blog, and it's about the importance of musical education and the arts because the government bangs on about STEM subjects, but they don't realise how important the arts actually are for ways of thinking. You can be more critical in your thinking. You've got a more well-rounded idea of how to manage situations and teamwork. If you're in an orchestra, for example. So yeah, music.

Another music fan there. She used some nice phrasal verbs. In the first answer she said she came out of uni thinking she was a failure. Ok so uni is the abbreviation for university, and when she says she came out of uni she’s talking about how she felt when she finished. Another example would be I came out of the exam feeling confident I had passed. Curiously, she then used the same phrasal verb in the second answer, but with a completely different meaning. She wrote a blog that came out the day before. In this case, came out means it was released. Like, the new Taylor Swift album came out yesterday, or a new episode of Love Island is coming out tomorrow. 

After that she said the government bangs on about STEM subjects. If they are banging on about something then they keep on talking about it and STEM subjects, ok it’s an acronym, so the S is for Science, T is for Technology, E for Engineering and the M for Mathematics, nice vocabulary that, STEM subjects. As she said music is great for critical thinking and for giving you a more well-rounded idea of how to manage situations. Nice compound adjective, well-rounded, meaning you have experience and knowledge in a variety of different areas, which can be useful for problem-solving and well, for life in general! So a well-rounded education, for example, would not only be focused on academic subjects like Maths and English but also on the arts, physical education, maybe cooking, volunteer work, that kind of stuff.

At the very end of her answer, she said don’t be anxious, easier said than done. This idiom, easier said than done, is used when something is easy to suggest but hard to really make happen, like not to be anxious. Other examples would be, this year I just have to pass my C1 exam, easier than done. Or can you get the kids to tidy their bedrooms? Uff, that’s easier said than done. 

Is it a good idea for schools to take the students on school trips?

I think it is a good idea. But it depends on what they're doing. Schools shouldn't take kids just for the sake of taking them out. There should be a purpose to the school trip, whether it's like a leisure activity or an activity to learn something. I think they should be a purpose, but it's not just let's get them on a bus and throw them into my I don't know, a theme park and forget about them and then pick them up at 5:00 and put them back on. But I think there should be some sort of structure and some sort of purpose, but I think school trips can be very, very beneficial and a good way for students to experience what they're learning in a different way. For example, if you take them to a museum, they can see things you're talking about and in history. Where I am physically actually see them in front of them and understand a bit better what, what, what, what, what, whatever they're studying was about.

What do you think the most important school subjects are?

I have to say English, don't I? And the most important school subject, I think all of them had a purpose. I don't think religion should be part of school. I think that should be a personal subject to teach at home. But I do think that other school subjects such as art and music, which are….tend…they tend to be regarded as not the important ones or the easy ones, do have an importance and they allow children to express their creativity and to think in a different way. As does PE, PE helps them to relax and stay active and get their blood pumping so they can actually concentrate better after having done some physical exercise and focus on their important math lesson. So I think they're all important. Really, I would, I would take religion out of schools here, but that's the only one I think I'd give a miss.

Alright, we had some lovely expressions here, such as just for the sake of. Schools shouldn’t take kids on school trips just for the sake of taking them out. Meaning they shouldn’t take kids on school trips only for the purpose of taking them out of school, without any particular educational purpose. Another example would be “don’t spend your money just for the sake of it, buy something you really need”, or “I’m not studying English just for the sake of it, I want to pass my B2 exam”.

Another handy expression was I’d give a miss; religion is the only subject I’d give a miss, meaning I wouldn’t do it or I would avoid it. Another illustration is we usually go to Ireland on holidays, but this year we’ll give it a miss. Or the next time you can’t make it to your English class, you can tell your teacher, I have to give today’s class a miss I’m afraid, I’m not feeling great.  

Again, in these answers we are some use of Do to offer a contrast. She said I don’t think religion should be part of school but I do think that other school subjects like art and music have an importance. Then she followed it up with as does PE. Ok so when you want to add on something else to your previous sentence you can use As and then the same auxiliary verb as in the first sentence. So her example was arts and music do have an importance. As does PE. Another example would be I will go to university in Oxford, as will my brother. Ok so we use will because that was the auxiliary verb in the first sentence. I can play piano, as can my sister. I should study more grammar, as should you!

Also, she started he first answer with a question tag, I have to say English, don’t I. So, remember that with question tags you use the same auxiliary verb that you use in your first statement to form the question in the second part, you just change positives to negatives and negatives to positives. Like, you can speak English, can’t you. Or you can’t speak English, can you? In her example earlier her first sentence didn’t have an auxiliary verb in it, so in this case we add the verb do. Her sentence then was I have to say English, don’t I. Ok, so the first part was positive (I have to say English) so the second part with the question is negative, don’t I. Ok we are gonna do a bit more practice in the language break, which is coming up right now…..

Ok then, so I’m gonna give you 10 sentences, and you have to finish them with question tags. For instance, I’ll say you are coming and you finish it with aren’t you? Alrighty, let’s see how you do:

They can play guitar, can’t they?

We will go to the cinema, won’t we?

I wouldn’t like to go there, would you?

She’s smart, isn’t she?

You couldn’t come, could you?

You have passed the exam, haven’t you?

You have the book, don’t you?

By the time I got there, they had already started, hadn’t they?

He likes reading, doesn’t he?

You’d love to practice more of these, wouldn’t you?

Let me know how you get on in the exam, won’t you.

Ok, that’s 10. Some of them were hard, weren’t they. In case you are wondering about the ones with the verb have, in the first one the verb was an auxiliary - have passed, so we can use haven’t for the question tag. For the second one have is not an auxiliary, it’s just a normal verb, you have the book, so that one gets the verb do, don’t you.

Ok let me know how you did, won’t you? I’ll add a poll to Spotify or you can just add a comment there too.

What creates a positive learning environment would you say?

I would say the enthusiasm of the teacher, if he's interested in what he's teaching and you can feel the energy and positive environment that he's trying to create. Then it encourages you to join that and makes you want to learn. So I would say the teachers attitude and enthusiasm would be the most important.

How important do you think it is to include physical exercise at school?

I think it is of utmost importance. Because you have, especially when you're into your teenage years, you're getting to a stage where most people would like to just sit on their computers or Instagram or TikTok and very sedentary lives. Therefore, if they’re going to do any exercise, it needs to be forced. So, the school can do that and make sure they're doing something healthy instead of just spending their lives on their mobiles and eating at McDonald's.

Ouch, I love the collocation at the start of this answer. I think it is of utmost importance. That’s a really fancy way of saying it’s very very important, but it sounds way nicer, right? Of utmost importance. The rest of the answer was very well organized then, with lots of connectors, because, especially, therefore, so and instead of. Really good. Also, he uses substitute or reference words, these are words like this, that, he, it, some, others, which, whose, etc. These help you avoid repeating the same words again and help with the organization of the answer. So for example, he said if they’re doing exercise, it needs to be forced. So, they can do that. Ok, so this answer was well organized in general. 

The first answer was fine but didn’t really have anything that fancy it, so how would we make it better? Something I get my students to add into their speaking and writing as much as possible is cleft sentences, using it or what. So the first question was What creates a positive learning environment would you say?

And he said I would say the enthusiasm of the teacher, which is absolutely fine! However, to make it a bit nicer we could use our cleft sentence structures and say: I would say it is the enthusiasm of the teacher that makes the learning environment positive. Or What makes the learning environment positive, in my view, is the enthusiasm of the teacher. Or What I think is most important is the enthusiasm of the teachers. Ok, these are quite easy changes to make, they sound better and they count as advanced grammar, so make sure to practice them yourself, or come to my classes to learn how!

What do you remember about your school building?

OK. Probably so in the UK I remember very large concrete football pitches, which is very UK. I would say that's probably my biggest memory that jumps out and then complete contrast to Australia. I remember very large pitches of grass in Australia, which is probably a pretty accurate comparison of the two nations.

do you think all high school students should learn critical thinking skills?

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think I would argue that that's one of the most important things to have, I would argue also that's one of the good things that learning science subjects gives you, of course, not always learning science is like that, especially if you're doing some boring subject in in high school or something like that. But if you get interested in science and you go down the pathway of science. I think it gives you that ability to question whatever you see and more so be interested in the underlying mechanics of whatever you see, be it something actually physical in the world or even something social or psychological as well.

Ok in the first answer he is talking about the concrete football pitches in the UK and he says that is probably his biggest memory that jumps out. Handy expression that, the biggest memory that jumps out, or you could just say that’s the first thing that jumps out. This would be great for comparing two photos, where you have to show similarities or differences. Well, the first thing that jumps out is that both photos show stressed out teachers in classrooms.  In the second picture what jumps out is how crazy the kids seem, another cleft sentence there.

He also had a nice way to present his opinions, he said I would argue that’s one of the good things about science. That’s a nicer way of saying I think, or in my opinion, I would argue that. Then he had some useful vocabulary, if you go down the pathway of science, meaning if you focus your studies and your career on science. A pathway in general is the steps you have to take to achieve something. Like, building up to a C2 level in English is a difficult pathway, but listening to the Real Exam English podcast will put you on the pathway to success.

He mentioned the underlying mechanics of things. Underlying refers to things that are real but not immediately obvious. This is listed as a C2 level adjective in the Cambridge dictionary so is top-notch vocab. Other examples would be we need to look at the underlying causes of the child’s bad behaviour. Or the underlying theme of the book is that good triumphs over evil.

Lastly just to pick up on the organization again, he said to study the mechanics of whatever you see, be it something physical or even something social or psychological as well. So the be it is to introduce examples, be it something physical or even something social, the even is to signify something unexpected or surprising, something physical or even something social or psychological as well, using as well for some additional information, remembering that as well is usually use at the end of a clause, so it useful when you remember something extra to say at the end of your sentence.

And speaking of the end, that is the end of this episode. Hopefully you’ve come out of it with some useful language, be it vocabulary or even grammar or connectors as well. 

I’d like to ask you guys for a favour if you don’t mind. If you like the podcast could you please give it a rating or a review on your podcast player, on Apple podcast, or Spotify, or wherever you listen. For anyone who has already given a rating, thanks very much, I appreciate it a lot, it helps give a bit of visibility to the podcast.

Alright nerds, thanks again for listening, hope you enjoyed that episode, see you next time!

Trevor