VSTEP speaking common topics

VSTEP là một kỳ thi đánh giá năng lực tiếng Anh mới theo khung năng lực Ngoại ngữ 6 bậc, bắt đầu áp dụng tại đại học Ngoại Ngữ từ ngày 16 tháng 5 và hiện nay 710 đơn vị được Bộ cấp phép đã tổ chức thi chứng chỉ tiếng Anh B1, B2, C1 theo định dạng Vstep.

VSTEP SPEAKING: COMMON TOPICS

HOMETOWN

I VOCABULARY

A TOWN

* Some of the things you will find in big town

B THE COUNTRY:

* Some of the things you will find in the country

C Advantages and disadvantages

Convenient There are a lot of things to do There’s a wide range of shops There’s lots of night-life (bars, cinemas, night clubs…)

Quiet and peaceful Clean

Calm and relaxing Has lots of open space safe

Dirty and polluted Stressful

Crowded dangerous

Inconvenient There’s a few activities to do There are only a few shops There is no night-life

II USEFUL STRUCTURES:

- My hometown is ……… It is located/ situated in the North/ Middle/ South of Vietnam

- It’s very + adj (comfortable/convenient… ) living there

- It’s a/an + adj (nice/quiet….) place to live in

- Living there is + adj (interesting, noisy….)

- I lived there for ……… years … years ago, I moved to………

- I have been living there since I was born

- My hometown is famous/ well-known for ……… throughout Vietnam

- It is rich in ………… (oil, mineral deposits…)

- ………….is the best place in my hometown

III SAMPLE ANSWERS:

1 Where are you from? /Where do you come from?

2 Let’s talk about your hometown What kind of place it is?

 My hometown is / I am from/ I come from ……… It is a beautiful city/province/village in the North of Vietnam My hometown is famous for some places of interests such as :

……… Some special/ delicious kinds of food in my hometown are

……….The weather here is very nice and the people are helpful, friendly and hospitable

3 What part of the city do you live in? What is it like living there? / Is it a nice place to live in?

 I live in a flat/ rented house in the center of the city It is a bit noisy and crowded, but it is very convenience and there are many opportunities for jobs and education

 I live in the suburbs/ outskirts of the city It is a quiet place to live in The atmosphere is fresh and the neighborhoods are helpful and kind

4 How long have you lived there?

 I lived there for ………… years ……… years ago, I moved to Hanoi for my education

 I have been living there since I was born in ………

5 What are the main tourist attractions in your hometown?

6 What do you like about your hometown?

7 If I visited your hometown, what would you advise me to go and see?

 There are many famous tourist attractions there such as pagodas, lakes, parks… For example, you can visit ……… when you come to my hometown

 If you visited my hometown, I would suggest that you visit Hoan Kiem Lake It is very famous for its ancient beauty and peaceful atmosphere

8 Has your hometown changed a lot in recent years?

9 What changes have taken place in your hometown?

 Yes, it has seen a lot of changes With the development of the economy, people’s living standards have been greatly improved

 There are many changes such as the roads are getting wider and better The transportation has improved much and there are more and more vehicles travelling on the roads such as cars,

motorbikes, buses… Besides, buildings are getting higher and higher

10 What are the problems of your hometown? What are the solutions to these problems?/ What would you like to change about your hometown?

 There are some problems such as overpopulation, traffic jam and pollution of air, water and noise

In my opinion, the local government should have more effective measures and stricter law For example, to reduce air pollution, we should develop the infrastructure, reduce the number of cars and use public transports

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

I VOCABULARY

A Relatives (= members of your family)

The father and mother of the person you marry father-in-law mother-in-law

The brother and sister of the person you marry brother-in-law sister-in-law

Your mother or father remarries, so you have a step-father step-mother

B Family background:

My grandfather was a market gardener He grew flowers, fruits and vegetables, and sold them in the market every day He worked hard all his life, and when he died, his son (now my uncle) and daughter (my mother) inherited a large house and garden They carried on the business together until my mother met my father They got married, moved to England, and I was born two years later They didn’t have any more children, so I am an only child

C Family names:

When you are born, your family gives you a first name (James, Kate, Alex…) Your family name (also called your surname) is the one that all the family share (Smith, Brown…) Some parents give their children a middle name, but you usually say this name Your full name is all the names you have, e.g Sarah Jane Smiths

We can use a number of adj before friend:

An old friend a close friend your best friend

There are some kinds of friends:

We use ex- for a partner we had in the past but do not nave now:

II USEFUL STRUCTURE:

- There are ……… members in my family./ My family has ……… people

- My father/mother/ sister is a /an + job (teacher, doctor, farmer, student……….)

- My father/mother is ………… years old

- My father/mother is the breadwinner of the family

- I often spend time + Ving (chatting, going shopping) with my friends/family

- I prefer to stay with my family than with my friends because …………

III SAMPLE ANSWERS:

1 Tell me something about your family

=> There are four people in my family: my father, my mother, my sister and I My parents used to work in

a state-run company but now they are retired My sister is a doctor, she’s 25 years old We are a happy family

2 Do you live in a big or small family?

=> I live in a small family There are four people in my family: my parents, my brother and I We live in a small house in……

=> I live in a big family, an extended family with my grandparents, my uncle and aunts living together We are very close-knit and quite happy

3 Do you prefer to have a big or small family? Why?

=> I prefer to have a small family I think in a small family, we can understand each other better and we will have more time to take care of all members of the family

=> I prefer to have a big family because I feel happier if there are many members in the family We can talk and share many things Moreover, it is easier to help each other in a big family

4 Who often does the housework/shopping/cooking in your family?

=> My mother often does the housework/cooking because she has a lot of free time and she knows how to

do things well However, when I have free time, I often help her and she also teaches me a lot of things

5 Who is the breadwinner in your family?

=> My father is the breadwinner in my family He is a doctor Every day he works very hard from early morning until late in the afternoon He loves his job very much

6 What do you often do with your family?

=> We are busy with our work during the day so in the evening, we gather to eat dinner together After dinner, we watch Tv and talk about our daily activities My parents often listen to me carefully when I tell them about my study and my activities at university

=> I live far from my family so I often come home at weekends When I come home, I help my parents do some housework and spend time watching TV with them, talking to them about my life at university

7 How has family changed in the recent decades in Vietnam?

=> Well, family structure in Vietnam has changed a lot, generally from big to small Vietnamese used to have extended family with a few generations living together However as time go on, people need to move for their jobs so small family are more common as they’re easily mobile

8 Do you have many friends? Are they close friends or acquaintances?

=> I have many friends, from my primary school, secondary school, high school and university However, I only have some close friends who I can share with them my thoughts and feelings

9 What do you often do with your friends?

=> When I go out with my friends, we often go to the cinema, go shopping or go to a café, talk about our daily activities, our study and relationships Sometimes we go on a picnic at weekends

10 What is more important to you, family or friends?

=> In my opinion, both family and friends are important but family is more important than friends, because they are our closest people They always care for us, and they are always there whenever we need them

11 Do you prefer to spend time/stay with your family or your friends?

=> I prefer to stay with my friends because when I am with them, I feel very relaxed and happy We have many things in common; we can easily talk and share a lot of things

=> I live far from my family so when I have free time, I prefer to spend time with my family We often stay together eating, talking and doing housework Sometimes we go to visit our relatives

12 In what ways do family/friends important to you?

=>Family/ Friends are very important to me Spending time with my family/ friends make me feel happy and relaxed My family/ friends often share with me my happiness and sadness They also help me to

overcome many difficulties in my life

EDUCATION AND WORK

I VOCABULARY

A EDUCATION

* School: Most children in our country follow this route in the state system (=free education)

nursery school – primary school – secondary school - high school - university

When a pupil leaves high school, he or she may choose to go to university or a college or a vocational school

* University:

I Subjects: You can normally do/study these subjects at university:

II Departments/ Faculties in University:

University of Social Sciences and Humanities Trường Đại học Khoa học xã hội và Nhân văn

 Faculty of Archive and Office Management

 Faculty of History

 Faculty of International Studies

 Faculty of Journalism and Communication

 Faculty of Library and Information Science

 Faculty of Linguistics

 Faculty of Literature

 Faculty of Management Science

 Faculty of Oriental Studies

 Khoa Báo chí và truyền thông

 Khoa Thông tin- Thư viện

 Khoa Ngôn ngữ học

 Khoa Văn học

 Khoa Khoa học Quản lý

 Khoa Đông Phương học

 Faculty of Hydro-meteorology and Oceanography

 Faculty of Environmental science

Trường Đại học Khoa học Tự nhiên

 Khoa Toán-Cơ- Tin học

 Khoa Khí tượng Thủy văn và Hải dương học

 Khoa Môi trường

B WORK

I What do you do?

- I’m a/an ( + job) e.g a teacher/ an engineer

- I work in ( + work unit/ general area) e.g a bank/ marketing

- I work for (+ name of company) e g VietcomBank

II What do you do in your job?

- I’m in charge of ( = responsible for ) + N / Ving (marketing work)

- My work/ responsibility involves + Ving (researching customers’needs)

- My work/duty is to + V (research customers’ needs)

- I have to + V (attend a lot of meetings)

III Payment

The money we receive every month in our work is called a salary

E.g My salary is 3 million VND a month = I earn 3 million VND a month

The total amount of money you receive in a year is called your income This could be your salary from one job, or from different jobs you have And on this income you have to pay part to the government – called income tax

IV Working hours:

Normally people works in office have a nine-to-five job (regular working hours of full-time jobs) Some people have part-time jobs, or some have to do shiftwork ( = working at different times, days or nights) Sometimes when the company is busy, people also have to work overtime (= work extra hours)

V The career ladder:

contract

good pay rise

II SAMPLE ANSWERS:

1 Where are you studying?

2 What are you studying? = What is your major/ field of study?

=> I am a first/second year student at USSH My major is Journalism and Communication I find my major

is very interesting and useful

3 Why did you choose this field of study?

=> Since I was small, I have always wanted to be a journalist because I like writing and travelling I choose this major because I think it is suitable and useful for my future job I can learn a lot of interesting

knowledge and skills in this field

=> Well, my parents and my high school teacher chose it for me because I was very young then and they helped me make the decision They said that this major would be very popular in the future And of course, they were right

4 What do you like most about your studies?

=> Well, I think my major is very important in the modern society and it’s very useful, with this major I can find a good job in the future

5 What difficulties do you have in your study? What do you do to overcome it?

6 What do you find most difficult about learning English? How to improve your English?

=> I find the most difficult subject is English, because in English, we have to learn a lot of things such as grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation We don’t have much time practicing it so it is difficult for us to communicate in English However, I am trying to overcome it by learning from different sources such as from my teacher, my friends and do some online course I also try to practice listening and writing as much

as possible

7 What would you like to do after graduating? / in the future?

=> In the future, I want to be a teacher I love to work with children every day and see them change and grow While working with children, I can share with them my knowledge as well as points of view

=> I want to be a computer programmer With this job, I can work on many kinds of software which are useful in our daily life I like computer and I want to work with something challenging

8 What qualities/ qualifications do you need to do that job?

=> Well, first of all, I need a bachelor degree in education If I want to be a successful teacher, experience

in teaching is also very important Besides, I will need to be a patient and enthusiastic person

=> To become a computer programmer, I think I will have to have a good degree in computer sciences Moreover, I need to be good at both English and computer operation

HOBBIES AND SPORTS

I VOCABULARY

Hobbies/ pastimes are activities that we do in our spare time (= free time)

A Things people play

B Things people collect

C Indoor activities

D Outdoor activities

Going to the cinema hanging out with friends going to karaoke bar going to café Note: When we start a hobby for the first time, we often use the phrase verb take up, and when we stop doing the hobby, we often use the phrasal verb give up

I took up golf when I was fifteen, but I gave it up last year

E Sports

You normally play a game but do a lot of/ a bit sport

Tennis

Basketball

Baseball

volleyball

Badminton

Golf

Soccer/football

Table tennis

Yoga Aerobics Martial arts Judo Karate

Swimming Jogging Running Skiing Mountain climbing Sailing

cycling

II USEFUL STRUCTURES:

- In my free time/spare time, I often + V………

- I’m interested in/keen on/fond of N + Ving - I like………… best because………

- I like/enjoy + N/ Ving………

- I don’t like……… Because it’s too……… I prefer………

- What I like most about ……… is that ………

- I prefer N/Ving to N/Ving because ………

- My favourite activities/ hobbies/pastimes are ………

III SAMPLE ANSWERS:

1 Do you have any hobbies?/ What are your favourite hobbies/ pastimes?

=> Yes, I have some hobbies I am interested in watching TV, collecting stamps and cycling Among them,

my favourite one is watching TV

=> Yes, stamp collecting is my favourite hobby because I like travelling very much Through collecting stamps, I can see different cultures and scenery of different countries

2 What do you do in your free time/ after study? / How do you spend your free time?

=> I usually do some reading when I have free time/ after work When I feel tired, I often watch TV or go

to the cinema

=> In my free time I often listen to music, watch TV or read some books I like reading comic books because it makes me feel very relaxed

3 What do you normally do on weekdays? Is it different at weekends?

=> On weekdays, I have to get up early to go to university I also go to university on Monday and

Wednesday afternoon In the evening, I do my part-time job as a tutor of English I feel very busy and sometimes tired on weekdays However, at weekends, I often go out with my friends for eating or playing sports Sometimes I stay at home, listen to some music, sleep and relax

=> At weekends, sometimes I invite my friends to my home for a meal Sometimes we go shopping, go to the cinema or café, or go for a picnic in the mountain

=> I live far from my family so at weekends, I prefer to stay with my parents I often come back to my hometown, spend time with my family and visit my relatives who live next door

4 What are some popular hobbies for young people in Vietnam?

=> Well, in Vietnam, people do many different things For example, some people raise pets, some like collecting everything from books to coins Some prefer indoor activities such as listening to music or reading while others prefer outdoor activities such as shopping or playing sports However, in my opinion, young people often do sports or hanging out with their friends

5 What free time activity would you like to try in the future?

=> Well, if I had time, I would like to take up playing the piano/guitar I know it’s not easy for me because

it takes a lot of time and practice However, I like watching others playing the piano and I hope I can do it one day

6 What sports do you play?/ What sports are you good at?/ What is your favourite sport?

=> I like playing badminton/ I am good at playing badminton./ My favorite sport is badminton

In my free time, I often play badminton with my friends and sometimes I play for the local team It makes

me feel relaxed and healthy Besides, I also like swimming, running and doing yoga