Vocabulary

Please circle four words that you know, and create a question for each.
rare.......................................................................................................................................
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herb......................................................................................................................................
tasks.....................................................................................................................................
plant.....................................................................................................................................
weed.....................................................................................................................................
scarce...................................................................................................................................
scent.....................................................................................................................................
widespread...........................................................................................................................
export...................................................................................................................................
hobby...................................................................................................................................
Idioms
Below are some idiomatic expressions that you can use.

green fingers
 To have green fingers means to be good at gardening.
e.g. My mom can keep any plant alive, even ones that I've nearly killed-she
seriously has green fingers.
bitten by the same bug
 To have the same interest or hobby
e.g. My cousin and I were bitten by the same bug. We collect coins.

Proverbs
Read the common sayings and proverbs below. Can you add two more?
He who plants a garden, plants happiness. - Chinese
As is the gardener, so is the garden. -- Hebrew
The lotus springs from the mud. - Chinese
The early bird gets the worm. - English.
A garden is a thing of beauty and a job forever. - English
Sow soy beans, and you will reap soy beans; sow red beans and you will reap red
beans. – Korean
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.
e.g. I got to the ticket office before anyone else. I got front row seats to the show! The early
bird gets the worm. (People who wake up early or who get to places early have a better
chance of success.)

The conversation continues...

1. Have you ever grown vegetables or fruits for your own use? When? Where?
2. Which vegetables or fruits did you have in your garden? Where did you get them?
Extending a conversation
11. Look at the bubble diagram on what is important in a job. Take a moment to think
about each of the issues shown here. Be prepared to make a useful comment about each
of the issues. Make sure you have an opinion on all the ideas.

Relationships
with colleagues
Challenging and
interesting work Competitive salary

Progressive WORK-RELATED Long-term security

and dynamic ISSUES and pension
organisation

On-going
Opportunities for
trainingprovided by
promotion
employer
Opportunities to
travel overseas

12. Class activity

1. Make up sets of eight cards based on the eight ideas in the bubble diagram.
2. Place a set of the cards face down on the table for each group.
3. Each student picks a card and must talk on the topic for 45 seconds. Replace the card
on the bottom of the pile.

13. Make similar bubble diagrams with other broad themes. For example:
• Lifestyle
• Education
• Entertainment
• Health
 3. What did you like about growing your own produce?
4. What did you dislike about cultivating vegetables and fruits?
5. Does your native country export flowers, herbs, vegetables, or fruits? Which?
6. What are some differences in climate between your native country and here?
7. Is water scarce in your native country? Is water expensive?
8. What are some drought resistant plants?
9. What are some famous gardens in the world today?
10. What are some of the differences in tools and work practices in gardens between what
are commonly used in your country of origin and here?
11. What are some famous gardens from religion, history, and myth? Which would
you most like to visit?
12. If you had unlimited money and were able to have the garden of your dreams, would
you garden yourself or would you hire others to do it? Why?
13. What makes a good gardener? Which character traits might help?
14. How does gardening as a hobby help people develop a positive outlook?

Quotations
cle a quotation that you like and memorize it?
3. "We must cultivate our own garden."
- Francois Voltaire (1694-1778), French writer
4. "People who think they can run the earth should begin with a small garden."
- Evan Esar (1899-1995), humorist and columnist
5. "You can pick all the flowers, but you can not stop the spring."
- Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), Chilean poet
6. "A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees."
- William Blake (1757-1827), English poet and painter
7. "Life is not a puzzle to be solved, but a garden to be nurtured and enjoyed."
- Toni Aberson (1937-), teacher and gardener

Reading Passage
Read the following passage to help you generate ideas and enrich your vocabulary on the
topic.
The Love of Gardening - How to Enjoy Addictive Hobbies for Less
By Nikki Tilley (Author of The Bulb-o-licious Garden)

Gardening is one of the most addictive hobbies in America. As a gardener, I know firsthand
just how addictive this pastime can be, although I once considered myself blessed if I could
keep a houseplant living for more than a week. After a friend hired me to help maintain his
plant nursery, I soon discovered a love for gardening, which quickly became my new
addiction.

A Growing Garden Hobby

At first, I wasn't sure where to begin, but it didn't take long before my gardening addiction
grew I was surrounded each day by the scent of fresh soil and an ever-growing display of
plants waiting to be placed within the hoards of pots stacked near my feet. I was given a
crash course in the care and propagation of numerous plants. The more I learned about
gardening, the more I wanted to learn. I read as many gardening books as I could. I panned
out my designs, and I experimented.
TOPIC 5.3.
GARDENING

Small talk
You can always start a friendly conversation by complimenting neighbors on their gardens.
Let's practice chatting about flowers, plants, and gardening now.
1. Do you like flowers? Which ones?
2. What is your favorite flower? Why? Can you describe it?
3. Which flowers have you ever given, or received, as a gift?
4. Can you describe a beautiful garden that you've seen?
5. Have you ever visited a famous or special garden? Where? When?
6. Have you ever nurtured a flower garden? Pruned a bush? Where?
7. What kinds of flowers were in your garden? Your home?
8. Do you grow flowers, herbs, fruits, or vegetables now? Which ones?
9. Are there others you would like to grow? Which ones?
10. What tasks do you enjoy doing in a garden?
11. What do you dislike about working in a garden?
12. What is a weed? Do gardeners need to weed a lot? Why?
13. Are there flowers that grow readily where you live now which are rare in your native
country? Which ones? Why?
14. Are certain flowers associated with special occasions, like weddings, holidays, or
funerals in your country of origin?
15. Have you ever visited a scent garden? Where? When?
16. What flowers and herbs might be found in a scent garden?
17. Do you usually use herbs when preparing traditional dishes? Which?
18. Have you ever heard of a plant being used to help cure an illness? Which plants? What
were they used for?
19. Have you ever heard of plants being used to help one's love life? Which plants? Are
there flowers traditionally given to lovers?
IELTS Speaking practice tests
Practice Test 1
Part 1:
Do you like traveling?
What is your favourite type of holiday?
What do you do on holidays?
Are there many tourists visiting your country?

Part 2:
Describe a tourist attraction you once visited.

You should say:

 when you visited it
 where it is situated
 who you went with
and say what about it you like the most.

Part 3:
Why do you think tourism is so developed now?
How people choose their destination?
What kind of transport do you prefer on holidays? Why?
Do you prefer traveling alone or in tour groups? Why?
A child at play with gritty dirt beneath my nails and beads of sweat above my brows; not
even the hot, humid days of summer or painstaking hours of weeding, watering, and collected
numerous plant catalogs, usually ordering from each. I scoured garden centers harvesting
could keep me away from the garden. As my gardening addiction grew, I and other nurseries
for new plants. Before I knew it, one small flower bed had transformed itself into nearly
twenty, all with different themes. It was getting to be expensive. I either had to give up my
growing garden hobby or cut costs. That's when I decided to use my
creativity to save money.

A Love for Gardening - for Less

Instead of buying expensive ornamental pieces for my garden, I started collecting interesting
items and transforming them into unique objects. I dressed up an old mailbox as a haven for
birds. I created a birdbath from old bricks and a round, plastic tray. Instead of buying new
seeds or plants each year, I decided to start my own. While seeds can be purchased for next to
nothing, to really cut costs, I began collecting my own seeds from the garden.

I also divided many of the plants that I already had. Family, friends, and neighbors are always
good sources for trading plants and cuttings. This not only saves money, but it provides an
opportunity to share ideas with other passionate gardeners having the same
addictive hobbies.

Since my beds were growing as quickly as my addiction, I learned how to make the most of
my space by creating raised beds. Not only did this help with space, but the looser soil was
better for the plants. I also began adding organic matter to the soil and I used horse manure,
crushed eggshells, and coffee grounds as fertilizer. Creative paths throughout the beds made
maintenance chores easier. I saved on mulch by using pine needles and leaves collected from
the nearby woods.

I also enjoyed gardening with containers. A good way to save money here is by reusing
containers already on hand and items such as worn-out boots, wheel barrows, and wash tubs.
I have even used jars, an old bath tub, and hollowed-out stumps as containers.

In addition, I found that incorporating certain plants into my garden such as marigolds, garlic
and nasturtiums also helps deter many pests.

Gardening may be addictive, but it shouldn't have to be expensive. It should just be fun. You
learn as you go and you find what works for you. Success isn't measured by how grand the
garden is or how exotic the plants are; if the garden brings yourself and others joy, then your
task has been accomplished.
Source: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/lifestyle/the-love-of-gardening-one-of-
americas-most-addictive-hobbieshtm
Practice Test 2

Part 1:
Do you have a lot of friends?
How often do you see your friends?
Is there anything special about your friends?
For how long do you know them?

Part 2:

Describe your friend.

You should say:
 who she/he is
 when you met
 why he/she is close to you

and say what you like about your friend the most.

Part 3:
Do you think friendship is important nowadays?
What do you think is the best time to get new friends?
Is it important to stay in touch with your friends throughout the years?
Summary of IELTS Speaking strategies

Approach Reason
Make sure you know what you have to do in Even good candidates can lose marks
the Speaking test and what you are being because they are not prepared for the
assessed on. requirements of the different parts of the
test.

Use this part to develop your The questions are about you and should be
confidence and fluency. straightforward to answer.
Part 1 Give full answers but do not talk for Fuller answers are expected in Part 3.
too long.
Do not memorise answers. Your examiner will recognise prepared
answers and you will not get credit for them

Use the preparation time wisely. Useful notes will help you speak for longer.
Refer to the task card as you talk. The points on the task card are designed to
Part 2 help you structure your talk.
Be aware of how long 2 minutes is. You need to produce a rounded talk that is
long enough, but not too long.

Make sure you know what the Your answers need to be relevant to the
discussion topic is. topic.
Re-phrase the questions in your The questions aim to get you to talk about
Part 3 mind, so that you know what the things using a range of language functions.
examiner expects.
Support and extend your answers. You must show that you can discuss the Part
3 topics fully.

Listen carefully to each question the You will get better marks if your answer is
examiner asks and think about the grammatically correct and shows a range: of
tenses and vocabulary you should vocabulary.
use in your answer.
Have some views on typical Part 1 You cannot discuss topics if you do not have
and 3 topics. any views. This is especially important for
Part 3.
All Ask the examiner to repeat a This is much better than talking about
parts question if you do not understand it. something which is irrelevant to the topic.
Try to develop your answers using You will get better marks for fluency if you
linkers and structural markers. can sequence ideas, rather than repeating
them or hesitating over them.
Speak clearly and use stress and This will help improve your marks for
intonation to help you get your pronunciation. Even good speakers can lose
points across marks if they speak much too quickly
accountant surgeon Skills and Personal Educational
advertising executive journalist abilities qualities requirements
airline pilot lawyer
computer programmer nurse
economist politician
engineer interpreter
fire fighter

10. Take turns to ask each other questions. For example: What kind of person would make a
good airline pilot? Try using expressions from the box below in your answers.

I would imagine that a pilot needs to be able to think quickly.

I suppose people who take up nursing need to be dedicated. They also need to be patient and
understanding.
I'd say...
As far as I can see...
It's probably useful for a ... to be...
I think it's important/essential for a ... to be...

IELTS Speaking test practice

How to approach the task:
 Rephrase the question in your own word to help you to explore the issues raised, e.g.
Are homes built to suit the climate?
 Think about what you are being asked to do: give an explanation, compare, speculate,
etc.
 Decide whether any of the key words raise new questions; e.g. Design of all
buildings, or just houses?
 Quickly develop a few ideas.
 Begin your answer with an appropriate expression
 Make sure you can support or justify your opinion.