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Week 21: Boredom

IELTS Warm-up Questions: Boredom

Warm-up Questions: 

• Is there anything boring about your job / studies?
• Do you think you got bored more often when you were younger?
• What subjects did you find boring at school?
• What do you do to stave off (stop feeling) boredom?

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IELTS Lesson – Part 3 – Your Opinion & Evaluating Others’ Opinions

To continue the lessons about Part 3 Question Types, this week I’m going to teach you about the most common type of IELTS Part 3 questions: Your Opinion and Others’ Opinions.

Watch the video below, to learn some ways to answer Part 3 questions about your opinion:

However, one thing that this video doesn’t mention is another specific type of Part 3 question type. (Sorry! Let me explain it now!)

In this topic, there is this question:

“Some people say it’s good to feel bored sometimes. What do you think?” 

Here, the examiner is asking you to evaluate someone else’s opinion.

• “Many people think that [x], what do you think?”
• “It’s widely believed that [x], what do you think?”
• “Some people don’t believe that [x] is important, what do you think?”

How should approach this kind of question? Here’s how:

1. First of all, do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
2. Then, start your answer with one of the following phrases:

I agree: 

• “I would agree with that, because …”  
• “I think they’re right, because … “

I disagree:

• “I can see where they’re coming from, but …  “
• “I can see what they mean, but … “

Here are 2 example answers to this question – 1 agreeing, 1 disagreeing.

I agree: 

“I would agree with that, because I think being bored helps you appreciate the fun and enjoyable things in your life more. For example, I’ve noticed that if I have a particularly mind-numbing at work, I will be much more excited to see my friends afterwards, because I’m desperate to escape the boredom. So I think being bored makes you more appreciative of your friends or hobbies.

I disagree: 

“I can see where they’re coming from, but I think that being bored is never a positive experience. Being bored usually means your mind is unstimulated by what you’re doing, or you’re idle because you’re not doing any productive or meaningful, so you’re essentially just wasting your time.”

Now you’re ready to tackle one of the most common IELTS Part 3 question types there is!

———

“I can never think of any ideas.”

“I can’t find the right IELTS vocabulary anywhere.”

If you’re struggling with vocabulary and ideas for your IELTS Speaking answers, you can find HUNDREDS more high-band example answers (written and recorded by me) to help you tackle any IELTS Speaking Topic you might encounter.

This week in fact, I’ve just uploaded the 300th example answer to the library! With hundreds more to come!

Get lifetime access to my IELTS Answer Library on Udemy for just $10.00 (that’s 50% off for Newsletter Subscribers only!) 
>>> http://bit.ly/IELTSVOCAB <<< Click here if the picture link doesn’t work.

Loving the IELTS Lesson? Get even more in the Complete Edition of my IELTS Speaking E-book, Audio Book and Workbook below!

…

IELTS Vocabulary and Levelled Reading

Read these 2 levels of about ‘Boredom’. Every level becomes more difficult but every level has the same meaning. The new words are highlighted, so if you don’t understand a word in Level 2, look back at Level 1 to find the easier synonym! This is a great way to learn new vocabulary!

Level 1: Basic  Level 2: Advanced 

IELTS Question #1: Why do some people get bored faster than others?

• Level 1:”Generally speaking, I suppose there are some people who usually have shorter attention spans, which means it isn’t long until they are bored of a video, a song, or a game and start looking for something new to interest them. As well as that, I also think that intelligent people might become bored quite easily, since they need quite difficult or new ideas to interest them, because thanks to their intelligence, it might be hard for them to find genuinely new ideas. So those are some reasons why people might get bored more easily than others.”
• Level 2:
  Generally speaking, I suppose there are some people who tend to have shorter attention spans, which means it isn’t long until they are over a video, a song or a game and start looking for something new to stimulate them. As well as that, I also think that that intelligent people might become disinterested quite easily, since they need quite challenging or profound ideas to grab their interest, because thanks to their intellect, it might be hard for them to find genuinely novel ideas. So those are some reasons why some people might get bored more easily than others.”

IELTS Question #2: Are there any jobs that you find boring?

• Level 1:
  “Absolutely. Simple tasks that are boring and always the same are very boring. For example, I remember working in an office doing filing and photocopying, and it was extremely boring because it involved just arranging paperwork into alphabetical order and making photocopies for my colleagues. It was very easy, uninteresting work that I would never like to do again. So I think jobs that involve a lot of doing the same task again and again or a lack of variety are very boring.”

• Level 2:
  “Absolutely. Menial tasks that are tedious and monotonous are very dull. For example, I remember working in an office doing filing and photocopying, which was absolutely mind-numbing because it involved just arranging paperwork into alphabetical order and making photocopies for my colleagues. It was completely unchallenging, unstimulating work that I would never like to do again. So I think jobs that involve a lot of repetition or monotony are very boring.”
  

Links and Resources

You can find even more IELTS-appropriate vocabulary, collocations and phrases about Cities here:

• http://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=boredom 
• http://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=boring

How Easily Bored Are You?

These quiz questions are actually full of great collocations, phrases and vocabulary about boredom. Plus, you can find out how quickly you get bored and what that says about your personality. Give it a try!

• https://www.thecut.com/2016/09/how-easily-bored-are-you-take-this-quiz-to-find-out.html

Maybe not an ideal IELTS supplement, but this article really struck a chord with me. There are some genuinely profound and intriguing ideas about boredom. (and it’s not too difficult to read either). Like I said, it might not be a perfect IELTS answer, but it’s an illuminating read about what boredom really is:

• https://liberationist.org/why-boredom-is-so-powerful-in-your-life/

IELTS Practice Questions

Putting it all together:

Part 2 Questions: 

• Describe a time when you were with other people and you were bored.
  You can say:
  • Where it was
  • Who you were with
  • What you did
  • Why you were bored

Part 3 – Questions

• Are there any jobs that you find boring?
• Do you think all the boring jobs will be done my robots in the future?
• Why do some people get bored faster than others?
• Why do some people agree to do boring jobs?
• Some people say that it’s good to feel bored sometimes, what do you think?
• Do you agree that it is impossible to feel bored in today’s world?

Happy learning!