Part 3

Band 7+: Should schools prioritize teaching practical life skills over academic subjects like advanced mathematics?

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Polished transcript:

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I think it should be a state of equilibrium since, in my perspective, both of those skills are really crucial in each person's life. They play an indispensable role in mental development, cognitive function development, and understanding life and solving problems. So, I'd say schools should balance the teaching of practical life skills with academic subjects like math, science, and literature. This way, students can not only solve problems but also understand their lives and how to deal with practical situations. This approach would be really beneficial for their long-term growth, even after they graduate. They can apply the practical skills and knowledge they learn in school to live and grow in the long term.

Actual audio transcript (What native speakers are likely to hear):

I think it should be a state of equilibrium since in my perspective both of those skills are really crucial in each person’s life like it plays an indispensable role in every person’s life of mental development, cognitive function development, and also understanding life and solving problems. So yeah, I’d say school should balance the teaching of practical life skills and also many academic subjects like math and science or literature so that they be able to not only solve problems but still be able to understand about their life and how to deal with practical situations so that it would be really beneficial for their long term growth and even after after they graduate or after their school, which they can still apply to their practical life and still be able to use those information that they learn from school to still live and grow for long term.

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Speaking Time: 46 seconds

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Overall Band Score

(+/- 0.5)

Vocabulary Complexity:
B2 - Upper Intermediate
Opt for even more advanced words when appropriate.

Vocabulary Repetition:

they: 4

skills: 3

life: 3

practical: 3

should: 2

really: 2

development: 2

problems: 2

their: 2

Try using synonyms for the above words

Pronunciation

Your pronunciation is quite good. Working on consistency and tackling difficult sounds may enhance clarity.

Task Response

The response addresses the question directly and provides a clear, balanced perspective. The candidate successfully avoids personal anecdotes, maintaining the required level of generality for Part 3. To reach a higher score, the response could benefit from more specific examples of what constitutes 'practical life skills' (e.g., financial literacy or emotional intelligence) versus 'academic subjects' to further illustrate the distinction and deepen the development of the argument.

Fluency & Coherence

The speaker demonstrates a good ability to maintain a flow of speech, but the coherence is hindered by excessive repetition and a lack of structural variety. The answer relies heavily on 'and also' and 'so that' to connect ideas, creating a 'run-on' effect rather than using sophisticated cohesive devices. To improve, use more varied discourse markers such as 'Furthermore,' 'In addition to this,' or 'Consequently' to separate distinct points.

Lexical Resource

There is some good use of high-level vocabulary, such as 'state of equilibrium,' 'indispensable role,' and 'cognitive function development.' However, there is significant repetition of words like 'life,' 'practical,' and 'long term.' To reach a higher band, try to use synonyms. For example, instead of repeating 'practical life skills,' you could use 'functional skills,' 'real-world competencies,' or 'daily survival skills.'

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

The speaker attempts complex sentence structures, but they often become grammatically unstable due to length. There are issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'it plays' referring to 'both of those skills') and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'so that they be able to'). The use of 'which' in the final clause was also slightly misplaced. Focus on mastering complex sentences by ensuring each clause has a clear subject and verb, and avoid making sentences too long.

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