IELTS Band 9 English Speaking Excellence with Practice and Subtitles

 Reference : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6t7WeKGYFE&ab_channel=AcademicEnglishHelp

What is your full name ?

My full name is Yumiko Nakamura, please just call me Yumi for short. 

Do you work or study?

I am working in HR at Izumo Tech and I'm also studying English and IELTS. so I can continue my MBA in the US.

What do you like about your work or scool?

I like that I get to interact with a lot of different people at my workplace. I'm quite social so this keeps life interesting. 

Let's talk about working or studying at home. How often do you work at home?

Recently. I am working at home all the time. I haven't been to my office in the past six months even once because of pandemic.

How often do you study at home?

I usually study at home about three to four days each week, but at times I like to go the park near my house to study, especially when the weather is nice. 

Do you like working or studying at home? why or why not? 

Yes, I quite like it because it is comfortable and convenient. I have privacy and when I'm hungry I can just go to my fridge and eat what I want. 

Yesterday, I made myself a really yummy chicken sandwich for lunch. this type of convenience is simply not possible at my workplace. 

If you are not studying or working at home. Where do you go?

Well, as I said, I like to go the park to study & read my books. Aside from that. I would go to my office downtown to do my work. 

What are the difficulties of working or studying at home? 

One of the biggest challenges are distractions. At times. friends will knock or call unexpectedly, and at other times. I'm just itching to take a break and watch a show. Also, it is sometimes annoying that I cannot my colleagues as quickly as in the office to get assistance. 

How has working from home changed in the past thirty years?

I think the biggest change over the past three decades has been the addition of the internet. The web has really made working from home much more efficient and possible. I can conduct interviews and attend a meeting through video chat from my home and this was simply unavailable a generation ago. 

If you could improve one part of working at home, what would it be?

Hmm. that's an interesting question. please allow me a moment to think. The first idea that comes to my mind is to have better equipment. a better computer, with faster internet and a more comfortable chair. I think I could always improve on these if given the chance. 

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Talk about a time when you were part of a team in school or work.

You should say:

- When and where was this team?

- What was the goal of the team?

- What was your role as team member?

- What did you and your team achieve and would you do anything in the future?

You will have one to two minutes to talk about this topic.

You will have one minute to prepare what you are going to say.

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In my second year of university, I was on a debate team with two of my classmates, Yuki and Hiro. This was during my studies for my bachelor's in business administration in 2016 at Osaka university as part of my extracurricular studies. I decided to join the debate team to improve my communication skills as well as to learn the best way to convince others of my point at view. My position in the team had changed a couple times depending on the debate. I was either the first, second or third proposition or opposition. I really liked being the third opposition as this gave me a chance to have the final word and close the debate. Throughout the school year we participated in about a dozen different debate events based on different variety of topics including ethics, politicics, and business. Our goal was to win Osaka University's debate championship at the end of the year. We collected point based on our victories and losses and had a final tournament. In the end we were bronze medalists in third position out of twelve different teams. We were really happy with the results but of course deep in our hearts we had wished we won gold. If I had the chance to go back and do it again, we would have done some more activities outside the class so that we would have had more cohesion in the group. Anyway, I learned lots and look back on this team experience positively. 

Part 3

Do you still keep in touch Hiro and Yuki?

Yes, I contact them a couple times in a year through social media, especially Facebook. We don't get to hang out in-person anymore as they have moved to other cities, but we do share our thoughts and recent life changes especially when there is some big news, like Hiro landing his dream job working in HR last year in Kirin Company. 

Let's talk about teamwork. Why is it important for children to learn about teamwork from a young age?

I think that youth must be educated about working in groups as early as possible. even starting at age one or two, because this is one of most important skills to be happy and successful in life. Humans are social by nature and it is the way we function. I see that every day in my HR work.

What can teachers and schools do to encourage learning teamwork?

Educators and schools must implement lots of group activities in curricular and motivate and encourage participation. These can include sports teams like basketball and soccer, or other activities like drama club. 

How has technology been helping people to work more effectively in teams?

Especially in recent times, with the internet and mobile phones, the technology has had a biggest  influence on the efficiency of teamwork, using social media and software like Skype, people can connect to each other to discuss projects just about anywhere and any time. This relates back to me doing my HR work with colleagues from the comfort of my home. 

Is this always more efficient? Why or why not?

No, Sometimes. it's less efficient such as when the technology is not working. like no internet connection or when emotional communication is important. it's difficult to imagine rehearsing for a play using social media and being effective. 

Let's talk about leadership. What are important characteristics for leaders to be successful managing a team? 

I think two of the most important skills for a leader are communication and confidence. It's really important for the team to be clear on expectations and tasks. and they must believe in their goals. These are achieved through confident leaders who convey their messages accurately. 

Can you give some examples of this?

Yes, sure When we organized our debate team, we appointed Yuki to be the captain because she was both confident and really good at communicating. I think that this is a big part of the reason we got the third place. 

If there is lack of leadership in a group. What may be the consequences? 

If there is no leadership in a team. the results are usually quite negative, there can be much conflict in the group and the projects may be done poorly if at all, 

How can this be overcome?

Well, it's really important to choose the right person to lead the group and everyone must know their role. Also. it's important that they clearly set their value, mission, & vision of the group. so they guidelines for expectations. 

What are some of the common difficulties that leaders often need to cope with?

I think that unexpected challenges and conflicts among the members in the groups are the most frequent type of challenges the leader must be able to navigate well for successful projects.

Can you elaborate on that a bit?

Yes, I can, I mean that it's tough to predict certain situations, like when Hiro got really sick right before one of the biggest debates of the year, or when I got into an argument with him for missing some of our meetings. These are negative for the goal and must be managed; luckily, Yuki did a good job.