📕 Part 1: Websites

Rory, what kind of websites do you visit?

I suppose the same as everyone else, really. When I think about my daily shortlist, though, the most salient ones are like email and news and language sites, which keep me abreast of various kinds of information, whether it's about the world my life or language. I think that's what most websites are basically for, isn't it?

What's your favourite website?

To be honest, I don't have one. I suppose the one thing all the major ones have in common is that they're worth spending my time on, so I can learn a new skill or get better at doing something. Actually, what I find quite useful as an English teacher who works with English learners and sees their struggles to get better at speaking is called Small talk. It's basically a free virtual AI, like a speaking assistant, that helps students improve their spoken English. One thing that I particularly like about it is that it has an IELTS speaking simulator, which helps predict students IELTS scores.

What websites are popular in your country?

I imagine the same ones that are popular elsewhere. Everyone loves social networks and has a favourite news site. I'd also imagine people who play a lot of games have a preference. And I can't think of anyone who hasn't done a bit of online shopping, or at least online window shopping.

Are there any changes to the websites you use?

Not recently. Though, they do get updated from time to time. It's usually a change in the layout or an addition of functions based on their analytics. At least, that is allegedly the case. It always takes me ages to get used to anything new like that. -

Thanks to people at Small talk for reaching out to us. Again, Small talk is a free virtual AI speaking assistance that helps you improve your speaking skills. It's basically like having a speaking partner that can actually give you helpful feedback.

It doesn't matter where you're from, what your English level is, or what kind of accent you have. You can get personalized bias-free feedback on your spoken English and get a predicted IELTS speaking band. All for free.

You can try this episode's topic, "Websites", by clicking the link in the description. So you can actually answer the questions on the topic of websites and use this program to get feedback on your speaking. Shall we go over the vocabulary about websites that you've used for a high score? What's an AI? AI?

It stands for artificial intelligence. That's just a way of saying like a computer program that behaves like, well, an allegedly intelligent human being.

So when we talk about websites, we can say websites or sites. Can I just say just sites?

Yes.

I visit different sites. Yeah, websites, pages, right? And Rory talked about his daily shortlist.

Yes. A shortlist is just, well... In a nutshell, it's a shortlist of things that like the main features of something. Or you can have a shortlist of candidates. So that would be like the main candidates for a job position.

But you don't actually have a list of websites, you just use them daily. And you can say, okay, so like, these are the websites I use daily. Yeah? Or you do have a list saved somewhere?

I have a list. I have several lists, actually. Although I've got one called quick glance, and I open this like every morning. And so it opens things like my main email websites, and YouTube and the news pages that I read. So it's quite useful for this actually.

Hmm. And do you know what the top global websites are? Number one, Google number two, YouTube, number three, Facebook, number four, Twitter. And number five, this year is going to be successwithielts.com. That's our main aim. Our website, yes, yes. Then Rory said the most salient websites. Salient? Huh?

Yeah, salient is like another way of saying the highest place, the most noticeable ones.

So the most salient websites I use are Success with IELTS and Google. Yeah. And then you said something like language sites keep me abreast of various kinds of information. Keep you abreast? Like breast? Like, like breast?

That means to stay informed of something.

Are you joking? Really?

Keep abreast of things means keep up to date, keep side to side with things or side by side.

So strange. Dear listener, isn't it strange? Because like breast is part of woman's body. Breast.

Yes.

Keep me abreast. Interesting. Okay. Then you can say that the websites are worth spending my time on. So I usually use this and that. And they are worth spending my time on. That's a nice expression.

Yes.

Then you can say that I find them quite useful. So websites could be useful. Could be educational. I get better at something using this or that website.

Like Small talk.

Yeah. And Rory talked about Small talk using specific vocabulary. Okay, what is it? It's a free virtual AI speaking assistant. AI - artificial intelligence*. Then it improves your spoken English. So lots of specific words about it. Oh, it's a simulator. Also, when you describe, for example, an online dictionary, you might use an online dictionary, make sure that you're using these specific words. Rory, are you still here or you are browsing through your shortlist?

No, I'm just thinking about some of the things that I said. However...

Which things? About capitalism? Karl Marx?

No. We're talking about different words to describe websites. But I was just thinking about answers that we could use in general. For example, when you asked what websites are popular in your country, you could say I imagine the same ones that are popular everywhere or elsewhere. And you could also use this for any other question that involves popular things. So it could be what shoes are popular in your country? And you'd be like, well, I imagine the same things that are popular elsewhere.

Yeah, so websites do get updated from time to time. And you can speak about changes in the layout. So the layout of a website. And Rory said that it takes him ages to get used to the changes. Takes me ages to get used to it.

Yes, that just means it takes me a long time, like a really long time when things get updated. Because I'm old, and I don't like change.

Right. But you know, can we actually talk about like Google, for example, as a website? Because Google is a search engine. So is it a website?

I don't see why not, like it's got a web address.

Yeah, you can also say that I usually use news websites or personal websites, official, unofficial, travel websites.

Oh, here's the fun fact, though. You can do different things with Google. If you type in do a barrel roll in Google search engine on the main page, then it turns the screen upside down. I'm pretty sure. Let me see if it still does that. Because it used to do it a long time ago. Hold on a second.

So you can say that I usually visit this or that website.

Thank you for listening to this episode of capitalism with IELTS, success with capitalism.

Thank you, everybody. Thank you, world. Thank you, Rory. Good-bye!

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