📘 Part 3: Free time activity

This episode's vocabulary

Posture (noun) - the way in which someone usually holds their shoulders, neck, and back, or a particular position in which someone stands, sits, etc.

Fatigue (noun) - extreme tiredness.

Burnout (noun) - the state of having no energy or enthusiasm because of working too hard, or someone who shows the effects of this state.

Work-life balance (noun) - the amount of time you spend doing your job compared with the amount of time you spend with your family and doing things you enjoy.

To disengage (verb) - to stop being involved in something, or to stop someone being involved in something.

Obligation (noun) - something that you must do.

Fast-paced (adj.) - happening very quickly.

Vicious circle (noun) - a continuing unpleasant situation, created when one problem causes another problem that then makes the first problem worse.

Sedate (adj.) - avoiding excitement or great activity and usually calm and relaxed.

Vigorous (adj.) - very forceful or energetic.

Setting (noun) - the surroundings or place in which something is put.

Youth club (noun) - a place where older children can go to meet other children, play sports, and do other social activities.

To shift (verb) - to (cause something or someone to) move or change from one position or direction to another, especially slightly.

Sedentary (adj.) - involving little exercise or physical activity.

To bombard (verb) - to attack a place with continuous shooting or bombs.

Scarcity (noun) - a situation in which something is not easy to find or get.

To attend (verb) - to go to an event, place, etc.

To overwhelm (verb) - to cause someone to feel sudden strong emotion.

Time-poor (adj.) - not having enough time to do things.

-

Questions and Answers

M: Is it important to have a break during work or study?

R: Absolutely, you need it for a whole lot of reasons like avoiding back pain and poor posture if you're sitting too long. It can prevent mental fatigue and burnout and promote creativity just by providing time to relax and think about problems from different angles. And it could lead to a better work-life balance. In fact, it will lead to a better work-life balance since taking breaks allows disengaging from work even just for a moment.

M: Do people have enough time for leisure activities today?

R: In general, many people today probably feel like they have less time for them because of the increased demands on their time from work, and family responsibilities, and other obligations. The fast-paced nature of modern society and the constant connectivity provided by technology probably also contribute to this. In fact, certainly also contribute to this. It's like there's a constant need to work in order to have things. But so often people are owned by their things. So at least to the sort of vicious circle.

M: Are there more activities for young people now than 20 years ago?

R: In absolute terms, I would say so. We've invented new sports and new materials to enable these and people can go abroad and participate in local cultural events. Online it's a similar story. In relative terms, though, the lives of young people are filled with so much nonsense, they probably don't really have the chance to take advantage of these opportunities. At least they can't take advantage of them as they should do.

M: What sports do young people like to do now?

R: It depends on the location and culture. But generally speaking, young people enjoy what they probably always have. Contact sports like rugby and football. Though, eSports, or at least the ones that are quite competitive, are becoming a thing now.

M: And what leisure activities do older and young people prefer?

R: Other than the ones I've just mentioned? It's a bit of a cliche, but old people do seem to prefer a lot of... Or at least to play a lot of card games. And do more sedate activities like balls. Whereas young people probably prefer something more vigorous, since they have all that useful energy to expand.

M: How do people spend their leisure time in your country?

R: I have absolutely no idea. Though, if I were to guess, I'd say they probably take advantage of the open countryside more than elsewhere. So there's lots of hill walking and hiking going on. Of course, it's also a developed Western country. So activities like video gaming are also becoming increasingly popular.

M: And what's the difference in the ways young people spend their free time today, and 20 or 30 years ago?

R: Well, in the past, youngsters probably spent more of their free time outdoors and participating in physical activities like playing sports or with their friends. They also spent more time in social settings like community centres and libraries and youth clubs. Meanwhile, today, they spend more of their free time indoors, and on digital devices. Like social media and instant messaging have become increasingly popular ways for young people to stay connected with their friends and family. So overall, while young people still engage in physical activity, the balance has definitely shifted towards more sedentary digital ones.

M: Why do people say there aren't enough hours in a day?

R: Probably because they feel they have too much to do and not enough time to do it. They might have a lot of responsibilities and personal goals while being bombarded with constant notifications, emails and messages. Which can make it pretty difficult to focus. Also, people have this tendency to overestimate how much they can accomplish in a short amount of time and underestimate the time required for certain tasks. So it sort of leads to the sense of time scarcity.

M: Is not having enough time a feature of our modern world?

R: Well, like I've said before, the pace of life has definitely accelerated in recent years. And this has resulted in an increasing number of tasks and responsibilities that people feel they need to attend to, as well as the pressure to do so. Moreover, modern society promotes this idea that one should always be productive and busy. And that can lead to a constant feeling of needing to do more and not having enough time for rest and relaxation. The constant stimulation from screens and social media and the news can also make it difficult for people to disconnect and relax. And in turn that leads to a sense of being overwhelmed and time-poor. But it doesn't have to be. You can choose not to be owned by what you own and take a more relaxed approach to life. It's not difficult.

-

Discussion

M: Hey, Rory, thank you so much for your answers! Hey, hey, music to our ears, isn't it?

R: Yeah. Well, I mean, it's free time. Everybody can talk about free time because almost everybody has free time.

M: Hopefully, you're listening to this episode in your free time. So this is your favourite free time activity, dear listener, isn't it?

R: You could talk about us.

M: You can talk about us anywhere, right? Actually, any IELTS topic could be turned into Maria and Rory. Rory and Maria.

R: Yes, but then you're not really talking about yourself, are you? You're talking about other people.

M: No, no, but for example, speaking part 2, describe an older person, Rory, describe a fashionable person, Maria, describe a person you want to work with, Rory, describe a foreign person, Maria or Rory. You know?

R: That's true.

M: Alright? So, there you go, dear listener, you're welcome.

R: Let's get cracking with the vocabulary and grammar for a high score.

M: Band nine score. Have a break during work or study. Right? So you have a break. And yes, absolutely is important. A whole load of reasons, Rory says. Like a lot of reasons, lots of reasons or a whole load of reasons. Like loads of reasons, many reasons. And then he goes like, to avoid back pain, to avoid poor posture. Like the position of your back.

R: Well, it's the position of your body as a whole, isn't it?

M: Yeah, the position of your body as a whole. Yeah. And then when you have breaks during work or study, it prevents mental fatigue. So mental - like something in your brain. Fatigue - when you get tired. And also it prevents burnout.

R: Prevents getting tired in your brain.

M: It also promotes creativity. So you take a break, and then you come back, and then you're all creative again. And it could also lead to a better work-life balance. So if you take regular breaks, at work or study, it leads to a better work-life balance. Hey! You can also like have a break or take breaks. The fast-paced nature of modern society. Hey, it's like an essay! And actually, speaking part 3 answers are quite similar to our essay.

R: We have to speak in general.

M: Yeah. And we're talking about things in general, abstract things. And Rory goes with the fast pace nature of modern society. Fast-paced, like fast, fast world, fast-paced. The pace is fast, the speed is fast.

R: You have to do everything now. It's all very important.

M: People are owned by their things. What did you mean? Like what? My smartphone owns me?

R: Yeah, pretty much. I mean, like people are more invested in their devices and looking after them. So it's almost like it controls them and their behaviour rather than the other way around. But that's not just for phones, that's for everything. If you get... Like think about, if... What most people in the West do is they spend lots of money to buy a house, but they need to get a mortgage to pay for the house. So they spend the rest of their lives paying that off. So their actual lives are determined by the things they own rather than the things they own being determined by what they want in life.

M: Right. So their things own them.

R: Yeah.

M: So people are owned by their things. Did you get it, dear listener? So it's like not to you own your smartphone, but your smartphone owns you. And it's a vicious circle. That's a great idiomatic expression. It's a vicious circle. It's kind of an ongoing circle, right? You just like... Just like this.

R: You just keep going.

M: Just like that. This is the sound for this vicious circle.

R: It ends when you understand that you don't need to own lots and lots of things in order to have a good life. But that is not my problem. That's other people's problems.

M: We do need shoes though. Lots of shoes. And dresses.

R: You do not need shoes.

M: I need shoes. for different dresses that I have.

R: Okay... I feel like this is my, my anti-consumerist rhetoric is not going to go so well.

M: But you see, if I buy a new dress, I need new shoes for a new dress.

R: Okay, so this is the example of people being owned by their things.

M: And then I need a new bag to match the shoes. And then new nail polish and new hair.

R: You do not need these things.

M: Wha... I do...

R: No.

M: Activities for young people. Well, surely they've changed. Because what has happened? Here, present perfect, dear listener. We've invented new sports. We have discovered, we have created. So make sure you are using the present perfect. What have we done? Or new sports have appeared, for example. People can go abroad, you know? Yeah, people can go abroad now. Yeah, wow.

R: They can.

M: It's a quote. People can go abroad. What a smart answer... People can use Google. People can use the internet.

R: Look at the beginning of the answer "in absolute terms". So what that means is if we're talking about just the numbers, the number of things that you could possibly do has increased. It's just looking at the numbers. However, in relative terms, so this is like by comparison, like they can do more things, but have they fully engaged with an experience? These things. As much as they would have when they had fewer options? Probably not.

M: Yeah. So people can participate in local cultural events. Participate - take part in. Young people are filled with so much nonsense. Yeah, like social media, all this, you know, TikTok and stuff. Posting stuff on the social media again. So young people are filled with so much nonsense. And then, what sports do young people like to do? And then our strategy, it depends on the location culture. It depends on the person. It depends on.

R: It does depend on.

M: Yeah, it does, it does depend on. What's another one? It's contingent, yeah>

R: It is contingent. Ooh, contingent.

M: Contingent. On something, right?

R: Yes.

M: Yeah. And young people enjoy what? Contact sports like football, rugby. Yeah, everybody enjoys rugby, surely. All over the world.

R: Well, everybody will be enjoying rugby in Scotland, because we beat England a couple of weeks ago. It was good.

M: So old people seem to play a lot of card games, like sedate activities.

R: I think they do. I was invited to play bridge the other day, and I just thought, oh, I really don't want to. I'm thinking like maybe another time will be my time to sit around with older people and play cards, but it wasn't that day today, or that day then.

M: Yeah, maybe like sedentary activities. Sedate activities. Like more passive. While or whereas. Like but young people prefer something more vigorous. Vigorous like more active, more energetic. And then, when you spoke about your country...

R: I went with the tried and tested method of I have no idea. Though, if I were to guess, I'd say, and then what I thought they might do.

M: Rory is from Scotland, and that's why he talked about hill walking, hiking, because Scotland has these beautiful hills and mountains and scenery. This countryside which is like gorgeous. So people go hiking, and hillwalking. A very typical question is about the difference between the past and now. And you can start with, in the past, youngsters or young people did blah, blah, blah. Meanwhile, today, young people do blah, blah, blah. So in the past, Rory told us that people spent more free time outdoors, playing sports, riding bikes. Playing with their friends. But today, people tend to spend their free time indoors on digital devices. That's why perhaps like digital sports is popular, yeah? People playing digital games. This is a sport. Like virtual sports, yeah?

R: Oh, yeah.

M: And the balance has shifted towards more sedentary and digital activities. The balance has changed towards or has shifted. Sedentary like passive. We do this sitting down. Sedentary activities. You can also say that people lead a sedentary lifestyle, like passive lifestyle. There are only 24 hours in a day. I wish we could have 30 hours. Why is that?

R: Why?

M: People have too much to do, you said. I have too much to do these days. We might have a lot of responsibilities. Again, like a modal verb. We might have a lot of responsibilities or personal goals. And we are bombarded. With what? We are bombarded? We're just like attacked.

R: Well, they're just constant, getting them all the time. And it's not... It might not be something that you enjoy every time. It's just happening to your brain constantly. So you have to deal with it. But with the notifications, emails, messages, it makes it difficult to focus.

M: Yeah.

R: Of course, all of this is just a feeling. Like if you choose not to feel that way, then you don't have that problem.

M: People have a tendency to overestimate how much they can accomplish. So if I overestimate, I think I can do it within one hour, but actually, it takes me three hours. So how much I can accomplish? How much I can achieve. How much I can do. And we underestimate the time required.

R: But that just means that you think that you have more time than you have.

M: And our favourite phrase. So like I've said before, like I said, the pace of life, the speed of life has changed. So, the pace of life has accelerated. Present perfect. Accelerated means has become faster, right? And people need to attend to lots of responsibility and lots of tasks. So people need to attend to tasks, they need to do tasks.

R: Yeah.

M: Like attend school, you go to school, attend to tasks, you do these tasks. Careful with the article, modern society is used without the article. Okay? So not the modern society. No, no, no, no, no. You say modern society promotes the idea that one should always be productive and busy.

R: But you don't have to be. You can choose not to be owned by what you own.

M: And I really enjoy how you wrap it up, like you can choose not to be owned, Yeah? By what you own. It's a nice thing to say. So dear listener, it's a quote, write it down and just use it. Right? About any topic. You can always choose not to be owned by what you own. And you look into the examiner's eyes and he goes like huh? Yeah, write it down.

R: I feel like that's something that you only learn after wasting some part of your life on chasing after things, though.

M: Oh, tell me about it. And take a more relaxed approach to life.

R: Chill out. Do not be owned by your things, man.

M: Let it go. Let go things, just chill. Easier said than done, huh?

R: For sure. There's not really an easy way out, is there?

M: Thank you very much for listening, dear listener!

R: But this is the way out of our episode.

M: We'll get back to you in our next episode!

R: Bye!

M: Bye!

-

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff:

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi

Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi