R: What else can people not like at university? Exams. Disruptive students.
M: Well, teachers.
R: Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of how my teachers run the classes. How my timetable is organized. Yeah, there are lots of things you can dislike about university, I wouldn't know, I had a fabulous time at university.
M: And many people don't make an effort. So they don't study hard. They don't do much. And this can hold you back in group projects. So very often we have group projects at university. Also like at school. And if one person in your group isn't making an effort, this can hold you back in group projects. Which means that you are not making good progress. What else can hold you back?
R: It's often about other students. Although, you could talk about how badly organized University is as well. Things are so badly organized, it's difficult to know what's expected. And that holds you back. Maybe if you don't live on campus, and you have to travel to the university, you can be tired, which would hold you back. So it would stop you from developing as much as you want to.
M: Here, you can say that I'd like to get through this degree first. So kind of what about the future? Well, I don't know.
R: What about the future, indeed?
M: Yeah. So kind of first, I'd like to get through this degree. So get through? Like complete. Yeah? But that's a phrasal verb, which is nice. I'd like to get through this degree first.
R: Oh, I used frankly, again. I really like that word.
M: Yeah, frankly, like to be honest with you. That's a nice one. Very natural. And if you are thinking of doing something else, you can say I've given some thought to doing something.
R: Yes.
M: I've given some thought to doing another degree in chemistry, I've given some thought to doing an MBA, or I've given some thought to, like applying for a PhD program. Okay? Or some course, abroad.
R: But it would be a good idea to finish this course first.
M: Yeah. And also, this is nice, like, that's in the far future. I will do this in the far future. So sometime in the future. Now, I'm focused on this degree, I'm focused on my exams, I'm focused on doing my research, for example. If you're not sure what you're going to do in the future, you can say, now, I've not given it much serious consideration. So kind of, I don't know what I'm going to do. Actually, I haven't given it much serious thought yet. So I haven't given it much serious thought yet.
R: Or serious consideration. Ooh, it's a collocation.
M: So lots of Present Perfect, dear listener. Okay? So I've given it some thought, I haven't given it much thought yet. I'd like to in the future. And also we can use the second conditional. Oh, if I could, I... Rory, could you give us an example with the second conditional, like, what would you like to study in the future? Maybe if I had more money...
R: Yeah. Well, what would it be? If I had more money, I would be doing a PhD in English language teaching, if such a thing exists.
M: If I had more money, I'd study in Italy. Okay?
R: Oh, that would be nice.
M: Hey, dear listener, thank you very much for listening! Take your notes, do you work or are you a student? Listen to our episode about work. Okay? Write down your answers. Write down the vocabulary that you're gonna use about study. So about work.
R: Bye!
M: Bye!