Jose Lara
MA of Applied Linguistics. English Language Teacher, Course Coordinator and Learning Designer at Macquarie University. Over 20 years of teaching experience in Venezuela, KSA, Bangladesh and Australia.
Location Sydney, Australia
Activity
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Jose Lara replied to Raquel Dirk
@RaquelDirk Hi Raquel and Ashma. We have fixed the problem we had with the issuance of the certificates, so you should have received them by now. Congratulations for completing the course!
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Jose Lara replied to Eman Kadhim
Thanks for sharing these tips Eman!
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone! If you have reached this step, it is because you have completed all the input we have prepared for you, so well done! In the link above you'll find more practice questions. Don't forget to record your answers so that you can analyse them and see where you need to improve.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi all. A common word I've read in the comments is 'practice'. If you'd like to practice more, don't forget that at the end of this week, just like in weeks 1 and 2, there is a link with more practice questions for all item types.
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Hi Coker. I am not sure what your problem is. You can record your answers using this link: https://www.speakpipe.com/voice-recorder
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Hi Eman, thanks for sharing your attempt. Overall, the your answer was clear, though pay attention to the pronunciation of the words /wide/ (you dropped the /d/ sound) and discovery.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone and welcome to week 3! I see that many of you want to improve their pronunciation. I hope that the tips we have here for you help you achieve just that. Remember that your aim should be to speak intelligibly regardless of the accent you may have from your mother tongue.
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Jose Lara replied to Eman Kadhim
You're right Eman. A dependent clause cannot stand alone, that is, it will always need an independent clause so that the idea is complete. Imagine if I said this dependent clause to you: "Eman, if it rains today..." and I stop there... I'm pretty sure you'd say: "What about if it rains?"
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Hi Coker, I'm glad you're finding the course useful. What has been your favourite part of week 2?
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Jose Lara made a comment
We are glad that you're finding the information useful. Remember that at the end of each week, you'll find a padlet link to practice questions, including Re-tell Lecture items. Make sure you put into practice the things you've learnt.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone. Remember that in these 'Analysing responses' videos, we give you the chance to try one sample question. Don't forget to record yourself so that you can listen to your own response and assess your performance. If you record your answer using Speakpipe, feel free to paste the link here.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone, and welcome to week 2 of the course. I can see that some of you cannot clearly see the graph in this video. I suggest you try the following:
* watch the video from a laptop or a computer (larger image),
* adjust the HD setting in the video (next to the subtitle button) to 1080p. -
Jose Lara made a comment
We are glad that many of you have found this step useful. Now that you are more familiar with the format of the speaking section of the test, let's learn more about the item types.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone! I am really excited to welcome you all to the course. It's nice to see so many people from so many countries eager to improve their language skills. Rose and I wish you all the best in the next three weeks of the course.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone! As you could see, organising ideas during the planning time is crucial to providing a well organised and coherent answer. Make sure you make the most of that 1 minute.
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This is why the planning stage is important. Use key words (names, numbers, places) and refer to your planning sheet when giving your answer.
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Jose Lara replied to Luisa Garnica
Hi Luisa. Try using the plan structure we have suggested when you practice for this part of the test. You'll see how you can provide a better organised answer.
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Hi everyone! I can see how most of you have analysed Camilo's responses and appropriately identified the areas he improved. If you could do this with Camilo, you can also do it with your own responses! In the next steps, you'll find some practice questions for Part 2 of the test. Record your answers (using the tips we give you for this part), listen to them...
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Hi Valentina. It's good that you could identify that Camilo improved the way he organised his ideas. In the following steps, we'll show you how to do this in an effective way.
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Jose Lara replied to Lilia Enciso
Lilia, the topics for part 2 of the test are quite broad and do not require any background knowledge. In step 2.6 you'll find some practice topics.
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Jose Lara replied to Juan Camilo Fetiva Cardozo
Hi Juan Camilo. Have a look at the tips and strategies we have for Part 2 of the test. I hope you find them useful.
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Jose Lara replied to Leidy Alexandra Cruz Díaz
Leidy, you are right. Organising ideas logically is crucial to getting a good score. In the following steps, we'll show you one way to plan your ideas for part 2 of the test.
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This is really important Andres, especially if you find that you have covered all the prompts in the topic card and still haven't spoken for 2min.
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@NoviantiPurwidiastuti Hi! We're glad you're enjoying the padlet activities!
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Jose Lara replied to Anna Pavelieva
Hi Anna. I'm glad you found this information useful. I hope your students do too!
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Jose Lara replied to Jack Williamson
@JackWilliamson Hi Jack. I could not agree more with you. Planning is the first step towards a good answer for Part 2 of the test.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hello everyone and welcome to Week 2 of the Improve your IELTS Speaking Score!
I can see that many of you also find Part 2 of the test quite challenging. If you think you need to improve in this area, I invite you to complete the upcoming steps and do the padlet activities. -
Jose Lara made a comment
Hi all! Some of you are asking why there are ten different padlets inside the links. This is to give everyone a chance to record their answers. You don't need to click on all 10 padlets as they all have the same questions. Just find one that is not too full. If you see the message "THIS PADLET IS NOW FULL", move on to the next one.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone! We have made some changes to the padlet links so that everyone has a chance to practice and complete the activities above. Please read the instructions carefully to avoid problems. If you see that one of the padlets is full, move on to the next one.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone! We are glad you have enjoyed using ozdic.com. It is a great site to improve your vocabulary range!
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone! I see that some of you are posting your audio links in the comment box below. I'm super happy to see so many answers! However, I suggest you click on the padlet above. This way you can still record your answers and you will be able to reply to other participants.
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Jose Lara made a comment
As we told Ming Wei, pronunciation is only one of four criteria in your IELTS Speaking Test. Your aim should be to be understood when you speak, despite your accent. In this course you will learn several pronunciation strategies that can help you speak with better pronunciation.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone! It's great to see so many comments from so many of you! It is also good to see that you have identified which areas you think you need to improve your speaking skills. This is very important as you can then focus on these areas. We hope that the skills and strategies you are about to learn in this course are useful.
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Hi Sadia. Thanks for pointing out the typo. We've already fixed it.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone! I can see that many of you really enjoyed this step. As you can see, to speak well, you need to think about what you say and also how you say it. This is when sentence stress is so important to convey clear meaning. You can learn more about this in the 'Intonation' step in week 2.
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Jose Lara replied to Ana Caroline
Hi Ana, you are right. It is not only about what you say but also how you say it. This is why stress is so important when conveying meaning. Have a look at the intonation step in week 2 to learn more about this.
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Jose Lara replied to Ieva Musteikyte
Hi Leva. Just like Ming Wei, I suggest you record your answers, and listen to them again in a couple of days. Then record yourself again answering the same questions and trying to improve word form.
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Jose Lara replied to Adnan Hussain
Hi Adnan, I'm glad this lesson helped you. I hope you complete the other steps and improve your language skills.
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Hi Rafael. You are right. With some words, their pronunciation can be quite similar in speech, and this is completely fine, as long as comprehension is not affected. The purpose is not to pronounce every single word perfectly, but to make yourself understood.
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Jose Lara replied to Fatima Khan
I'm glad you enjoyed it Fatima. Continue with the other steps to learn more about how to improve your speaking skills.
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Nice collocations and examples Eric!
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Jose Lara replied to Eimy Vanegas
Hi Eimy and Rosa. It is a common mistake indeed. But this is a grammatical mistake and not related to vocabulary. In week 2 of the course, we cover some grammar points which you may find useful.
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Giselle, they are actually quite common. This is why we suggest you sue them in your speech. Maybe you were just not aware of them. I hope you find the following activities useful.
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Jose Lara replied to Cynthia Contreras M.
@CynthiaContrerasM. I am glad you 'discovered' collocations. As you can see, you were already using. But it is good that now you are aware of these. 'Run out of' is not really a collocation but a phrasal verb. You can learn more about these in step 1.20.
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@SONIAVASQUEZGUTIERREZ Very nice examples of collocations. Thanks for your contribution.
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Jose Lara replied to Pegah Pakzad
Pegah, these are great examples of collocations. Thanks for your contribution.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone. I can see that many of you are writing their responses in the comment box. For a better learning experience, I suggest that you record your answers using the Padlet link above. You will also see many other responses from other participants.
May I also ask you to please carefully follow the instructions when recording your answers? That is, copy... -
Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone! Given the high number of replies in the Padlet link above, we have added an extra step in the way you record your answers. This will give more participants the chance to enter their own answers. We look forward to seeing many more responses!
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@GésicaRobertaOliveira Hi Gesica. You only have to click on the link above to access the padlet activity. However, this first activity is currently overloaded with the high number of responses. We will update the link so that you can easily upload your response.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone. It's great to see how many are actively participating and wanting to upload your answers onto padlet. I see that some of you are having problems when doing this. We will look into this and come up with a solution soon. In the meantime, record your answers on your phone if you can't upload it onto padlet.
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Hi Abiola. I hope that you find this course useful and it helps you achieve the 7 you want. All the best.
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Hi Galina. Learning family groups is an effective way to expand your vocabulary. This course also covers collocations and phrasal verbs. I hope you find these useful. All the best!
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Hi Andrii. Thanks for your comments. I agree with your first two points, but I suggest you try to use some complex grammatical structures in order to aim for a high score. You can learn more about complex structures in step 2.11 in week 2. All the best!
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Hi Valentina and Ana. If you want to avoid long pauses, try using 'fillers'. You can learn more about this in step 1.8. All the best!
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Hi May. Using a range a complex sentences is key to achieving a high score. You can learn more about this in step 2.11 in week 2. All the best!
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@ValentinaRubio Hi Valentina. It is always scary to speak to a third person (i.e. the examiner), especially in a second language. I invite you to complete the padlet recording activities throughout the course and practice your fluency. All the best!
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@AndresSanchez Hi Andres, when you can't find the exact English word for something, then paraphrase it. This is one skill that the examiners are also assessing. All the best!
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Hi Dinah, we hope the strategies you'll find on this course will help you achieve your desired score. All the best.
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Hi Pedro, to go forward, click on "Mark as complete" and then on "Meet your course trainers".
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Hi Katherine, great use of that idiomatic expressions (fell from the sky). To learn more useful idioms, go to step 1.21.
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Hi Tomo and Jose, it's great to have you both here on this course. Tomo, I'd heard about SpeakPipe. It's a great tool to share audio files. I invite you to try the padlet activities we have throughout the course. You can also upload voice messages and reply to other people.
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Jose Lara made a comment
Hi everyone, and welcome to 'Improve your IELTS Speaking Score' course! It is very exciting to see so many people interested in improving their English language skills, and of course, their IELTS Speaking score. Looking forward to working with you all for the next couple of weeks and also to helping you achieve your desired score.
