IELTS Preparation Series 3, Episode 14: General Training Reading

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Hello, and welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation. I'm Margot Politis.

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There are two IELTS Tests - the Academic Test and the General Training Test.

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Today we're going to look at the Reading Module of the General Training Test.

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The main difference between the General Test and the Academic Test is that the texts you

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have to read are more practical and related to everyday life.

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The General Reading Test is divided into 3 sections:

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Section 1 has up to 3 short texts that you are likely to come across, such as entertainment

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brochures, bus timetables, accommodation lists and instructions.

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Section 2 has 2 passages that are work-related, for example job descriptions, and instructions

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for using facilities at work.

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Section 3 has one longer passage on a general topic, often a magazine article.

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Let's have a closer look at a typical short text that you would be asked about in Section

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1.

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The questions you may be asked about a page like this only need short answers.

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For example: 'On what page is the article about childhood obesity?'

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You scan the page to find a title that mentions childhood obesity or means the same and find

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the answer: 'Are children getting fatter?' - page 12.

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It helps to be familiar with the way these texts are laid out. You need to practise scanning

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these types of texts to find the information that relates to the question. Scanning means

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looking for key words.

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In the next section, Section 2, you will be asked about a work-related text that is a

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bit more complex, such as this job advertisement.

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It is important to know that information in job ads is presented in a particular way.

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Being aware of the lay out will help you locate answers more quickly.

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Because the texts in section 2 are longer, it is useful to preview them.

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Let's reduce the ad to its headings.

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We have: City of Greenfield; Position Description; Responsibilities; Key Selection Criteria

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and Qualifications.

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Under 'City of Greenfield' which is the name of the employer, we have some information

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about the employer:

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"Vibrant, modern and energetic, Greenfield is a city of choice and opportunity. The city

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is experiencing significant growth and expansion and the Council is leading the way in managing

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and delivering high quality services to its local community."

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And we have the sales pitch, which is there to persuade suitable people to apply:

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"An exciting career opportunity exists for an enthusiastic individual with good communication

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skills and a proven track record in office administration."

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'Position description' tells you exactly what the job is - the title, salary and if it is

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full time or part time.

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Under 'Responsibilities' are listed the things you would need to do or the duties you would

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have to perform.

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'Key Selection Criteria' covers the skills that the employer considers necessary for

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the job and 'Qualifications' are, of course, your experience and education.

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The final section of the ad has all the information needed by anyone who wants to apply.

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So, if you were asked in what part of the ad you would find a duty such as running and

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managing an office, where would it be?

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It would be in the Responsibilities section.

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It is very useful to be able to know exactly where to look because it saves vital time.

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Because the test deals with texts that are work-related, it is expected that you will

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be familiar with the terms used in the working world. Listen to this woman describing how

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she went about finding a job:

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I just handed my résumé around at any other shop that I could find and then

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I just got a phone call from them asking to come in for an interview and they just asked

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questions such as, what was my prior experience, what sort of qualities I could bring to the

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job.

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She uses a number of 'job' words. To find work, she said she 'handed her résumé

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around'.

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A Résumé is a summary of your work experience and education. It's a document

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that tells an employer all they need to know about you. A résumé is usually

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written out as a list with headings. A more formal term for this list is the Latin term

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curriculum vitae, which often gets shortened to CV in speech and writing.

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Now, what sort of experience was she asked about?

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And then I just got a phone call from them asking to come in for an interview and they

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just asked questions such as, what was my prior experience, what sort of qualities I

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could bring to the job.

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An interview is a formal discussion with the employer where they try to find out who is

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the best person for the job.

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She was asked about her prior experience, which means the work she's done before.

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In the next clip what word is used to mean 'job'?

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I've been working for Telstra virtually since I left school, so it's 37 years ago now. But

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in various forms I went through and did a lot of technical training and then with the

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change in the workforce and changing technology, they didn't require the physical work to be

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done any more so I eventually went to a couple of different positions and then finally finished

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up transferring to the area I'm in now.

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He talks about having a couple of different 'positions'. Position is another word for

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job. He could also have said 'role'.

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Position, job and role are words that refer to the specific thing that you do. More general

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terms are occupation, profession and trade.

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What's the profession of the man in the next clip?

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A normal day at my job's during the night, actually. I work night shift and I'm a nurse,

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an enrolled nurse at a War Veterans' Home. I now work in the hostel section of it and

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look after 70 residents.

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He's a nurse, so his profession is nursing. A profession is a job that requires formal

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learning, such as teaching. Trades are the sorts of jobs that involve a combination of

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skill and work with your hands, such as carpentry or plumbing.

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The general term for all types of job is occupation.

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There is one other general term worth knowing. Listen out for it in this clip:

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Turning professional I guess at my age of 19 is quite, is different, it's really cool

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I guess you know lots of my school friends are still at uni and you know just still working

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on building their career I guess.

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Career. Career refers to the work you do over a lifetime or to the work you do in a particular

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area. You will hear people talk about someone's sporting career or artistic career.

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To finish, let's listen to someone talking about the process of finding a job:

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I found an advertisement in the paper, went for it. Out of 30 applications they had 30

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interviews. Then they narrowed it down to five second interviews. I've had my second

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interview and now I'm actually waiting for a response. Today, one of my friends rang

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up saying they've actually rang him for a character reference.

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She talked about a second interview. That's when you go back to the employer for another

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interview. It's a good sign and means that you're one of the people they are considering.

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She also talked about a friend being rung up for a character reference. Often job ads

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will ask you to list what are called referees. These are people who can say that you can

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do the job. They are often people you have worked with before.

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Knowing how job ads are structured and being familiar with the language of the workplace

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will help you with the General Training IELTS test.

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Getting to know the sort of texts that are likely to be in the reading test will increase

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your confidence and make finding the answers in good time much easier.

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Good luck with your studies.

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See you next time.

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