SESSION 1

MAKING FRIENDS
Do you like making friends?
 Who doesn’t like making new friends? When you meet new people,
there is always a chance that you would befriend with someone
smart. And that’s how we, as human in society, learn something
new everyday and broaden our horizon.
How often do you meet new people?
 Working as a tour guide, meeting new people everyday is like bread
and butter. I reckon this is one of many perks of this job. Also,
thanks to that, I get to talk to people from many countries around
the world and that’s how I improve my speaking skills.
Who is your latest new friend?
 Probably [X], I met her when we were in uni, back then I was not as
outgoing as of now, but thanks to her welcoming convos and
charisma, I got along well with her in no time.
When you meet someone for the first time, do you know if you like them?
 Call me reserved if you like, but I am sure of my feelings when it
comes to first impression. I remember correctly 2 months ago, I met
a new colleagues at a welcoming party, but she was quite
demanding towards the waiter just because the water wasn’t cold
enough for her. Only a month after that, she was fired for unethical
conduct.
TEACHERS
Do you have a favourite teacher?
 A big yes, Ms [X] is my favourite biology/english/math…. teacher.
She is not only devoted herself to her job, but she is also a good
friend. Her ways of delivering knowledge is unlike any other, it’s
super engaging even though I hate learning biology/math/….
How has they helped you?
 Oh she helped me a lot. High school wasn’t easy for me and for her,
we got lotta problems to deal with, from studying to preparing for
exams. But she still make time to chit chat with me about my silly
stories. As a matter of fact, she means the world to me.
Do you want to be a teacher in the future?
 That’s a no from me, it’s quite embarrassing to say but I’m hot-
tempered, even simple things can drive me crazy if they messed up
 my plan, like if someone made me wait for more than 5 minutes, I’d
be pissed. And patience is one of many important core
characteristics of teachers, so unfortunately, no.
 Umm hmm, I guess so. As of now, I’ve been practicing speaking day
and night just to get a band 8 in IELTS Speaking. I believe we all
know that how great the potential of this industry is, I can easily get
a promotion if I achieved my desired band score. And in the future, I
wanna share all of my knowlegde to my students.
Who was your favourite teacher in elementary school?
 If my memory serves me right, then it would be Ms [X]. She guided
me through my ups and downs with great care. Actually, she was
the very first one who inspired me to be myself. Back then, although
there were times that I misbehaved and didn’t wanna go to school,
she still gently convinced me to go. You can say that she means the
world to me.
Describe an energetic person that you know
You should say:
Who this person is
How you knew this person
Why do you think this person is energetic
And explain how you feel about this person
 So I’m gonna proudly talk about Ms [X], who happened to be my
English teacher in elementary school. Even though she was just a
teacher, not someone too special, I was captivated by her spirits,
and I still continued to study with her for more than ten years. After
all those years of dedication, she has finally accumulated enough
money to open her own business – an English centre. To my
surprise, she didn’t gave up being a teacher to be the CEO, but she
still pursuits her job, that said she has to work two 9-to-5 jobs,
manage her own company and teach English in the evening.
For your information, extra classes are a thing in VN, parents wanna
improve their kids’ academic performance, let’s say they have high
expectation for their kids. Anyway, I first thought her life would be
very dull, having to work like a dog like that, because it is such a
sedentary lifestyle, I suppose. But she proves that maintaining work-
life balance is a piece of cake. Early in the morning, around 5, she
would go for a quick jog before heading back home to prepare
breakfast for her family of four. Then, she would begin her work at 8.
If you asked me whether I can live a life like that, excuse my
language but I rather die than living like her, it’s just too much for
 me, not to mention that I don’t like exercising at all, much less
working like that.
Still, she is my biggest inspiration, for her spririts, for her devotion,
for her energy, and last but not least, for her success.
Do you think there was more physical labour in the past than there is
now?
 Without a doubt, yes. Back then, the economic progress in my
country was really slow, along with the underdevelopment of the
educational system, the workforce lacked skilled workers, so many
people mostly relied on agricultural production to make a living. But
thanks to the proliferation of technology, knowledge is passed down
on much easier, and it is widely accessible for many people, even
those living in remote areas. Fortunately, people are well-educated
and have a chance to contribute significant value to modern society.
So again, there is an increase in mental workers.
Do you think you are an energetic person?
 Not gonna lie, I don’t think I am one. Life is quite stressful, I have a
family to take care of while working a full-time job. And I hardly find
time for excersising. But if you’re talking about energetic-full of
energic and not energetic-athletic, then I am the first one, being a
mom isn’t easy, but I am not complaining, I got a happy life, that’s
all.
Do you think machines could replace human workers in the future?
 Apparently, given that AI and robots are already used for labour-
intensive jobs in this day and age, they will definitely be more
advanced in the future, especially technological advancements are
rapid. So again, yes, they could be the main labour for physical jobs.
You can see that China has already taken advantage of robots in
restaurants, they are robots waiting table there.
Can physical workers receive higher salaries in the future?
 Again, no. Their jobs are really simple, they don’t require any
specific qualifications or certificates, they just need hard-working
employees who are physically strong enough. Sadly, robots are
becoming more and more advanced and effective, meaning that in
the future, employers would use robots rather than manual workers,
which decreases the salary levels.
What’s the difference between the payment for physical work and that for
mental work?
 The only difference I can think of is that, that for the white collar
workers would be much higher than that for the blue collar ones
 So for the first one, they have to study a lot to equip themselves
with knowledge and expertise, not to mention that they have to
acquire additional certificates for particular jobs, and their
contributions can be significant too, I’m talking business scale, or
even national scale, so that’s why they are worthy of handsome
salaries. Unlike the blue collar ones, just like I said earlier, they
would be replaced by robots sooner or later.
What kinds of jobs need a lot of physical work?
 Generally speaking, jobs that require physically and mentally strong
employees because they have to work under extreme conditions for
a long time are all physical work. Again, they are simple, regarding
no intellectual qualifications are needed. Take construction workers
as an example, they only need to prove their strength in order to be
employed, that’s it. And everyday, they will have to work under the
relentless heat or the continuous rain, no matter how harsh it is, it is
their job to finish work on time, otherwise, they will work night
shifts. So in short, jobs that are physically demanding are all
physical work to me.