SPEAKING ENGLISH 8 (1)

I. Tell something about yourself: 1.0 pt (0.2/ idea)

- Name: My name is/ I am…
- Age: I’m … years old.
- Job/ class/ school: I’m a student of class…from Le Quy Don secondary school
– a small but beautiful school bearing a famous scholar LQD of Vietnam.
- There are 16 classrooms, over five hundred students and about fifty teachers
in my school. The teachers are kind and qualified…. The students are hard working
….too. At recess, we often talk with our friends and sometimes play catch or blind
man’s bluff.
- There are …people in my family: my father, my mother, my brother/ sister
and me. We like watching TV together in the evening.

II. Topics given

1. Talking about your free time/ leisure time.
- What do you often do in your free time?
- How much leisure time do you have a day?
- What is your favorite leisure activity? Why?
- Talk about your favorite leisure activity.
Guidelines:
- In my free time, I often play table tennis/ watch films/ read books,…
- I usually have two - three free hours per day.
- Playing table tennis is one of my leisure activities. Because it is interesting and
useful. My body becomes stronger because playing it is good for my health. It also
helps me relax after a hard day.
- Talk about your favorite leisure activity. You have to answer these following
question:
+ Describe the leisure activity.
+ Say who do you do this activity with.
+ Share your feeling about the activity.
Example: Reading book is one of my leisure activities. It is both interesting and
useful. I can get knowledge of all areas that I need and relax after school. Whenever I
have free time, I read books. I like many kinds of book such as novels, comic stories
and science books. I really fancy reading science books which my father gave me on
my 12th birthday. It helps me know more about the world where I live. In short,
reading books not only helps me become smarter but also brings me happiness.
2. Talking about the life in the countryside/ in the city
- Where do you live?
- Do you like living in the countryside or living in the city? Why?
- What is the advantages/ disadvantages of living in the countryside?
- How is the countryside changing nowadays?
Guidelines:
- I live in the Bat Trang village/ suburb,…
- I like living in the countryside. I often visit my grandmother. It is interesting to live
there because there are so much space. We can run around the vast field and shout out
loud without disturbing anybody. We can swim in the river, go fishing or collect
vegetables in the afternoon or in the summer.
- The first thing I like about the countryside is the relaxed pace of life. I often go there
for some peace and quietness. I sleep well when I stay in the countryside. Another
thing is the beautiful landscapes as well as peaceful hills and forests. I love admiring
them. This makes me feel less stressed. I often take a lot of pictures of rural
landscapes. However, you don’t have easy access to shops. When you want to buy
something, it takes a lot of time because shops are far away. Besides, there’s almost
nothing to do at night. No nightclubs, no bars and no amusement parks.
- In my opinion, life in the countryside has many advantages. Firstly, village people
are more friendly than city folks. Village people build their personal relationship with
all people and often take care of each other. Secondly, village people live much nearer
to the nature and breathe in the fresh air, as well as eat fresh foods, vegetables, fruits
collected directly from the garden. Finally, there are lots of traditional activities that
they can do in the countryside such as fishing, swimming in the river or kite-flying.
For these reasons, I prefer living in the countryside.

- My hometown has changed a lot. Firstly, the local people have different appearance
with fashionable clothes. Secondly, many of them now have cell phones and
motorbikes or even cars. They are living in modern brick houses. Besides, the Internet
is very popular among the residents and they use it for learning, making new friends
and playing games. They feel really pleased and satisfied about these changes.
- Living in the country has many benefits; however, it has both the advantages and the
disadvantages.
Now we will talk about the advantages. Firstly, you have a healthy life. There are no
dust, no smoke and no traffic jam. The air is fresh. The food is clean because people
collect them from the garden. Secondly, living the countryside is peaceful. It is very
quiet to relax after working or there are many beautiful wide fields and natural
scenery. Finally, there are no separations in the countryside. Neighbors are really best
friends. They will help you pleasantly if you have trouble. Each problem has its
solution and your neighbors will share it for you.
According to disadvantages, it has poor quality, facilities and employment .One of the
drawbacks of living in the country is poor quality of education in schools there.
Country schools usually do not have good facilities like for example gyms or
computer rooms. Another bad side of country life is lack of entertainment. There are
no things to do at night: no cinemas, no bar and no amusement park. Last but not
least, the problem with finding a job is important. There are no companies or factories
so the rural people don't have a good job.

3. Talking about cultural group in Viet Nam

Example 1: Our country has 54 ethnic groups. The Thai is one of ethnic groups in the
provinces of Lai Chau, Son La, Yen Bai, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An. Their language
belongs to The Tay-Thai group. The Thai are good at farming. They grow different
crops. The main food is rice, especially sticky rice. Thai cloth is well-known for being
unique, colourful and strong. Thai men like to wear The Kinh’s style of dress, but
Thai women keep their tradition customs. They live in stilts houses. The Thai worship
their ancestors. They hold festivals and ceremonies every year.

Example 2: The Kinh, also called The Viet people, is the majority ethnic group of
Vietnam, comprising about 86% of the population. The Kinh people settle along the
whole Vietnam. Vietnamese is the native language of the Kinh people, as well as the
first or second language for many ethnic minorities of Vietnam. Rice cultivation is the
main economic activity of the Kinh. They also raise cattle and poultry. They often
celebrate a lot of festivals during the year. They have the traditional costumes such as
Ao Dai and Ao Ba Ba.

4. Talking your country traditions and customs

- What is your family traditions?
- What is the tradition of your country?
Guidelines:
- In my opinion, customs and tradition are very important. Like other family, we have
our own traditions and customs. There is a tradition in our family of having lunch
together on the first day on Tet. We have followed this for three generations. We have
the custom of visiting our grandparents at the weekend.
- In my country, during Tet holiday, we shouldn’t sweep the floor on the first day of
Tet. We have to respect old people and children should take things from adults with
both hands and greet guests when they come to our house.

5. Talking about traditional festival in Viet Nam

- What it is.
- When/Where is it held?
- What activities there are.
- What you need/what you need.
Example 1: Whale Festival is usually held at Quang Nam coastal locations such as
Tam Thanh, Binh Minh, Tam Hai. For the occasion, the Whale Temple, the houses
and the boats are all beautifully decorated. The festival lasts for two days at the full
moon of the first lunar month. This is a festival to worship the whale and pray for the
good fortune of the fishermen in Quang Nam. The festival includes activities like the
twirling the basket, boat races, swings, and football competitions, plus special dancing
and singing performances including ‘tuong’, ‘ho khoan’ singing and ‘ba trao’ singing.

Example 2: I like the Hung King Temple festivals a lot. It is held in Phu Tho
province from the 8th to 11th of the third lunar month every year. It commemorates and
worships the Hung Kings who are the founders and also the first emperors of the
nation. It’s impressive because there is a procession from the foot of Nghia Linh
mountain to the High Temple on the top of the mountain. While you are there, you
can attend a ceremony of offering incense and specialities to the Hung Kings.
Moreover, there are also some great activities such as bamboo swings, lion dances,
wrestling and Xoan singing performances. I like this festival because it makes me
love our ancestors. I also like it because there are a lot of great activities.

Example 3: Tet is one of the most important festival in Viet Nam. It’s held every year
at the end of January or early February. Some weeks before Tet, Vietnamese clean
their houses and paint their wall. They buy peach blossoms. Kumquat, flowers to
decorate their houses. New clothes are bought on the occasion. One or two days
before Tet, people make Chung cake - the traditional food, sticky rice, spring rolls and
other special food. On the New Year, every family cook a special meals and prepare
five fruit tray to worship their ancestors to pray for a better year. On the first day of
New Year, people go out. Children receive lucky money wrapped in red envelop.
Someone go to the pagoda. Some other visit their relatives and family. I love TET so
much because it is time for all members of my family gather to chat or have meals
together.