Speaking Part 3: discussing ideas
Speaking Part 3: discuss abstract ideas — give opinions, compare, speculate and support your views with reasons and examples.
In this lesson you will
- Handle abstract, society-level questions
- Develop answers with reasons, examples and contrasts
- Speculate about the future and compare past and present
Learn
Part 3 lasts about 4–5 minutes and follows the Part 2 topic, but questions are more abstract — about society, not just you: Why do people…? How has… changed? What might happen in the future?
Develop answers (4–6 sentences): opinion → reason → example → contrast or consequence. Use generally, in my view, one reason is, for instance, on the other hand, as a result.
Key functions: comparing (Compared with our grandparents’ generation…), speculating (It’s likely that…, I imagine that…, might well), evaluating (The main advantage is…, The drawback is…), and hedging (It depends on…, To some extent…).
Thinking time: That’s an interesting question… I haven’t thought about it before, but I suppose… is natural. Don’t go silent.
Examples
- Q: Why do people read less than before? — A: I think the main reason is competition from screens. Videos and social media give instant entertainment, so books can feel slow by comparison. That said, audiobooks are becoming popular, so perhaps people are consuming stories differently rather than less.
- Speculating: In the future, it’s quite likely that most shopping will be done online.
- Comparing: Compared with twenty years ago, children today have far less freedom to play outside.
Vocabulary
abstract
about general ideas, not specific experiences
speculate
guess about possibilities
evaluate
judge advantages and disadvantages
generation
people born around the same time
by comparison
when compared
Practice
Part 3 questions are…
Speaking
Answer these Part 3 questions (45–60 seconds each): Why do some people prefer to live in cities? How has technology changed the way people work? Do you think people will travel more or less in the future? Should governments do more to protect historic buildings?
Lesson quiz
Part 3 lasts about…
Review
Key points
- Abstract, society-level questions.
- Opinion → reason → example → contrast.
- Compare, speculate, evaluate, hedge.
- Buy thinking time naturally.
What you learned
- ✓ I can discuss abstract topics.
- ✓ I develop answers fully.
- ✓ I speculate and compare.