PART 3

19

16. INFLUENCE

What social values should parents teach their children?

I think first and foremost, children should be taught to be a brave person, to have a lot of courage, to stand up for themselves first of all and also stand up for other people.

Also children should be taught to be appreciative in life and not to take things for granted. And finally, which is I think the most important, is children should have compassion and also empathy for other people because not everybody has the same opportunities as they do.

Do you think mass media have a great impact on the youth of today?

I think mass media has a huge impact on the youth of today. We are living in a digital world where we are constantly surrounded by information and young people are those who use the internet the most. And what they see or hear on the internet might affect how they feel or think.

How to develop good habits in the youth of today?

I think parents play a huge role in setting good examples for children for the young people. Studies have shown that if parents have good habits, then their children will likely imitate those good habits. Their habits could be reading books, doing exercises, or waking up early in the morning. And also I think schools can help children to develop good habits as well. Children can learn from their teachers and also from their peers.

20

17. CREATIVITY

What creative activities did you like to do when you were young?

When I was young I like drawing, especially drawing landscape, or nature and animals. I was particularly interested in art classes because that was when I was most relaxed after stressful lessons in school.

What's the best way to cultivate children's creativity?

I reckon the best way to cultivate children's creativity is to integrate a lot of art lessons into school curriculum. Children should be able to learn a lot of music and drawing and art at school. And also I believe the learning environment should be open and it should encourage children to think outside the box and to express their ideas freely.

Do you think creativity can be learned?

While I believe that some people are innately creative, they are destined to become great composers, artists, or singers, I think creativity can be learnt and it can be taught through a lot of lessons like art classes at school. And also children should be encouraged to think outside the box.

18. COMPANY

What do you think are the differences between big companies and small companies?

There might be a few differences between a big company and a small company. But I think the most noticeable one is the number of employees working for each type of companies. In big company, there are hundreds if not thousands of people where as the number is only about 10 or 20 people in a small scaled company. And this leads to another difference which is the relationship that you develop with your colleagues. When you work for a big company, you can not know everybody but if you work for a small-scale company, you can develop an intimate and close relationship with the people that you work with.

What do you think are the good things about working in a big company?

For a big company, usually, it has operated for a long period of time so all of the procedures are standardized and professional. And you know exactly what your tasks are and also your responsibilities. However, if you work for a small company, you usually have to multi-task and take on responsibilities that sometimes are not yours.

How do you think a small company can become a big company?

Small companies can focus on providing high-quality services and products. And also they need to focus on improving their professionalism. By doing that, they can become bigger and call for more investments from different investors within and outside of the country. I think it's just a matter of time before they can develop if they do all of that.

22

19. WEDDING

What are some popular wedding gifts in Vietnam?

I think there are a couple of gifts when you go to a wedding. But I think the most popular one is a little envelope with money inside. It seems to me that it has become a traditional wedding gift that many Vietnamese people use. And the reason for that is because nowadays people are very busy and they don't have time to select or choose a perfect wedding gift. So it seems to be the quickest gift people can think of.

What do you think is the difference between a fancy wedding and an ordinary one?

A fancy wedding usually takes up a lot of time to prepare. Sometimes it may take up to a few weeks to a few months to prepare and there're going to be a lot of people coming over to that wedding. And the foods are sumptuous and very expensive-

looking. And it's also... I'm sure it costs the wedding planners a lot of money and also efforts for it to take place.

And how do you think of a perfect age for marriage?

This is kind of a hard one for me but I always think the perfect age for marriage is when you're mentally, physically and also financially ready to live with another person. And this is really an individual thing. It varies between people. Some people might think that 22 years old is a perfect age to get married. It's time when they just graduate from university and they want to settle down. But for others, they might want to get married in their early 30s because that's when they think that they have enough responsibility or financial resources in order to take good care of their family and also their kids and themselves.

20. ADVERTISEMENT

How does advertisement catch the interest of viewers?

I think advertising videos could catch the attention of most viewers. And the videos need to be exciting and full of energy and has to be featured with great music and vibrant colors to catch the attention of viewers. Also it can have the appearance of celebrities to maximize the effect.

Do big companies prefer to advertise con TV or in other ways.

I could see that TV is the most popular media that could reach the attention of a variety of viewers. And big companies do like to use this way to advertise their services or their products. However, nowadays, a lot of young people are using the internet. They are on Facebook a lot. Big companies might take advantage of this to advertise their products on Facebook or on the internet if their products are geared towards young people.

What do you think are good and bad points of advertisement?

The good thing about advertising is it helps big companies to advertise their products to make a lot of people know of the products or services that the companies are providing. And also, viewers or audiences who would like to use the products know about the products that they can take hold of. However, there is one bad thing about advertisements is that sometimes, they can be a little bit exaggerating and they are not telling the truth or delivering the real results that the products promise. And I think it's when advertisement can fall short

21. SPORTS

What sports are popular in your country?

Football would have to be the most well-known sports in Vietnam. And in the country we have some of the most passionate football fans. One good friend of mine is a die- hard fan of football. I knew that he usually stayed up 'til wee hours', especially during the World Cup. And he even spent all of his saving on his plane ticket to Brazil to watch the World Cup 2014.

Do you like to do a rather dangerous sporting activity?

I kind of like the idea of trying out a dangerous activity, such as bungee jumping.

I first heard of it on television, in a TV and I thought it was really exciting. But then I just brushed it off because I learnt that there are lots of risks, health risks and life- threatening risks even related to those dangerous activities such as eye injuries, back injuries and I think that the thrill is not worth it.

Why do you think some people like to do these dangerous sporting activities?

I think they are very adventurous in nature. They want to try something exciting and risky. And also they want to be pushed to the limits and also get a rush of adrenaline when doing so.

25

FULL MOCK TEST

26

Mike: Good afternoon, my name is Michael James. Can you tell me your full name, please?

Quan: My full name is Trần Minh Quân. Awesome! Can I see your ID, please? Yes, sure. Here you go.

Alright! Thank you very much!

Thanks!

PART 1

So, in the first part, I am going to ask you a few questions about yourself. Let's begin with BOOKS. Do you like to read often?

I don't think that I read as much as I should. I usually read a lot more when I was in university. But now I am working and I'm busy with work. I don't have much time to read anymore.

Do you have many books at home?

I have a stack of maybe 10-12 books. Most of them are fiction books. Some of them are history books. I do enjoy reading non-fiction books as well.

Do you think Vietnamese people read enough or often?

I don't think that Vietnamese people have a good reading habit. Many people that I know don't read one book in a year. I think it's horrible. I think Vietnamese people should read more.

Do you think Vietnamese people like to read?

Some of them might like to read but they are distracted by many other things. They have the computer, the internet. It's easy to just watch something instead of reading a book or a piece of newspaper.

Awesome! So now let's move on to walking. Do you like to walk?

I like to walk. Most of the time I walk to the supermarket or I walk to the playground to pick up my nephews after school.

Do you like to walk alone or with others?

Sometimes when I need to have some alone time or some me time. I like to walk alone to reflect on some things, maybe things at work or things that are happening in my life. But also, there are times that I like to walk with my friends. We can have a good chat while we're walking.

Do you think that your city is a good place for walking?

Generally, it's too polluted. You know, if you walk on the streets, you may breathe in a lot of toxins and it's definitely not good for your health. But there are some sites round the city such as the Sword Lake. I think it's a good place to walk because of the fresh air and also, since people tend to do exercise there, you can have some space to walk on the pavements.

Ok, thank you and now let's move on to gifts. How often do you buy others gifts?

To be honest, I can't remember the last time I bought somebody gifts. I usually did that a lot more when I was a kid. I remember when I was really little, I usually bought gifts for my friends on their birthdays.

Do you like to send expensive gifts?

No, I don't think so. Expensive gifts are a little....It's hard to give somebody expensive gifts. They might feel a little uncomfortable because they think you might want to get something. I don't feel comfortable buying someone expensive gifts, but...except for my mom, I like to buy something nice an expensive for her, every once in a while.

That is really nice, and... what kind of gifts do you think are popular in your country?

28

PART 2

Now that we're finished with part 1. Let's move on to part 2. I am going to give you a topic and you will have one minute to prepare. You may make notes if you wish. You have one to two minutes to talk about your topic. And your question is: Describe a program or an application in your computer or phone. Here is your paper and pencil. And you may begin now.

Your preparation time is up. You may now begin to talk about your topic.

So there is this one app that I use quite often and it's called FOODY. Foody is actually a very cool app, it helps you to find all the eating venues sprinkled across the town or city in Vietnam. This app provides you with trustworthy sources of information on what to eat and what to drink and also some of the good places to visit if you are new to a city or town. I accidentally found out about this app before I embarked on my work trip back in 2013. After that I went on reading more about this app and I thought it was really neat, so I decided to download it to my phone. I think this app is very user-friendly. All you have to do is just tap on the icon on your phone, type in the location and then it will give you a lot of choices or options for you to choose from.

As a person who lives out of a suitcase, I travel a lot for work, I find this app absolutely useful. For me, trying to find something or somewhere to eat is no longer a struggle since I have this app.

29

PART 3

So for part 3, I'd like to continue the topic of apps and I'd like to ask you a few general questions about them. Question 1, what kind of apps do you have on your phone?

Most of the apps that I have on my phone are utility apps. And the one that I like the most is the google map. I use it a lot because I am not good at remembering roads or memorizing routes in the city. So I get lost very often and it's a lifesaver.

What do you think the drawbacks are of having too many apps on your phone? Having too many apps on your phone can be very distracting, especially when all the apps on your phone are entertaining. It can take up a big chunk of your time. You would end up wasting your time without getting anything done. One of the apps that is very time-consuming is Facebook. A lot of people are on Facebook all the time and I don't think it's a good thing to do or it's a useful app on your phone.

And how much time do you spend on these apps?

I have to be honest, I've spent quite a lot of time on these apps and I think I should cut down on the time that I spent on doing stupid things with these apps. I spend hours on end without realizing that time is passing by really fast and I think these apps need to be deleted off of my phone some day.

Alright! Perfect! Thank you for your time, Quan.

– The End –