AUDIO SCRIPTS
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change in a student’s approach and attitude.
When I see students who cross a barrier
from just doing movements to feeling or
living their karate, then I feel great – we’ve
made a change somewhere, and I can think
of a number of incidences where I’ve had,
say, children who are floppy and not really
with it, and after a certain level something
snaps – all of a sudden they are down in
their stances, they’re breathing, they’re
concentrating, they’re looking, things are
working, and for me that’s a case of … well,
between us, them and me, we’ve made a
change.
LESSON 3.2 RECORDING 3.2
I = Interviewer, KC = Kevin Coles
I:
Is it a hobby or is it more of a way of life?
KC:
Yeah, this is a classic question, really. I
mean, for most people who do it these days
it’s undoubtedly a hobby. Mmm, for some,
lessons learnt in karate can be part of their
life, it can become part of their life if they
do it for longer and longer.
I:
Why do people start karate?
KC:
The majority of the new starters these days
are children and either they are attracted
themselves by the glamour and excitement
of karate, the martial arts, they’ve seen it on
TV, they’ve enacted it on their Playstation
games, they see the noise, the excitement,
they see the fast-flowing kicks and so on.
Or it may be because their mum or dad
has encouraged them to attend. And there
could be the twin attractions there of karate
instilling discipline and control in their
children. As is increasingly the case these
days, maybe things don’t work at home,
parents are out at work more often. Maybe
the school doesn’t instil discipline. Very
often these days teachers are restricted in
terms of what they can say and do and
parents bring their children and say ‘sort
them out’. And the kid can also, from a
parent’s perspective, their child can also
learn stuff which enables them to look after
themselves, and that’s an admirable aim
in itself because everyone’s fearful of their
child being out of their sight.
LESSON 3.3 RECORDING 3.3
1
I studied sports psychology as part of my
course at university.
2
We can meet outside the university at six
o’clock.
3
Did you see the game where the captain
broke his ankle?
4
Tennis players tend to suffer a lot of wrist
injuries.
5
We saw all the tennis players who had
arrived early at the courts.
LESSON 3.4 RECORDING 3.4
Yuna Kim is a South Korean figure skater. She
was born in Gumpo, South Korea in 1990.
She’s a truly remarkable sportswoman and
some people say she’s the greatest modern
sportswoman. Let me tell you about her.
When she was still very young, her coaches
noticed she had the perfect body for skating.
However, she had to overcome difficulties to
develop her talent. There’s no doubt she’s a
very determined person because at that time,
there were not many public ice rinks in South
Korea, so she had to practise very early in the
morning or late at night. The rinks were so cold
that she risked injuries. In spite of this, at the
age of 12, she won the senior figure skating
title in the South Korean championships. An
outstanding achievement for such a young
person. She was the youngest woman ever
to win the championship. After that, she won
many international championships. She won
her first World Championship title in 2009 and
at the 2010 Olympic Games she won a gold
medal. Yuna Kim’s skating programmes were
given the highest scores since the International
Skating Union had judged the competition.
You can watch her astonishing performance
in the competition on YouTube. Experts have
described it as ‘amazing’, ‘breath-taking’
and ‘phenomenal’. She seemed to skate
faster than the other competitors, her jumps
were higher and more artistic. She moved
more elegantly and more athletically than
the other skaters in the competition and she
appeared to hear the rhythms better than
everyone else.
After her success in the Olympics, she
worked hard to promote ice skating in South
Korea and also to ensure that her country
won the bid for the Winter Olympics in
2018. She presented television programmes
and also wrote books on her sport giving
advice to young skaters.
In 2013, she took part in the South
Korean Ladies Championship. She won
the competition and, once again, people
admired her extraordinary technical skills,
her artistry and elegance.
She is a role model not only for young
people in South Korea but also for skaters all
over the world. She is one of the highest-
paid female athletes in the world. Because
of her fame, her beauty and, above all, her
admirable personal qualities, she is asked
to endorse all kinds of products. She was a
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and often
represents South Korea at international
events. What’s also extraordinary about her
is that’s she’s so versatile. She’s a fine singer
and has recorded a number of songs written
by Korean pop stars. There seems to be no
end to Yuna Kim’s remarkable talents. She is
undoubtedly a superstar.
LESSON 3.5 RECORDING 3.5
L = Lecturer, S1 = Student 1, S2 = Student 2,
S3 = Student 3
L:
Right, thank you very much for coming and
I hope you found the session useful. Now,
if there are any questions, I’ll be here for
a few minutes if anyone wants to discuss
anything.
S1:
I have this essay to write and I’m finding it a
real struggle. Could you give me a few tips?
L:
Sure. Gosh, where do I start? OK, well, a
common mistake new students often make
is about the purpose of an essay. An essay is
basically a question which needs an answer.
Erm, I mean, it isn’t an opportunity for you to
show how much you know about a particular
subject. So, if you don’t actually answer the
question, you’ll fail the task, however good
your writing is. A lot of people forget this.
S1:
I see, that makes sense. So what’s the best way
of preparing to write an essay, do you think?
L:
Well, the first thing I would do is analyse the
title. I think it’s helpful to underline any key
words and work out what you’re actually
being asked to do. Then decide what kind
of structure the title indicates to you. For
example, is it a for-and-against essay or are
you being asked to compare and contrast, or
even offer solutions to a problem?
S1:
OK, thanks. That’s good. Then, what do you
recommend I do next?
L:
Well, then I think you should make some
notes. Start by writing the exact title at the
top of a new sheet of paper to focus your
attention, and then brainstorm your ideas.
I find it’s helpful for students to get into the
habit of starting with the topic area and just
noting down any topic vocabulary which
comes to mind.
S1:
Oh, OK. That’s a good idea. What next?
L:
Well, I suggest that you ask yourself questions
such as, what do I already know? What do I
need to find out? Get all your ideas down on
paper, however crazy they may seem. Then,
organise your notes – it’s really important that
you have a clear and logical structure in your
mind before you start writing.
S1:
Yeah, I think that’s one of my problems,
getting to that. Thank you very much.
L:
That’s OK.
S2:
I was wondering if you could give me some
advice on how I should go about actually
writing the essay?
L:
Sure ... a good approach to writing is what I
call the beginning, middle and end approach. I
think that good essays tend to follow this.
S2:
Oh, right. What does that mean?
L:
Right, I’ll explain. I think at the beginning or
in the first paragraph you should restate the
question in your own words and introduce
the topic. The next two, three or four
paragraphs are the middle or main part of
the essay where you state the arguments for
and against the proposition, or offer solutions
to the problem. The third part and final
paragraph is a conclusion where you should
refer back to the question and offer your own
opinion if that is appropriate.
S2:
That’s useful, thanks very much. Is there
anything special about academic writing that
we should think about?
L:
Mmm, let’s think. Yes, firstly, most questions
involve some kind of comparison and contrast,
if only looking at the for and against of
something, or assessing which solution to a
problem is better. Secondly, good academic
writing will have a logical argument and
guide the reader through the argument, using
examples and supporting the points you
make with examples where necessary and
appropriate. You should also put similar ideas in
a single paragraph, you know, all the reasons for
a particular thing, that sort of thing.
S2:
OK, great, thanks.
S3:
Could I ask about the language itself?
L:
Mmm, good point. Most important – academic
writing tends to be neutral in tone.
S3:
Neutral? What exactly do you mean?
L:
Well, you need to stand back and to appear
to look at the question from a distance to
be emotionally detached. A good way of
achieving this is to leave yourself out of your
writing – don’t keep writing ‘I think’, but
instead use phrases like ‘it is clear that’ and
‘it is obvious that’, ‘this shows that’, ‘it is true
that’ and so on. You can put in your own
experience, but it’s often better to make this
sound more general by introducing personal
opinions and experiences with phrases like
‘for many people’, and ‘a lot of men, women,
younger people find …’. Passive structures
are often used because they help to give that
distance and objectivity. Finally, you should
avoid abbreviations and contractions if it’s a
formal academic essay.
