How to Generate Ideas for IELTS Writing Task 2
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How to get ideas for IELTS writing task 2. Hi there, my name is Ben Worthington and in this tutorial, we've got a very special guest. She's an English lady, the teacher who is now... who is brought up in the West, in London to be specific, and is now teaching over in Hong Kong.

and we were chatting earlier because she's also a teacher and she was sharing some really interesting valuable information as to why some students have difficulties thinking of ideas and generating ideas so welcome to the show Sophie how are you doing?

Thank you, Ben. Thank you for having me. I'm very well, thank you. How are you? I'm good. I'm good, sir. I'm good. So before we jump into this, Sophie, if it's okay with you, could you just give us like a brief overview of like, you know, how you managed to get into, how you managed to find yourself in Hong Kong? Yeah, sure. So, yeah.

As you said, I was born in the UK, but I'm ethnically Chinese and Vietnamese. And I was actually teaching design and visual arts or art and design in England for about three years, specializing in GCSE and A-levels.

And then I decided that I actually wanted to teach abroad and I wanted to explore Asia because that's ethnically where I'm actually from. So in order to learn more about my Chinese and Asian background, I decided to apply for an international job in Hong Kong. And I've been in Hong Kong for about nine years now teaching arts and design in various curriculums such as GCSE, IGCSE and the IB.

and I've taught in three different international schools. Wow, excellent. Sophie's got a similar issue to me, not issue, but a similar situation to me regarding her accent. Sophie, do you think you modify your accent? Just out of curiosity. Do I modify my accent?

This is a very interesting question, Ben, because I've been in Asia for nine consecutive years almost. Right. And when I go back to the UK where I was brought up, I...

I can tell there's a distinct difference in the way I speak English in comparison to my friends and my family. So I was brought up predominantly in London and the accent that is usually referred to is a Cockney accent. You're a Cockney! Sorry, carry on. A bit of a Cockney accent.

But I've been told since being in Asia, since being in Hong Kong, it's more of an international accent or it's more of a polished spoken English compared to a Cockney accent. Right. So basically you've, how would you say this? You've abandoned your Cockney origins. I totally...

in my Courtney origins but I do realize um I remember the experience I had in my first year teaching in Hong Kong when I pronounced specific words and a lot of the students didn't know what I was saying and I think what it is especially in a city like Hong Kong students watch

things like Netflix or more Americanized TV series or films. So their accents are more Americanized and I'll say English. Unless they're specifically watching something very English.

So even speaking in a very, as English as possible or using a specific terminology, they just wouldn't understand. For instance, I know the word pants in the US is known as trousers in its equivalence in England.

So, yeah, it's been an interesting experience. Gotcha, gotcha, yeah. Well, I said this a few times on the show that I've modified my accent as well just so I could be understood. And also, I think I said this just a few weeks ago, but also I didn't feel sort of like so comfortable teaching students the Yorkshire pronunciation of certain terms because I

They're learning the accent. Sorry, they're learning the language. And when you're speaking another language, your goal is to communicate. So when I taught, I tried to basically neutralize my accent a little bit because like you, sometimes

certain words, they just stared at me blank, you know? And I had to, really, and I had to modify them. And then, only when the student got it, and they're like, oh, he's saying bass.

And I'm like, okay, it's bus, not bus, you know. Only then I'd realized that, okay, this is the way they've been taught. So I'm going to use this terminology as this accent as well. But yeah, I think it's all just part and parcel of being a teacher. I think it's just one of those things. I think...

Depending on the environment that you're in and the audience that you're communicating with, I think it's quite a natural thing to alter the way you communicate in order to have clearer, better communication. Yeah, totally. Totally agree there. And...

In Hong Kong and I think you said as well in Asia in general, you said that, well, I know as well from personal experience with students and you basically, yeah, you agreed with me, but we were talking about that it's quite common for students to come

with this problem of they're finding it difficult to get ideas and sometimes maybe their brain goes blank, the mind goes blank and they can't think of the ideas. In your opinion, why do you think this happens?

So being a teacher that tries to cultivate creativity specifically, what I realized is that there's quite a distinct difference with students born and taught in cultures in Western culture and those with an Eastern background. Just from my personal experience having taught in London,

students were able to use their own initiative they weren't frightened of trying new ideas and testing and exploring things that they could find that that don't actually work through trial and error they they basically moved on from ideas very quickly they were very resilient and um

They had a growth mindset. I would say a very positive forward way of thinking in terms of learning through making mistakes and and and and in a positive way the idea of a mistake is kind of seen as a negative thing in Asia in a sense that most students

from a very young age are taught that there is either a right or wrong answer rather than looking at the idea that there may be gray areas and different ways of seeing things. It's usually either right or wrong.

I see this a lot with subjects of like, for instance, like math, when, you know, there's formulas that you follow or there is a way you do things, a structure, and you follow that and you'll get a right answer.

So in subjects of creativity or subjects that need you to use your initiative to think out of the box that doesn't follow a formula, it usually is a bit of a challenge, especially with students from a background in Asia when they've been told from a very young age that there's a specific way of doing things. So

there's an idea of idealistic perfectionism as well when you know if you try something and it doesn't work then it's wrong while in the

In the West that's seen as a good thing because that's a process or thinking. So in terms of the distinct differences of the East and the West, I tend to find soft skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking skills and transfer skills are probably a little bit more behind in the East compared to the West. And conversely, like in the East they excel

where there is a right and wrong answer such as like the science subjects especially mathematics no yes absolutely so more academic subjects like you said maths and science when there is usually just a right or wrong answer or one answer students in Asia are all

well because being basically taught from a young age from even the age of five they've been tested before they've been accepted in the school of their choice um when i first moved to asia my first experience was to sit on an academic panel interviewing five-year-olds for um for school positions and i distinctly remember there was

I think I interviewed 300 five-year-olds, and there were only 30 positions, 30 seats in the school. And these students were interviewed not in just English, but in Chinese. They were tested in maths.

and other tests as well. So even from that age, they're taught, look, you've got to get the right answer. Don't get the wrong answer, otherwise there'll be consequences. Wow, that's incredible. Yeah. And then if we try and apply that mindset to a situation like IELTS Writing Task 2, where we've got these typical questions where there is no right or wrong answer. Yeah.

I can totally understand now why they find because at first when I got into this I was like what's the issue why is it so difficult to find answers I can get ideas I can think of ideas and you know until the cows come home this isn't the difficult part for me but time and time and time again I got emails from students my mind goes blank I can't think of ideas you know and yeah it's just all complicated

what you were saying now just puts it all in perspective and I think it would be the equivalent would be maybe a Western student getting thrown a horrifically difficult algebra problem by Western standards but it's probably by Asian standards just child's play I imagine yeah absolutely yes I mean um

Students in Asia, especially if they're in the traditional schools, i.e. they're not actually from an international school, they sit through rigorous tests. They get tested literally all the time. Their test scores is basically what gives them value in terms of how well they're doing and

So it's more of the result. And when you think of results, it's usually to do with an answer or right-wrong answer rather than the actual process of learning through trial and error. So basically, they can't afford to make any mistakes. So their mindset is

there is only a right or wrong answer. So when they're being asked, well, can you come up with something else? They automatically assume there's a right answer to something rather than, oh, there's different possibilities. There's multiple alternatives and they can possibly try something that seems quite unlikely or an unusual connection to ideas and shed in their own unique, unique way of thinking because they're

They've been uniformed to think and perform in such a specific way. Yeah, I totally agree with you there. And also, it's like, as I said before, there's multiple answers, but it's the, as you said, the process of getting to that answer. And if you can prove your process with related to IELTS, if you can prove that your argument is accurate,

is correct if you can prove it by examples by opinions and by persuasive writing then it is correct and it is kind of weird now that you think about it it's like probably I don't know three thousand five thousand there's an infinite number of right answers all you have to do is prove that it's a right answer and then coming from in an infinite range of solutions

And then approaching that from a black and white approach, you know, from a black and white base where all your life you've been shown, you've been learning it's right, wrong, it's correct, it's incorrect. And now you get thrust into this infinite opportunity, but you've just got to prove your case. It's, yeah, I can now totally see why it's ridiculously difficult, basically.

You know, the teaching experience and the learning experience is very different. So what I realized in more local schools, especially, it's very instructional. So it's very much the teacher is standing in front and the delivery information is received by the students.

So it's basically taking the knowledge from the teacher and transplanting it to students. This is quite common in countries like China as well when sometimes the class sizes are 50 or 60 students and there's only one teacher. So it's kind of a dictation way of learning. But

more international ways of thinking or even in the western way of thinking is very much of explore find out experiment and find out your own thoughts opinions and ways of doing things or learning things I think that the biggest thing I would say is like you said it's

make up your own opinions. Students in a local system or in a very traditional Chinese or Asian way of teaching, they're not given the time or space to formulate their own opinions. Yeah, totally. There's no time for that, basically. So if the teacher dishes out the information, you receive the information and you apply that information down, there is no scope for individuality there. Yeah, absolutely. And

Well, it is interesting. How can a student then start developing these ideas? I mean, one way that I put forward to students is to basically fill their head up with information. Like if their mind goes blank and they get a question about climate change and there's nothing in there to

to sort of like even start forming an opinion, I just say, look, learn about that topic, learn about the reasons, learn about the country specifics or each country, like which countries are pro-climate change, which ones are environmentally friendly and learn all about all the history. That's like one technique that I share with students. I mean, in your field or from your experience, how have you really taught students

to improve a student's creativity? How have you developed that subject?

I think sometimes it's also developing the right environment to allow students to feel safe to share their individual ideas. So if a student isn't used to coming up with their ideas, they kind of need to be cultured and nurtured into thinking it's okay to A, have different ideas and different potential ways of seeing things.

that are different, that hasn't actually been explored. And to teach them that through this exploration, that it's a different way of learning. It's not about the right and wrong. It's more about the exploring. And for them to feel safe enough to express, communicate that. And

Because they're from a mindset that's quite boxed in a sense that if the answer's in a box and it's correct, if it's out of the box, then it's not. But if you're trying to encourage them to think more out of the box, it's almost trying to answer them, well, what do you think? You can even actually reverse it.

and say what do you think the wrong answers would be and why do you think that might be so it's almost reverse learning and challenging them to think a little bit more deeply and more critical at the potential possibilities i love that i love that i think especially developing the environment and that that

Yeah, almost coincidentally, it's like one of the modules we've got on the online course where we challenge the students to develop ideas for a whole range of questions and topics. And we've got like basically one of the teachers who just replies and says, look, because some of the students are worried about this right and wrong. So this is why we've got the whole module about just developing ideas. And the whole sort of like...

objective behind that exercise is to say look any idea is probably valid as long as it's not ridiculous you know any idea is valid if you can prove and argue that it's valid you know I mean with the case to essay writing but it goes back to what you said it's creating that environment that allows for them to like

explore without consequences explore without failing the exam and just to test the water so to speak absolutely yeah yeah and just one other thing that i'd like you to to mention is um before when we were talking you mentioned the thing about tiger mums and how that oh yeah i found that fascinating could you tell us like how that impacts the the students as well

Okay, so education in Asia is a very competitive field. Like I mentioned when I first turned up to Asia, I was interviewing students in the hundreds and we're only five years old. And it was to get into, it was actually a mid-range school in terms of performance and achievement. So you could imagine how competitive it actually is to get into some of the top performing schools in Asia.

So students here, I mean, they go to a school, they have normal school hours. But on top of that, as soon as they finish, they have extra private tuition after school and during the weekends as well. So they take education very seriously. And these students have been ingrained in them by their parents just how important education is and just how important it is to do really well in your tests.

and get the results. Yeah, and the other thing... Sorry. So I guess that already imprints a fear to get everything right, to be a perfectionist in some sense, to do things as it should be according to their parents and their expectations.

Absolutely. The other point I remember distinctly is like when you said,

not only at school are they getting this right-wrong culture, black and white culture, so to speak. And then at home, in the curriculum after school, it's right or wrong answers. And then they've got to basically face their parents who have been brought up with exactly the same culture of right or wrong. It's black or white. And then...

So, it's basically from, so they open their eyes until they go to sleep at night, from even before consciousness starts, until, and all through their academic life until they sort of like face, they get faced with a certain aspect of Western culture that's very different. And so, yeah, put in that, and then you've got to explain as well to your parents, okay,

Maybe you have to explain, I don't know. But even that task of saying to the parents, look, there's no right or wrong answer here, that as well is going to be horrendously difficult if they've been brought up for the last 50, 60 years with a mentality of it's right or wrong. Absolutely. I mean, there is an...

a cultural joke here in Asia where you know if you get an A minus that's a bad grade and you know in the schools that I've taught that is a bad grade wow so yeah your your aim is to get at least an A wow and your A at least an A and and this is the thing should be getting A stars

wow so that's insane frame of mind and that's the challenge as well that's the challenge that

that as teachers and educators you have to sort of break down in order to allow creativity and possibilities of doing things differently to enter. So I guess it's almost that ability to allow a sense of vulnerability too, but in such a competitive environment, vulnerability isn't necessarily seen as a strength.

but actually a weakness. But in order for creativity to be cultivated, there needs to be a degree of vulnerability and the allowance of making potential mistakes in order for richer and improved learning to take place. Yeah, absolutely. And the funny thing is, is like in the West, well, I think this can be like

it can really be embodied in the West by the fact that for example in the US having a bankruptcy where you're just financially in ruin isn't seen as a bad thing it's seen as almost a good thing in the fact that you at least attempted and you tried to succeed fair enough it didn't happen but it's not

seen as a bad thing whereas in Europe especially in continental Europe it's labeled as a failure but in the UK it seems well it does have some negative connotations but in the US it's like okay you had a bankruptcy pick yourself up and get going well done for trying keep on trying you know and I don't know do you have any experience

Like, is bankruptcy seen as a failure in Asia? Just out of curiosity. Well, if you think that getting an A- is a failure, what do you think bankruptcy is going to do? You know, because there is, in Asian culture, sadly enough, it's almost like if you don't do well in school, you're going to be sweeping the roads. That is a very, very common, fair-spoken projection that parents have.

actually communicate to their students wow so whenever you answer students you know why do you think it's good why is it important to get good grades they'll say you need to get grades if you don't want to be a road sweeper that's their response right gotcha right so if you say bankruptcy well that's in the same direction as that that

that um that phrase basically even though it's not not a true phrase it's something that's been ingrained and told to them at such a young age they think it's a true thing it's a conditioned mindset absolutely it's become a belief isn't it now absolutely yeah yeah right well thank you uh do you have anything that you would like to say sophie

It's been a pleasure, actually, to have this open conversation. And I hope your audience members, both students and parents, are able to listen to this podcast and probably take something away from it and reflect and probably think a little bit differently with more of a positive growth mindset that, you know, if they try something, it's only a positive thing to their learning process. Excellent words. Thank you very much there, Sophie. Cheers. Cheers.

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