Free IELTS Lesson about AMBITION Flashcards
Useful Links
How to answer the ‘do you have any ambitions?’ question.
https://content.wisestep.com/answer-ambition-life-interview-question
Video about Ambition is killing us
In this free IELTS Speaking lesson on the topic of AMBITION, you will
learn how to talk about your own ambitions and whether ambition is a good or bad thing
Warm Up Questions These are the kind of questions on this topic of business that you might find in IELTS Speaking.
Speak out your answer to the following questions!
Are you ambitious?
What ambitions do you have?
Is it a good thing to be ambitious?
Useful vocabulary
Ambition (n.) uncountable
Ambition (n.) countable
ambitious (adj.)
I have so much ambition (Uncountable)
I have many different ambitions (countable)
I am ambitious
What is ambition?
a desire to do well,
to achieve a goal and to succeed
aspiration
a strong desire to have or achieve something
I have an aspiration to make a lot of money
One of my highest aspirations was to become a brain surgeon.
مراد، آرمان، مراد دل
I want to + verb
I have an ambition to improve my English skills
I long to travel around the world (really want it)
I strive to be fluent in English (try very hard)
I dream of being rich.
I dream about having a big house
I am ambitious to pass my exam with flying colours (=do very well)
Do very well ( کاری را خیلی خوب انجام دادن )
Be successful ( موفق بودن )
از امتحان سربلند بیرون آمدن
Types of ambitions
An ambition can be long term, for example,
He is ambitious at work, he wants to climb the corporate ladder and become the CEO
پله های ترقی را در کار پیمودن
It can be short term, for example,
She is quite ambitious, she wants to invite 500 guests to her wedding
I want to sell 1,000,000 copies of my new book!
That’s very ambitious, do you think you can do it?
Common Collocations
Personal ambition (run a marathon, have a big family, lose weight, visit
Paris…)
Professional ambition (get a PHD, get a promotion, publish a book,
speak at a conference…)
Lifelong ambition It’s a lifelong ambition of mine to _______
Having a healthy ambition can lead to success
I have a burning ambition to become a doctor
She is a person of driving ambition
You lack ambition
What ambitions do you have?
(Typical job interview question)
If you get this kind of question in a job interview, you want to sound
enthusiastic but not arrogant.
So a short answer like this, is not so good.
arrogant
behaving in an unpleasant or rude way because you think
you are more important than other people
He was unbearably arrogant.
an arrogant attitude
Theme for Answer Speak
I want to be successful!! ☹
You should be more specific (whether you are in a job interview or the
IELTS speaking interview)
I want to do my job well, and one day get promoted
because I think I have a lot to contribute,
such as my ideas for teaching students in different ways. 😁
This is much better. Notice the idea of giving
1) Idea
2) Reason
3) Example
IDIOMS
Idioms to talk about ambitions
Dig in your heels = to be persistent
I am going to publish my book, even though
my friends say it’s just a dream, I am going to dig in my heels
بر برنامه یا ایده خود پافشاری کردن
IDIOM
Throw in the Towel
I will never throw in the towel
= give up, stop
سپر افکندن، لنگ انداختن، تسلیم شدن
IDIOM
Stick at it
= to continue, persevere
You need to stick at it
ادامه دادن ( چیزی حتی اگر آن مشکل باشد )
Carry on at all costs
= come rain or shine (even though it is difficult)
به هر قیمتی ادامه دهید
Come rain or shine:
حتی اگر از آسمون سنگ بباره
To have a bee in bonnet
I have got a bee in my bonnet about writing a book.
=something you really want to do
_ to think something is so important, so necessary, etc
that you keep mentioning it or thinking about it
مشغولیت ذهنی داشتن
beyond my wildest dreams
Publishing a book is _beyond my wildest dreams_
=something so great, I can hardly imagine it
آنچه که شخص خوابش را هم نمی دیده
فراتر از تصور/رویا
Claw one’e way back
I was losing the game, but I managed to claw my way back and win
=make a come back, to be successful after a failure
Go to great length
_I’ll have to go to great lengths to achieve this goal
= do everything possible
نهایت تلاش را کردن
Blood, sweet, tears
I reached my goal but it was blood, sweat and tears all the way.
=very hard work
خون دل خوردن و جان کندن
Blood, sweet, tears
I reached my goal but it was blood, sweat and tears all the way.
=very hard work
خون دل خوردن و جان کندن
** to fight tooth and nails**
I had to fight tooth and nails to reach my goal
=fight and struggle hard
یا با چنگ و دندان جنگیدن
Go to extra miles
I’m willing to go the extra mile to reach my goal
=to do some extra work
بیش از حد انتظار کار کردن.
keep one’s nose to the grindstone
I will keep my nose to the grindstone
= continue working hard
به کوب کار کردن
Ambition: Good or bad?
Good
It’s beneficial to have a competitive spirit and to strive for success
It helps you keep on track with your goals
It’s good as long as you don’t hurt others or stamp on others
Ambition: Good or bad?
it can be bad:
if you see things as a zero sum game (=a win - lose
situation),
and if your success is _at the expense of others (=other must lose, so
you can win)
So long as it is not at the cost of others
If you have an arrogant ambition it can get in your way, and make
you lose time
بازی برد و باخت
Q: Do you have an ambition and what are your ambitions in life?
I wouldn’t say I am a particularly ambitious person, but yes,
I do have some ambitions, particularly, professional ambitions.
I do dream about writing a book and publishing a book and so right
now I am actually going to great lengths to write the script and start
editing this idea I have for a book, and, yes, that’s an ambition that I
have.
Q: Do you have an ambition and what are your ambitions in life?
I wouldn’t say I am a particularly ambitious person, but yes,
I do have some ambitions, particularly, professional ambitions.
I do dream about writing a book and publishing a book and so right
now I am actually _going to great lengths to_ write the script and start
editing this idea I have for a book, and, yes, that’s an ambition that I have.
Q: Have the dreams you had as a child changed?
Oh, absolutely, I mean you know, it’s a bit funny, but as a child, I longed to be a postman, because I thought postman had fantastic bicycles, but now, I think even as I was growing up as a young adult, that dream changed significantly and I think I have become a little bit more ambitious and I think certainly, from a professional point of view, I have an ambition to be successful in the work that I do.
I long to be a good teacher and to use innovative and creative ways of teaching and although I don’t** wanna stamp on** other people,I do want to dig my heels in and, you know, do as much as it takes to become successful in my area or my field as a teacher.
Q: Have you ever achieved your ambitions?
A:
That is a very good question.
I think I have had several ambitions in my life, and to be honest,
I haven’t achieved all of them. One of them that I have not achieved is
to be a kind of a famous guitar player.
When I was in my 20s, I used to play guitar in a rock band and I used
to dream of being a famous rock star, and playing the guitar in big
concerts and whilst I was happy playing the guitar in the band, I never
really achieved that level or status of being a world renowned
musician, but I have achieved my goal of building, you know, a happy
family.
That was a personal goal that I wanted to, always, I wanted to
achieve. I do feel that I have reached that. It’s been blood, sweat, and
tears sometimes because, obviously families have disagreements but I think we are getting there, we have gotten there.
So, that’s the ambition I feel I have reached
