IELTS Energy 1601: Do You Need an IELTS Detox?

This is an IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1601. Do you need an IELTS Detox? Welcome to the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English. Downloaded more than 35 million times with examiner-trained IELTS whiz Aubrey Carter and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl.

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Do you need to recharge your batteries? Today, you'll learn four band nine idioms that are flexible and can be used in many IELTS speaking answers. Tune in for details so you can get the score you need and detox from IELTS.

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Hello, Michelle. How are you? Hi, Aubrey. I am good. How are you? I'm great. It's Friday and I am ready to detox. I need a weekend to detox after this week.

What about you? How are you? Yes, I am also very tired. I feel like every, you know, at the end of the week, well, I wish I could say the end of the week, I feel that way, but really probably around Wednesday.

By Wednesday, I need a detox from Monday and Tuesday. Totally. Well, you're noticing we're using this noun detox. We got a great question about this word.

We're talking about it and some similar words today that are perfect for IELTS speaking part one, some slang, some high scoring words. So can you share this question from us with this? It's a train. No, Trey Newby 5525.

Okay, yes, here we go. So Trey says, super useful. Thanks. I was wondering whether it's okay to get a bit more creative with my vocab in the IELTS exam.

For example, I know it's correct to say go on a digital detox, but would it be acceptable if I tweaked it a bit? Say the examiner asks, what are you going to do this weekend? And I reply, honestly, I'm going to take an IELTS detox this weekend because I've been working on it for ages. I just want to get away from all of that.

This is so good. This is a great question. And absolutely, you should say that in an answer. This is amazing vocab. You can say IELTS detox and working on it for ages.

That's also amazing vocab. So the quick answer is yes, but it is a bit tricky because many idioms must be used word for word. And detox has a couple of different meanings. So we're going to get into this and some related vocab.

But also, first of all, you may have noticed that this question came from YouTube. If you're not following on YouTube, if you're more of a visual learner, these podcast episodes are videos on YouTube. So come check it out there if you want to watch the video. I'm waving to anyone watching on YouTube.

And that is a great place to leave questions for us. In the comments of the YouTube videos, leave your IELTS questions that we will answer on a podcast episode.

Specific questions like this are best. Make for great episodes. And also, what should listeners do, Michelle, to make sure they never miss an episode of IELTS Energy? Yeah, hit the follow button.

So wherever you're listening, make sure that you hit that button. Let the episodes come straight to you. Never miss anything. Exactly. So hit follow, guys, wherever you're listening.

And this is interesting. Detox is a great example of a word that is flexible. You can detox from anything difficult or stressful. Often we talk about detoxing from drugs or alcohol.

Sometimes it's very serious and medical when we're talking about a detox. But also we use it as slang, and it can be a noun or a verb, right? So what does this mean, Michelle? Yeah.

So detox, a noun or a verb. So taking a break from something unhealthy or overwhelming, especially technology, social media, or stress. So to reset mentally or physically. So it's interesting, but you can also say detox if you're trying to quit something altogether, right?

Yeah. Yes, absolutely. It could be about taking a break. Could be about quitting altogether. Absolutely. Honestly, their example is great. Trey's example to say, honestly, I'm going to take an IELTS detox this weekend.

It's a noun there. IELTS detox or a detox from IELTS is fantastic. You can also use it as a verb and say, I'm detoxing from IELTS this weekend, or I need to detox from IELTS this weekend. Both work perfectly.

and are great for IELTS speaking answers. Do you think that the examiner would kind of laugh and see the humor in this? Do you think they could take it lightly? Maybe.

It depends on the examiner. If they are, it would be internal. They're not supposed to react at all. So they might think it's funny and they might be impressed by your vocabulary, but they might just stare at you with a blank expression if they're good at their job because they're not supposed to respond at all.

So don't let it throw you off. That's why we said we're like, don't try too hard to make jokes because then it's awkward when they don't laugh and they can't laugh. They might, but they're not actually supposed to react at all. They're not supposed to give you any indication if they think your answer is good or not.

But you can use this for so many things. You could say, I need a coffee detox. I've been drinking way too much lately. A sugar detox. I hear that a lot.

I got a detox from sugar. Definitely. So another thing you could say is switch off. So this is a verb phrase to stop thinking about work or stress and just relax.

So for example, on IELTS, you might be asked, do you think it's important to take breaks from work or study? And what could you maybe answer, Michelle? Yeah, well, I would say absolutely. I think it's essential to switch off every now and then, especially in today's fast paced world, because if you're constantly working or studying, you can easily burn out.

So personally, I try to switch off by going for a walk or just putting my phone away for a few hours, which really helps me recharge and stay productive in the long run. Amazing. So much great vocab there. This is an excellent way to use switch off.

It's similar to the meaning of detox, right? I need to detox from my phone. I need to detox from work and say, I got to switch off and do something else.

Yes, exactly. And what's another one, Aubrey? Yeah, another one is take a breather. This is also a verb phrase, which means to take a short rest, to relax or recover.

Sometimes it's if you're angry, and you need to step away and take a moment will say I'm just going to take a breather. But it could also be you're at work. And you take a couple days off because you need a breather, right? It's kind of flexible.

So for example, ask me a question, Michelle, that I could use this verb phrase. Here is your question, Aubrey. What do you usually do when you feel tired?

Ooh, when I feel exhausted, I usually take a breather instead of pushing myself too hard. For example, I might step outside, get some fresh air, or listen to music for a while. I have found that even a short break can really clear my head and improve my focus a lot.

Okay. Yeah, that was really good. I mean, I like how you talk about, you know, instead of pushing myself too hard, the different things that you can do, examples of that.

And yeah, clear my mind. That's another really good one. Yeah, a lot of good vocab here. Take a breather is very similar to take a break or take a detox from, right?

So a similar vocab. This way you have lots of options of ways you can say this in your answers. Yeah. All right. Should we take a breather, Aubrey? Let's take a breather.

All right. So our next phrase is recharge your batteries. Here's a verb phrase. This is a verb phrase, which means to rest and regain energy. So if you need a nap, you might say, I just need to recharge my batteries.

So what's a question you might ask? Okay, Michelle, how do you relax after a busy day? Ooh, so after a long day, I like to do something that helps me recharge my batteries, such as watching a light TV show or going to the gym. It helps me disconnect from stress and feel refreshed, so I'm ready to start the next day with more energy.

Amazing. Yes, right? So recharge your batteries just means to rejuvenate yourself somehow renew your energy because just like a battery has energy, you need to plug in your phones for to renew the battery. Of course, we also need to recharge our batteries.

And we use that idiomatically that way to say I need to renew my energy. So Michelle, let's have me ask me a part one question. And I'm going to try to use some of this vocabulary. Okay, am I timing you?

No, because a part one, you won't need to worry about the time. You're aiming for about three to five sentences. They're quite a bit shorter. And the examiner will interrupt you if they need you to move on.

But those these answers won't be that long. Just three to five sentences. So no need to time me. Okay, here we go. What is a hobby you enjoy? Hmm. I have really gotten into playing the piano lately.

I grew up playing this instrument. I was good at it. I spent a ton of time at it. And then I've let it fall by the wayside. I have not been keeping it up.

I now sit down and struggle to even play simple tunes that would have been a piece of cake when I was younger. Hmm. but I find it really relaxing. I can recharge my batteries at the end of the day by just sitting down and playing a piece.

And I also, in the middle of the day, sometimes I'll take a breather and go sit and just play a piece. And this is a really great way to just renew myself and feel like, okay, I can tackle the rest of the day.

love it yeah so i also like to play the piano and i also have a very similar experience where i i don't play yeah i don't play much anymore so but i just find myself getting frustrated whenever i try um so i found an app i'm gonna share for anyone out there who plays piano and for you michelle if i can oh i don't have this i think it's called

i can't remember it starts with an l shoot it's on my ipad because i have my ipad on my piano all the time now and it's an app that there's all these songs and it kind of moves through it for you so you don't have to change a page and it just makes it so much easier that i know and i can there's a plethora of music on there for me to choose from the whole soundtrack of amelie i don't know if you've seen the french film amelie it's one of my i think i saw it yeah beautiful and So I'm learning the songs from Amelie. I'll have to post in the comments for YouTube. Email me and remind me if I don't remember.

Because I would love to share that app if anyone is interested. It's not an ad. Obviously, I can't even remember the name of it. Imagine if this were an ad.

I'm like, I don't know the name. But I will put it in the comments of YouTube if you guys remind me because it is a good one. I know it starts with an L and it's a little orange square in the app store. Okay.

All right. But yeah, I like how you talked about that it can recharge your batteries. Yes. Another vocab that you used that I liked, you said songs that used to be a piece of cake, right?

That used to be very easy. Is that what it means? cliche or overused. But if you haven't used it yet on the IELTS speaking exam, definitely use it once if you can like this.

It's still band nine vocab because it's still idiomatic language. More students know it. So it's maybe not as uncommon as some idioms, but it still is high scoring vocabulary if you can use that on the IELTS speaking exam. Absolutely.

Yeah. Definitely. All right. Let's share an episode here that if students missed it, we want you to go back, scroll up and check out 1605, which was why your IELTS vocabulary is not a lost cause.

Some great vocab in that episode for both speaking and writing. And as a takeaway, is that a is that an episode? Did I get the wrong one? No, well, I just think that that episode is actually coming up.

Oh, that's funny. Okay, then we're doing a sneak peek instead. This is kind of sneak peek. So this is in a few days, you're going to hear that episode.

So hit follow so you don't miss it. And we'll see you there. All right, Aubrey, anything we want to leave our listeners with? No, I think this is really important vocabulary to practice.

It's very versatile. You will be asked about your personal life, your job, your studies, what you do on the weekend. And these are easy idioms to use for all of those questions. So add them to your vocabulary notebook, practice using them in your IELTS speaking answers.

Okay, wonderful. Well, I'm glad we talked about this today. And Aubrey, I think we're going to go recharge my batteries. Same. I could use a nap. Me too.

Don't recharge your batteries, guys. All right. I'll see you next time, Michelle. Thank you. All right. Bye, guys. Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy.

Hit subscribe now and don't forget to find your estimated band score at allearsenglish.com slash myscore.