Speakout 2nd Edition Upper Intermediate Academic Study Guide

Speakout 2nd Edition Upper Intermediate Overview

  • Course Description: Speakout 2nd Edition is a comprehensive six-level general English course for adults developed with BBC Worldwide and BBC Learning English. It integrates authentic BBC video into every unit to build skills for real English-speaking environments.

  • Global Scale of English (GSE): The course is aligned to the GSE, which provides more granular measurement of language proficiency than the CEFR.

  • Upper Intermediate Level Targets:

    • GSE Range: 59–75

    • CEFR Range: B2−B2+B2 - B2+

  • Core Components:

    • Students' Book with DVD-ROM

    • Students' Book with DVD-ROM and MyEnglishLab (online learning tool)

    • Class Audio CDs

    • Workbook with Audio (available with or without key)

    • Teacher's Book with Resource and Assessment Disc

    • ActiveTeach (for classroom use)

Unit 1: New Things

1.1 Personality and Questions

  • Direct and Indirect Questions:

    • Direct: Used in informal or straightforward contexts. Word order: (Question word) + auxiliary + subject + main verb. Example: "Who cleans the place where you live now?"

    • Indirect: Used to sound more polite or when asking personal questions. Word order follows positive statements. Example: "Could you tell me how much you earn?"

    • Yes/No Indirect Questions: Add "if" or "whether." Example: "Do you know if there is a good café near here?"

  • Personality Vocabulary:

    • A people person: A sociable individual who enjoys being around others.

    • A computer geek: Someone very interested in or knowledgeable about computers.

    • Keep yourself to yourself: To be private and not socialise much.

    • Witty: Quick and inventive with verbal humour.

    • Down-to-earth: Practical, reasonable, and uncomplicated.

    • A morning person: Someone who is energetic and bright early in the day.

    • Spontaneous: Doing things without prior planning.

    • Non-judgmental: Avoiding the use of personal moral beliefs to judge others.

1.2 Feelings and Experiences

  • Present Perfect Simple:

    • Unspecified time up to now: Experience or completed actions. "Choose something you have never done before."

    • Recent completed action with present result: Often used with "just" or "already." "I've just finished my first challenge."

    • Unfinished states/actions: Starting in the past and continuing to now, often with "for" or "since." "I have done yoga for years."

  • Vocabulary - Feelings:

    • Scared out of my wits: Petrified/extremely scared.

    • Stomach turns: Reaching a point of disgust or nausea.

    • Over the moon: Thrilled/extremely happy.

    • Shaking like a leaf: Feeling very nervous.

    • Wish the earth would swallow me up: Feeling extremely embarrassed.

  • Word Building (Nouns):

    • Adjectives often transform into nouns using suffixes like -ion (frustration), -ment (disappointment), -ity (creativity), -ness (awkwardness), and -ety (anxiety).

1.3 Polite Enquiries

  • Functional Language:

    • "I'd like to enquire about…"

    • "I was wondering if it would be possible to…"

    • "Would you mind giving me a refund?"

  • Managing Enquiries:

    • "Bear with me a minute."

    • "Sorry to keep you."

    • "I'd really appreciate your help."

Unit 2: Issues

2.1 News and Social Change

  • Present Perfect Simple vs. Continuous:

    • Simple: Emphasises the result or the number of times. "The company has cleaned over a hundred outfits."

    • Continuous: Emphasises the duration or repetition of an action continuing to now. "We've been doing this for three years."

  • Vocabulary - Adjectives for Issues:

    • Domestic: Relating to one's own country.

    • Ethical: Relating to moral principles.

    • Rural: Relating to the countryside.

    • Urban: Relating to the city.

    • Global: Relating to the whole world.

2.2 Surveillance and the Passive

  • The Passive Voice: Use be+pastparticiplebe + past participle. Used when the agent is unknown, obvious, or not the main focus.

    • Statistically more crimes are solved because of CCTV.

    • Teenagers' phones should be registered on GPS.

  • Surveillance Vocabulary:

    • CCTV: Closed-circuit television.

    • Number plate recognition: Software that tracks vehicle movements.

    • Facial recognition technology: software capable of identifying or verifying a person from a digital image.

    • Invasion of privacy: An intrusion into personal life.

Unit 3: Stories

3.1 Narrative Tenses and Sayings

  • Narrative Tenses:

    • Past Simple: Main events/completed actions.

    • Past Continuous: Actions in progress at a specific time or background/scene setting.

    • Past Perfect Simple: Actions completed before the main past event.

    • Past Perfect Continuous: Longer actions starting before and continuing up to a past point.

  • Common Sayings:

    • Every cloud has a silver lining: There is something good in every bad situation.

    • What goes around comes around: Your actions (good or bad) will return to you.

    • Once bitten, twice shy: One bad experience makes you cautious in the future.

    • Nothing ventured, nothing gained: You must take risks to achieve anything.

    • When in Rome (do as the Romans do): Follow local customs.

3.2 Regrets and Multi-word Verbs

  • Wish and If Only:

    • Present/Future Wish: wish+pastsimplewish + past simple or couldcould. "I wish I had a new laptop."

    • Past Regret: wish+pastperfectwish + past perfect. "If only I hadn't become a doctor."

    • Annoyance: wish+wouldwish + would. "I wish he'd pay more attention."

  • Multi-word Verbs:

    • Turn up: Arrive.

    • Settle down: Start living a quiet life/marriage.

    • Set up: Start a business/organisation.

    • Run out of: Have none left.

    • Pass away: Die.

    • Look up to: Respect.

Unit 4: Downtime

4.1 Habits and Free Time

  • Present Habits: Use present simple or will+infinitivewill + infinitive. Use "always" + present continuous for annoying habits.

  • Past Habits: Use usedto+infinitiveused to + infinitive for past states/actions or would+infinitivewould + infinitive for repeated past actions (not states).

  • Vocabulary - Relaxing:

    • Unwind/Chill out: Relax completely.

    • Switch off: Stop thinking about work or problems.

    • Wind someone up: Annoy someone.

4.2 Future Forms and Locations

  • Predictions:

    • Will: General belief.

    • Be due to: Scheduled events.

    • Be likely to: Probable outcomes.

  • Uncountable and Plural Nouns:

    • Uncountable: Advice, furniture, equipment, information, luggage, homework.

    • Plural Only: Belongings, remains, outskirts, clothes, glasses (spectacles), toiletries.

Unit 5: Ideas

5.1 Articles and Change

  • Articles (A/An, The, Zero Article):

    • Use "the" for unique objects (the sun) or specific mentioned things.

    • Zero article for general plurals (Computers are everywhere).

  • Vocabulary - Compound Nouns:

    • Breakthrough: A discovery or achievement.

    • Drawback/Downside: Disadvantage.

    • Trade-off: A compromise.

    • Outcome: A result.

5.2 Conditionals

  • Real Conditionals: [If + present simple] + [present simple/will]. "If you pay now, you get a discount."

  • Hypothetical Conditionals: [If + past simple] + [would/could/might]. "If I won the lottery, I would travel."

  • Alternatives to "If":

    • Unless: If not.

    • Provided that / As long as: If and only if.

    • Supposing / Imagine: Used to suggest an unlikely scenario.

Unit 6: Age

6.1 Modal Verbs and Maturity

  • Obligation and Permission:

    • Must/Have to: Strong obligation.

    • Should/Ought to: Weak obligation/advice.

    • Mustn't: Prohibition.

    • Don't have to: Lack of obligation.

    • Be allowed to / Let / Make: Permission and force.

  • Vocubulary - Age and Prefixes:

    • Prime: The best period of life.

    • Immature: Childish/not fully developed.

    • Prefixes: mis- (misinterpret), un- (unrealistic), ir- (irrelevant), im- (impatient).

6.2 Future Perfect and Continuous

  • Future Perfect (will+have+pastparticiplewill + have + past participle): For actions completed by a specific time in the future. "By next year, I will have finished my degree."

  • Future Continuous (will+be+−ingwill + be + -ing): For actions in progress at a future time. "This time tomorrow, I'll be flying to Paris."

Unit 7: Media

7.1 Quantifiers

  • Large amounts: a good deal of, a large number of, plenty of.

  • Small amounts: a few, few, a little, little (few/little emphasizing 'not enough').

  • Singular nouns: each, every, another.

  • Dual nouns: both, neither, either.

7.2 Reported Speech and Reporting Verbs

  • Reported Speech: Verbs generally move back one tense (present simple to past simple, will to would). Pronouns and time markers also change (tomorrow to the following day).

  • Reporting Verbs:

    • Verbs + -ing: deny, admit, suggest.

    • Verbs + to-infinitive: refuse, agree, promise, threaten, offer.

    • Verbs + Object + to-infinitive: advise, warn, invite, persuade, tell.

Unit 8: Behaviour

8.1 Conditionals Review and Decisions

  • Third Conditional: [If + past perfect] + [would have + past participle]. For hypothetical past situations. "If I had known, I would have helped."

  • Mixed Conditionals: Combines past condition with present result. "If I had studied harder, I would have a better job now."

  • Decisions Vocabulary:

    • Arrive at a decision: To reach a final choice.

    • Evaluate a situation: To judge or assess the facts.

    • Postpone: To delay a decision.

    • Stick to principles: To remain faithful to one's beliefs.

8.2 Values and Verb Patterns

  • -ing and Infinitive Patterns:

    • Stop doing: Finish an activity.

    • Stop to do: Pause one activity to start another.

    • Remember doing: Have a memory of something from the past.

    • Remember to do: Not forget a duty/task.

  • Values Vocabulary: fairness, generosity, equality, justice, greed.

Unit 9: Trouble

9.1 Crime and Indirect Prepositions

  • Crime Vocabulary:

    • Arson: Setting fire to property.

    • Hacking: Illegal computer access.

    • Stalking: Following someone persistently.

    • Vandalism: Damaging public/private property.

    • Identity theft: Stealing personal data to commit fraud.

  • Dependent Prepositions:

    • Charged with.

    • Accused of.

    • Arrested for.

    • Suspected of.

    • Banned from.

9.2 Past Modals of Deduction

  • Must have (done): Almost certain it happened.

  • Can't/Couldn't have (done): Almost certain it didn't happen.

  • Might/May/Could have (done): Possible it happened.

Unit 10: Culture

10.1 Relative Clauses

  • Defining Relative Clauses: Give essential information without commas. "The man who founded the company is here."

  • Non-Defining Relative Clauses: Give extra info surrounded by commas. "My brother, who lives in New York, is an artist."

  • Relative Pronouns: Who (people), which/that (things), whose (possessive), where (place), when (time).

10.2 Participle Clauses

  • Active Meaning: Use present participle (-ing). "The man sitting in the corner is my boss."

  • Passive Meaning: Use past participle (-ed). "Films based on books are often disappointing."

  • Vocabulary - The Arts: Ground-breaking, rave reviews, sell-out, hype, letdown, flop, mainstream, innovative.