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Duolingo English Test: 20 Words for 160

Francis – Last Minute English

349K views 2 years ago

Warm-up Questions

What score do you want to get on the Duolingo English Test, and why?
Which is harder for you on English tests: speaking, writing, reading, or listening?
When you learn new words, do you prefer learning a few “high-level” words or many common words?

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Duolingo English Test: 20 Words for 160

Goal, scoring system, and why vocabulary matters (00:00 – 01:43)

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1. What is the main promise of the video?

It will teach grammar rules for the DET speaking section.
It will explain how to apply to university using the DET.
It will give 20 words to help boost a DET score toward 160.

2. Which list best matches the four DET scoring areas mentioned?

Reading, listening, translation, speaking
Literacy, conversation, comprehension, production
Grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, fluency

3. According to the speaker, why are they focusing on vocabulary?

Because vocabulary is the only thing that affects the overall score.
Because vocabulary is super important for each scoring area.
Because vocabulary questions are the longest part of the test.

Duolingo English Test: 20 Words for 160

Flexible words to upgrade answers (good/bad, disagreeing, estimating, linking ideas) (01:43 – 06:31)

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1. Why were these 20 words chosen, according to the speaker?

Because they are rare slang words used by native speakers
Because they only work for describing photos
Because they are very flexible and can be used in many situations

2. Which word does the speaker suggest as an upgrade for saying something is good?

despite
roughly
excellent

3. Which connector does the speaker recommend as an upgrade for 'but' in more formal exam language?

additionally
although
however

Duolingo English Test: 20 Words for 160

Advantages/disadvantages, stronger synonyms, and final tips (06:31 – 11:37)

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1. Which pair is presented as opposites (advantages vs. disadvantages)?

tiny vs. vast
benefits vs. drawbacks
significant vs. excellent

2. Which word does the speaker say has a stronger feeling than 'important' (like '10 out of 10')?

essential
crucial
significant

3. What does the speaker say 'incorporate' is a higher-level way to say?

include
highlight
describe

Duolingo English Test: 20 Words for 160

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1. What is the overall strategy the speaker recommends for improving DET performance with vocabulary?

Take your normal answers and upgrade them by inserting flexible high-level words.
Use only very long sentences, even if they are unclear.
Memorize thousands of random words and avoid using connectors.

2. Which area is the speaker mainly trying to improve by teaching connectors like 'however' and 'despite'?

Conversation only
Production (speaking and writing)
Literacy only

3. In the examples, what kind of DET task is mentioned several times as a good place to use these words?

Reading a poem aloud
Translating sentences into English
Describing a photo

Discussion Questions

Discuss the ideas from this video

Duolingo English Test: 20 Words for 160

Which 5 words from the video would be easiest for you to incorporate into your answers, and in what question types (speaking, writing, photo description)?
Do you think using higher-level connectors (e.g., however, despite, although) always improves an answer? When could it make an answer worse?
Choose one topic (exercise, technology, education, travel). Give a short DET-style opinion answer and include at least four words from the list.
Is it better to focus on vocabulary like 'essential' and 'significant' or on clarity and accuracy? How would you balance them in a test?