Speaking: Vocabulary for Speaking B1 - Lesson 1: Describing Feelings & Opinions

Speaking: Vocabulary for Speaking B1 - Lesson 1

Describing Feelings & Opinions

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use a wider range of B1-level vocabulary to express your feelings and opinions more precisely.

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Expressing Your Inner World

At B1 level, you can move beyond simple words like "happy" or "sad". Using more precise vocabulary to describe your feelings¹ and opinions² will make your speaking more interesting and advanced. Let's look at an example.

"I just finished a big project for my university. To be honest, I'm completely exhausted³! It was so much work. In my opinion⁸, the deadline was too short, which was a bit frustrating⁴. However, I'm also really proud⁶ of the final result. My professor said it was a brilliant¹⁰ piece of work, so I was delighted⁵ to hear that."

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Your Vocabulary Toolkit

Vocabulary for Feelings

1. Feeling: an emotional state or reaction: អារម្មណ៍ ↩
2. exhausted: extremely tired: ហត់នឿយខ្លាំង ↩
3. frustrated: feeling annoyed because you cannot achieve or change something: ខកចិត្ត ↩
4. delighted: very happy and pleased: រីករាយ​ខ្លាំង ↩
5. proud: feeling deep pleasure or satisfaction because of your achievements: មោទនភាព ↩
6. anxious: feeling worried or nervous about the future: ថប់បារម្ភ

Vocabulary for Opinions

8. Opinion: your belief or judgment about something: មតិ ↩
9. In my opinion...: A phrase to introduce your personal belief: តាម​គំនិត​របស់​ខ្ញុំ... ↩
10. brilliant: extremely good or clever: អស្ចារ្យ ↩
11. fascinating: extremely interesting: គួរឱ្យចាប់អារម្មណ៍ខ្លាំង
12. disappointing: not as good as you had hoped or expected: ធ្វើឱ្យខកចិត្ត

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record_voice_over Pronunciation Focus: Word Stress

Pay close attention to the word stress in these longer adjectives. The stressed syllable is in CAPITALS.

• ex-HAUS-ted
• frus-TRA-ting
• de-LIGH-ted
• FAS-ci-na-ting
• dis-a-PPOIN-ting

lightbulb Explaining Your Feelings & Opinions

To speak with more coherence, don't just state your feeling or opinion. Explain the reason WHY you feel that way. The easiest way to do this is with the word "because".

Formula: I feel [feeling] / I think it's [opinion] + because + [the reason].

• "I was frustrated because the internet was too slow."
• "In my opinion, the movie was disappointing because the story wasn't very good."

sports_esports Practice Your Vocabulary

Activity 1: Match the Feeling

Match the situation to the most likely feeling.

1. You studied for a month and got the top score on your exam.
2. You waited an hour for a friend, but they never arrived.
3. You have a very important interview tomorrow.
4. You worked in the rice fields all day under the hot sun.

• A. anxious
• B. exhausted
• C. proud / delighted
• D. frustrated / disappointing

(Answers: 1 -> C, 2 -> D, 3 -> A, 4 -> B)

Activity 2: Give Your Opinion

Work with a partner. Give your real opinion on one of the topics below. You must use a phrase like "In my opinion..." or "I believe..." and an adjective from this lesson. Remember to give a reason using "because".

Topics: Social Media (e.g., Facebook/TikTok), Living in a big city, Final exams.

task Your Vocabulary Mission

This week in Battambang, your mission is to express yourself with more precise vocabulary.

Think about your day today. Find one opportunity to describe a feeling or an opinion using a new word from this lesson. For example, if you had a long day at university, tell a friend, "I am exhausted!" instead of just "I'm tired."