Speaking reference

What to expect in the exam Read the advice and the example questions (1- 9). Then
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match the answers on page (a-i)with the questions.
The Speaking paper is Paper 5.
Advice and example questions
. lt lasts approximately i4 minutes.
. You do the Speaking paper in pairs. (Certain test 1 Don't just answer the question - give some extra
details if you can.
centres may allow you to take the test with a friend,
Ouestion: Where are you from?....h....
otherwise you will be partnered with a stranger).
. There are two examiners in the room; one gives you 2 You can offer several ideas or answers to the same
question.
instructions and asks you questions, the other listens
Ouestion: What do young people do in their free time
but does not speak.
in your town? ..........
. You may do the Speaking paper on a different day from
the other parts of the exam.
3 Avoid giving simple Yes/No answers which end the
. conversation.
The Speaking paper has four parts.
Ouestion: Do you like doing sports? ..........
A question which starts, 'Tell us a little about ...' gives
you an opportunity to say quite a lot.
Part 1
O,uestion: Tell us a little about your family. ..-.......
Part 'l is a conversation between the examiner and When you speak about things you like or enjoy, sound
each candidate and lasts two minutes. You are asked enthusiastic. Be ready to use past tenses and time
questions about yourself, your family, your hobbies and adverbs.
interests, your studies or your work, your likes and dislikes. [Link]: Tell us about something you really enjoyed
Ouestions may also be about your past experiences and doing recently. ..........
your future plans. Be ready to talk about the future and use different
tenses to do so.
You studied and practised Part 1 in Units 1,5 and 10. Ouestion: What job would you like to do in the future?

lf you don't understand or don't hear the question, ask

the examiner to repeat it.
:4*r.,v t* do Part i Ouestion: Which do you prefer: reading books or
watchi ng TV? ..........
Don't prepare detailed answers before you go to
When appropriate, use a range of grammar and
the exam and don't memorise answers to possible
vocabulary. The examiners want to hear how well you
questions: examiners will recognise this and not mark
can speak English.
you for these.
Ouestion: Do you enjoy travelling? ..........
Do make sure that you know the vocabulary you need
When appropriate, give reasons for your answers.
to talk about your studies, your job, your family, your
Ouestion: Tell me about a place you'd like to vislt. ..........
town and your free-time activities.
Listen to the examiner's questions carefully.
Look confidently at the examiner and perhaps smile a
little when you answer the questions.
Answer the questions openly and, when appropriate,
answer with extra details, or a reason.
Be ready to offer extra information about yourself and
try to speak fluently and confidently.

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Good answers Part 2
a l'd really like to visit Venice. l've seen photos of it and
l've read about it, but it must be an amazing place to
ln Part 2, you work alone.
actually be in and explore. l'd really like to go there at . The examiner gives you two photos on the same topic
carnival time because it looks such a colourful festival.
to speak about.
b l'm from Ostrava. lt's a Iarge industrial town in the east . He/She asks you to speak for one minute, compare the
of the Czech Republic, not far from the Polish border. photos and answer a question about the topic of the
It's a good place to live, especially in spring and
two photos.
summer. . The question is also printed above the photos.
c Yes, I do, especially ones which are competitive like . When your partner speaks about his/her photos, you
basketball or tennis, because I like to win. Actually, I

should listen carefully. After your partner has finished,

play in my school basketball team and at the moment
the examiner asks you a short question about the topic
we're at the top of our regional league.
of your partner's photos.
d Sorry, could you say that again, please?
e They go to the cinema, they go out with friends, they Part 2 takes four minutes in total including the examiner's
go clubbing. You know, basically, they do the normal instructions, each candidate's one-minute answer and the
things which I think young people do everywhere. short questions.
f Well, two weeks ago we had what in England I think You studied and practised Part 2 in Units 2,6,9,11 and 13
is called a half-term holiday, so I went skiing with two
of my friends in the mountains. lt was great because
we stayed in a hostel with other young people, the
weather and the snow were excellent, so the skiing
was great and we had a lot of fun meeting other young Talk about the general ideas the photos show. Don't try
people when we weren't skiing. lt was awesome, to describe them in detail.
especrally because it was the first time we'd been Compare the ideas the two photos show in relation to
skiing without our families. the question: the question is printed with the photos,
g Well, l've always liked beautiful buildings and l've so keep it in mind for everything you say.
always been interested in how they're designed to When you are not sure what is happening in a photo,
both look beautiful and be very functional, so l'm speculate (She seems to be ..., He might be ... - see
hoping to study architecture at university and become Speculating on page 19ó and in Unit 9).
an architect. I think the combination of a very technical When you compare the photos, you can say what is
subject with the chance to be very creative would suit similar about them as well as what is different.
me perfectly. Give a balanced answer, so:
h Well, there's just my mother, my father and myself, - spend about the same amount of time on each photo
so l'm an only child. Both my parents have full-time - spend some time comparing the photos, but perhaps
jobs: my mother's a lawyer and my father manages a more time answering the question (see Unit 13).
resta u ra nt. 6 Support your answer to the question with reasons.
i Yes, I love it. I get a real thrill from visiting new and 7 Use some of the strategies you have practised in this
unusual places and from meeting new people and book; for example, instead of talking about one photo
trying to understand or integrate a little bit into their and then the other, you could compare both of them at
cultures. I think also it's important for me to get away the same time (see Unit ó).
from my daily routine from time to time because it Speak for the complete minute, i.e. keep speaking until
helps broaden the mind. I wish I could travel more. the examiner says 'Thank you'.
When it's your partner's turn to talk about the photos,
listen but don't say anything yourself. You will be asked
a question at the end. You should answer it quite briefly
in a couple of sentences.

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 Comparing the photos
¡fil§ll ¡ ln the first photo, there's a girl who looks as if she's
l'd like you to compare photographs,
and say what you think is enjoyable
chatting on the internet or sending an email, whereas/
about communicating in these ways. while in the second photo two oldish people are sitting
together on a park bench and gossiping or telling each
other stories.
. I think that while the first photo shows that you can
What is enjoyable about communicating in have a good time communicating electronically with
these ways? your friends all over the world, the second photo shows
that traditional forms of communication with friends
are best because you're face to face and can laugh
together and look into each other's eyes and hold
ha nds.
. Ithink the girl might be talking to a friend about school
work, which is always more fun than doing school
work on your own, or she may be gossiping about
her teachers. On the other hand, the old people are
probably talking about their grandchildren and having
a laugh about things their grandchildren do, or they
could be talking about things they did when they were
younger.
e ln both photos, the people are probably
communicating with friends, and that's usually fun.
However, in the first photo, the girl may feel a little
distant from her friends, which is a pity, whereas in
the second photo the two people clearly have a close,
warm relationship.

Speculating
. ln the first photo, I can see a girl who looks as if she's
chatting on the lnternet whereas/while in the second
photo two old people are sitting together on a park
bench and gossiping.
. While the girl seems to be concentrating hard, perhaps
because she's writing, the old people seem to be
relaxed and enjoying themselves. I think this is because
they're together and can see each other.
. I think the girl might be talking to a friend about school
RefeirinoJI to the ohotos work or boyfriends. On the other hand, the old people
¡ ln the first photo, a girl is .. are probably talking about their grandchildren, or they
¡ ln the second photo, there are two oldish people who I could be talking about things they did when they were
are ... I younger.
o The first ohoto shows ... ',

tD page 170 Language reference: Modai verbs expressing

certainty and possibility

D p"g" 1ó8 Language reference: look, seem and appear

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 mffirE¡Etri
Pant 3 For the second part:
1 Don't discuss each option again, but discuss the
ln Part 3, you work with the other candidate. options which seem most reasonable to you.
This part of the Speaking paper is divided into two parts. 2 Try fo reach a decision, but remember that it's not
essential to agree.
ln the first part, which takes two minutes: 3 Remember you should discuss the question for a
. The examiner gives you a page with a question and five minute, so if you agree with your partner's first idea, s..
prompts. so, but suggest discussing other options (see Uni, 3'.
. You have 15 seconds to consider the options before you 4 Continue your discussion until the examiner says '-'a- '
start speaking. you'.
. You should discuss each of the options in turn.

ln the second part, the examiner asks you to summarise Example task: First part
your thoughts, for example by choosing the option that is
best and saying why. You have one minute for this.
l'd like you to imagine that a town wants to
You studied and practised Part 3 in Units 3,7,12 and 14. attract more visitors and tourists. Here are
some of the ideas they are considering. Talk
to each other about how effective theie
different ideas might be. You now have some
time to look at the task. Then decide which
For the first part: two would attract the most tourists.

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1 Listen carefully to the question, which is also printed
next to the options to help you. lt will be in a mind map
with the question in the middle of the page and the
I o ,,,vv,
prompts around it.
m use-'-
2 You have 15 seconds to think about the task before you
start speaking:
How effective
Think about:
might these ideas
¡ the options and how you can express them in your
be for attracting
own words and discuss their relative merits in relation
to u ri sts?
to the question
¡ how you can start the discussion, perhaps with a an [Link]
suggestion and a reason for your idea. I a str".[Link]"t I

champions' c
To start the conversation, you can give a brief opinion \_____-j
about one of the options or make a suggestion and ask
your partner what he/she thinks.
Example task : Second part
4 When you discuss, deal with each option in turn.
5 When your partner says something, react to his/her
Now you have a minute to decide which two
ideas. Listen carefully to what he/she is saying. Try to
ideas would be best for attracting tourists.
make the discussion like a natural conversation. Don't
try to dominate the conversation.
Keep the discussion moving by saying things like What
lnvolving your partner
about thts optton? What do you think? or Shall we move
o What do you think?
on to the next option?.
Don't spend too long talking about one particular
¡ Do you agree?
option.
. What about (a music festival)?
Continue your discussion until the examiner says'Thank
. I think ... What about you?

you'.
Keeping the discussion moving
¡ What about (a theme park)? What do you think?
o Let's move on to the next option.
. Shall we move on to the next option?
 What things should people try to find out before visiting
Part 4 country? (Why?)
a

ln Part 4, you continue to work together. How important is it for tourists to respect the culture of
. The examiner asks both of you questions about your the country they are visiting?
opinions connected with the topic you discussed in
Part 3.
lntroducing an opinion and giving a reason
¡ You may be asked the same question as your partner, if ¡ | think ...
you agree with your partner's answer, or a completely . Well, in my opinion, ... because ...
different question. . lfeel ...
Part 4 lasts about four minutes. . l'm not sure. I think .

. No, I don't think so ...

You studied and practised Part 4 in Units 4, B, 12 and 14.

lntroducing an explanation
o I mean ...
'lListen carefully to the questions. lf you don't o You see ...
understand a question, don't feel afraid to ask the
examiner to repeat (Sorry could you say that again,
please?). You won't lose any marks asking them to
repeat. Giving an example
2 Give general answers to questions. . For example ...
3 Answer the questions giving a reason or an explanation . For instance ...
or an example. . ... such as ...
4 You can try to give a balanced answer, i.e. express two
points of view and say which one you agree with (see
Units '12 and 14).
Speaking in general
Listen carefully to what your partner says, because you
. ln general, ..
may be asked to give your opinion on what he/she has
. Generally, ...
said.
¡ As a rule, ...
ó lf you don't know the answer to a question, don't just
. ... tend to ...
say I don't knou Say I don't know a lot about this
subject, but I think... and then give some ideas.

Example questions
o Some places attract large numbers of tourists. What
problems are caused by having too many tourists?
¡ What can people learn by going as tourists to other
places?
. Do you think it's better for people to spend their holidays
in their own country or travel to other countries? Why?
. What are the advantages of living in another country
instead of just going as a tourist? What's the main
advantage?

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