SPEAKING - PART 1

Your ability to communicate information, ideas and opinions in spoken English is tested in Paper 5. You are tested in a pair with another candidate. The paper contains four parts. (In Unit 13 Lesson 4 you will also be able to study Parts 3 and 4 and practise a whole paper).

PART 1: GETTING-TO-KNOW-YOU QUESTIONS

The examiner will ask each of you some introductory questions about yourself (e.g. about your family, home, hobbies and interests, plans for the future). Each of you will have to speak directly to the examiner. Part 1 lasts for about 4 minutes.

For your better practice, prepare a list of questions for finding out personal information from someone you have just met. With a friend or relative, try to practise asking and answering these questions.

Do you live near here?

Have you got any brothers and sisters?

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What do you usually do at the weekend?

PART 2: TALKING ABOUT PHOTOS

The examiner will ask each of you in turn to talk for one minute about a pair of photos. Each of you will be given a different pair of photos. You will have to compare and contrast your photos and relate them to your own experience.

Listen carefully to the examiner's instructions. In your minute of talking time, focus on the points the examiner has indicated. When you have finished, the other candidate will have to make a brief comment about what you have said. Part 2 lasts for about 3 minutes.

These 5-step directions can be of great help for your SPEAKING exam:
 

1. DEFINE POSITIONS IN THE PHOTOS

Use these positions to describe where people, objects, etc. are located and where actions are taking place:

2. SAY WHAT YOU CAN SEE IN THE PHOTOS

a) Describe what the people in the photos are doing, and say where they are. In your description, try to use:

the sentence structure THERE IS/ARE practised in Lesson 15, Page 4.

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the Present Progressive tense with the appropriate phrase from around Photo 1 or 2.

EXAMPLES:
In the background there are mountains towering over the scene.
A boy in a blue cap is taking a picture.

b) Say how the people and things in the photos look:

He / She / It / They / This   >>   LOOK(S)  >>  ADJECTIVE

He / She / It / They / This   >>   SEEM(S) TO BE  >>  ADJECTIVE

He / She / It / They / This   >>   LOOK(S) LIKE  >>  NOUN

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He / She / It / They / This   >>   SEEM(S) TO BE  >>  NOUN

EXAMPLES:
He looks like a professional photographer.
People walking by seem impressed.

3. MAKE GUESSES ABOUT THE PHOTOS

a) Say what the people in the photos might be doing:

He / She / It / They  >>   COULD / MAY / MIGHT BE   >>  ING

He / She / It / They  >>   SEEM(S) TO BE   >>  ING

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He / She / It / They  >>   LOOK(S) AS IF   >>   pronoun + be  >>  ING

EXAMPLES:
They could be waiting for some more friends.
It looks as if they are having an interesting visit.

b) Make some deductions about the photos. Use can't or must:

EXAMPLES:
This can't be in Latin America because ...
They must be in a cold country because ...

c) If you can't see very well or you don't know, it is advisable to use one of these expressions:

It is hard to see. Perhaps ...

I can't make out what he's doing. Maybe he's ...

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I've never seen anything like this before. It could be ...

4. PARAPHRASING

When you can't remember or you don't know the exact meaning of a word, try to explain what you mean:

It's a kind / sort / type of...

It's something used / you use   >>  for  >>  ING

It's what you do  /  how you feel /  what happens   >>  when you ...

5. FINAL ADVICE

Now talk about each pair of photos following these steps:

Compare and contrast the people, the places and the activities in each pair of photos.

Explain which of these places you would prefer to go to, and which of these activities you would prefer to do.

Say if you have ever been in any similar places in your country.

Now repeat steps 2-3, trying to speak without stopping and fitting all your ideas into one minute of talking time.