CAE 2015: Speaking : Part II

Part II of the CAE speaking test is an individual "long turn" for each candidate with a brief response from the other candidate. In turn, each candidate is given a set of three pictures (together with two written prompts in the form of direct questions) and has to talk about two of the pictures for a minute. After this, their partner will be asked a question related to the task as well. 

The part lasts  4 minutes in total: 1 minute for each candidate's individual speaking plus 30 seconds for the second candidate's response. 

The focus is on organising a larger unit of discourse: comparing, describing, expressing opinions and speculating. 

 In this speaking task it is not enough to merely describe what you see in the pictures. The candidates are supposed to compare two of the pictures, express their opinion and, most importantly, speculate. That's why it's essential to learn speculative vocabulary (may, might, must, could, might have, probably etc.) and practise guessing more than you see in the pictures.

The following questions might be useful to answer when workin with pictures.

- Who do you think the people in the pictures are? What are their relationships?

- What might they be talking about?

- What do you think could have happened just before the scene? Why?

- What do you think might happen next? Why?

The other thing which is absolutely vital for the task is organising and linking ideas. You will need to learn and practise a wide range of linking words and cohesive devices that help you move from one idea to the next one. 

Note: don't overestimate formal linkers which are more suitable for writing. Make a good use of simple linking words that sound natural in speaking.

 

CAE 2015: Speaking: Part I

Part I of the CAE speaking test is a short conversation between the examiner and each candidate individually. It lasts 2 minutes and the focus is on general social and interactional language. In the table below are some typical questions that you might be asked in this part of the exam.

Topics	Possible questions
Introductory questions	Where are you from? What do you do here?
Daily life	What’s your favourite time of day / time of year? What do you like to do at weekends? What do you do to relax? Do you prefer to follow a routine or do you like to do something different every day?
Past Experiences	Who do you think has had the most influence on your life so far? Why? Where is the most interesting place you have ever travelled to? What’s your happiest childhood memory / memory of school? What do you remember about your first school? Who is the best teacher you’ve ever had? What were the most useful things you learned at school? What were your favorite subjects? How has your life changed in the last year?
Studying languages / Learning	How long have you been learning English? Have you always been interested in languages? What do you most enjoy about learning English? If you had the opportunity to learn something new, what would you choose? What do you enjoy learning? Do you find it useful that you can speak English when you travel? Why?
Holidays / Travel	What kinds of holiday appeal to you most? Why? Which country would you most like to visit? Why? Would you prefer to spend your holidays with your family or your friends? What would you prefer: relaxing or adventurous holidays? Would you like to work in the travel industry? Why? What things do you most enjoy doing when travelling on holiday? Would you enjoy going on an adventurous, possibly dangerous journey? Why (not)? If you could choose something completely different from your usual type of holiday, what would it be?
Plans / ambitions	What would you like to be doing in five years time? What do you hope to be doing this time next year? How might you use your english in the future? Would you consider living abroad permanently? Are you someone who likes to plan for the future or do you prefer to let things happen?
Friends	What do you most enjoy doing with your friends? Have you ever had the opportunity to really help your friend? How? Tell me about a friend of yours and how you got to know him or her. How necessary is it to have good friends? How do you usually communicate with your friends?
Leisure / Entertainment	What are your main interests and leisure time activities? What types of TV programmes do you think are worth watching? What kinds of music do you like listening to? How important are sport and exercise in your life? Do you think having  a lot of free time is a good or bad thing?
Hometown / Home Country	What is the best way for visitors of your country to make friends? What part(s) of your country would you recommend to tourists? Why What’s the best time of year for people to visit your country? If sorne friends from abroad were visiting your region, which places would you take them to see? Why?
Jobs / Work	What’s your ideal job? What’s more important money or health?