Sample Speaking Test Speaking Lab 1 Part 1: Analysis Why this answer would score well...

Speaking Lab 1

The Basics: The candidate's oice is loud and clear enough to be understood. Pronunciation is clear and the candidate's ocabulary is appropriate in relation to the !uestions asked. There are no gra""atical inaccuracies. Presentation: The candidate sounds ery rela#ed and $riendly% At the ery beginning& the candidate's personality co"es through ' good use o$ hu"our ('The "ost beauti$ul place on earth'). Structure: The candidate responds appropriately to the !uestions asked. The answers are well structured: the !uestion is answered and additional& related details are gi en. The rhetorical !uestion& '*o you know anyone who doesn't+' in ol es the e#a"iner and de"onstrates the candidate's con$idence. ,ontent: The responses answer the !uestions the e#a"iner asks in detail (no one or two word answers%). -e de"onstrates a good& 'con ersational' style. The candidate's personality shines through right $ro" the ery beginning "aking the e#perience an en.oyable one $or both candidate and e#a"iner. This is a good& con$ident start%

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Sample Speaking Test Speaking Lab 1 Part /: Analysis Why this answer would score well...

Speaking Lab 1

The Basics: The candidate's oice is loud and clear enough to be easily understood. Pronunciation is e#cellent and the candidate's use o$ words0 ocabulary shows he can co""unicate on the topic e$$ecti ely. There are no gra""atical inaccuracies. Presentation: The candidate sounds !uite rela#ed and con$ident. The personality o$ the candidate co"es through by good use o$ ocal ariety which "ade the topic "ore interesting. Structure: The candidate responds appropriately to the !uestions asked on the ,andidate ,ard. The $irst three !uestions are answered !uite !uickly lea ing "ost o$ the ti"e to e#pand upon !uestion 1 (e#plain why it was such a good holiday). A point is "ade and then additional& related details are gi en. ,ontent: 2e"e"ber the !uestion re!uired the candidate to discuss: 1. where you went /. when you went there 3. what you did there and4 1. e#plain why it was such a great holiday. All o$ these aspects o$ the !uestion were answered. 5ne o$ the interesting things about the presentation is that the candidate ran out o$ things to say 6 he had talked about the past and present and then he introduced ideas related to the $uture as a way o$ ending his presentation ' which ga e it a good ending. -e used 'P6P67' (See Speaking Lesson 3). This is a good& con$ident continuation o$ the test%

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Sample Speaking Test Speaking Lab 1 Part 3: Analysis Why this answer would score well...

Speaking Lab 1

The Basics: The candidate's oice is loud and clear enough to be easily understood. Pronunciation is e#cellent and the candidate's use o$ words0 ocabulary shows he can co""unicate on each topic raised by the e#a"iner e$$ecti ely. There are no gra""atical inaccuracies. Presentation: The candidate continues to sound rela#ed and con$ident. The personality o$ the candidate continues to co"e through and builds upon the rapport established through Parts 1 8 /. Structure: The candidate responds appropriately to the !uestions asked. 7irstly& he answers the !uestion then con ersationally& he e#pands upon the topic. 9n other words& a point is "ade and then additional& related details are gi en. ,ontent: The in$or"ation presented in the con ersation clearly answers the !uestions. Through use o$ idio"atic and collo!uial e#pressions (:a change is as good as a holiday;& 'let their hair down'& :party "ode;)& the speaker de"onstrates a ery ad anced knowledge o$ the language. So"e good& acade"ic words are used (eg negati e i"pact& conse!uences& the o$$enders) This is a good& con$ident conclusion%

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Sample Speaking Test Speaking Lab 1 Part 1: Transcript

Speaking Lab 1

Q1Can we talk about an aspect of your home town? How easy is it to travel around where you re from? !1 Ah& yes. 9'" $ro" <itch$ord. The "ost beauti$ul place on earth% 9t's !uite a s"all coastal city. There's about /3=&=== people who li e there and we ha e !uite a good transportation syste" there. 9'd say "ost people tra el by car ' our roads are pretty "odern and well sealed but people who don't ha e a car usually catch a bus. The bus tra els to "ost parts o$ the city and it's !uite cheap. 7or e#a"ple& to tra el by bus $ro" one end o$ the city to the other it costs about >/ and that's pretty cheap co"pared to what 9 pay here in ?ngland. Q" #k$ %hich kinds of public transport do you use most and why? !" Actually& that's a di$$icult !uestion to answer because back ho"e& 9 ha e "y own car...9 sure do "iss that. When 9 was younger 9 used to catch the bus to school. 9n "y city all students under 1@ who li ed "ore than $our..."aybe it was 3....anyway about 3 or 1 kilo"etres $ro" the nearest public high school were gi en a bus pass which allowed the" to catch the bus to school $or $ree. The proble" was there was ne er enough seats to allow $or all the students so usually "ost students had to stand up in the bus all the way until they arri ed at school...but it was "uch better than ha ing to walk 9 can assure you o$ that% 5ccasionally& 9 caught the ta#i but it was a ery rare thing...ta#is are about 1 or A ti"es "ore e#pensi e than regular bus $ares so ta#is were only used i$ there was no other option. Q& 'ut what about here? (o you use public transport here in )ngland? !& 5h yes& here 9 "ostly use the underground. 9t's totally di$$erent $ro" back ho"e. At <itch$ord we don;t ha e enough people to warrant an underground rail syste"...at least 9 think that;s the reason we don;t ha e one. That;s been a really interesting part about li ing here& getting used to the rail syste". Q* How do you compare public transport here in )ngland with public transport back home?

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Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 1

!* Well& actually& back ho"e public transport is always late. 9t;s not unusual $or the bus to be...like 1A6/= "inutes late. We ha e a saying& B9$ you want to arri e on ti"e and you;re catching the bus& prepare $or one hour o$ tra elC. Well& here the underground is always on ti"e. 9t's been interesting in that it's always on ti"e and e#tre"ely reliable.

Q+ #k, let-s move on to the topic of movies$ (o you en.oy watching movies? !+ Des& 9 do en.oy "o ies...do you know anyone who doesn;t like "o ies+ 9 don't% 9 "ust say that 9;" a bit o$ an action person. 9 lo e action "o ies...9 like it when the tough bad guy gets beaten. 9 lo e happy endings...the hero;s always got to win% Q/ How often do you watch movies? !/ Well& it's actually been !uite a while since 9' e been to the cine"a to watch a "o ie. 9 think the last "o ie 9 saw was Action 7orce 6 a real action "o ie which 9 en.oyed i""ensely. 9t's actually too e#pensi e to go to the "o ies these days...and besides& i$ 9 wait $or a while...9 can watch it at ho"e...besides 9'" too busy studying at the "o"ent...there's really not enough ti"e to watch "o ies% Q0 #k$ Let s talk about what you like to do in your free time$ %hat sorts of activities do you like to do in your free time? !0 7ree ti"e...we;ll 9 don;t ha e too "uch o$ that nowadays...but when 9 do...9 en.oy reading. 9 "ostly en.oy reading business books and "agaEines..."y $ather has a business back ho"e and once 9 $inish "y studies& 9'" going to return ho"e and help hi" with the running o$ it...9 en.oy studying about business and learning about new ideas and ways o$ "aking a business "ore success$ul and e$$ecti e.

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Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 1

Speaking Lab 1 Part /: Transcript Q1 #k, good$ 1 m now going to give you a topic that you will need to speak about for 12" minutes$ 3ou can take notes if you want$ 3ou have 1 minute to prepare what you want to say$ 1 want you to talk about the best holiday you have ever had$ #k$ 3ou have a ma4imum of " minutes to speak so if you go over " minutes, 1 will ask you to stop$ Can you please begin speaking now? !1 The best holiday 9 ha e e er been on is a ery di$$icult !uestion to answer because 9; e been on so "any e#cellent holidays...9 guess 9; e been ery lucky. 9n the su""er ti"e back ho"e& when 9 was young& "y $a"ily used to go to the beach and we;d ca"p under the stars...that has always been an e#cellent "e"ory $or "e. But& 9'd ha e to say that the "ost wonder$ul holiday 9' e e er had was when 9 was 1F& when 9 went to <innesota in the Gnited States $or a su""er ca"p e#perience. 9t was .ust so "uch $un% 9 "et o er /== teenagers and we participated in so"e e#cellent ca"p acti ities% Let "e see...we had swi""ing in the lake& where the ca"p was situated. We also had water skiing& which was e#cellent $un...it was really di$$icult to hold on to the rope while the boat pulled us around the lake% Another $un acti ity was ca"ping. We...our dor"...went on a 36 day canoe trip...9 think there were about 1= o$ us in our group...which took us to the ,anadian boundary waters. There 9 saw so"e o$ the "ost beauti$ul alpine scenery 9' e e er seen in "y li$e% The lakes were so clear and we could drink the water $ro" the" by dipping our cups as we canoed along...it was .ust a"aEing. 9 wish e eryone could witness the incredible beauty we saw on that trip. Let;s see& what else+ Ahh yes& there was basketball and olleyball which we played in the big indoor gy"nasiu". So"e o$ the A"ericans were really good basketball players...they e en had cheerleaders at so"e o$ the ga"es% 9 got to know so "any people& in $act 9 still write to so"e o$ the people 9 "et there...you know& isn;t e"ail a great way to keep in touch+ There were other things but 9 can;t think o$ the" at the "o"ent...9 will say this: 9 would lo e to go back there again in the $uture. How& o$ course 9;" too old to be a ca"per Texas Academy

Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 1

but it would be e#cellent to be a sta$$ "e"ber& they are always looking $or olunteers. 9$ you olunteer at the ca"p they pay $or your $ood and acco""odation $or the whole su""er 6 and that;s around 3 "onths in A"erica.

Speaking Lab 1 Part 3: Transcript Q1 %e ve been talking about the best holiday you ve ever had and 1 d like to discuss one or two more 5uestions that are related to this$ 6irstly, let s consider the effect of holidays$ %hat effect do holidays have on people? !1 9 belie e holidays ha e a big& positi e e$$ect on people. 7or "any& 9 know that holidays are the highlight o$ the year. People wait all year 6 especially those who don;t like their .ob 6 they wait $or the holiday periods...they plan and prepare $or what they will do and they get e#cited by what they're going to do on their holidays. Typically people are in a good "ood when they are on holiday. They're s"iling and alert& they show interest in their new en iron"ent. 9 belie e that $or "ost people& holiday ti"e is the best ti"e o$ their year. Q" 7any people refer to their holidays as highlights of the year$ %hy do you think holidays are highlights for people?

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Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 1

!" Des..u"..well& 9 think holidays are highlights $or people because i$ a person doesn't like his or her work& a holiday represents a break in what they would otherwise nor"ally do. Dou know& it gi es people a chance to go in a di$$erent direction& to do so"ething they want to do...instead o$ being a sla e to their .ob. -olidays allow people to re6create& to re$resh their "ind and body. 9 read so"ewhere recently that it's actually a ery healthy thing $or a person to take a co"plete break $ro" what he or she nor"ally does and then to do so"ething di$$erent. 9 guess what 9'" saying is& a holiday is a change. 9t's a change in location and acti ity. That re"inds "e o$ the e#pression& 'A change is as good as a holiday' 6 it's a good one& and 9 think it's true.

Q& 8ood$ Let s talk about a related issue, the issue of tourism$ (o you see any negative aspects with regard to tourism? !& Des& absolutely. 9 co"e $ro" a coastal town and there is a constant& steady strea" o$ people who pour through it. These people o$ten cause proble"s in the acco""odation industry which is ob iously related to touris". They co"e in and kind o$ 'let their hair down' they show no respect $or the $acilities. 5$ten there is da"age to the places where they stay. 9' e heard o$ broken la"ps and chairs& dirty "arks on walls and carpets...you know& those kinds o$ things. They drink hea ily and "ake a lot o$ noise& constantly in a 'party "ode'. This has had a ery negati e i"pact upon our town and gi es tourists a bad na"e in the "inds o$ so"e o$ the local people.

Q* %hat could be done to stop the negative aspects of tourism from happening? !* 9 guess stricter laws could be introduced. 9$ people don't obey the laws& then the conse!uences "ight be a $inancial penalty. Dou know& an e#pensi e $ine& or perhaps throw the o$$enders into prison $or a day or two. That would certainly...9 i"agine.. ha e a big e$$ect upon the bad beha ior o$ people isiting a city while on holiday.

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