PREPARING THE MONOLOGUE B2.

2 LGG'19

PREPARING THE MONOLOGUE

TASK 1

PREPARING THE MONOLOGUE:

Task 1 in the oral exam is the monologue, that is, an approximate 5-minute talk about a given
topic. You are able to choose from two different topics and are allowed a 10-minute
preparation. In order to be ready for it, we are going to analyse COMMON and SPECIFIC features
of monologues.

1. COMMON FEATURES:

All monologues should have the following characteristics:

1. A general structure.
2. Expressions to join its different parts.
3. An outline.

1. GENERAL STRUCTURE

A. The monologue should have three main parts: introduction, main body and conclusion.
Match the following to each of the mentioned three parts of the speech:

Put these expressions in order: INTRODUCTION

Introduce the subject Introduce the subject
Summarize your monologue/Give an opinion
Give an overview of the structure of the talk
Give reasons/details/examples MAIN BODY
Cover several points

CONCLUSION
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2. EXPRESSIONS TO JOIN THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE MONOLOGUE

INTRODUCTION MAIN BODY CONCLUSION

INTRODUCING YOUR MONOLOGUE
The subject/topic of my
talk/monologue is …
In this monologue I would like to Let me begin by looking
look at …
GIVING AN OVERVIEW OF YOUR
TALK
I'll be talking about 3 main points. For instance/for example … So let me finish by saying that
Firstly ...
The main points I'll be talking
about are...
To start with, I'll review...
I'll start by describing...
First of all, I'll go over...
After that, I'll move on to...
Then, I'll look at …
Finally, I'll review the main
points...
STARTING THE FIRST POINT SUMMARISING YOUR
MONOLOGUE
Let's start/begin with … In conclusion, …
To start with, I'd like to … I'd like to conclude/finish
by ...-ing
at ... All in all, …
To sump up briefly, …
GIVING EXAMPLES In a nutshell, …
I'd like to finish by … v-ing
A good example of this is … ...
Another example (of this)
is ...
STARTING ANOTHER POINT
Now I'll move on to …
Let me know turn to …
Let's move on to …
Now I would like to turn to …
Having looked at ____, I'd
like to consider/turn to/
move on to …
As regards _______, …
Regarding ________, …
As for _________, ...

TIP: Memorise one or two expressions from each box and be ready to use them in your
monologues.

3. AN OUTLINE

As we mentioned earlier, before delivering your monologue, you'll be given 10 minutes to

prepare provided with a piece of paper and a pen. You should make the most of this time by
preparing the ideas and language that you will need to give your talk. There are many ways of
writing an outline (using a table, a spider web, a list, etc) but they all should mirror the
structure of the speech, that is, they should have an introduction/opening statement, main
points with reasons/details/examples and a conclusion.

Practise different outline layouts to find the one you feel comfortable with and use it to
prepare your monologues.
In the following sheet you will see two outline samples to give you ideas.

Once the common features have been established, we move on to consider the specific
characteristics of monologues.
>What do you think the specific features of monologues will be?
_________________________________________________________________________.
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2. 2. SPECIFIC FEATURES

In relation to the specific features of monologues, we need to bear into account:

1) Grammar and structures
2) Vocabulary
3) Linkers

Those will depend on the topic of the task.

Example of TASK 1:

WINNING THE LOTTERY

TASK 1 (Monologue)

You have recently watched on the news about lottery winners who, after
two years of winning the lottery, are poorer than before. Talk about this
TEST subject taking into account the following points:
10
 Forms of lotteries and sorts of people who play it
 Advantages and problems lottery winners may be faced with
 What you would do if you won the lottery

Talk for 4-6 minutes. Your production will be recorded.

STEP 1: It is important to identify the topic and the specific vocabulary and grammar we need
to carry out the task.

 GRAMMAR AND STRUCTURES

What grammar and structures do you think you will need to carry out the task?

 SPECIFIC VOCABULARY
a) What specific vocabulary do you need to do the task? In which unit have you seen it?
In which exercises?

 LINKERS
b) What linkers do you need to do the task? In which unit have you studied them? In
which exercises?

STEP 2: Write your outline.

STEP 3. BREATH DEEPLY AND SPEAK SLOWLY AND CALMLY

WORK PLAN TO PREPARE MONOLOGUES AT HOME DURING THE WHOLE YEAR COURSE

1. Pick a topic for your monologue from the list provided by your teacher for this year and the
previous year. You can also use the topics seen in the book and the wiki.

It's time you stopped writing your monologues. At this stage you have to learn to
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develop a topic just from an outline. This exercise will teach you to learn to speak, to
identify and fix mistakes and to gain fluency.

2. Although in the exam you'll only have one piece of paper, start working with TWO sheets
of paper: one for your outline and another for Useful Language (grammar, structures,
vocabulary and linkers).
1. Brainstorm on the language you want to use to make your range richer: tenses and
modals (varied), types of clauses (relative, conditional, time, contrast, result…),
adjectives (-ing/-ed adjs., etc), noun modifiers (a six-year-old child), etc
2. Work out the outline of your text. No narratives. Just key words. Bear in mind the
general structure of the monologue and learn some expressions to join the different
parts of the speech.
3. Start speaking following your outline and trying to use all the language items you wanted to
use. Time yourself.
Do it again, (-it will be different but similar-), and you will improve things that are easy to
improve. Keep practising it until you have minimum 4 minutes!
1. When you’re ready, record it.
2. Listen to your recording that day or some other day, and be ready to identify and fix
your mistakes.
It can be useful to create your own list of mistakes/a learning diary so that you can keep
a record of your own mistakes. This way you can pay specific attention and make a
special effort not to repeat them on later talks.
4. Record yourself again trying not to make those mistakes.
5. Create a Speaking File in your computer and save your recordings.
If every week (or two weeks max.) you work like this — get organized because you can fit it into
a few little dead moments in the day — your speaking file will be very useful. You will build a
bank of monologues on different topics and you will soon notice your progress, which will give
you more energy to keep learning!
6. The following time you pick up a topic, check your list of mistakes and start the whole
procedure.