Speaking Templates

Give your opinion on a familiar topic

TASK 1: Personal Preference
15” Prepara&on + 45” Speaking

Ques&on: What is your favourite ___? Describe it and explain why is your favourite.
What do you consider is ___? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

15” Prepara&on
Before the ques&on finishes write down your answer. During the prepara&on &me write
down the two reasons. Do not forget to breathe!

A (Answer): knowledge R1 (reason 1): learn more

R2 (reason 2): more fun

45” Introduce your chosen subject b slightly rephrasing the prompt.

In my view ___ or two reasons.
In my opinion/To me ___ is the ___ because ___ and ___.
Personally, I enjoy/prefer/admire/appreciate/adore/love/cherish ___for two
reasons/because of two reasons; ___ and ___.
My best/favourite ___ is ___.
One of the best ___, if you ask me, ___.
I feel this way for two reasons: ___and __.
This is because of two reasons ___.
(Op&onal) Whenever talking about something special, describe it with one sentence.

35” Explain your first reason with specific examples (where, when and who) to clearly state why.
First ___. For example ___.
First off, ___. For instance ___.
For one, ___. That is ___.
My first reason is that ___.

20” Explain the second reason. Come up with a brief example to illustrate why.
Second/ly ___. For instance/This is because ___.
There’s also the fact that ___.
Next ___. As a result, I ___.
In addi&on, I believe/think/feel that ___.
Another reason is that ___. Basically ___.

5” Conclude with a general summary

That’s why ___.
And this is why my best/favourite ___ is ___.
This is why I believe/think/feel that ___.
And these are the reasons I’d enjoy ___.

Connectors: Not only; but; besides; moreover; therefore; also; meanwhile; in contrast…
Tenses: present (reasons); present, past, condi&onal, future (examples).
 Give your opinion on a familiar topic
TASK 2: Personal Choice
15” Prepara&on + 45” Speaking

Ques&on: Do you prefer ___ or ___? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

15” Prepara&on
Before the ques&on finishes write down your answer. During the prepara&on &me write
down the two reasons. Do not forget to breathe!

A (Answer): similar R1 (reason 1): fewer arguments

R2 (reason 2): more fun

45” Introduce the topic and your opinion on it.

If I were to be asked whether/if ___.
If somebody asks me ___.
If I had been asked this ques&on ___.
Personally, I believe ___ is beder than ___ for two reasons.
In my opinion, ___ seems to be beder than ___ because.
I would prefer ___ rather than/over ___ because ___. That is ___.
To me, ___ is a beder op&on than ___. And I feel this way because of two reasons:
___ and ___.
(Advisable) Say something posi&ve about the other op&on in the introduc&on. It will help
you to separate tasks number 1 and 2.
Despite/although/even though/as some people may think ___ I’d rather prefer ___.
While some may disagree, I believe that ___.

35” Explain your first reason and give an example.

First off, ___. For example ___.
For one, ___. For instance ___.
One reason is that ___. What I mean by this is that ___.

20” Introduce your second reason and illustrate it with an example.

Secondly ___. This is because ___.
Another reason is that ___. Basically ___.
On the other hand/also/furthermore ___.

5” End your response with a brief closing statement.

This is why I prefer/select/think that ___.
And this is why I prefer ___.
Because of these reasons I feel that ___ is a beder choice/op&on than ___.
Therefore I strongly/firmly believe that ___.

Connectors: Although; despite of; as some people; however (not first sentence); what is more; whereas…
besides that; on the other hand…
Tenses: present (reasons); present, past, second condi&onal (examples), second condi&onal (beginning).
 Talk on the basis of reading and listening pieces
TASK 3: Announcement/Discussion
30” Prepara&on + 60” Speaking

45-50” Read an announcement/flyer/ar&cle (around 100 words). Iden&fy and write down:

Change: 10% increase of tui&on

Reason 1: more money for facili&es
Reason 2: more money for teachers

60-120” Listen to a conversa&on between a man and a woman about their opinions on the campus
situa&on.


Man Woman

Opinion: Oh I think the tui&on

increase is a great idea.
Oh yeah!
Reason 1: We really need new
research facili&es. ___.
Really!
Reason 2: The idea about the new
teachers too. We don’t have that
many teachers ___.

Ques&on: Describe the student’s opinion and the reasons he/she gives for.

30” Prepara&on
✓ Draw four circles: change, opinion, reason 1 and reason 2. Do not circle the reasons
from the announcement.
✓ Review the words and add connectors.
✓ Breathe!

60” Explain the campus situa&on.
According to the announcement, the University plans to ___.
The University/School/cafeteria intends to ___.
The announcement explains/states that the University is considering ___.

52” State whether the student agrees or disagrees.

The man’s opinion is that ___.
The student agrees/disagrees with the school’s changes/decision/proposal for two
reasons.
The student supports/opposes these changes.
However, the student doesn’t support this plan.
He/She provides two reasons.

44” Explain one of the student’s main points for suppor&ng/opposing these changes.
First, the student believes/feels/thinks that ___.
The first point the student makes is that ___.
One reason is that ___.

24” Explain the second point made by the student.

Secondly, the student believes/feels/thinks that Explain one of the student’s main
points for suppor&ng ___.

4” (Op&onal) Conclusion.
That’s why ___ the man thinks is a great/poor idea.

Connectors: For instance; resulted in; even though; hence; while; meanwhile; in contrast;
Tenses: present, past, reported speech.
Paraphrase is not needed.
 Talk on the basis of reading and listening pieces
TASK 4: General/Specific
30” Prepara&on + 60” Speaking

45-50” Read a passage/text/ar&cle/excerpt. Iden&fy and write down:

Title: Camouflage
Defini&on: animal mechanism to avoid predators. May be seen or not by the human
eye.

90-120” Listen to a lecture about the concept defined in the passage.

Category 1: Sloth. Central/South America. It sleeps a lot, 15h/day. It lives in trees.

Algae grow on it. It is brown with green stripes (because of the algae). Look
camouflaged within the trees.
Category 2: Bluemorpho. Central/South America. It is bright blue on the top and
brown on the bodom. It has been called “the living jewell”. When it flies mimics
flashes of sky between the trees.

Ques&on: Using the examples provided in the lecture, explain the &dle of the ar&cle.

30” Prepara&on
✓ Draw four circles: &dle, defini&on, category 1 and category 2.
✓ Cross unimportant facts out (manage your &me!).
✓ Review the words/add connectors.
✓ Breathe!

60” Introduce the main topic and the concept you are going to discuss. Describe what the
concept means.
The ar&cle is about ___ which the passage defines as ___.
The passage discusses ___ and how it ___.
The main focus of the text is ___.
According to the excerpt ___ is ___.
The passage introduces the concept of ___.
The text also dis&nguishes two types/categories/kinds of ___.
They may or may not ___.
The professor goes into detail by ___.

45” Explain the first category/example.

The professor/lecturer provides an example of ___ to illustrate this. He/she states
that ___.
The professor elaborates on this concept/term explaining that ___/by providing
several examples.
The professor first men&ons that ___.
First off, the professor talks about ___.

25” Introduce the other category/example.

Next, the professor discusses/argues ___.
The professor also explains that ___.
Addi&onally, the professor claims that ___.
Another example the professor gives is that ___.

5” (Op&onal) Conclude with a short recap of the concept.

And so, these examples clearly illustrate ___.
This is what ___ means.
And this is the meaning of ___.
So this is how the professor describes ___.
By giving these two examples, the professor effec&vely explained ___.
In this way the professor expands upon the topic of ___.
In summary/So/Therefore, these examples demonstrate/show ___.

Connectors: The former; the later...

Tenses: present, past, reported speech.
S&ck to the info explained in the text and the lecture.
 Talk based on a listening passage
TASK 5: Problem/SoluBon
20” Prepara&on + 60” Speaking

60-120” Listen to a conversa&on between two students a campus problem.



Man Women

P: sleepy Problem:
S1: coffee Solu&on 1:
+: easy Response +
-: taste, $ Response –
S2: sleep
+: healthy Solu&on 2:
-: NS kinder
Opinion Response + Response -

Ques&on: What is the problem? Which solu&on would you choose and why?

20” Prepara&on
✓ Draw three circles: problem, solu&on 1 and solu&on 2.
✓ Review the words and add connectors.
✓ Breathe!

60” Summarize the overall problem.
The conversa&on is between two students ___ and ___. They are discussing ___.
The man’s problem is/is facing a problem with ___.
The students discuss two solu&ons.
According to the students/man/woman/professor ___.
The students ___ and ___ are discussing ___ and how it ___.
The conversa&on between two students is about ___.

50” Outline the two solu&ons.

First ___, second ___.
One solu&on is to ___, and another solu&on is to ___.
The student offers two solu&ons: one is to ___ and the other is to ___.
One proposal the student has is to ___, and the other is to ___.
He/She is considering/point out/is thinking about/is afraid that/feels/ ___.

30” Report which solu&on you believe is best and give reasons.
If I were the man/woman, I would choose the first/second solu&on. Even though the
first/second solu&on isn’t good because ___. The first/second solu&on is beder
because ___.
I believe/feel/think that the first/second solu&on is beder for several reasons. For
one, it would be easier to ___. Second, this solu&on allows you to ___.
In my opinion, the first/second solu&on is beder because ___. First, it makes more
sense to ___. Second, you can ___.
And the second solu&on, which I also recommend, is ___.

5” (Op&onal) Tie together your reasons with a general concluding statement.

And these are the reasons I feel ___ is ul&mately the beder/best solu&on.
This is why I believe ___ would be a good solu&on.
Therefore the beder solu&on is ___.

Connectors: Therefore; consequently; hence; even though; as; meanwhile; in contrast…

Tenses: present, past, reported speech, second condi&onal for the conclusion/opinion.

Talk based on a listening passage
TASK 6: Summary
20” Prepara&on + 60” Speaking

90-150” Listen to a lecture:

Topic: Plant survival mechanism

Defini&on: mechanisms that plants use to protect them-shelfs from being eaten
by insects.

Subtopic 1: Physical feature

Defini&on
Example: Passion plant. It has spike numerous hairs over its leaves. The hairs
make a physical barrier therefore the insects can not land over the leaves and
eat them.

Subtopic 2: Chemical defenses

Defini&on
Example: Potato plant. It releases chemical compound from their leaves when
the plant is adacked by insects. The insects swallow the chemicals and making
feel the insects full hence the insect stop ea&ng the plant.

Ques&on: Using the points and exampled given by the professor explain the two types of ___.

20” Prepara&on
✓ Draw five circles: T/D, ST1/D, E, ST2/D and E.
✓ Cross out 40% of your notes. Only talk about the important informa&on (make it easy
for yourself).
✓ Write down some connectors and keywords
✓ Breathe!

60” Rephrase the ques&on you had being asked.
In the lecture, the professor talks about ___- He/she then gives two examples to
illustrate this concept.
The professor discusses ___ in the lecture, giving two examples.
Throughout the lecture, the professor talks about ___ and how it ___.
The professor discusses ___ which he/she defines as ___.
He/she describes two kinds/types ___ and ___.

45” Summarize the main points of the lecture and how the illustrate this concept. Explain why
the professor gives certain examples and discuss how these examples relate to the main
topic.
First, the professor focuses on ___. This means that ___.
First, the professor talks about ___. So essen&ally, what the professor is saying is that
___.
The first example the professor gives is ___ In other words ___.
Second, the professor goes on to say that ___.
The next point the professor makes is that ___.
The professor also explains that ___.
Another example the professor gives is ___.
First ___.
The professor provides an example of ___ to illustrate this.
He poses the example of ___.
Second ___.

5” (Op&onal) Conclusion.
And that’s how the professor describes ___.
By giving these two examples the professor describes/illustrates the ___.

Connectors: whereas; on the other hand; opposite; on the contrary; similarly; in both cases…
Tenses: present, past, reported speech.