polonsky

Speaking
for matura
Wypowiedź ustna na poziomie podstawowym i rozszerzonym
podręcznik i materiały do kopiowania

Roman Ociepa, Karolina Ostrowska-Wawryniuk

Polonsky
Iwona Polońska-Ociepa
al. Armii Krajowej 141 m. 2A
43-300 Bielsko-Biała
Poland
tel. (+48) 502 586 930

Copyright © 2016 by Polonsky

First published 2016

ISBN 978-83-63630-07-2

Polonsky for Matura format devised by Roman Ociepa.

Cover & layout designed by Agata Korzeńska / IDEE.PL

Illustrated by Karolina Ostrowska / www.graphinery.com

Copyright
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publisher.

Photocopying
The publisher grants permission for photocopying of those pages marked ‘photocopiable’
according to the following conditions. Individual purchasers may make copies for their own
use or for use by classes they teach. School purchasers may make copies for use by their staff
and students, but this permission does not extend to additional school or branches. Under no
circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale.
polonsky

Speaking
for matura

Contents
Section 1 – Introductory Questions

Section 2 – Part 1 – Conversation with role-play

Section 3 – Part 2 – Describing the picture

Section 4 – Part 2 – Question 1 – Commenting on the picture

Section 5 – Part 2 – Question 2 – Talking about your present preferences and habits

Section 6 – Part 2 – Question 3 – Narrating a past event

Section 7 – Part 3 – Choosing an option based on visual prompts

Section 8 – Part 3 – Questions 1 & 2 – General questions

Polonsky Speaking for Matura is a bank of 40 activities designed for teachers working with Matura candidates. The purpose of
the book is to familiarise students with the format of the oral examination, as well as provide enough opportunity for speaking
practice. Each section of the book focuses on one aspect of the examination and contains five tasks of varied difficulty.
The book includes:
• description of the examination format
• detailed teacher’s notes with comments on the exam and alternative lesson plans
• material for photocopying
• lists of useful language
• five sets of Matura Cards (candidate’s and examiner’s versions)

Key to activity types

work together

pair work

pair vs pair / group vs group

whole class activity

polonsky

Speaking
for matura

Teacher's notes
 3 Describing the picture
part 2

In this part of the exam, the candidate has the opportunity to speak without interruption for around
1 minute, describing one colour photograph. The description is expected to be simple; candidates should
describe the people and activities in the photographs as fully as possible. They should also comment on the
setting (e.g. place, time of day, weather, etc.). The candidate is not expected to speculate about the context
or talk about any wider issues raised by the scenes depicted.

Key structures
• be e.g. It is sunny. They are tired.
• Present Continuous e.g. It is snowing. The boy is wearing a blue jacket.
• There is / There are e.g. There are mountains in the background. There is a house on the left.

TASK 3.1 Parts of the picture

Introductory note
When we describe a person, object, plant or animal in a photograph, we should indicate clearly where it is
located. We might point with our finger at the part of the picture about which we are talking in order to focus
the examiners’ attention.

Procedure
1. Copy the student card on page 12 – one copy for each pair or group of students.
2. Divide the class into pairs or groups of three.
To revise/learn talking 3. Tell the students that first they have to fill in the missing words in the captions. Give students a minute
about parts of the picture
or two to read through the captions.
To practise talking about
parts of the picture 4. Ask individual students to read the captions.
To practise describing 5. Tell the students that now they have to label each part of the picture with a correct caption.
a picture 6. Go through the picture, asking individual students to give the correct caption for each part of the
picture. Ask students what they can see there.
page 12

Follow-up
1. Ask students to describe the picture to each other. One of the students keeps the card so that the other
student cannot see it. The other student describes the picture.
2. Monitor the activity; make sure that students use There is/are for location and Present Simple for
actions.
3. Ask students to switch roles; now the student who has described the picture has the card and the other
student has to describe it.
4. If you want your students to practise describing the picture, there is the original version on page 13.

Extension
1. If you have time, ask students the following questions about the picture. Explain that they may expect
questions like that in Part 2 of the Matura examination.
2. Depending on the level of your students, you might ask questions to individual students or you might
put them on the board and ask students to go through them in pairs.
3. With more advanced students, you might ask them to make a list of Matura-style questions.
a. Do you think the people in the picture are enjoying their excursion?
b. Why do you think the people in the picture decided to go hiking?
c. Why are the people in the picture carrying bags and backpacks?
d. Are the people in the picture tourists or locals? Why do you think so?
e. How do you think the people in the picture are feeling?
f. What do you think the relationship is between the people in the picture?
g. Where do you think the people in the picture are going?

6 3 Describing the picture

Students with limited English
1. If your students are not fluent in English, it may be a good idea to revise There is/are before describing
the picture.
2. Explain that we use There is a... / There is an... for singular nouns and There are some... for plural nouns.
Remind the students that we put the location at the end of the sentence.
3. Ask students to give you 3–4 sentences about the picture with There is/are and put them on the board
as examples.

Answer key
Task 3.1.1 Task 3.1.2
a. at the bottom A. in the top left-hand corner
b. at the top B. at the top
c. in the background C. in the distance
d. in the bottom left-hand corner D. in the top right-hand corner
e. in the bottom right-hand corner E. in the background
f. in the distance F. on the right
g. in the foreground G. in the middle
h. in the middle H. in the bottom right-hand corner
i. in the top left-hand corner I. at the bottom
j. in the top right-hand corner J. in the foreground
k. on the left K. in the bottom left-hand corner
l. on the right L. on the left

Describing the picture 3 7

 6 Narrating a past event
To familiarize students with
Part 2, Question 3
To practise asking and
answering questions in Past
Simple
To practise building an
anecdote about a past event
pages 14–15
8 6
part 2
In this part of the exam, the candidate has to answer the examiner’s question about a past event.
The examiner may ask a direct question about the candidate’s personal experiences or the question may
contain the phrase ‘or somebody you know’, giving the candidate the option of describing somebody
else’s experiences. The candidate has to speak without interruption for around 40-50 seconds, presenting
a personal story or anecdote.
Key structures
• Past Simple e.g. It was Monday morning. I was at home.
• Past Continuous e.g. It was raining when I got up. My brother was cooking while I was reading a book.
• Past Perfect e.g. My aunt had already left when I arrived, so we didn’t get a chance to talk.
• used to e.g. We used to live in the country for several years. I used to do karate when I was in primary school.
• would e.g. My grandfather would visit us on Sundays. My grandmother would take a short nap after lunch.
TASK 6.1 What was it and who did it?
Introductory note
This task focuses on the last item of Part 2 of the Oral Matura examination, i.e. narrating a past event. When
we describe such events, we use mainly Past Simple and Past Perfect. More advanced students might use
structures such as would for past habits or conditionals.
Procedure
1. Copy the worksheets on pages 14 and 15, so that you have 6 cards for each pair. Cut up the cards.
2. Explain to students that in the exam the question is usually formulated like this: Tell me about a sports
event in which you or your friends took part. The question might also be more direct, e.g. What was your
first English lesson like?
3. Explain to students that they have to think quickly in the exam and build a story. This plan will be
helpful: Introduction -> Background -> Action -> Wrapping up. Put these headings on the board.
4. Elicit from students as many questions about past events as possible. Ask them to tell you which
heading they should be assigned to.
Introduction
What was the situation?
What kind of event was it?
Background
Who was the main person involved? You or somebody else?
When did the event take place?
What time of day or night was it?
Where did the event take place? What was the setting?
Why were you in this place? Why did you go to this place?
How were you dressed?
What did you have with you?
Who else was involved? What was his or her name?
Action
What happened first?
What happened next?
What happened finally?
Wrapping up
What was other people’s reaction?
What were the consequences of the event? Were they positive or negative?
How did you (or the main character) feel afterwards?
Narrating a past event
5. Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair 6 cards. Students have to shuffle them and put them on the
desk, blank side up.
6. Each student draws 3 cards and places them so that their partner can’t see them.
7. Tell the students that each of them has to take one card, read the prompt with situation and prepare
answers to the questions below.
8. Then Student A tells only the answers to their partner who has to guess the situation. Students must
not use words from the instructions, particularly those printed like this. The partner may guess three
times. If they guess immediately, they score 3 points. If their second or third answer is correct, they score
2 or 1 points respectively.
9. Then Student B reads their answers and Student A has to guess. Ask students to keep the score.
10. Monitor the activity, making sure that students are using full sentences.

Follow-up
1. You might use instructions from the cards (Tell me about ..., Describe ...) and ask a couple of students to
tell you their stories without using any prompts.

Extension
1. If you have time, you might increase the number of cards in each deck. Bear in mind that this activity
might become repetitive if carried on for too long.
2. With larger groups, you might divide your students into pairs, so that they can play the game two against
two. Then it is better to give students some time to prepare their answers. When the students are ready,
ask them to move to another pair (this will reduce the chances of eavesdropping on the opponents).

Students with limited English

1. If your students are not fluent in English, it may be a good idea to revise Past Simple before playing the
game.
2. Remind your students the rules of using regular and irregular verbs in positive sentences. Remind your
students how the verb be is used in Past Simple.
3. Ask students to give you as many time expressions as possible (e.g. last Monday, last summer, when
I was a child, when I was seven). Put them on the board so that students have a bank of time expressions
to use.
4. Alternatively, you might go through the list of questions (Procedure 4) with your students and put
sample answers on the board.

Narrating a past event 6 9

polonsky

Speaking
for matura

Material for photocopying

TASK 3.1 Parts of the picture
1. Read the following expressions and provide the missing words.
a. _ _ the bottom g. in _ _ _ foreground
b. at the _ _ _ h. in the _ _ _ _ _ _
c. _ _ the background i. _ _ the top left-hand corner
d. in the _ _ _ _ _ _ left-hand corner j. in the top _ _ _ _ _-hand corner
e. in the bottom right-hand _ _ _ _ _ _ k. _ _ the left
f. in the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ l. on the _ _ _ _ _

2. Now use the expressions and label the parts of the picture.

A B
C D

L F

J I H

12 photocopiable 3 From Polonsky Speaking for Matura by Roman Ociepa & Karolina Ostrowska-Wawryniuk (c) 2016 Polonsky
TASK 3.1 Parts of the picture

From Polonsky Speaking for Matura by Roman Ociepa & Karolina Ostrowska-Wawryniuk (c) 2016 Polonsky 3 photocopiable 13
Task 6.1 What was it and who did it?

Set 1 Set 2
Tell me about a situation when you or somebody you know had Tell me about a situation when you or somebody you know got
an accident at school. lost on holiday.
1. Who was involved? You or somebody else? 1. Who was involved? You or somebody else?
2. When did the accident take place? 2. When did the event take place? What time of day or night
3. Where did the accident take place? was it?
4. What happened exactly? 3. Where did the event take place?
5. What was other people’s reaction? 4. What happened exactly?
6. What were the consequences of the accident? 5. What were the consequences of the event?
6. How did the lost person feel afterwards?

Set 3 Set 4
Tell me about a situation when you or somebody you know Tell me about a situation when you or somebody you know
moved house. helped a stranger.
1. Who was the main person involved? You or somebody else? 1. Who helped a stanger? You or somebody else?
2. When did this person move house? 2. When did the event take place? What time of day or night
3. Why did this person move house? was it?
4. Who else was involved? What was his or her name? 3. Where did the event take place?
5. How did this person organize moving house? 4. Why did the stranger require help?
6. What were the consequences of moving house? 5. What was the stranger’s reaction?
6. What were the consequences of helping the stranger?

Set 5 Set 6
Tell me about a situation when you or somebody you know Tell me about a situation when you or somebody you know
found a new job. presented a lesson at school.
1. Who was the main person involved? You or somebody else? 1. Who was the main person involved? You or somebody else?
2. Where did this person look for a job? 2. When did this person present a lesson?
3. What kind of job was this person interested in? 3. Why did this person present a lesson?
4. When did this person get a job? 4. What and how did this person present?
5. Why did the employer decide to hire this person? 5. What was other people’s reaction?
6. What were the consequences of the new job? 6. How did the person feel afterwards?

Set 7 Set 8
Tell me about a situation when you or somebody you know had Tell me about a situation when you or somebody you know
to help a family member with a vehicle. organized a family celebration.
1. Who was the main person involved? You or somebody else? 1. Who organized the family celebration? You or somebody
2. Who was the family member? else?
3. Why did the family member require help? 2. Why was the family celebration organized?
4. What kind of vehicle did the family member require help 3. Where and when was the family celebration organized?
with? 4. How were the guests dressed?
5. When and where did the situation take place? 5. What happened during the family celebration?
6. What were the consequences of the situation? 6. What were the consequences of the family celebration?

14 photocopiable 6 From Polonsky Speaking for Matura by Roman Ociepa & Karolina Ostrowska-Wawryniuk (c) 2016 Polonsky
Set 9 Set 10
Tell me about the most disappointing concert you have ever Tell me about the most expensive thing you have ever bought.
seen. 1. What was this thing?
1. Who performed in the concert? 2. When did you buy this thing?
2. When and where did the concert take place? 3. Where did you buy this thing?
3. Why did you want to see this concert? 4. How much did this thing cost?
4. Who else was with you? What were their names? 5. Why did you buy this thing?
5. What was other people’s reaction to the concert? 6. What were the consequences of buying this thing?
6. How did you feel after the concert?

Set 11 Set 12
Tell me about the most dangerous animal you have ever seen. Tell me about the most interesting documentary you have
1. What animal was it? ever seen.
2. What made the animal dangerous? 1. What was the documentary about?
3. When did you see the animal? 2. When did you see the documentary?
4. Where did you see the animal? 3. Did you watch the documentary alone or with somebody
5. What was your reaction to the animal? else?
6. How did you feel afterwards? 4. Why did you watch this documentary?
5. What was the length of this documentary?
6. How did the documentary inspire you?

Set 13 Set 14
Tell me about a political event you remember best. Tell me about a meal you remember best.
1. What was the purpose of this event? 1. When did you eat this meal? What time of day was it?
2. When did the event take place? 2. Where did you eat this meal? Why were you in this place?
3. Where did the event take place? 3. What did the meal consist of?
4. Why were you interested in this event? 4. What did you have with you?
5. How did you participate in this event? 5. Who else was involved? What were their names?
6. What were the consequences of the event? 6. How did you feel after the meal?

Set 15 Set 16
Describe your most memorable sport achievement. Describe an event in your life in which a mobile phone played
1. What kind of sport did you practise? an important role.
2. When did the achievement take place? How old were you? 1. When did the event take place? How old were you?
3. Where did the achievement take place? 2. Where did the event take place?
4. How many people saw your achievement? 3. Why were you in this place?
5. What was the spectators’ reaction to your achievement? 4. What kind of mobile phone did you have with you?
6. What were the consequences of your achievement? 5. Who was involved in this event?
6. What were the consequences of the event? How did you
feel afterwards?

From Polonsky Speaking for Matura by Roman Ociepa & Karolina Ostrowska-Wawryniuk (c) 2016 Polonsky 6 photocopiable 15