I.

Part 1

Part 1 is the warm-up to your examination so it is important that you get accustomed to
saying full sentences and to linking your ideas with reasons, examples, results and contrasts.
A great way to achieve this is to use different linking expressions that you already know so
there is nothing new for you to learn. Just make sure that you put one or two of them in each
answer in Part 1 and you will see that what you say immediately makes more sense.
Below you can find some examples and O believe that these are probably the most common examples to
give reasons or examples and to express result or contrast.
Useful language for Speaking Part 1
Giving reason
because
because of + -ing/noun
since
as
Giving examples
for example
such as
for instance
like
Expressing a result/consequence
so
to
in order to
for + -ing
Expressing contrast
but
although
even though
however
on the other hand
Again, these are the most common expressions, but there are many more that you can find online or in a
good grammar book.

II. Part 2

Part 2 is all about describing what you can see in a photo, which means that you need the right language to
do exactly that. Apart from that, you should also speculate a little bit about the people’s feeling or what they
might be doing.

Useful language for Speaking Part 2

Talking about different parts of the picture (prepositions)
on the right/left
at the top/bottom
in the top/bottom left/right corner
in the centre
in the foreground/background
next to / near
in front of / behind
Describing the people in the picture
He’s/She’s got long/short/dark/fair/brown/red/grey hair.
He’s/She’s got blue/brown/green/grey eyes.
He’s/She’s tall/short/slim/big.
He’s/She’s wearing + clothes
Describing the actions in the picture
We always use the present continuous to describe what is happening in a photo.
Example: He is watching TV. She is writing an email on her laptop.
Speculating about the things in the picture
maybe/perhaps
He/She might be + -ing/adjective
I think/believe that…
It looks/seems like he/she is + -ing/adjective

III. Parts 3 & 4

Lastly, we are going to look at the last two parts of the B1 Preliminary Speaking test. As
described earlier in this article, it is important to interact well with your partner and you
should give your opinion with reasons and examples. This last part about reasons and
examples is very similar to Part 1 so I’m not going to repeat that, but let’s check how you can
communicate effectively with your partner during Parts 3 and 4.
Useful language for Speaking Parts 3 and 4
Giving your opinion
In my opinion, …
I think/believe/feel …
For me, …
I would say …
Agreeing/Disagreeing
I agree/disagree.
I (don’t) think so.
I see your point.
Definitely/Absolutely!
Yes, but …
Inviting your partner to speak
What do you think?
What about you?
And you?
Do you agree?
What is your opinion?