B 1 Speaking Part 1 & 2

What's your name? Gina My name is Gina.

Where do you live? Don't just say Lorqui say “I come from Lorqui” or “ I live in a small town in
Murcia called Lorqui”

After the examiner will ask each of you “Do you work or are you a student?”
The examiner might ask extra questions, like “What job do you do?” or “What subject do you
study?”

Try to add more information to your answers

Show the examiner what you can do in English!!

What job do you do?

For example, instead of saying “Im an accountant”, say “Im an accountant. I've been working in
the accounting department of a construction company for the last ten years”
Do you work or are you a student?
instead of saying “Im at university” say “ I study graphical design at the university here in
Murcia. I'm in my second year, so I´ll graduate in two years.

Look at these two examples. Do you notice anything?

They both use two different verb tenses. The first example uses the present perfect. The second
example uses a future form, with “will”.

You should try to do this, too!

Say something about how long you´ve been doing your job, or your course, or say something about
the future.

What about you? How could you answer this question?

Make one or two sentences, add details, and use more than one verb tense.

Next, the examiner will ask you and your partner one or more questions. The questions could be
about different simple topics, like your hometown, your family, your home, your free time, your
future plans, and so on.
Look at some examples

What did you do last weekend?

Tell us about your hometown.

Do you think you will live in the same place in the future? (why/why not?)

When you answer these questions, think about the same points you saw before; add details to your
answers, and try to use a range of language.

One point: What if you don't understand the question the examiner asks? Just ask the examiner to
repeat the question. You can say “I'm sorry, could you repeat that please? Or you can say “Can you
say that again, please?”

Don't worry about having to ask this. It's normal, and won't affect your score.

Now let's look together at some more ways to improve your answers and your score.
First, as you have seen above, try to use different verb tenses if possible.

Example question: What did you do last weekend?

On Saturday, I played tennis with a friend, and then on Sunday, I had lunch with my family.
This is not bad, but your answers can always improve!!
On Saturday, I played tennis with a friend, and then on Sunday, I had lunch with my family, which
we do every week.

You're just adding a few words, but it all helps to add detail to your answer, and it helps your score,
too.

Now, try to use a range of adjectives in your answer. Look at the examples

Tell us about your hometown.

I live in Murcia. My town is nice because it has good restaurants and interesting museums.
Again, this is quite good! But, again, it could be better. Adjectives like “interesting” “nice” and
“good” are OK but they`re general. Try to use more specific adjectives and phrases. For example “I
live in Murcia. My town is a great place to live because it has many excellent restaurants and some
fascinating museums.
You can see here that you're not just changing the adjectives, you're also adding words to make the
answers more descriptive. You do not just say “My town is nice,” you say “ My town is a great
place to live”

example question: Do you think you will live in the same place in the future? Why/not? I don't
know where I´ll live in the future.
What do you think? Again, not bad, but it's a short answer and you don't get a chance to use your
English and show the examiners what you can do.

Sometimes, students ask “What do I do if I don't know what to say?”

Firstly, you can make something up. Your answer doesn't have to be true. You can say “I think I´ll
live in New York in the future”. After I finish university, I want to move to Manhattan and work in
the advertising industry. You can make up something interesting!
Secondly, even if you don't know what to say, you can still give some ideas. For example “ I don't
know where I will live in the future. I guess after I graduate, I will probably stay here for a few
years. After that, I wouldn't mind moving to another city, or even another country if I can find a
good job there.”

in this way, you can turn a basic answer into a full, interesting one, even if you are still saying “I
don't know”

Part 2

In part 2 of the Cambridge B1 speaking exam, the examiner will show you a photo.
You need to describe what you see in the photo.
You have one minute to talk.
At the start of part 2, the examiner will say: “Now id like each of you to talk on your own about
something. I'm going to give each of you a photograph and id like you to talk about it”

In part 2, YOU SPEAK ON YOUR OWN.

When your partner speaks, you just listen, or just relax for a minute. There's no connection between
the two photos.
The examiner will give you an idea about the topic of the photo.
For example, the examiner might say “ Here is your photograph. It shows people in a café”.
You DONT have any thinking time! You should try to start talking as fast as you can. So, how do
you start?

First, give a general description of what you see in the photo and what is happening.
Let's look at a photo

A common mistake that students make is focusing too much on detail from the start.
For example, someone might say “In this photo, there is some kind of computer or machine on the
left.” that's not wrong, but it's not the best way to start. Start with a general description. For example
“In the photo, I can see a young man who seems to be at the airport.”
after your general introduction, you need to describe the photo in more detail. When you describe
the photo in detail, imagine the examiner cannot see the photo.
Don't use your finger and point to things in the photo; use your words to describe what you see.
How can you do this?
You need to use prepositions of place to say what things are in the photo, and where they are.
-In the top left
- At the top
- In the top right
- On the left
- In the centre/ middle
- On the right
-In the bottom left
- At the bottom
-In the bottom right

Now you try.

Can you use the prepositions phrases you saw above, and make at least 3 sentences about this
photo?

There are many possible answers, but here are three examples; In the bottom right, there are some
vegetables: broccoli, pepper, and cauliflower. On the left, there's a man with his hand over his
mouth. At the bottom, there are two bowls, one with carrots inside, and the other with courgettes.

You can also use the phrases “at the the front” “at the back” or “next to” talk about where things
are. For example “At the back, there's a shelf with some containers. The woman is sitting next to the
man and holding a notepad”

Review prepositions of place!

How can I talk for a full minute? It's not difficult. Here's why….The photos almost always contain
people. That means you can describe the people, say what they look like, what they are wearing,
and what they are doing. This should give you lots of things to talk about.
Think: What could you say about the people in this photo?
Think about 3 questions: what do they look like? What are they wearing? What are they doing?