FCE

SPEAKING
Time: 14 minutes
▪ 1. FCE Speaking Part 1. Interview – 2 min.
▪ 2. FCE Speaking Part 2. Long turn – 3 min.
▪ 3. FCE Speaking Part 3. Collaborative task – 5 min.
▪ 4. FCE Speaking Part 4. Discussion – 4 min.
Part 1. Interview – 2 min.

Questions TOPICS
 Are you working or studying at the moment? ▪ WHICH QUESTIONS TO EXPECT
Where?
▪ Your hobbies
 What sort of job would you like to do in the
future?
▪ Your work or education
 How do you like to spend your evenings?
What do you usually do? Why? ▪ Things you like and things you don't like
 Is your town large or small / clean or polluted ▪ Friends and family
/ quiet or noisy?
▪ Holidays
 Are you going to do anything special this
weekend? Where are you going to go?
▪ Sports
 Do you use the Internet much? Why? Why
not? ▪ Future plans
TIPS
▪ HELP! I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND
THE QUESTION!
▪ Don't stress. Politely ask the
examiner to repeat it.
▪ Please could you repeat that?
▪ Could you say that again, please?
▪ HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU SAY?
▪ 2 sentences: e.g. Where are you
from, Victoria?’ 'I'm from Germany,
from the north coast of Germany."
▪ USE THE GRAMMAR OF THE
QUESTION IN YOUR ANSWER
▪ Are you going to go on holiday this
year?
▪ Yes, I'm going to go to Mexico.
▪ WHAT ARE SOME GOOD
KEYWORDS?
▪ learn the jobs of your parents,
husband/wife, best friend etc.;
▪ nice phrases about hobbies: e.g. I’m
keen on dancing.
 Part 2. Long turn

1. You and student B take turns to give long speeches.

2. You get two colour photos. You have to talk about them on your own for a
minute.
3. When you finish, the examiner asks the other student (student B) a question
about your photos - student B should talk for about 30 seconds.
4. Then student B gets two photos and has to talk about them for one minute.
5. When that is over, the examiner asks you a question, and now you have about 30
seconds to answer.
******************************************************************************************
The examiner will ask you to COMPARE the photos AND SAY something about
them. DON’T DESCRIBE PHOTOS!!!! COMPARE PHOTOS!!!
Study these examples from past exams:
Compare the photographs and say why they have chosen to travel in this way.
Compare the photographs and say why you think the people are talking.
Compare the photographs and say what the people are enjoying about doing these
things.
See the pattern? So the first thing you should learn is how to compare things, and
make sure you answer the second part of the question.
▪ GOOD:
▪ Both pictures show men on their own. In the picture on the
top there's a man on a bicycle while in the other picture he's
got a motorbike. In the first photo he's out in the countryside
somewhere, maybe in Scandinavia. In contrast, this man is in
a city and it looks quite dusty and polluted. Here in the first BAD:
image, though, we can see it looks clean and the air seems There is a man riding a bicycle. He has a
fresh. helm. Um... helm. Hat? Helmhat? Helmet!
Yes, he has a helmet. This man is on a motor
▪ I think there are good things about traveling by bicycle - it's bicycle. There is a yellow taxi behind him.
good exercise and it's very healthy. And cheap! On the other Um... I finished.
hand, riding a motorbike doesn't give any health benefits and
it's much more expensive because you have to buy petrol. (Problems: described the photos - didn't
compare - wasted time on one word - didn't
▪ What about the downsides of the bicycle? I suppose it isn't say what might be good or bad.)
very safe because cars don't respect you. But that's the same
on the motorbike sometimes. Oh, the bike is quite slow - much
slower than the motorbike. That's the really good thing about
the motorbike - the speed, and it's easy to find a parking
space!

COMPARE
▪ Compare the two photos and ...
▪ say what is good and bad about these
types of holidays
▪ say what the people are looking at
and why
▪ say why they have chosen this sort of
holiday.
▪ GIVE your answer in a written form:
▪ 1. I think there are good things about
traveling to the city because you can visit
historical places and know more about
architecture. On the other hand, harmony
with a wild nature is always a good idea
for your emotional condition and thoughts.
▪ 2. Both pictures show us two people
looking at different places. In the picture
on the top women can see the great Grand
Canyon, while other one demonstrates a
couple which is looking at outstanding
architecture and buildings.
▪ 3. I suppose that women have chosen this
type of holiday because they want to be
alone with nature and feel calmness. In
contrast, a couple wants to visit well-
known places and feels the rhythm of the
city
 Part 3
▪ In part 3 you given a spider web with FIVE keywords linking to a question.

▪ You get about 15 seconds to read everything, then you have to discuss it with your
partner for 2 minutes. When the 2 minutes is over, the examiner will stop you and he will
ask another question. You discuss that question for another minute.
You have 2 minutes to explore the 5 topics, and THEN another minute to decide
which is most important or the best.
▪ Collaborative task
▪ You will get a good grade if you ask
questions and react to what the
other student says.
▪ You will get a bad grade if you are
selfish, don't listen, or try to
monopolise the conversation.
▪ I can't talk about 5 points in detail in
2 minutes!
▪ True! And you don't have to. In fact,
you probably shouldn't. it's much
better to have a really good, deep
conversation about three of the
topics than to race through and
mention five. The good discussions
tend to hit 3 or 4 topics.
USEFUL PHRASES:
▪ Getting Started
▪ Which one shall we start with?
What do you think, Bob?
Bob, I think you know a lot about
[topic]. What's your opinion on it?
▪ Moving to the Next Item
▪ Shall we move onto [topic] now?
So what about [topic]?
I wonder if we can compare [current
topic] to [new topic]?
What about this one? [pointing to
topic]
What do you think about this idea?
How do you feel about that one?
We're running out of time, so let's
move on.
We still need to discuss [topic].
Ah, that connects with the next topic.
[Topic] is pretty similar to the last one -
maybe we can skip it for now?
USEFUL PHRASES:
▪ Ending Your Turn ▪ Interrupting
▪ What do you think? ▪ Sorry to interrupt but...
Don't you agree? Just a second...
Do you have anything to say about
that?
Do you have anything to add to
that?
Did I forget anything?
USEFUL PHRASES:
Agreeing
▪ Right.
Good point.
I fully agree.
I was just thinking that!
I was just going to say that!
That's just what I was thinking.
I couldn't agree more.
You're totally right.
Disagreeing (with reasons)
▪ Maybe, but what about...?
I think it would be better to...
I'm not so keen on that.
I don't really agree with you there.
Weeeeeell maybe, but...
Yeah, but, the thing is...
The problem with what you said is...
For one thing...[reason 1] And for
another... [reason 2]
USEFUL PHRASES:
▪ Reaching a Decision
▪ Well, I think it's definitely not [topic]
We can eliminate [topic] right away. Don't you think?
So then, what do you think is the best one?
I guess you think we should choose [topic]?
Are we both in favour of [topic]?
Okay, so we agree.
I don't think we're going to agree on this!
Let's agree to disagree!
▪ A- Which one shall we start with?
B- I'll talk about brothers and sisters first. Um... one of the problems I had with my
sister is that she spends hours in the bathroom.
A- Oh, I know that one!
B- It's not like a big problem but it was a bit annoying.
A- I totally agree - in my case it was my brother who took these really long baths
and made a total mess.
B- Are there any other problems in that relationship?
A- Maybe about money when their parents die. A lot of families fall out over that
topic, sadly. But that's depressing. Shall we move on?
B- Sure!
A- Actually, maybe boyfriends have the same problem with their girlfriends. You
know, taking so much time in the bathroom.
What problems
B- Sorry to interrupt but I think that's a bit of a stereotype. It's not really true in my
opinion.
might arise in these
A- I have to disagree with you. Honestly, my girlfriend just disappears into the
bathroom for hours. Sometimes I hear the hairdryer. relationships?
B- Well, maybe. But I think money can be a big problem in relationships. Some
men hate it when their girlfriend has a higher salary. It depends on the culture and
background a little bit, but I've seen it quite a few times. And they argue about
who should pay for bills and such things.
A- That connects with the next topic - flatmates. It's always tricky to decide who Brothers and sisters
should pay which bills. And who should do which chores, too.
B- That's just what I was thinking. And it's true for brothers and sisters and Boyfriends and girlfriends
boyfriends and girlfriends, too. Everyone argues about money and chores!
A- I feel like parents and teenagers is exactly the same... so let's skip it for now and Flatmates
talk about work colleagues?
B- Great idea. Parents and teenagers
Work colleagues
 Part 4
▪ In this part of the test you have about 4 ▪ Look at the examiner when you give
minutes to talk about the topics from part your answer, but then look at your
3 in more detail. You are tested on your partner when you are talking to each
ability to give opinions, give reasons for other.
your opinions, and your ability to politely
▪ Always explain your answers. 'Yes I think
discuss things with your partner. having computers in schools is a good idea
because the children get used to using
▪ TIPS technology and it will make it easier for
them to get a job in the future.' If you don't
▪ The examiner asks you a question. You answer it. explain your answers, the examiner will
But it's not the same as part 1. It's more like part 3 always ask 'why?' It's much better if you
- you should respond to your partner's answers, say why on your own.
and you should ask for their opinions.
▪ 'I don't know' is a BAD answer. You can
▪ The questions in part 4 are not written down, so say, 'Oh, what a question! I never thought
you have to listen carefully. If you don't about it before, but maybe...' That gives you
understand the question, ask the examiner to a little bit of time to think of something to
repeat it. say. Be interested in what your partner
says. Agree or disagree with them as in
part 3.
TIPS
▪ 3. There are no right or wrong answers, only good or bad conversations. You
can practice this if you're taking an FCE course - in the class always ask your
partner's opinions on topics and always ask 'why?'
▪ Use some interesting vocabulary, and try to use a variety of words. e.g. instead
of 'good' you might say amazing; interesting; costly; over-rated or another word
you have learned. All those words fit in this sentence: 'Giving iPads to
schoolchildren is a(n) ______________ idea.'
▪ When the exam is over, say goodbye but don't ask how well you did. They
aren't allowed to tell you and it just puts them in an embarrassing situation.
Useful Phrases for Speaking Test Part 4

▪ I've never really thought about that, but...

▪ What a good question!
▪ That's a good question.
▪ That's an interesting question.
▪ Oh! Let me think. Well, ...
USEFUL PHRASES:
▪ GIVING YOUR OPINION
▪ What I think is that...
▪ In my opinion, ...
▪ It's clear to me that...
▪ One thing I'm sure of is...
▪ I might be wrong but ...
▪ I'm no expert but...
▪ ADDING REASONS
▪ Another thing is...
▪ Apart from that, ...
▪ As well as that, ...
▪ Just as importantly, ...
▪ There's also the fact that...
▪ And don't forget...