B1 Speaking Exam

• Part 1 → You will be asked questions individually by the examiner. The questions will be
about your life and you may be asked questions about the present, past and future. Focus on
good pronunciation, and extending your answers just a little.

Questions about the past:

Where did you go for your last holidays?

I went to a place called _________. We spent our time sightseeing / sunbathing / swimming in the
sea / having a great time on the beach, etc. I absolutely loved / hated it.

How long have you been learning English?

Well, I have been learning English for ___ years.

How did you get here today?

I came by car / by train / on foot. It took me about ___ minutes to get here.

What did you do last weekend?

I went out for dinner with some friends on Saturday and I stayed in on Sunday.

Questions about the present:

What do you most enjoy doing with your family?

I love spending time with my family and I really like ________ .

How often do you go to the cinema?

I hardly ever go to the cinema because I (don't have enough time / money) (don't really like it).

How often do you have English lessons?

Once a week, on Fridays. It's the only time I can go to class because I work during the week.

What do you like or dislike about where you live?

Well, my city / town / village is amazing because __________ . The one thing I don’t like about it,
though, is _________ .

Questions about the future:

Where do you plan to go for your next holiday?

Well, I hope to go to ____ because I love / I want to _____ .

Would you like to live in another place?

Yes, I would love to live in ______ because ______.

or

No, I wouldn't like to live in another place because ________.

Do you think English will be useful for you in the future?

Oh yes, because I will need it for my job / my studies / to talk with people from other countries, etc.

* Now, remember that these are just possible questions that you could be asked. Also, when you
practise giving these answers make sure you use good intonation in your voice to make them sound
more natural before you go into your exam.

Part 2 → You will be given some images and will be asked to interact with your partner for 2-
3 minutes. You will need to discuss, make and respond to suggestions, and come to an
agreement at the end. Focus on giving your opinions and supporting them with reasons, while
also responding to your partner’s suggestions and opinions. Listen to what your partner says and
develop a conversation.

Asking your partner

What do you think?

What about you?

Do you agree?

What’s your opinion?

Would you like to...?

Should we...?

How about + Verb (-ing)...? 'How about buying...?'

Agreeing

Absolutely

Definitely. That’s a good point.

Good idea. I never thought of that.

I completely agree with you.

Yes, you’re right.

Me too.
Disagreeing

Hmm, I’m not sure.

I don’t think so.

On the other hand, ...

A better idea might be ...

I think it’d be better if …

Giving your opinion

I think/believe that …. (we should go to the cinema.)

In my opinion/Personally ... (I think that we should buy him the tablet)

I’d say … (a computer is better than a TV.)

I’m pretty sure that … (he would like a new watch.)

QUESTION: A young man on holiday in North America wants to buy a present to take home to his
parents. Talk together about the different presents he could buy, and say which would be best.
 • Part 3 → You will be given a colour photograph and, individually, will need to be able to
describe and speculate about what you see for up to 1 minute. You will need to do three
things: refer to the picture, describe the picture, and speculate about the picture. Here is
some useful language that can help you get good marks in this part of the exam.

Referring to the photo

To refer to the photos, you'll need to say what you can see in different parts of the photos, like this:

*For example: “In this photo I can see a classroom where there are a lot of students and a teacher.
In the middle of the picture, the teacher is standing so maybe she is looking at her students' work. In
the foreground there are three students doing their work, they look very concentrated. In the
background there are more students and one of them, who looks like a young girl, is standing in
front of the whiteboard so perhaps she is doing an activity or explaining something to her
classmates. On the walls we can see different posters and on the right there is an American flag so I
guess it's an American school”

Describing the picture

You need to describe everything you see in the picture for up to 1 minute. You can talk about:

• the scene. e.g., “It's a picture of a very busy classroom.” / “In this picture/photo I can
see...”
• what the people are doing (actions)
• what they are wearing (clothes).
• what they look like (physical appearance)
• what objects you can see in the picture (prepositions of place)
• speculate (“Maybe...Perhaps...I guess...I suppose...”)
• the weather
• your opinion (“I think they are having a great time/I think they are learning a lot”)

• Do not forget to use: Present Continuous, 'there is/are', prepositions of place.

Speculating

We need to speculate when we are not sure about something. For example:

• Use modals → could/may/might

e.g. “They might be studying for an exam” / “It could be a classroom or a busy library”
• Use speculation adverbs/structures → maybe/perhaps/probably/I guess/I suppose
e.g. “Maybe they are studying for an exam” / “I guess it's an American school”
• Use 'look' → 1. Look + Adjective 'parecer': “She looks happy/tired/concentrated”
2. Look like + Noun/Noun phrase 'parecer': “She looks like a teacher” / “They look like students”

QUESTION: Describe the following picture in 1 minute:

 • Part 4 → This is a general conversation based on the topic of the photographs in part 3.
You’ll work with your partner and you both need to give opinions, talk about your
likes/dislikes, preferences, experiences, habits etc. Again, try to develop a conversation.

Referring to yourself
For me, ..../ In my opinion ...
In my experience, ... *Try to use the Adverbs of Frequency (always, usually...)
When I was ...I used to … and also Past Simple/Used to (if talking about the past)