Aptis Speaking

Part 1
Part 1– Personal Information (Giving personal
Information): You will be given 3 questions and
you will need to speak for 30 seconds for each
question.
 REMEMBER

• If you feel nervous: begin by repeating/ reading the

question. ” What is your village,town or city like? It is …….
• If you need time to think, say: Let me see… or Hmm.. I
would probably say..
• Always use a stopwatch or mobile phone to time your
answers.
• Try developing a structure to answer these types of
questions: This will help if you are struggling to fill up the
time.
• Your focus should be on improving your vocabulary and
reduce repetition, pauses, and nervousness.
 Part 1 - 3 questions, 30 secs each
• Tell me about your English course.
• What did you do last weekend?
• Which sports do you like to play?
 Part 1 - 3 questions, 30 secs each
• What do you do in your spare time?
• What’s the weather like today?
• Please tell me about your job.
 Part 1 - 3 questions, 30 secs each
• How old are you?
• What nationality are you?
• Where do you live?
 Part 1 - 3 questions, 30 secs each
• What do you do/ study?
• Are you married? Have you got a
boyfriend / girlfriend?
• Can you spell your family name?
 Part 1 - 3 questions, 30 secs each
• Do you enjoy studying English?
• Do you think that English will be
useful for you in the future?
• Have you got any brothers or sisters?
 Part 1 - 3 questions, 30 secs each
• Have you got any children?
• How long does it take to come to
school?
• Tell me about your family
 Part 1 - 3 questions, 30 secs each
• How do you get to school?
• Tell me about your day at
school/college
• What are your hobbies?
 Part 1 - 3 questions, 30 secs each
• What are your plans after school?
• What did you do yesterday / last
weekend?
• What do you do in your spare time?
 Part 1 - 3 questions, 30 secs each
• What do you study? What are your
favorite subjects?
• What’s your job? Which job would
you like to do in the future?
• Tell me about your house
 Part 2
• Giving a Basic Description of picture /Opinion/
Comparing with own situation
There are 3 task from part 2 of the Aptis speaking
exam:
1. Describe the picture. (You have to speak for 45
seconds )
2. 2.Giving an opinion. (You have to speak for 45
seconds )
3. 3. Comparing with own
situation/experiences. (You have to speak for 45
seconds)
Example
 Describing
• This is a picture of………../In this picture I can
see…
• This picture (it) shows………… who are …..-ing
in the ………
• They might be/seem to be ………v-ing…….
Maybe because ………..
• In the background/foreground there is/ I can
see….
 …seems…/ …looks…

I guess/ I imagine…
Speculating
…is obviously…

…probably…

…might/ may/ maybe/ perhaps…

…clearly…

I’m not sure exactly but…

…appears…/ …looks like…

I reckon…/ I suppose…
I’m fairly sure…
I get the impression that…/ My initial impression is…
…is almost certainly…
…must…
…could (possibly)…
I’m pretty confident that…
I expect…
I know for sure that…/ I know for a fact that…
 Question Two : Opinion

• To do this we usually use adverbial phrases at

the start of the sentence.
• Here are some phrases/structure to use when
giving an opinion.
 Phrases for giving opinion
• I think that, I believe that
• In my opinion
• From my point of view/knowledge
• In fact,
• As far as I understand
• Personally
• In my experience
• Some people say that...... It is thought that....
• It is considered that
Question Three: Comparison with your
own situation.
• I would definitely choose picture one as I like……..
• I guess my first choice would be picture two.
• For me, the most important thing is to …………
• I don’t think it really matters where you go as long as …………
• Personally, I would prefer …………
• Of course, the good thing about living in the city is that there are
tons of facilities and entertainment. On the other hand, life in the
country is much less stressful.
• I wouldn’t mind being on a beautiful island like that, but on the
other hand, I think I would be bored to death after a couple of days
there.
• If I had to choose one of these places, I would definitely go for the
one in the picture at the bottom.
 Phrases for comparing
• In the first picture/one
• In the second picture/one
• On the one hand….. on the other hand…..
• Whereas (the opposite), while, but
• Compared to
• In contrast
• There are several similarities..... There are a few
differences
 Part 3
Part 3 (Describe Compare & Contrast) Speculate
and Choose: 3 questions. 45 seconds each.
• Question One: Describe, Compare, and
Contrast (see expressions from Part Two)
• Question Two: Speculate about these two
situations/pictures
• Question Three: Choose one of the images or
situations
Example
 Question 1
• Describing two pictures: In the first picture, I can see… / In the
other picture, there are/is…../ Looking at the (fist/second) picture I
can see…/ Which may show…/ (They/He/She/) may be (verb+ing)..
• Structures and vocabulary for comparing and contrasting two
photographs
• Things in common: Both pictures show/have / I think they both are
(in/on/of..) / There is/are(_____) in both pictures… /Similarly in the
second picture, the first picture has…
• Contrasting the pictures: There are several differences. / In the top
picture is(____) whereas, in the bottom picture.. /In the picture on
the right whereas , the picture on the left../ The picture of(___)is… /
It looks like../ However, the picture of(___) looks like…/ They look
like..
• Highlighting differences: The main difference between the pictures
is…. / The main focus of the (first/top/L/R))picture is
(_____)whereas.. /After looking at these images , the biggest
difference is ….
• Adding ideas: In addition… / What’s more…. / One more thing…
 Question 2
Structures and vocabulary for speculating and
choosing
Speculating :
• I imagine it would be….(adjective)/ I would
find it… (adjective) / It might be nice to.. / I
could see myself…./ Perhaps it would be / I
suppose … /I guess it would be nice to..
 Question 3
Choosing one image / situation :
• I would choose the top/ bottom situation/
image because…/ I think I’d prefer to… (verb)
because… / I think I’d prefer to (verb)
because….. /I would definitely choose to….
/ It would probably be better to… because…./
I doubt I would like to _____in picture (1/2)
but I would prefer to)_____in picture (1/2)/ In
my opinion (1/2) would be better because…
 Part 4
Discussion of Personal Abstract Ideas
• In part 4 you will see an image, but the trick is that you
will not be asked to describe this picture. The picture is
only used as a visual clue to help you draw upon your
own experiences. You will have one minute to
prepare and two minutes to respond
• In part 4 you will be shown an image and presented
with three points to discuss. You will have one minute
to prepare, and you can make notes. Look at the
example below and the notes that someone has made.
 Question 1
Personal Experiences/ Recall:
Tell me about a time…
 Question 2
Emotional Response/Feelings/Opinion:
How did you feel about …./
How does this____ make you feel /
Explain why you…….
 Question 3
Speculation/ Opinion:
Why do you think…
 REMEMBER
• Don’t worry about full sentences- you don’t have time. Just
write down some key points to help you structure your
answer and remember ideas/ vocabulary.
• Quick thinking is essential in the preparation for part 4.
• Prepare for 1 minute (use a stopwatch) and then keep
speaking for 2 minutes.
• Structuring your answer – (Beginning/middle/end) and
make sure it covers all of the questions in the same order
they were asked.
• Choose a range of vocabulary and keep it appropriate to
the task
• Fluency – speaking without too many pauses
• Accuracy – Try not to make too many mistakes.
 Example question

• Tell me about a personal achievement or

award you have received.
• How did you feel about this achievement?
• Do awards encourage people to do their best?
 Example notes
• Award/Achievements – I have a Bachelor’s degree/ I
received the second highest GPA in my class/I ran a
marathon last month
• Feelings- proud – useful to community/ accomplished
(a goal)/ I am able to provide for myself/I have a career
that I enjoy/ My family and friends respect.
• Encouraging- Yes. Helps when motivation is low/ Helps
me stay discipline to complete goals. If I don’t win or
achieve a goal the hard work is satisfaction. E.g.
completed the marathon – improved my English
abilities.
 Example question
• Tell me about a close relative of yours
• What does he/she look like?
• Tell me about anecdote with him/her
Vocabulary
 Example question
• Tell me about your ideal job
• How would you feel about having that job?
• Do you think having a job you like is essential
for being happy?
Vocabulary