CAE Speaking Paper
Cambridge ESOL
Flo-joe
Overview
Paper format
The Speaking test contains four parts.
Timing
15 minutes
Task types Short exchanges with the interlocutor and with the other candidate; a oneminute ‘long term’; a collaborative task involving the two candidates; a discussion.
Part 1 Time: 3 minutes Social Interaction Candidates give personal information in response to questions from the interviewer.
Questions will be asked from a range of topics including, for example, interests, daily life, family and holidays.
Examples: • What are your main reasons for learning English? • Which aspect of learning English do you find the hardest? • What do you enjoy doing in your free time? • How important is sport and fitness in your life? • Do you like spending time alone? • What is one of the most interesting places you have visited? • Where would you most like to travel to? • What do you enjoy most about living where you do? • If you could afford your ideal home, what would it be like?
Part 2 Time: 4 minutes Long turn Each candidate talks about a set of pictures for about 1 minute, and comments on the other candidate’s pictures for about 30 seconds. Useful Language: Both pictures show..., but this one... , whereas the other one... They might... She’s likely to... She’ll probably find it (quite) tough to... I expect she’s feeling... There’s a fair chance that... It looks as if...
Example: In this part of the test, I’m going to give each of you three pictures. I’d like you to talk about them on your own for about a minute, and also to answer a question briefly about your partner’s pictures. (Candidate A) Your pictures show people dressed in special clothes for different reasons. I’d like you to compare two of the pictures, and say why the people might have chosen to wear these clothes, and how they might be feeling.
Why might these people have chosen to wear these clothes? How might they be feeling?
(Candidate B), who do you think took the longest to get dressed? ‌‌ (Why?)
Part 3 Time: 4 minutes Collaborative task Candidates are given visual and / or written material and then speak to each other about it for 3 minutes in order to complete a problem-solving task. Don’t merely describe each picture and what it shows; include them naturally in your discussion, as you consider each one. Example: Here are some pictures showing different occupations. Discuss the role these people have in our lives. Then decide which job tends to be the most stressful.
What role do the people doing these jobs have in our lives? Which job tends to be the most stressful?
Part 4 Time: 4 minutes Further discussion The interviewer leads a discussion which is related to the topic of Part 3.
Example: Do you think that school prepares young people adequately for the world of work? Why? Why not? How has computer technology affected the world of work? Do you think people who earn large amounts of money have a moral obligation to donate money to charity? Why? Why not?