Hello again. You’ll remember that the speaking test takes place on a different day from the other three parts of the test. It’s 11 to 14 minutes long, and that there are three parts. Let’s take a look at those three parts now. The first part of the test takes four or five minutes and gives you a chance to introduce yourself. The examiner introduces him or herself, asks you to introduce yourself, and checks your identity. Then the examiner will ask you some general questions about you– your family, your job, things like that. After that, you’ll move on to the next part. In this part you have to talk for a couple of minutes.

 

The examiner gives you a task card, which asks you to talk about a particular topic. The card also includes points that you can cover in your talk. You get a minute to prepare what you’re going to say and a pencil and paper to make notes. When the minute is up, you’ll be asked to speak for up to two minutes. After that, the examiner might ask you one or two questions about the topic you’ve been talking about. The whole of part two lasts between three and four minutes. Then we move on to the third part. This lasts between four and five minutes. The examiner asks you more questions that are related to the topic you talked about in part two.

 

This time, though, the questions give you an opportunity to discuss things that are more abstract than part two. It’s a chance to discuss your ideas and opinions. In this course, we’ll look in detail at each part of the speaking test and give you some tips to help you.