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Speaking Part 1
First of all, speaking part 1 consists of 3 sets of questions and lasts between 4 and 5 minutes.
The first one is to do either with your job/study or your place of living. The place of living implies either the place where you grew up or the current place of living, which can in turn mean either the flat/house, the neighbourhood (the area where you live) or the town/city/village.
You shouldn't expect to be asked too many questions in the first set (the one discussed above). That would be too easy for you, given the predictability of the topic.
The other two sets, sets 2 and 3, are chosen randomly. You may be asked either about flowers, friends, school you went to, time in general, pets, transport, trees, visitors to your country or being late, to give you just a taste of possible topics. Each set contains 4 questions. Such books as Cambridge Past Papers, often referred to simply as Cambridge 1 to 9 (nine being the latest publication) contain a good sample of speaking questions.
Now, the important stuff.
There will be many questions, so if your answers are long, you may be repeatedly stopped. There's nothing wrong with it - the examiner is merely trying to do their job and ask a rather large number questions in as little as 4 - 5 minutes. However, it may put you off. Therefore, keep your answers to a statement and around two sentences of development.
Answer naturally:
Oh, yeah, I do. In fact, ...........
To be honest, I can't say I'm a big fan of .................
Yes and no.
Well, it really depends.
Q: Have you been in very cold weather? A: You bet. I'm Russian after all. Of course, many times.
etc
Try not to repeat the language of the question in your answer. Use other words. It may be challenging to always find synonyms to the words from the question. Use short answers if you cannot think of synonyms. Then follow them with longer sentences to develop your answer.
Some questions are very common.
What do you like about _____________________ ?
Have you ever _____________________ ?
How often do you ___________________ ?
How different is _____________ from ____________ ?
Do many people in your country ________________?
How did people in your culture _______ in the past?
In part 1, most questions do not test your analytic skills. They are just questions about facts centered around your person or people in your country.
Even though the questions may be simple, you must already attempt to use a wide range of vocabulary. Throw in some linking words too. I cannot say that the more, the better but linking words are such items of vocabulary that examiners can easily detect as markers of coherence and cohesion. Don't use them though without a full knowledge of them. Know the context they are typically used in, the level of formality, the stress etc. For instance, when you say 'As far as I'm concerned, ___', stress I'm .
Do not pause. The questions will be simple. If you need a second to ponder, say: 'To be honest, ___ ', 'Basically, ___' , 'Generally speaking, ___', 'Well, frankly speaking, I don't really remember but perhaps ______' etc. Such phrases will allow you to think what you want to say.
It is not critically important what you say. What matters is the fluency, the vocabulary, the grammar and the pronunciation. Naturally it does also matter how what you say is connected to the question and how your ideas/sentences link with each other. Still, it is of no importance whatsoever how truthful, original or clever your response is.
If the examiner asks you a question open to interpretation, do not ask them to explain what they mean but interpret it yourself. For example:
Q: What games did you enjoy playing when you were younger. A: As regards outdoor games, I was really keen on basketball, In fact, I still am .......
You can however ask the examiner to explain a single word or phrase if you don't know it and believe it to be crucial for you to understand the question. Ask them then: What do mean by _____?
Do not say: I don't know how to say this in English. Paraphrase, avoid talking about it, move on to something else or finish your answer.
When you want to finish your answer, lower the tone of your voice. If it keeps going up and up, your interlocutor has an impression you want to continue.
If your English is not fluent, make sure that you know which phrases you want use during the exam. Remember a good selection rather than attempting to memorize hundreds of idioms and proverbs.
First of all, speaking part 1 consists of 3 sets of questions and lasts between 4 and 5 minutes.
The first one is to do either with your job/study or your place of living. The place of living implies either the place where you grew up or the current place of living, which can in turn mean either the flat/house, the neighbourhood (the area where you live) or the town/city/village.
You shouldn't expect to be asked too many questions in the first set (the one discussed above). That would be too easy for you, given the predictability of the topic.
The other two sets, sets 2 and 3, are chosen randomly. You may be asked either about flowers, friends, school you went to, time in general, pets, transport, trees, visitors to your country or being late, to give you just a taste of possible topics. Each set contains 4 questions. Such books as Cambridge Past Papers, often referred to simply as Cambridge 1 to 9 (nine being the latest publication) contain a good sample of speaking questions.
Now, the important stuff.
There will be many questions, so if your answers are long, you may be repeatedly stopped. There's nothing wrong with it - the examiner is merely trying to do their job and ask a rather large number questions in as little as 4 - 5 minutes. However, it may put you off. Therefore, keep your answers to a statement and around two sentences of development.
Answer naturally:
Oh, yeah, I do. In fact, ...........
To be honest, I can't say I'm a big fan of .................
Yes and no.
Well, it really depends.
Q: Have you been in very cold weather? A: You bet. I'm Russian after all. Of course, many times.
etc
Try not to repeat the language of the question in your answer. Use other words. It may be challenging to always find synonyms to the words from the question. Use short answers if you cannot think of synonyms. Then follow them with longer sentences to develop your answer.
Some questions are very common.
What do you like about _____________________ ?
Have you ever _____________________ ?
How often do you ___________________ ?
How different is _____________ from ____________ ?
Do many people in your country ________________?
How did people in your culture _______ in the past?
In part 1, most questions do not test your analytic skills. They are just questions about facts centered around your person or people in your country.
Even though the questions may be simple, you must already attempt to use a wide range of vocabulary. Throw in some linking words too. I cannot say that the more, the better but linking words are such items of vocabulary that examiners can easily detect as markers of coherence and cohesion. Don't use them though without a full knowledge of them. Know the context they are typically used in, the level of formality, the stress etc. For instance, when you say 'As far as I'm concerned, ___', stress I'm .
Do not pause. The questions will be simple. If you need a second to ponder, say: 'To be honest, ___ ', 'Basically, ___' , 'Generally speaking, ___', 'Well, frankly speaking, I don't really remember but perhaps ______' etc. Such phrases will allow you to think what you want to say.
It is not critically important what you say. What matters is the fluency, the vocabulary, the grammar and the pronunciation. Naturally it does also matter how what you say is connected to the question and how your ideas/sentences link with each other. Still, it is of no importance whatsoever how truthful, original or clever your response is.
If the examiner asks you a question open to interpretation, do not ask them to explain what they mean but interpret it yourself. For example:
Q: What games did you enjoy playing when you were younger. A: As regards outdoor games, I was really keen on basketball, In fact, I still am .......
You can however ask the examiner to explain a single word or phrase if you don't know it and believe it to be crucial for you to understand the question. Ask them then: What do mean by _____?
Do not say: I don't know how to say this in English. Paraphrase, avoid talking about it, move on to something else or finish your answer.
When you want to finish your answer, lower the tone of your voice. If it keeps going up and up, your interlocutor has an impression you want to continue.
If your English is not fluent, make sure that you know which phrases you want use during the exam. Remember a good selection rather than attempting to memorize hundreds of idioms and proverbs.