Cambridge B1 Preliminary Speaking Exam - How to Do Parts 3-4

Hi, I’m Oli.

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In this lesson, you can learn how to do parts three and four of the Cambridge B1 Preliminary

speaking exam.

Before we start, one question: do you find it difficult to understand spoken English?

Yes?

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In part three of the B1 preliminary speaking test you talk to your partner, not to the

examiner.

It lasts two to three minutes.

At the beginning, the examiner will say: “Now, in this part of the test you’re going to

talk about something together for about two minutes.

I’m going to describe a situation to you.”

Then, the examiner will give you a booklet with the task.

You’ll see several pictures.

It might look something like this.

Then, you’ll hear the instructions.

For example: “A family wants to go on a trip this weekend.

Talk together about the different places the family could visit and decide which trip the

family would most enjoy.

All right?

Now, talk together.”

Listen to the examiner carefully, because the instructions won’t be written on the

task.

If anything is not clear, ask the examiner to repeat the instructions.

First point: remember that the situation is about other people, not about you.

This task is not asking you to describe where *you* want to visit this weekend.

It is asking you to talk about where the *family in the picture* should visit.

Don’t say ‘I think the castle is a good idea because I love history.’

This trip is not for you.

You are only recommending ideas for the family.

Instead, say ‘I think the castle is a good idea because it would be educational for the

family.’

Now let’s look at another situation.

Pause the video if you want more time to read and think.

Remember also that the instructions will not be written on the task in your real B1 speaking

exam!

Let’s look at how to begin.

Do you know how you should start?

A good way to start is to ask your partner a question.

For example, for this task, you could ask ‘Which present do you think is the best?’

Or, ‘What do you think about getting him a camera?’

Let’s look at another task.

Imagine you’re in the B1 speaking test.

This is your task.

Can you think of a question you could ask your partner to start?

Pause the video and try to make one or two questions you could use to start this task.

Do it now!

Could you do it?

Of course, there are many possibilities!

You could ask ‘What do you think about bringing a camera?’

Or ‘Do you think they should bring a guidebook?’

Asking a question is a good way to start.

What next?

The conversation should be fifty per cent you speaking and fifty per cent your partner

speaking.

You don’t get extra points for speaking more.

Give your opinion about something, and then ask your partner a question.

Your opinions on each idea should not be very long – one or two sentences maximum – then

ask another question.

Ask your partner to respond to your ideas.

Let’s go back to our first example.

Remember: one or two sentences, then ask a question.

For example: ‘I think going to the beach is a good idea if the weather is nice because

the children could play in the sea.

What do you think about the family going to the beach?’

Let’s move on to our next point: linking your ideas when you speak.

In part three of the B1 speaking exam, you need to link your ideas with comparisons and

contrasts.

Look at our second task again.

Imagine you’re in the exam.

Your partner says ‘I think the mobile phone is a good idea because our classmate could

keep in contact with us.

What do you think about the camera?’

And then you reply ‘I don’t think the camera is a good idea because cameras are

old-fashioned.

What do you think about the book?’

These are good answers and ideas, but as a conversation, it sounds unnatural.

There’s no connection between one answer and the other.

Here’s a better example.

Your partner says ‘I think the mobile phone is a good idea because our classmate could

keep in contact with us.

What do you think about the camera?’

You reply ‘I don’t think the camera is a good idea, because today all mobile phones

have cameras.

What do you think about the book?’

This sounds better, right?

Comparing and linking your ideas helps you to sound more like you’re having a normal

discussion.

Our next point: you need to react to your partner’s ideas and suggestions.

How can you do that?

When your partner speaks, you need to listen actively.

Don’t just sit there like a robot.

React, nod your head, or say something to show how you feel.

If you agree with what your partner says, you could say something like: ‘I agree’,

‘good idea’, ‘that’s interesting’, ‘you’re right’, ‘that’s true’

or ‘I think so too’.

If you disagree with your partner, remember to be polite.

You could say ‘really?’

‘I’m not sure about that’, ‘I don’t think I agree’, ‘I don’t think so’

or ‘good idea, but I prefer…’

Also, when you disagree with your partner, give a reason, or an alternative suggestion.

For example: if your partner says, ‘I think the book is a good idea because books are

not that expensive’, and you disagree, you could reply ‘I don’t think I agree.

I understand that a book would be a cheap present, but we want to get our classmate

something special to remember us, like the watch.’

When you’ve finished discussing your options, you should make a decision together.

At the end, ask your partner something like ‘what have we decided?’ or ‘shall we

choose one?’

Remember: you don’t have to be honest.

If your partner thinks that one idea is better, you can agree just to finish the conversation.

It doesn’t matter if you really agree or not.

If your partner is unsure, try to lead the decision.

Look at our first task.

You could say, ‘I think the family should go to the beach, because we agreed it has

a lot of activities for all of the family.’

This shows that you have control over the conversation.

What about our second task?

You could say, ‘I think we can agree that the mobile phone is the best idea because

our classmate can keep in contact with us.’

Again, you’re controlling the discussion, but also involving your partner.

Doing these things can help your score.

Make sure you leave enough time to reach a final decision together, but you also need

to talk for the full two to three minutes.

If you stop too early, the examiner will not say anything, and you will be sitting in uncomfortable

silence.

When preparing for the B1 speaking exam, try to get a feeling for how long you need to

speak.

Don’t answer the question too quickly.

After around two and a half minutes, start trying to reach a final decision.

Now, you should understand how to do part three of the B1 Preliminary speaking exam.

What about part four?

In part four, the examiner will ask you questions, and you’ll discuss the questions with your

partner.

This means you need to speak to both the examiner and your partner in part four.

The questions will be on a similar topic to part three.

Part four lasts around three minutes.

For example, if the topic in part three was connected to travel, you might hear questions

like: ‘Do you prefer to travel with friends or alone?’

‘What can people learn from travelling to different countries?’

‘What do you like doing when you go on holiday?’

Think: how could you answer these questions?

Here’s a sample answer for the first question: ‘I prefer to travel with friends.

It’s more interesting.’

What do you think?

Good answer?

It’s not terrible, but it could be better.

This answer is just two short sentences, and it doesn’t have many ideas.

First, try to join your ideas together using words like ‘but’, ‘although’ or ‘because’.

For example: ‘I prefer to travel with friends, because it’s more interesting.’

Next, try to use more specific vocabulary.

‘Interesting’ is very general.

For example: ‘I prefer to travel with friends, because it’s more sociable.’

Then, try to add more ideas to your answer, like this: ‘I prefer to travel with friends,

because it’s more sociable, plus you always have people to talk to and hang out with.’

Remember these three points: join your ideas together, use specific vocabulary, and add

ideas to your answer.

In this way, you can make your answers stronger!

Like in part three, you should ask your partner for their opinions.

The examiner will ask questions in part four.

However, you should also talk to your partner.

So, at the end of your answer, you can ask your partner a question like ‘How about

you?’ or ‘Do you agree?’

Also, react to what your partner says.

For example, imagine your partner says ‘People can learn a lot from travelling to different

countries.

For example, they can see how things like culture, food and architecture are different

around the world.’

How could you react to this?

First of all, you could agree or disagree.

For example, you could say, ‘Yes, I think so, too’ or ‘I’m not sure I agree with

you.’

Even better, try to add your own ideas.

For example: ‘Yes, I think so, too.

Also, people can learn about different traditions, for example how festivals are celebrated.’

Or, ‘I’m not sure I agree with you.

Travelling is a great experience, but I think you can learn about other countries’ culture,

food and so on even if you don’t go there.’

Let’s try another one.

Imagine that your partner says: ‘When I’m on holiday, I just like lying on the beach

and doing nothing all day.’

How could you respond to this?

Try to make two or three sentences.

Say if you have the same opinion, or not, and add your own ideas.

Pause the video and say your response aloud.

Could you do it?

There are many possible answers.

Let’s look at two.

You could say ‘I’m the same way.

My work’s really busy, so when I’m on holiday, I just want to relax and forget about

the stress of daily life.’

Or, you could say ‘I guess I’m quite different to you.

I love active holidays, so I enjoy things like hiking, rafting, cycling, and so on.

If I stayed on the beach all day, I’d get really bored.’

In general, in part four, try to add reasons, details and examples to your answers.

This will let you use a wider range of grammar and vocabulary, which improves your score!

Let’s put these ideas together.

For each question the examiner asks, you should do one of two things.

First, you can give your answer, then ask your partner for their opinion.

You can also continue the discussion by reacting to what your partner says.

Or, you can let your partner speak, and then react to what they say.

A good idea would be to take turns, so that you answer one question first, and then your

partner speaks first for the next question.

It’s better in part four if you and your partner can control the discussion, rather

than waiting for the examiner to speak.

The examiner might stop you if you speak for too long or go off-topic, but that’s not

a problem.

That’s it.

Good luck if you have a B1 Preliminary speaking exam soon!

Thanks for watching!

See you next time!