CAE (C1 Advanced) Speaking Exam - How to Do Parts 1+2 of the CAE Speaking Test

Hello, I’m Jack.

welcome to Oxford Online English!

In this lesson, you can learn how to improve your score in parts 1 and 2 of the CAE speaking

exam.

In parts one and two, there are some specific things that you can do that will help you

to perform well.

As you may know, Part 1 involves a 2-minute conversation, during which candidates take

turns answering questions.

The examiner will ask you to speak about everyday topics and the questions will be quite simple.

The first tip, is to always develop Your answer.

You don’t have a lot of time, so it’s important to use your time to demonstrate

your English skills.

How should you do this?

Give long, full answers—simple “yes” or “no” answers are certainly not enough.

Instead, add reasons, details and examples to everything that you say.

Now, let’s look at an example of this with a sample question.

Imagine that you are asked this question: "What keeps you motivated to learn English?"

What would you say?

Here’s a sample answer: "I enjoy learning English because I can speak

with my foreign friends."

Now this answer is fine, but it could be better if we

add more reasons, examples and details.

Take a look at this: "I enjoy learning English because I can speak

with my foreign friends.

For example, one of my acquaintances here is Polish, and English is a mutual language

we can both understand.

I also work in a multinational company and I need to speak English a lot."

You can see that the speaker has developed the point by adding a personal story.

This also allows you to use some more impressive vocabulary, such as 'acquaintances' and 'multinational'.

Of course it’s important not to just keep speaking and speaking—your answer needs

to have a clear end!

But, in the exam you will be given some time, so develop your ideas and make sure you take

advantage of your speaking time by saying as much as you can.

Tip number two: learn key words related to everyday topics.

In part 1, the questions are about very general topics, just like when you first meet someone.

This can make it easier to prepare for part one, and here's how.

It means it’s possible for us to make some predictions about what you will be asked.

Common Part 1 topics include: Where you live;

leisure time; work;

study; future plans;

and holiday experiences.

It’s probably not a good idea to prepare complete phrases, because the examiners are

trained to look for this.

But it is however useful to learn a few advanced level keywords around each topic.

This way, you will have a rich vocabulary prepared that you can use naturally.

Let’s look at an example, using the topic leisure time.

Imagine you were asked the question: "What do you do at the weekend?"

What would you say?

If you were interested in surfing, your answer might be something like this:

"I usually go surfing."

This answer is okay, but it doesn’t really demonstrate a lot of advanced English.

Now before the exam, if you do a bit of research, you might then be able to say that you are

quite 'fanatical' about surfing, or that it’s

something that 'helps you to unwind', or even as an activity in which you can 'get out and

about'.

Perhaps you’re afraid of 'shark attacks'!

With a bit of preparation, you’ll be in a better place to give a stronger answer:

"I usually go surfing—this is something I’m really fanatical about!

It lets me exercise, unwind, and get out and about.

I prefer to surf in isolated locations, though I am a little afraid of shark attacks these

days!"

Aim to learn five or six new words for each of the most common topic areas in part 1.

You won’t use all of them, but you might use one or two.

Even using one or two high-level words and phrases can make a difference to your vocabulary

score.

Now we’ll look at part 2 of the CAE speaking exam.

What happens in this part?

The goal in this section is to compare two pictures and to speculate about the people

in them.

You have a minute to answer and you speak only to the examiner.

So what are the examiners looking for here?

The examiners want to see that you can put your thoughts into a well-organized one-minute

answer.

So, my first tip for part 2 is: learn how to compare and speculate.

This is a key part of this task, and you can and should prepare for it.

One aspect of this, is using linking words to connect your ideas and sentences.

Let’s look at how we can do this, using these pictures of people reading as an example.

The question might be: "Compare why these people are reading and

say how they might be feeling."

Let’s look at comparing first.

For things that are similar, use language like:

'both…'; 'each…';

'similarly…'; or 'likewise…';

or even: 'in the same way…';

'we can also see that…'

For example:

"This man may be reading for pleasure and… …we can also see that she appears to be

enjoying herself."

…similarly, she appears to be enjoying herself."

…in the same way, she appears to be enjoying herself."

Now for things that are different, use: 'meanwhile…';

'whereas…'; or even:

'by contrast…'; 'on the other hand…'

For example:

"The man is reading alone…

...By contrast, this woman seems to be reading to some children."

...On the other hand, the woman seems to be reading to some children."

...Meanwhile, the woman seems to be reading to some children."

Now in addition to comparing and contrasting, you need to know how to speculate.

You shouldn’t just say what you see; you also need to talk about the ideas and possibilities

that the picture represents.

Some useful structures include: 'might…';

'perhaps…'; 'maybe…';

'it seems like…';

For example: "It seems like he’s reading something very

serious and important...

...Perhaps she’s reading the children a fairy story."

You can also use if-sentences to speculate about what you would do or how you would feel

if you were in the situation:

"If I were her, I’d be very happy!"

"If that were me, I’d fall asleep!"

So it’s essential that you study this kind of language and use it when you practise.

My next tip for part 2 of the CAE speaking exam is don’t waste time.

Firstly, choose your pictures as soon as you can.

The best way to do this is to choose two pictures that seem very different.

You should also begin comparing immediately—don’t waste time telling the examiner which pictures

you want to talk about.

Next, don’t paraphrase or repeat the question.

This is one certain way to waste time.

Finally, speak for the whole minute.

This leads to our next point.

Have a plan in case you don’t know what to say.

Some students find it helpful to develop a few automatic back-up ideas for comparison

in case they run out of things to talk about.

These are simple ideas that you can use for any picture.

This way, if you get stuck and can’t think of anything else to say, you can use these

so that you don’t just stop talking.

These ideas might be about what the people are wearing, or how old they are, or even

how many people there are.

"The people in this picture are all wearing the same clothes.

Likewise, these people seem to be all dressed in white."

Better still, ask yourself what the people may be thinking, feeling, or doing.

These kinds of comparisons are always useful, as they allow for a lot of speculation.

"This image shows people singing, whereas these people appear to be doing some kind

of martial art."

The main point is that you have some questions you can ask yourself in any situation.

What ideas can you think of?

Tip number six: don’t spend all the time describing.

This is probably the most important tip, because it’s the biggest mistake that candidates

make.

You don’t need to say what you see, and you don’t need to describe the pictures

at all.

Your job is to make comparisons and speculate about the pictures, not to say what the pictures

show.

If you spend too much time describing, you’re not giving yourself the opportunity to demonstrate

your abilities to compare and speculate in a longer answer.

OK, so how can you practise and prepare for part two of the CAE speaking test?

The best thing that you can do is to practise with as many different images as possible.

It’s always better doing this with a friend or a teacher, but you can also do this alone

with a timer.

You can even make your own combinations of sample images, simply by doing a Google search

and picking two random images.

You could search for “people on holiday”, or “people eating”, or “groups of people”.

Then imagine a question, remembering that the typical question format contains two parts:

1.

Compare the two situations, and: 2.

Speculate on how the people may be feeling, or the reasons for their behaviour.

So we might get something like this: "Compare how these people are enjoying their

holidays, and say how they might be feeling."

Now, I'm going to give you an example answer, and I want you to try and think how I could

improve this.

"These people are enjoying their holidays with their family.

They are sitting outside with their dogs.

There are two adults and they are happy.

These people are about to get on a plane.

They are in a desert…"

Now, let’s stop right there!

What is wrong with this answer and how could it be improved?

Can you tell me?

Firstly, I’m simply describing the pictures.

But we talked about how important it is to compare and contrast.

Secondly, I’m not using any language or linking words to do this.

What else am I doing wrong?

I’m not speculating – again, I’m simply describing what I’m looking at.

In addition, I'm going way too slow!

Let’s try again.

"This image seems to show a family spending the holiday together.

In the same way, this might be a couple.

However it doesn’t look like they have their children with them.

In this picture, the family seems to be at home, or at a holiday house, whereas in this

picture these people appear to be in some kind of exotic destination, far away from

civilization.

There are animals in this photo, whereas there are only people in this one.

Both scenes show people having a holiday outdoors.

I suppose the key difference is that the people in this image appear to be having a real adventure,

and are free, whereas the people here are spending time with family.

If it were me, I’d prefer to be going on this kind of holiday – flying around in

a plane in a new and wild place!"

As you can see, I’ve focused on comparing and contrasting as much as possible, using

a variety of language structures.

I’ve also continued to speculate all the way through.

I’ve used both simple comparisons, like whether there are animals in the photo, as

well as more complex ones, speculating that one is a family holiday, whereas the other

is an adventure.

After this, the big challenge is practising to do all this in the time limits!

That’s the end of the lesson.

Thanks very much for watching!

I hope you found it useful.

You can see more of our free lessons on our website: oxfordonlineenglish.com.

In the video description, you can also see a link to the full version of this lesson.

The full lesson includes the text and exercises to help you practise what you’ve learned

in this class.

See you next time.