Speaking Test

Class 2: Practice and tips

Let’s practice!
 What does the examiner want to hear from me?

• The “silent assessor” is the one who will be scoring your

speaking based on 4 different criteria. The “main
examiner” (who will be asking the questions) will give you
a score for an general criterion called Global Achievement.

• Everything the examiner wants can be found in the official

FCE marking criteria.

• the keys to passing every exam are found in the marking

criteria.
 Part 1: Getting to know you

• Why does the speaking exam start with these types of questions? The main reason is: to
make you feel more relaxed/comfortable. Speaking in a second, third or fourth language is
all about confidence. If you start the exam answering simple questions about yourself,
then this gives you a chance to “warm up” a little. This helps you prepare mentally for the
more difficult parts of the exam that come later.

• As these questions are about you, most of them use the present tense. If they use a
different tense, try to copy this from the questions themselves, for example:

• “When was the last time you did something fun with your friends?” – The use of was in
the past simple indicates that this is the best tense to use in your answer.
• “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” – Saying 5 years at the end of the question is a
clear indicator that you need to use future tenses here. If you are sure about something,
use will, as in: I will finish university in 5 years. If you are more hopeful (but not 100%
sure), it’s better to use would: In 5 years, I would love to have a big house and a beautiful
wife.
 Part 2: 60 second monologue
• “Discourse management” (or more simply: fluency) is the focus for this section of the exam.
Cambridge want to see how fluently you can speak. Even a native English speaker might find it
hard to talk about two random photos, so don’t feel bad if you have to pause once or twice
during this exercise. Just don’t make your pauses longer than 4-5 seconds.

• The main focus here is to compare and speculate, so you should start with the basic comparative
forms, for example:
• This city is more beautiful than that one / He is happier than her
• Then throw in something more complex like: They are as bored as her

• For speculation, use verbs like: think, believe, reckon.

• Use modal verbs like: could, might, may if you’re not 100% sure about something.
Use can, cannot, must if you are 100% sure.

• Making obvious comparisons first can give you time to think of more complex points to add later.

• You don’t have to speak in a fast, unbroken manner for the whole 60 seconds. You can use “time
filler phrases” like: Let me see…, I would probably say…, etc. or repeat the question the examiner
has asked you: Why are these people enjoying the cinema?…well I’d say… You can even comment
on the photos themselves: Wow, this looks like a lot of fun!
 Part 3: Discussion with partner(s)

• This part of the exam involves the most interactive communication. Once the examiner
has explained the context/situation, the candidates take centre stage and talk with each
other. If possible, you should try to forget that the examiner is in the room – focus 100%
on your partner.

• If you both have the same opinion, then don’t copy each other word for word. Instead,
try to use different language to express the same view point, but in another way.

•  This section is all about two things:

• Expressing opinions and beliefs
• Agreeing and disagreeing

FCE Speaking Part 3 has a wide variety of possible topics to stimulate discussion. These
include: education, family and health. Sometimes examiners also introduce topical
subjects, such as: the environment, online shopping and the (over)use of mobile phones.
 Part 4: Further questions

• Section four continues the focus on “interactive communication”.

The topics are the same (or similar) to those in part 3. However, as
the questions are more specific, you should be prepared to
answer in more detail/depth. This part of the speaking exam gives
you a good opportunity to increase your score in the higher level
bands.

• Try using examples or personal experiences to support your points

• You can even use metaphors or hypothetical situations to

demonstrate your knowledge of more complex vocabulary and
grammatical constructions.
 Top tips to improve your FCE Speaking score!

1. Use Part 1 to warm up and settle your nerves:

• When you start the exam, the “silent assessor” will be busy
filling in your details on the marking sheet for the first couple
of minutes. This means he/she probably won’t be 100%
focused on every detail of your opening few of answers.

• You can afford to make a couple of minor mistakes here

while you warm up and settle your nerves. Keep your
answers simple…and smile!
2. It’s ok to pause briefly or clarify the question:

• Some questions, especially in Part 1, can confuse or

surprise candidates. For example, “Who are you most like
in your family?” – this question is not asking who you like
best in your family, it is asking which relative you are
similar to in character/appearance.

• If you get a confusing question like this on your exam and

you aren’t sure what to say, you can ask the examiner to
repeat the question again or use a “time filler phrase”
like: Hmm, that is a good question… or Wow, I have never
been asked that before!
3. Always answer the question directly:

• In the speaking exam, you don’t have a lot of

time so always focus on completing the task in
front of you now. Stay on-topic and answer
the question directly.

• The examiner has asked you

to compare them, NOT describe them. Don’t
waste time – start comparing immediately.
4. Practise how you will approach each part of the exam:

• It pays to have a strategy for each part of the FCE Speaking exam. Read up on common FCE
topics and make sure you know the structure of each speaking section.

• Example of a winning strategy for Part 2:

• Break up the 60 second monologue into 3 parts
• Aim to spend 20 seconds on 1 comparison of the pictures. This will give you a total of 3
comparisons in the time allowed.
• Try to use comparatives, but also modal verbs (more complex) so you can get a better score for
“Grammar”.

• Example of a good strategy for Part 3:

• During the discussion with your partner(s), the examiner will show you a spider diagram with 5
topics. Aim to answer just 3 of these.

• For each topic, give yourself enough time to state an opinion and reply to your partner’s
viewpoint. If you feel like you have spent a lot of time on one topic, then move on. If the
examiner stops you because the time has run out and you haven’t reached an agreement, don’t
worry because this has no impact on your score.
5. Don’t use memorised answers (be more spontaneous instead!):

• Cambridge always tells its examiners to give higher marks when a

student is “spontaneous”.

• If you sound like you are reading your answers from a memorised
script, then you won’t get a good score on the exam!

• For example, one of the first questions in Part 1 is: “Where do you
live?” But if you answer with: “I live in the city of London, it is a
large multicultural city in the south of England with many
neighbourhoods and parks. I love living there because…”, then the
examiner will mark you down. This sounds like an answer copied
from a textbook. Be more spontaneous, add some personal
touches to your answer, and make it sound more like you.
6. Quality is more important than content:

• Never forget what the FCE is: a qualification to show how good you are
at speaking English. The examiners are trying to see how good or bad
your language skills are. The content just provides the context in which
to demonstrate your ability.

• Therefore, the content itself is less important than the quality/accuracy

of your English speaking. It must be relevant, but that is enough.

• If you get asked about a good film you’ve seen recently or an interesting
good book you’ve read, you can just invent a film or book! The examiner
isn’t going to check it exists and lower your score if it doesn’t. The factual
accuracy of what you say isn’t what is being tested on this exam. As long
as it sounds plausible, that’s fine.
7. 93% of communication is body language:

• I love that fact! That’s a high percentage, right?

Body language is an important part of any language.
If you are staring at the floor with your arms
crossed when you are speaking to your partner, it’s
more difficult for the interaction to flow well.

• This can stop you from getting higher marks for

interactive communication. Try to relax a little and
express yourself verbally and non-verbally.
8. Sometimes “no answer” is the answer:

• It might not happen a lot, but sometimes you just don’t have
an answer to a given question.

• Ex: I asked one girl: “Have you seen any good films recently?”
• She went red, giggled and said: “No!”

• “What if I have nothing to say about the question?” The

answer is to explain WHY you don’t have anything to say about
it! For example: “To be honest, I prefer watching Netflix series
and right now I am watching Ozark, which is excellent”. Job
done!
9. FCE Speaking examiners are humans too, you know!

• You don’t have to wait for the exam to begin before you start talking to the
examiners. If you say “Hello, how are you?” when you arrive and “Thanks, have
a good day!” when you leave, then you will be remembered by the examiners
as being friendly and engaging. This leaves a good impression, and it’s a polite
thing to do.

• Whether Cambridge admit it or not, this may have a small subconscious

impact on the examiner. If there’s a borderline score, then making that extra
effort to be friendly and communicative might just put you in a higher band.

• Also remember that sometimes one FCE examiner might have to ask the same
question over 25-30 times in one day! Give them some interesting answers to
remember you by, add a little humour in places perhaps, don’t just say the
same boring stuff as every other candidate.
10. Even native speakers correct themselves
sometimes:

• Correcting yourself shows awareness of language

and spontaneous speaking.

• Even natives occasionally make mistakes when

speaking and have to correct themselves.

• Don’t feel bad for doing the same. Correct you

error, don’t stress about it, move on.
 Sources:
How to Pass the FCE Speaking Exam (Tips from
an Examiner):

https://onlineteachersuk.com/fce-speaking/