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Cambridge First Speaking Test Tips for Part 2

Monday, 25 November 2019, 05:16 PM By Kenneth Keith

For students who are taking the B2 First Test (FCE), here are some tips for handling Speaking Part 2 Individual long turn. In this part of the test, you are given two pictures to describe and are required to speak about them for one minute. .

How to begin this task can be quite tricky.  One thing we sometimes do is start comparing straight away and then feel we have run out of ideas before our minute is up.  This can also make us describe things too closely to the images.
 
Try and take just a second before you start and see if you can see THE BIG PICTURE i.e. what they share.

Let's say you have two pictures of people on a tram.  One shows a person reading a book, the other someone playing a game on their device.

 
You could say something like "Well, you can see in both pictures people are relaxing, possibly on their way home after work/Uni.  This is a good time to unwind and slow down.  However, they have chosen different forms/ways of doing that and this could/may/might be about their different personalities.  Reading allows you to........whereas a physical action, like a computer game........"
 
(When we start off like this, it gives us the head space to actually see more differences and encourages us not to get stuck because we have created a bit of distance.)   
 
Have a look around you, at the daily things and see if you can see two everyday things that do share a common starting off point.
 
Here are some possibilities:
 
A person travelling to work on Public transport, another on their bike.
 
Someone eating fast food for lunch, another with food brought from home.
 
Someone writing a letter, the other texting.
 
And remember, it is never too late.  If your ideas come to you later on in the one minute, just say   "Oh, now I can see that this could be about...." 
 
Good luck to all our students in their official exams! 

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