How the Speaking Test Works

Warm-up: Today's Goal: Know Exactly What Happens in the Room

4 warm-up questions

• What do you already know about the B2 First Speaking test? Where did you hear it?
• Have you ever been assessed while speaking a language, in an exam or an interview?
• Which worries you more: making grammar mistakes, or running out of things to say?
• You take this test with a partner you may never have met. Does that help or hurt, do you think?

Reading: Fourteen Minutes, Four Parts, Two Examiners

Read a 472-word text about Fourteen Minutes, Four Parts, Two Examiners

Fourteen Minutes, Four Parts, Two Examiners You walk into a small room with another candidate. Two examiners are already there. One of them, the interlocutor, will talk to you and manage the whole test. The other sits slightly to the side, says almost nothing, and listens. That silent one is the assessor, and their only job is to mark your English. The whole thing lasts about fourteen minutes. Part 1 — the interview, about two minutes The interlocutor asks each of you a few ordinary questions: where you live, what you do, what you enjoy at the weekend. Nobody is trying to catch you out. This part exists to settle your nerves and to get a first sample of your natural speech. You answer the examiner, not your partner. Part 2 — the long turn, one minute each You are given two photographs and a printed question about them. You speak alone for one minute: you compare the pictures and answer the question. Your partner listens. When your minute ends, the interlocutor asks your partner a short related question, and they speak for about thirty seconds. Then the two of you swap roles with a new pair of photographs. Part 3 — the collaborative task, about four minutes Both of you get one page with a central question in the middle and several written prompts around it. You talk to each other for two minutes about how the prompts relate to that question. Then the interlocutor gives you a follow-up question and one more minute to reach a decision together. This is a conversation between the two candidates, not two separate speeches. Part 4 — the discussion, about four minutes The interlocutor now asks broader questions connected to the Part 3 topic. These are abstract: what causes something, whether it will change, whether it matters. You may be asked directly, or asked what you think of your partner's answer. What is actually being marked The assessor gives you four separate marks. Grammar and vocabulary is how accurate and how varied your language is. Discourse management is whether your ideas are linked to one another and whether you can keep going without collapsing. Pronunciation is whether you are easy to follow, not whether you sound British. Interactive communication is how well you listen, respond and keep the conversation moving. The interlocutor adds one overall impression mark on top. Three things people get wrong People believe a foreign accent loses marks. It does not, as long as the examiner can understand you. People believe long words score higher; in fact a wrong long word scores lower than a right short one. And people believe the examiners are judging their opinions. They are not. You could argue that the moon is made of cheese and still score well, provided you argue it in good English.

Vocabulary: The Language of the Exam Room

10 items

Practice: Myth or Reality?

Matching exercise, 7 items

• You lose marks for a foreign accent
• The silent examiner is judging your personality
• Long, impressive words always score higher
• You should learn your Part 1 answers by heart
• In Part 3 you should each give a short speech
• Your opinions have to be sensible to score well
• Stopping early in Part 2 is safer than making mistakes

Practice: How the Test Really Runs

Gap-fill exercise, 8 items

• The examiner who asks you questions is called the ____ in the exam.
• In Part 2 you speak on your own for ____ minute while your partner listens.
• The second examiner says nothing and simply ____ your English throughout the test.
• Discourse management is about how well your ideas are ____ to one another across a longer answer.
• Interactive communication is assessed on how well you ____ to what your partner says.
• You are not marked on your opinions, only on the language you ____ them in.
• A strong candidate ____ a short answer without being asked a second question.
• Nobody ____ you for a foreign accent, as long as the examiner can understand you.

Dialogue: Explaining the Test to a Friend

Role-play: A friend has just booked the same exam and knows nothing about the Speaking paper. You explain it over coffee. (4 lines)

• So what actually happens? Walk me through it from the moment I go in. Give the four parts in order with their timings and who speaks to whom. Use 'interlocutor', 'assessor' and 'long turn'.
• Somebody told me the quiet examiner is deciding whether they like you. Is that true? Correct the myth and replace it with the four criteria. Explain each one in ordinary words rather than listing labels.
• My English isn't perfect. Should I just keep my answers short so I make fewer mistakes? Explain why silence is more expensive than error. Use 'discourse management', 'to penalise' and 'long turn'.
• And what if I get a partner who barely opens their mouth? That's my nightmare. Reassure them that marks are individual, then say what you would actually do to bring a quiet partner in. Use 'rapport' and 'interactive communication'.

Discussion: Let's Discuss

5 discussion questions

• Which of the four parts do you expect to find hardest, and what specifically worries you about it?
• Do you think a speaking exam with a partner is fairer or less fair than one with only an examiner?
• What would you do if you completely misunderstood a question in Part 2?
• How has the way languages are tested changed since your parents were at school?
• Is it possible to judge somebody's English in fourteen minutes?