FCE B2 First Speaking Exam Part Four Cambridge FCE Speaking Test Advice
Hello, I’m Mia.
Welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn about how to
do the Cambridge FCE Speaking Exam part four.
We’ll look at what to expect in this part
of the test, what the examiners want to see,
sample questions and answers and how to improve
your score.
Part one: what to expect in part four of the
FCE Speaking Exam.
So what happens in part four of the speaking
test?
The examiner will ask you open questions related
to the topics you discussed in part three
of the exam.
For example, if in part three you talked about
clothes, a typical part four question could
be, “Do you think it matters how people dress?
Why?
Why not?” or, “Some people say spending a
lot of money on clothes is a waste.
What’s your opinion?”
You and your partner discuss these questions
together and express your opinions.
The conversation will be between you and your
partner although the examiner might take part
in the discussion if you’re going off topic
or running out of ideas.
This is the final part of the speaking exam
and will last about four to five minutes.
Part two: how to answer open questions.
What are open questions?
Open questions are very general questions
that don’t need a specific answer.
They’re great because you can answer them
in many different ways and they also give
you a great opportunity to express your opinion.
Let’s look at some examples: “Would you prefer
to go on holiday abroad or in your own country?”
“What TV programs do you never watch?”
“What are the advantages and disadvantages
of wearing casual clothes?”
So how do you answer this type of question?
It’s a good idea to begin with a phrase or
expression that tells the examiner what you’re
about to say is your opinion.
For example, “In my opinion…”
“Personally…”
“For me, I prefer…”
Next, state your opinion.
What do you believe?
Which do you prefer?
Remember to give reasons for your opinions
so that you give more interesting, complex
answers.
Look at the following example.
“For me, I prefer not to watch horror TV programs,
I just don’t like them.”
This sentence states an opinion, but is very
basic.
Have a look again, “For me I prefer not to
watch horror TV programs because I’m easily
frightened.
I hate seeing blood,” much more interesting.
Not only does the reason make the answer more
complex and entertaining, it also adds a wider
range of vocabulary and grammar with the adjective
“frightened” and the conjunctions “because”
and “and.”
This will give you a higher score in your
speaking exam.
Next, involve your partner.
The examiners want to see communication between
you and your partner.
Remember that part of your score depends on
how you communicate with your partner.
Asking your partner questions can help you
to improve this part of your score.
You can ask your partner simple questions
like, “What do you think?”
or, “Do you agree?”
And, it’s a good idea to ask your partner
specific questions if you can think of them.
For example, “For me I prefer not to watch
horror TV programs because I’m easily frightened
and hate seeing blood.
Does this affect you or do you like watching
horror?”
It’s a good idea to build a short conversation
with your partner that relates to the question.
Take short turns and discuss your ideas.
Balance giving your own opinions and asking
your partner questions so that he or she can
speak and take part in the conversation.
Your goal is to develop your ideas and build
on your original answer.
However, make sure you don’t go off topic.
Your answer needs to stay relevant.
What do you do if you really can’t think of
anything to say?
One useful strategy is to use your own experiences
or your friends' experiences for ideas.
If you haven’t got interesting answer to use,
imagine what your friends might say and use
that in your answer.
You can also invent answers to make them more
interesting.
Remember that the exam is for your English,
not your ideas, so it doesn’t matter if your
opinions are true or correct.
Part three: sample questions and answers.
Now that you know what to expect in this part
of the exam, let’s have a look at some sample
questions and see what makes a good answer.
Have a look at this question, “How important
do you think it is to take regular holidays?”
Now look at this sample answer, “In my opinion,
regular holidays are very important because
you need to relax.”
This answer isn’t that good.
Remember, you need to build longer answers
with more information.
Have a look again.
“In my opinion, regular holidays are important
because they give you the opportunity to relax
and maybe to experience different cultures
if you go abroad.”
This is much better.
It’s a longer answer which gives the examiner
more information and shows that you can build
better sentences.
However, there’s still a problem.
Can you see what the problem is?
There’s no interaction with your partner.
So what can you do to change this?
Have another look.
“In my opinion, regular holidays are important
because they give you the opportunity to relax
and maybe to experience different cultures
if you go abroad.
What about you?
Do you think seeing different countries and
cultures is important?”
This is a very good answer.
You can see here how you can ask your partner
questions which relate to your own answer,
making longer, better sentences.
This would give you a high score in your interactive
communication.
Okay, let’s have a look at another sample
question.
“What are the advantages and disadvantages
of wearing casual clothes?”
Have a look at this sample answer, “Personally,
I like wearing a T-shirt and jeans when I’m
relaxing.
If I want to do something special, casual
clothes don’t look good.
I might wear a dress instead.”
This answer is okay.
It gives information and supporting reasons.
However, it doesn’t really flow and the level
of grammar and vocabulary is more basic.
Also, there’s no interaction with the other
candidate.
So how can we make it better?
Have another look, “Personally it depends
on what I’m doing.
Casual clothes have the advantage of being
more comfortable if I’m relaxing.
But if I’m doing something more special, like
going out with my friends, they don’t look
as stylish.
So I’d wear a pretty dress or something like
that instead.
What about you?”
This is a good answer.
You can see here how adding conjunctions like
“so,” “but,” and examples like “going out
with my friends” make your answer more fluid
and natural.
This would give you a higher score in both
your discourse management and grammar vocabulary
marks.
Part four: final review.
Okay, now that we’ve looked at what you can
expect in part four of your FCE Speaking Exam,
let’s quickly review the FCE Speaking Exam
and key points to remember.
The FCE Speaking Exam has four parts and lasts
for about 14 minutes.
In parts one and two, you speak on your own,
answering questions about yourself, and then
comparing two photos.
You will complete parts three and four with
a partner where the examiners want to see
you having a natural conversation.
You’ll be marked on your vocabulary and grammar,
so try to use more advanced sentence structure
such as conditionals or relative clauses,
and learn some complex adjectives, phrasal
verbs, or idioms you can easily remember and
use.
You will also be marked on your discourse
management.
Remember that this means building longer,
better sentences, so it’s a good idea to use
conjunctions to connect your ideas and add
reasons for your beliefs.
Explain why you believe in your opinion.
Interactive communication means that examiners
will look at how well you can have a natural
conversation with your partner.
Remember to listen to what your partner says,
respond to what they say and ask questions.
The examiners will also give you marks on
your pronunciation and a general mark for
global achievement which is based on their
general impression of your exam.
Remember to speak clearly and loudly.
Give your own opinions, be friendly, and smile.
Above all, try to relax and enjoy yourself
as much as possible.
Of course exams could be stressful, but if
you relax, you’ll speak more naturally and
have a better chance to show the examiners
how good your English really is.
I hope you now have a good idea of what to
expect in your Cambridge FCE Speaking Exam
and how to impress your examiners.
Good luck!
That’s the end of the lesson.
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