FCE B2 First Speaking Exam Part One 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 One.
Even if you have a good level of English,
the FCE Speaking Test can be challenging.
In this lesson, you can see what to expect
in part one of the Speaking Test and how to
improve your score.
You’ll see what kind of questions you’ll be
asked, how you can answer them well, and also
some useful advice on how to feel more confident
during your exam.
Part One: what to expect in part one of your
FCE Speaking Exam.
What happens in part one?
Part one is simple.
It lasts for about two to three minutes.
In this part of the exam, the examiner will
ask you questions about yourself.
For example, “Where are you from?”
Or, “Tell me something about your family.”
You could also be asked questions about your
opinions.
For example, “Tell us about a film you really
like,” or, “What’s your favorite part of the
day?”
Different topics you could be asked about
include your hometown, country, work and study,
sports and leisure, family and friends, travel
and holidays, hobbies and entertainment.
You’ll normally be asked two or three questions.
This part of the test is a question-and-answer
between the examiner and the candidates.
You won’t talk to the other candidate during
this section, although it’s really good to
listen to their answers too.
The examiner may ask you the same question
as your partner, with a simple, “And what
do you think,” or, “How about you,” instead
of repeating the whole question again.
If you are listening, you can avoid repeating
the same answer as your partner and will show
that you are following the conversation.
Part Two: How to improve your score in the
FCE Speaking Exam part one.
So what does the examiner look for?
In this part of the test, the examiners will
look at three things: grammar and vocabulary:
whether you can use more complex words, phrases,
and sentence structures, and whether your
language is accurate and clear, discourse
management: whether you can build longer answers
with connections between your ideas, pronunciation:
how clearly you speak, and whether your stress
and intonation are correct and natural.
Let’s look at what you can do to improve your
marks in grammar and vocabulary and discourse
management.
First, let’s look at grammar and vocabulary.
You need to use a variety of grammatical structures,
especially some more difficult structures,
to demonstrate your level.
Look at the following answers to the question:
“Where would you like to go on holiday in
the future?”
“I would like to go to Paris.
It’s a romantic city, and I want to see it.”
This is a good answer.
It uses the correct tenses and gives more
information.
Now look at this answer: “If I had the opportunity,
I would like to travel to Paris because it
is such a romantic city and looks really beautiful.”
This answer is even better.
Why?
Because it uses the second conditional, “If
I had,” as well as the words for emphasis,
“so” and “really,” and also the conjunctions,
“because” and “and.”
These features make the answer longer, more
complex, and better connected.
This will give you higher marks in the exam.
You also need to show that you have a wide
vocabulary.
Try to use different phrases and adjectives,
so that you don’t repeat yourself.
For example, learn some more advanced vocabulary
related to common topics in part one, such
as phrasal verbs, idioms, or adjectives that
you can easily use in a sentence.
Then try to use them in your speaking exam.
This will improve your marks and impress your
examiner.
Look at these example answers: “I went to
the cinema, but it was empty.”
“I went to the cinema, but it was deserted.”
The second sentence uses a less-common adjective
and immediately demonstrates that you have
a bigger vocabulary.
Next, let’s look at discourse management.
Remember, that means building longer, coherent,
and fluent answers.
How can you improve your discourse management
score during part one?
Make sure you use conjunctions, like “and,”
“or,” or “but.”
Try to also use more complex linking words,
like “although,” “however,” or “on the other
hand.”
These can help you connect and contrast your
opinions, for a higher mark.
Look at the following sentences: “I’m going
to meet my friend later today.
We’re going to go to a shopping center.”
“I’m going to meet my friend later today,
and we’re going to go to a shopping center
because it might rain.
On the other hand, if the weather is nice,
we might go to the park instead.”
The second sentence uses the simple conjunctions,
“and,” “because,” and “on the other hand,”
to connect the ideas.
This sounds more fluid and natural.
This will give you a higher mark in your discourse
management score, as you will sound more like
a native speaker.
Another important part of discourse management
is fluency.
It is important to avoid hesitations where
you can.
One way to do this is to use an expression
to give yourself more time while you think.
For example, “That’s a good question.”
“Well, let me think.”
“Let me see.”
This will make you sound more natural and
avoid hesitations.
Part Three: How you can appear more confident.
Naturally, you might feel nervous before your
FCE speaking test.
This is normal, but it can also affect your
performance.
So let’s look at some ways that you can feel
and appear more confident in the exam.
If you’re confident and positive, you’ll make
a good impression on the examiner and also
find it easier to talk naturally and fluently.
Warming up: it’s a good idea to warm up before
your speaking exam, so that you’re more relaxed
when you begin.
A good way to do this is to speak to the other
people waiting with you, in English.
This way, you are already used to speaking
in English when you begin the exam and don’t
have to suddenly change languages.
Smile: when you meet your examiner, smile.
Be friendly.
If you smile, you immediately appear happy
and confident, even if you’re extremely nervous.
If you’re positive and friendly with the examiner,
they will respond well to you, and this will
help you feel more comfortable around them.
Remember to smile naturally.
You don’t want to scare anyone.
Body language:your body language can say a
lot.
Remember to sit up straight and look at your
examiner when you’re speaking to them.
Making eye contact makes you appear more confident
and in control.
It’s also a good idea to turn to your partner
and listen when they speak.
These simple things will improve your marks
in the exam because you are showing that you
have good communication skills and are interested
in what people have to say.
Try to speak naturally.
This is really important, as when you’re nervous,
you might try to speak too quickly, which
can lead to mistakes and also make it difficult
to understand.
Make sure you speak naturally and clearly,
to avoid this.
This will also help you get higher marks on
your pronunciation, as you’ll be understood
more easily.
Be yourself.
My most important tip is to be yourself in
the exam.
It’s okay to make jokes or use humor or express
your opinions.
Showing your personality, instead of trying
to be some kind of FCE robot, lets you express
yourself well in English, and the examiner
will see this.
Remember that in part one of the FCE Speaking
Test, the examiner will ask you about familiar
topics, for example, your home or family.
This will help you to relax and be yourself,
from the beginning of the exam.
Part Four: sample questions and answers.
OK, now that you know what’s going to happen
in part one of your FCE Speaking Exam and
how to be more confident, going in, let’s
look at some sample questions and answers.
These will help you see what makes a good
answer and also review the tips and points
we looked at earlier on in this video.
Our first question: “Where do you live?”
It is very likely you will be asked this question
at the beginning of your exam.
Look at the following answers: “I live in
Spain.”
“I live in a pretty town in the south of Spain.”
The second answer is better, as it is longer
and includes more details and description.
Remember that it is important to answer in
full sentences in the speaking exam, as this
will improve your marks and discourse management.
Here’s another sample question: “Tell us about
a TV show you’ve seen recently.”
A lot of the questions you may be asked are
likely to be very open questions, similar
to this one.
These open questions are great because they
give you a good opportunity to express your
opinions and use some of your phrasal verbs
and adjectives.
Look at this answer: “Yesterday, I watched
a show about animals.
It was funny.”
This is OK, but it’s quite basic for FCE level,
and there aren’t any details.
Here’s another answer.
“Recently, I’ve been watching ‘Making a Murderer.’
I’m interested in crime and psychology.
So I enjoy this TV show a lot.”
You can see here how using more advanced vocabulary
and grammar can make your answer more interesting
and detailed.
This answer would help you get a higher score
on your speaking exam.
Now look at this question: “Are you interested
in sport?”
Again, this is a very open question, which
is good, as it lets you personalize your answer.
Look at this answer.
“Yes, I’m interested in sport.”
What do you think?
It’s not a great answer.
It’s quite short and doesn’t give any additional
information.
What about this one?
“Yes, I’m interested in sport.
I really like basketball and swimming.
In fact, I swim every day.”
You can see here how giving a longer answer
gives more information.
However, this answer doesn’t flow very well
and is still quite basic.
So how should it be done?
“Well, yes, I’m interested in sport.
I really like basketball and swimming because
they’re great exercise, and you can practice
them outside.
In fact, I love swimming so much that I swim
every day.”
You can see here how using conjunctions makes
the answer sound more natural and allows you
to build longer answers.
You can also see how saying something simple,
like, “Well,” at the beginning of your answer
gives you more time to think and produce a
better answer.
Now that you’ve seen some example questions
and answers, I hope you have a good idea of
what to expect in part one of your FCE Speaking
Exam.
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.
See you next time!