Speaking
Format
Speaking lasts about 15 minutes with two candidates and two examiners. Part 1: personal questions on familiar topics. Part 2: each candidate compares two photographs for about a minute, then answers a short question about the partner's photos. Part 3: a collaborative discussion task leading to a decision. Part 4: a broader discussion of the Part 3 theme.
Criteria
Five areas are assessed: Grammatical Resource, Lexical Resource, Discourse Management (extending and linking ideas coherently), Pronunciation (including stress and intonation that carry meaning) and Interactive Communication. Range matters as much as accuracy - safe, correct, simple language caps your score however fluent it sounds.
What separates C1 from B2
You speculate and justify rather than describe: They might be…, It looks as though…, The point of this one seems to be…. You organise with discourse markers such as Having said that or What strikes me most is. You actively involve your partner: Would you agree?, Shall we start with this one?
Traps
- Describing photographs literally in Part 2 instead of comparing and interpreting them.
- Monopolising Part 3 so your partner cannot contribute - Interactive Communication will suffer.
- One-line answers in Parts 1 and 4; always add a reason or an example.
- Silence while thinking; a short paraphrase to buy time beats dead air.
Rule of thumb
For each Part 2 photograph, answer three questions in order: what is happening, how the people might feel, and how the two pictures differ in purpose.