Speaking - EIKEN Grade 2
The Grade 2 interview lasts about seven minutes with one examiner and covers four tasks: read a short passage aloud, answer a question about it, describe an illustration, and give opinions on two social topics. The passage is roughly 50 words and you get about 20 seconds to read it silently. Fluency and intelligibility matter more than accent; a clear, simple answer scores better than a complex one abandoned halfway.
The four tasks
- Read aloud. Use the 20 seconds to mark meaning groups and difficult words. Read in chunks, stress content words, and keep going past mistakes - stopping to self-correct costs more than a small pronunciation slip.
- Question 1 (about the passage). Answer in one complete sentence drawn from the text: "According to the passage, ..." Do not add your own opinion.
- Question 2 (the picture). Describe what people are doing, using present continuous and a location: "In the picture, a man is loading boxes onto a truck while two women are talking near the entrance." Two or three actions is enough; one is thin.
- Questions 3 and 4 (opinion). The card gives a social topic. Answer in three moves: position, reason, example - "Yes, I think so, because ... For example, ..."
Worked example
Passage line: Many cities are turning empty rooftops into small farms, and the buildings stay cooler in summer. Question: Why do the buildings stay cooler?
Weak: "Because it is good." (no content, not a sentence) Better: "Because plants and soil on the roof block the sun, so the building does not get as hot."
Reasoning: the passage links roofs, plants and temperature; the answer restates that link in a full sentence. If you are unsure, paraphrase the closest sentence in the text rather than inventing a fact - the examiner is checking comprehension, not general knowledge.
Traps that cost marks
- One-word or two-word answers. Every question expects at least one full sentence.
- Silence while thinking. Start with a frame ("I think ... because ...") and fill it.
- Changing your position halfway through an opinion answer.
- Giving a reason but no example; Grade 2 opinion answers sound thin at two sentences.
- Describing the picture in the past tense, or inventing a story instead of describing what is visible.
- Speaking too quietly or racing; the examiner must hear where your sentences end.