The Sunday Problem
A candidate is in the roleplay part of the Speaking test. The examiner plays a receptionist at a language school. The candidate's card says: find out the price of the one-day photography course, ask what to bring, ask whether lunch is included, and book a place on Saturday. The candidate has prepared one sentence for each point. Early in the roleplay the candidate says 'How much cost?' and 'I want know what bring'. When asked to confirm the booking, the candidate says 'I want book Saturday.' The examiner replies: 'I'm afraid Saturday is full. There is one place left on Sunday.' The candidate says 'OK', smiles, and stops. There are still two minutes of the roleplay left; the examiner waits, then moves on. Afterwards the candidate says, 'I answered everything on the card, so I think it was fine.'
1. Why is 'OK' a weak response here, and what should the candidate say instead? Give a model answer using B1 functional language.
Read the worked answer
'OK' is weak because it does nothing with the new information. The examiner has changed the situation (Saturday is gone, Sunday is offered), and the roleplay needs the candidate to react, decide and continue. A one-word reply signals a breakdown in interactive communication, which is exactly what this part is scored on.
A model reply:
'Oh, I see. Sunday is fine for me too. Could I book the Sunday course instead? And is the price the same?'
That does four jobs: it acknowledges the change ('Oh, I see'), accepts or negotiates ('Sunday is fine for me'), makes the booking ('Could I book …'), and keeps the interaction alive with a follow-up question. A candidate who genuinely cannot manage Sunday should say so and ask for alternatives: 'I'm sorry, I can't come on Sunday. Is there another course during the week?' Either route scores; silence does not.
2. The candidate produced 'How much cost?' and 'I want know what bring'. What is the underlying problem, and what is the safest repair strategy during the test?
Read the worked answer
Both sentences drop a verb or an auxiliary: 'How much does it cost?' and 'I want to know what to bring.' The underlying problem is translating word for word from the first language and building questions without the auxiliary.
Three reliable B1 frames cover most roleplay questions:
- Could you tell me + question word + subject + verb? 'Could you tell me how much the course costs?' Note there is no 'does' after 'could you tell me'.
- How much does it cost? Practise 'does it' as one sound.
- I'd like to know what to bring. 'What to bring', 'where to go' and 'when to arrive' are fixed chunk patterns.
Repair strategy: if you hear yourself make the error, correct it and carry on, for example 'How much cost - sorry, how much does it cost?' Self-correction is not penalised the way silence is, and it shows control. Two or three seconds of repair is fine; restarting the whole answer is not.
3. The examiner asks, 'Is Sunday any good for you?' and the candidate needs two seconds to think. What can they say that is not silence, and why does it help the score?
Read the worked answer
Use a holding phrase - language that fills the pause with something meaningful in English:
- 'That's a good question. Let me think for a second.'
- 'Hmm, Sunday … let me check. Yes, I think that works for me.'
- 'Well, I'm not sure. Can I ask, what time does it start?'
It helps because silence can read as non-comprehension, and the examiner cannot give credit for interaction they cannot hear. A holding phrase shows you have understood the question and are managing the conversation, and the follow-up question often buys the thinking time you needed anyway.
It also mirrors real B1 speaking. The target is not perfect, instant answers but the ability to keep a conversation going, ask for clarification ('Sorry, could you repeat that?') and check information ('So it's Sunday, not Saturday, is that right?'). Practise three holding phrases until they are automatic, so that under pressure you reach for one instead of stopping.