Oral Expression and Interaction: keep the exchange alive
What the tasks look like
An interview with the examiner about yourself (name, where you live, family, work, daily routine, last holiday, next weekend), a short monologue describing an image or a familiar topic, and a role-play - buying a ticket, asking for information, ordering in a café, booking a room. Interaction counts as much as accuracy.
Concepts you must control
Ready-made chunks: greeting (Bom dia, tudo bem?), asking for repetition (Pode repetir, por favor? / Desculpe, não percebi), hesitation (Bem…, Pois…, Então…), polite requests with the conditional (Podia dizer-me…?, Gostaria de…), opinions (Na minha opinião…, Penso que…, Prefiro… porque…), and describing a picture (Há…, está…, à esquerda, à direita, ao fundo, em primeiro plano).
Traps
- One-word answers. Sim. Não. Lisboa. These end the exchange and score badly.
- Silence. If you cannot find a word, use a filler and rephrase.
- Switching to English - treat it as a lost turn.
- Mixing tu and você, or forgetting o senhor / a senhora in a shop or ticket office.
- Reciting a memorised speech that does not answer the question asked.
Worked example
Question: Onde mora? Weak: Em Setúbal. Strong: «Moro em Setúbal, uma cidade pequena perto do rio. Vivo num apartamento com a minha família e gosto muito do bairro porque é calmo.» - answer, then one or two extra sentences with a reason.
Rule of thumb
Never leave more than two seconds of silence. Give the answer, add one sentence, and link it with porque. In a role-play, always greet, state your need, respond to the reply, and close with Obrigado/a.