CAE SPEAKING TIPS

Part I. Personal Questions

1. Offer more than the minimum in your answers and avoid short, 'yes', 'no' answers. 2. Offer examples to help you explain a statement.

Part II. Long Turn (3 pictures)

1. Try to find the pictures which are either very similar or very different in some way. This will help you to compare and/or contrast the two pictures. 2. Think about opportunities for make easy hypothesis when choosing your pictures. 3. You can add a personal reaction to the pictures at the end of your talk.

Part III. Two-Way discussion (6 pictures)

1. Be prepared to ask your partner for his or her opinion rather than simply stating your own. 2. Listen actively to what your partner says, responding to comments he or she makes. Use expressions such as the following to comment on something: "That's an interesting point." "I was interested in what you said about ..." "So, when you say ........, do you mean ........?" "Could you explain what you mean by .......?" 3. Use expressions to allow yourself time to think: That's a good question., Well, let me think ... 4. In order to bring the discussion to a constructive conclusion try using expressions such as the following: "So, weighing up the pros and cons, do you think ?" "Essentially, do we all agree that ?" "So, to sum up " "It seems weve reached the conclusion that "

Part IV. Three-Way discussion (about pictures with examiner)

1. Again, avoid short, 'yes', 'no' answers to the examiner's questions. 2. Try to make your contributions powerful, for example by using short, personal anecdotes to help make a point. 3. Continue to work with your partner. Respond constructively and show interest in things he or she says. You can use expressions like: While generally agreeing with X, I must say that ... Adding to what X has just said, I think ... One thing X didn't mention is ...

Surprising, as it may seem, I don't support X's view on ... Perhaps it should also be pointed out that ...

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

Pictures What strikes me about the first picture is the fact that... This picture reminds me of... Judging from the photograph... The man appears to be... From what we can see here, he must... There are many similarities... Both pictures are quite similar in that they show... The first picture ... whereas the other picture ... Another important difference is... Picture ... doesn't show ... as clearly as ... Picture ... attempts to ... but I think picture ... does this more effectively... All pictures are interesting, but picture ... gives a stronger idea of... It's difficult to tell from a photograph but this picture could have been taken in ... I might be wrong, but I'd say that this picture ... I would imagine/guess that this picture comes from ... Picture ... is by far the best to show because ... I'm surprised there is no picture showing... A picture of ... would get the message across more effectively. Forgetting something The name for this escapes me at present, but it's for/it's like ... The name for it is on the tip of my tongue ... I forgot to mention ... Opinion I'm of the opinion that ... To my way of thinking ... I am convinced that ... Discussion, asking opinion Don't get me wrong but shouldn't we ... ? What do you think? Moving on to ... A strong point in favour of ... is that ... That's one way of looking at it. On the other hand ... Agreement, Disagreement, Conclusion I couldn't agree more. I think I see what you mean, but ... I'm in two minds about it. / I'm ambivalent about ... That's true in a way, I suppose, but ... I don't feel convinced ... Taking everything into account