Speaking Exams: Talking about yourself

Speaking Exams - Giving Personal Information

Introduction: 

Jack: Hey Rich! How are you doing?

Rich: Not bad, well … I’m a little bit worried actually.

Jack: What are you worried about?

Rich: I’m worried about a group of students that I’ve been teaching.

Jack: Why? What’s up?

Rich: They’ve got their speaking exams coming up in a couple of weeks.

Jack: You always worry about your students. It’s nice … but they always do really well in their speaking exams.  

Rich: Yes, they do. I always give them a lot of speaking practice and give them lots of tips and advice for their exams.

Jack: Me too. I always teach lots of different communication strategies that will help them with their speaking exams.

Rich: Maybe I shouldn’t be so worried. I’m sure they will pass with flying colours.

Jack: And in this podcast, let’s share some of those tips, pieces of advice with our listeners.

Rich: Great idea! We want you to do brilliantly in speaking exams too!

Welcome - Exams

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich

Jack: and I’m Jack

Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast

Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Jack: What’s happening this week, Rich?

Rich: In this week’s podcast, as you just heard, we are going to talk about speaking exams and how you can get better at them.

Jack: That’s right. When you do a speaking exam you nearly always have to speak about yourself. We’re going to practise/roleplay some questions that you could be asked in an exam. 

Rich: And we’re going to give you some advice about how you can get better at giving personal opinions.

Topic Focus

Jack: Have you ever done a speaking exam, Rich?

Rich: Once … about six or seven years ago. I was absolutely petrified.

Jack: What language was it?

Rich: It was in Spanish. I did it with the Cervantes Institute which is a bit like the British Council but Spanish. It was B2 level a bit like the first certificate in English if you know Cambridge exams.

Jack: Why were you so nervous?

Rich: I don’t know really but I can remember my hands shaking when I held a piece of paper and my voice starting to tremble before I did the exam.

Jack: What did you do to stop being nervous?

Rich: I can’t remember exactly but I think that I just took some deep breaths and when I started speaking my nerves went away.

Jack: That’s actually a good bit of advice. Just relax, take a deep breath and when you start speaking the nerves will go away. Examiners are friendly - usually!

Focus on exams

Jack: What did you have to do in that exam, Rich?

Rich: Good question. It’s quite difficult to remember. I think I had to answer some personal questions, things that I liked and I didn’t like … I think I had to tell a story too, yes I remember looking at some pictures.

Jack: Was it just you or did you have a partner?

Rich: Just me and the examiner.

Jack: There are lots of different types of speaking tasks in exams and in some exams you are alone and in others you have a partner. In both situations, the examiner will nearly always start by asking you some personal questions.

Rich: The examiner might ask you about your home town or city, your school, your job, your family, what you do every day … things like that. 

Jack:  We’re going to do a few example conversations so we can show you what often happens in this part of a speaking exam.

Rich: We want you to think about the question the examiner asks and how well the candidate/learner answers the question. Are you ready?

Jack: Who’s going to be the examiner?

Rich: Let’s take it in turns. I’ll go first …

Roleplay one

Rich: Good afternoon, Jack. My name’s Rich. Could you start by telling me a little about yourself?

Jack: Of course. What do you want to know?

Beep beep

Rich: That is not a good start. Jack wasn’t prepared for this question. You should always be prepared to talk about yourself at the beginning of a speaking exam. Asking where you are from, asking about your job or studies are very common questions at the beginning of a speaking exam.

Jack: Shall we do it again?

Rich: Yes.

Beep beep

Rich: Good afternoon, Jack. My name’s Rich. Could you start by telling me a little about yourself?

Jack: Of course. As you know, my name’s Jack and I work as an editor of a website for English language learners and create online learning material.

Beep beep  

Rich: That was much better. So, tip number one is be prepared. Be prepared to talk about yourself - your job or studies, where you live and where you come from.

Jack: Let’s move on to our next conversation. Listen to Rich’s answer. Do you think it is a good answer or not?

Roleplay two

Jack: Where are you from?

Rich: I was born in on January the 26th 1984 in a small city called Bradford in the north of England. I lived there for 18 years with my parents and brother. I had a cat called Jonesy. I studied at university. After university I got a job. My favourite sport is football. I like it very much because …

Stop, stop, stop! 

Jack: that wasn’t very good. It sounded like you were reading some information. 

Rich: I memorised it for the exam.

Jack: Tip number two. Don’t memorise everything that you are going to say. This is not a natural way to speak and an examiner will notice and you won’t get a very good score. Shall we try that again?

Rich: Let’s.

Beep beep

Jack: Where are you from?

Rich: I’m from a place called Bradford in the north of England. I lived there with my parents and brother until I went to university. I still go back in the holidays. 

Jack: That was much better. You sounded much more natural and definitely didn’t have a script in front of you.

Rich: Let’s move on to our next role play. I’ll be the examiner. Are you ready?

Jack: Ready when you are.

Roleplay three 

Rich: What’s your name?

Jack: Jack

Rich: What’s your favourite sport?

Jack: Football.

Rich: Do you play football?

Jack: No.

Rich: Do you watch football?

Jack; Yes.

Rich: Which team do you support?

Jack: Arsenal.

Rich: Why do you support Arsenal?

Jack: Because they are good.

Stop, stop, stop! 

Rich: That was awful. You gave very, very short answers. This is a very bad thing to do in a speaking exam. You need to give complete answers in full sentences.

Jack: You’re right. It’s important to remember that exams test your English. The examiner wants to know how much English you can use. You need to develop your answer and communicate more.

Rich: Exams don’t penalise you for every mistake you make. You will get a better mark the more you speak and the more language you use.

Jack: Shall we try again?

Rich: Yes

...

Rich: What’s your name?

Jack: My name’s Jack. Pleased to meet you.

Rich: What’s your favourite sport?

Jack: I really like football. It’s a big passion of mine. I eat, drink and breathe the game

Rich: Do you play football?

Jack: No, not anymore. I used to but I had to give it up.

Rich: Do you watch football?

Jack; Yes, every weekend, whenever I can really.

Rich: Which team do you support?

Jack: Arsenal. I’ve supported the Gunners since I was six years old.

Rich: Why do you support Arsenal?

Jack: Well, my dad took me to my first match and there is a big family connection to the club.

Rich: OK, that’s enough. I know that you can talk for hours about Arsenal.

...

Rich: So, this was much better. Jack developed his answers and didn’t just give one or two word answers. Examiners usually have specific criteria to assess candidates based on the variety of language you use and how much you use. It’s important to develop your answers because this will get you a better score. 

Jack: So, tip number three is to give complete answers in full sentences.

Rich: These types of personal questions are very common in English speaking exams. They are also something you can prepare for at home or in the classroom before the exam.

Jack: Some common topics are: work, studies, hobbies, food, sport, holiday and future plans.

Rich: So another top tip is to practise giving long answers to common questions.

Jack: I think it’s time for our next roleplay. I’m gpint to be the examiner this time.

Roleplay four 

Jack: What’s your favourite colour?

Rich: I don’t have a favourite colour. Blue maybe.

Beep beep

Jack: That wasn’t a good answer. Too short. I know that the question is a bit silly … and you probably don’t have a favourite colour but these favourite questions are really common in speaking exams.

Rich: So, tip number four is to practise answering questions to some of the most common favourite questions.

Jack: What’s your favourite colour? Favourite food? Favourite time of the year? Favourite football team? Favourite sport? Favourite type of Swedish soup?

Rich: Swedish soup?

Jack: OK, maybe not that one.

Rich: Shall we do that conversation again?

Jack: Yes, let’s do it now.

Beep beep

Jack: What’s your favourite colour?

Rich: I don’t really have a favourite colour. But if I had to choose one I would probably go with blue. Blue reminds me of the sea and I really love going to the seaside.

Jack: that was a much better answer. Every question is an opportunity to develop your answer and use more English. Using phrases like it reminds me of or it makes me think of are useful for these types of questions. 

Rich: Yes, and a conditional sentence too. This shows the examiner that you can produce complex language.

Roleplay five 

Jack: We’ve got time for one more tip. Here’s the conversation.

Beep beep

Rich: Do you like going to the cinema?

Jack: Yes, I love going to the cinema.

Rich: Why?

Jack: I love going to the cinema because I think that films are made for the big screen rather than a TV. 

Rich: When did you last go to a football match?

Jack: Ohh I haven’t been to a live football match for a while now.

Rich: Why not?

Jack: As I don’t live near a big city it can be a bit difficult to get to matches.

Beep Beep

Rich: Tip number five is to always give reasons for your answers. Sometimes the examiner will say why or why not when you give an answer. This is to encourage you to speak more.

Jack: When you give your reason try to use conjunctions such as because or as or since. This adds more complexity to your answer and will get you a better mark.

Rich: OK, so there are our five tips to help you when giving personal information in speaking exams. Here are the tips again.

Jack: Tip number one: Be prepared to talk about yourself before the exam.

Rich: Tip number two: Don’t memorize what you are going to say.

Jack: Tip number three: Give complete answers in full sentences.

Rich: Tip number four: Practise favourite questions.

Jack: Tip number five: Give reasons for all your answers.

Rich: On the page below, we’ve got more information about language you can use in exams to give personal information, related to these tips.

Football Phrase

Rich: Have you got a football phrase for us this week? 

Jack: Yes, I have, but first, last week’s football phrase. The phrase was an x-rated tackle. It was a really difficult one so well done to you if you got it right. Especially to Ahmed Adam and Liubomyr...

Rich: An x-rated tackle is a challenge on the pitch that is horrible to watch that often results in an injury to another player. What’s this week’s football phrase? Let’s make it a little bit easier.

Jack: OK, I’ll try.  This week’s football phrase is to be **** *** ****. This phrase means to be very, very happy and it is something that football managers often say after their team has won. I’ll give you another clue - the important word in the phrase is the big round thing you see in the sky at night!

Rich: I’ve got it! Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below.

Jack: And don’t forget to listen to our round-up show called ‘This Week’. All the action from Matchweek 11 will be on the Premier Skills homepage on Monday.

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football!