FCE Speaking

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH 

FIRST CERTIFICATE IN ENGLISH PREPARATION

SPEAKING HANDOUTS

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Contents Contents ...................................................................................................................... 2 B2 SPEAKING EXAMINATION DESCRIPTION ........................................................... 5 PART A: SPEAKING TASKS ..................................................................................... 13 Exercise 1 .............................................................................................................. 13 Exercise 2 .............................................................................................................. 14 Exercise 3 .............................................................................................................. 14 Exercise 4 .............................................................................................................. 15 Exercise 5 .............................................................................................................. 15 Exercise 6 .............................................................................................................. 16 Exercise 7 .............................................................................................................. 16 Exercise 8 .............................................................................................................. 17 Exercise 9 .............................................................................................................. 18 Exercise 10 ............................................................................................................ 18 Exercise 11 ............................................................................................................ 19 Exercise 12 ............................................................................................................ 19 Exercise 13 ............................................................................................................ 20 Exercise 14 ............................................................................................................ 20 Exercise 15 ............................................................................................................ 21 Exercise 16 ............................................................................................................ 21 Exercise 17 ............................................................................................................ 22 Exercise 18 ............................................................................................................ 22 Exercise 19 ............................................................................................................ 23 Exercise 20 ............................................................................................................ 23 Exercise 21 ............................................................................................................ 24 Exercise 22 ............................................................................................................ 24 Exercise 23 ............................................................................................................ 25 2

Exercise 24 ............................................................................................................ 25 Exercise 25 ............................................................................................................ 26 Exercise 26 ............................................................................................................ 26 Exercise 27 ............................................................................................................ 27 Exercise 28 ............................................................................................................ 27 Exercise 29 ............................................................................................................ 28 Exercise 30 ............................................................................................................ 28 Exercise 31 ............................................................................................................ 29 Exercise 32 ............................................................................................................ 29 Exercise 33 ............................................................................................................ 30 Exercise 34 ............................................................................................................ 30 Exercise 35 ............................................................................................................ 31 Exercise 36 ............................................................................................................ 31 Exercise 37 ............................................................................................................ 32 Exercise 38 ............................................................................................................ 32 PART 2: TASK RESOURCES................................................................................... 33 Exercise 2 .............................................................................................................. 34 Exercise 3 .............................................................................................................. 34 Exercise 7 .............................................................................................................. 35 Exercise 8 .............................................................................................................. 36 Exercise 13 ............................................................................................................ 38 Exercise 17 ............................................................................................................ 39 Exercise18 ............................................................................................................. 41 Exercise 23 ............................................................................................................ 42 Exercise 27 ............................................................................................................ 44 Exercise 28 ............................................................................................................ 46 Exercise 32 ............................................................................................................ 48 Exercise 33 ............................................................................................................ 50 3

Exercise 36 ............................................................................................................ 51 Exercise 37 ............................................................................................................ 52 References ................................................................................................................ 53

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B2 SPEAKING EXAMINATION DESCRIPTION Common European Framework

Which communication themes are the test takers expected to be able to handle?

personal identification; personal qualities; house and home; daily life; free time, entertainment; intellectual and artistic pursuits; arts and crafts; sports; travel; tourism; relations with other people; health and body care; education; work and careers; job interviews and meetings; money and shopping; food and drink; services; banking; places; language; weather; current events; environment and pollution; climate; crime and punishment; technology and tools; Internet-related language; politics; marketing

Which communicative tasks are the test takers expected to be able to handle?

informal and some formal exchanges on a variety of concrete topics relating to work, school, home, and leisure activities, as well as to events of current, public, and personal interest or individual relevance; comparing experiences and attitudes; narrating and describing in all major time frames (past, present, and future) with good control of aspect; providing structured arguments to support opinions; constructing hypotheses; discussing some topics abstractly, especially those relating to learners’ particular interests and special fields of expertise; confident handling of telephone conversations; transacting basic business; contributing to role plays

What kind of communicative activities and strategies are the test takers expected to be able to handle?

Test-takers are expected to be able to interact with native speakers with a degree of fluency and spontaneity; sustain their opinions by providing relevant examples and arguments; evaluate pros and cons; make hypotheses and respond to interlocutor’s hypotheses, at all times displaying familiarity with turn-taking conventions and strategies to initiate and terminate discourse. At the higher end of the B2 band they may even display competence in conversational management (co-operation strategies), negotiation skills and in the use of cohesion and coherence devices. In other words they are active and participative second or foreign language users.

What text-types and what length of text are the test takers

public speeches; job interviews; debates and discussions; interpersonal dialogues and 5

expected to be able to handle?

conversations; telephone conversations; radio broadcasts, news

What kind of tasks are the test takers expected to be able to handle?

‘pedagogic’ tasks reflecting real-life needs outside the classroom, in the personal and public domains.

CEF scale for Overall Spoken Interaction: Can use the language fluently, accurately and effectively on a wide range of general, academic, vocational or leisure topics, marking clearly the relationship between ideas. Can communicate spontaneously with good grammatical control without much sign of having to restrict what he/she wants to say, adopting a level of formality appropriate to the circumstances.

The learner’s spoken interaction abilities are consistent with CEF Overall Spoken Interaction parameters.

(Adapted from British Institutes. (2006). General Exam Description. B2 Level. Common European Framework. http://www.britishinstitutes.co.uk/userfiles/File/B2%20Exam%20presentation.pdf)

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RELEVANT QUALITATIVE FACTORS FOR SPOKEN INTERACTION LINGUISTIC RANGE Edited from General Linguistic Range; Vocabulary Range, Flexibility

C2

C1

LINGUISTIC ACCURACY Edited from Grammatical Accuracy and Vocabulary Control

SOCIO-LINGUISTIC Edited from Socio-linguistic Appropriateness

FLUENCY

INTERACTION

Fluency, Flexibility

Edited from Turntaking, Cooperating, Asking for Clarification

Shows great flexibility reformulating ideas in differing linguistic forms to convey finer shades of meaning precisely, to give emphasis, to differentiate and to eliminate ambiguity. Also has a good command of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms.

Maintains consistent grammatical control of complex language, even while attention is otherwise engaged (e.g. in forward planning, in monitoring others’ reactions).

Appreciates fully the sociolinguistic and sociocultural implications of language used by speakers and can react accordingly. Can mediate effectively between speakers of the target language and that of his/her community of origin taking account of sociocultural and sociolinguistic differences.

Can express him/herself spontaneously at length with a natural colloquial flow, avoiding or backtracking around any difficulty so smoothly that the interlocutor is hardly aware of it.

Can interact with ease and skill, picking up and using non-verbal and intonational cues apparently effortlessly. Can interweave his/her contribution into the joint discourse with fully natural turntaking, referencing, allusion making etc.

Has a good command of a broad range of language allowing him/her to select a formulation to express him/herself clearly in an appropriate style on a wide range of general, academic,

Consistently maintains a high degree of grammatical accuracy; errors are rare, difficult to spot and generally corrected when they do occur.

Can use language flexibly and effectively for social purposes, including emotional, allusive and joking usage.

Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously, almost effortlessly. Only a conceptually difficult subject can hinder a natural, smooth flow of language.

Can select a suitable phrase from a readily available range of discourse functions to preface his remarks in order to get or to keep the floor and to relate his/her

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professional or leisure topics without having to restrict what he/she wants to say.

B2

B1

own contributions skilfully to those of other speakers.

Has a sufficient range of language to be able to give clear descriptions, express viewpoints on most general topics, without much conspicuous searching for words, using some complex sentence forms to do so.

Shows a relatively high degree of grammatical control. Does not make errors which cause misunderstand-ing, and can correct most of his/her mistakes.

Can with some effort keep up with and contribute to group discussions even when speech is fast and colloquial. Can sustain relationships with native speakers without unintentionally amusing or irritating them or requiring them to behave other than they would with a native speaker.

Can adjust to the changes of direction, style and emphasis normally found in conversation. Can produce stretches of language with a fairly even tempo; although he/she can be hesitant as he or she searches for patterns and expressions, there are few noticeably long pauses.

Can initiate discourse, take his/her turn when appropriate and end conversation when he/she needs to, though he/she may not always do this elegantly. Can help the discussion along on familiar ground confirming comprehension, inviting others in, etc.

Has enough language to get by, with sufficient vocabulary to express him/herself with some hesitation and circumlocutions on topics such as family, hobbies and interests, work, travel, and current events.

Uses reasonably accurately a repertoire of frequently used “routines” and patterns associated with more predictable situations.

Can perform and respond to basic language functions, such as information exchange and requests and express opinions and attitudes in a simple way. Is aware of the salient politeness conventions and acts appropriately.

Can exploit a wide range of simple language flexibly to express much of what he/she wants. Can keep going comprehensibly, even though pausing for grammatical and lexical planning and repair is very evident, especially in longer stretches of free production.

Can initiate, maintain and close simple face-to-face conversation on topics that are familiar or of personal interest. Can repeat back part of what someone has said to confirm mutual understanding.

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A2

A1

Uses basic sentence patterns with memorised phrases, groups of a few words and formulae in order to communicate limited information in simple everyday situations.

Has a very basic repertoire of words and simple phrases related to personal details and particular concrete situations.

Uses some simple structures correctly, but still systematically makes basic mistakes.

Shows only limited grammatical control of a few simple grammatical structures and sentence patterns in a memorised repertoire.

Can handle very short social exchanges, using everyday polite forms of greeting and address. Can make and respond to invitations, apologies etc.

Can establish basic social contact by using the simplest everyday polite forms of: greetings and farewells; introductions; saying please, thank you, sorry etc.

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Can make him/herself understood in very short utterances, even though pauses, false starts and reformulation are very evident. Can expand learned phrases through simple recombinations of their elements.

Can indicate when he/she is following but is rarely able to understand enough to keep conversation going of his/her own accord.

Can manage very short, isolated, mainly pre-packaged utterances, with much pausing to search for expressions, to articulate less familiar words, and to repair communication.

Can interact in a simple way but communication is totally dependent on repetition, rephrasing and repair.

Can ask for attention.

Table C2: ORAL ASSESSMENT CRITERIA GRID (CEFR Table 3) RANGE

ACCURACY

FLUENCY

INTERACTION

COHERENCE

C2

Shows great flexibility reformulating ideas in differing linguistic forms to convey finer shades of meaning precisely, to give emphasis, to differentiate and to eliminate ambiguity. Also has a good command of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms.

Maintains consistent grammatical control of complex language, even while attention is otherwise engaged (e.g. in forward planning, in monitoring others' reactions).

Can express him/herself spontaneously at length with a natural colloquial flow, avoiding or backtracking around any difficulty so smoothly that the interlocutor is hardly aware of it.

Can interact with ease and skill, picking up and using non-verbal and intonational cues apparently effortlessly. Can interweave his/her contribution into the joint discourse with fully natural turntaking, referencing, allusion making etc.

Can create coherent and cohesive discourse making full and appropriate use of a variety of organisational patterns and a wide range of connectors and other cohesive devices.

C1

Has a good command of a broad range of language allowing him/her to select a formulation to express him/ herself clearly in an appropriate style on a wide range of general, academic, professional or leisure topics without having to restrict what he/she wants to say.

Consistently maintains a high degree of grammatical accuracy; errors are rare, difficult to spot and generally corrected when they do occur.

Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously, almost effortlessly. Only a conceptually difficult subject can hinder a natural, smooth flow of language.

Can select a suitable phrase from a readily available range of discourse functions to preface his remarks in order to get or to keep the floor and to relate his/her own contributions skilfully to those of other speakers.

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Can produce clear, smoothly flowing, wellstructured speech, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

B2 + B2

Has a sufficient range of language to be able to give clear descriptions, express viewpoints on most general topics, without much conspicuous searching for words, using some complex sentence forms to do so.

Shows a relatively high degree of grammatical control. Does not make errors which cause misunderstanding, and can correct most of his/her mistakes.

Can produce stretches of language with a fairly even tempo; although he/she can be hesitant as he or she searches for patterns and expressions, there are few noticeably long pauses.

Can initiate discourse, take his/her turn when appropriate and end conversation when he/she needs to, though he/she may not always do this elegantly. Can help the discussion along on familiar ground confirming comprehension, inviting others in, etc.

Can use a limited number of cohesive devices to link his/her utterances into clear, coherent discourse, though there may be some “jumpiness” in a long contribution.

Has enough language to get by, with sufficient vocabulary to express him/herself with some hesitation and circumlocutions on topics such as family, hobbies and interests, work, travel, and current events.

Uses reasonably accurately a repertoire of frequently used “routines” and patterns associated with more predictable situations.

Can keep going comprehensibly, even though pausing for grammatical and lexical planning and repair is very evident, especially in longer stretches of free production.

Can initiate, maintain and close simple face-to-face conversation on topics that are familiar or of personal interest. Can repeat back part of what someone has said to confirm mutual understanding.

Can link a series of shorter, discrete simple elements into a connected, linear sequence of points.

B1 + B1

A2

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+ A2

Uses basic sentence patterns with memorised phrases, groups of a few words and formulae in order to communicate limited information in simple everyday situations.

Uses some simple structures correctly, but still systematically makes basic mistakes.

Can make him/herself understood in very short utterances, even though pauses, false starts and reformulation are very evident.

Can ask and answer questions and respond to simple statements. Can indicate when he/she is following but is rarely able to understand enough to keep conversation going of his/her own accord.

Can link groups of words with simple connectors like "and, "but" and "because".

A1

Has a very basic repertoire of words and simple phrases related to personal details and particular concrete situations.

Shows only limited control of a few simple grammatical structures and sentence patterns in a memorised repertoire.

Can manage very short, isolated, mainly prepackaged utterances, with much pausing to search for expressions, to articulate less familiar words, and to repair communication.

Can ask and answer questions about personal details. Can interact in a simple way but communication is totally dependent on repetition, rephrasing and repair.

Can link words or groups of words with very basic linear connectors like “and” or “then”.

(Adapted from Relating Language Examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR). URL: www.coe.int/lang)

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PART A: SPEAKING TASKS Exercise 1

(Mark Harrison) Ask and answer the following questions. Where you live

■

Where do you live?

■

How long have you been living there?

■

What kind of building do you live in?

■

Who lives with you?

■

What do you like / dislike about the

village / district where you live?

town / Travel

■

Have you been to many other countries? (Which ones?)

■

Would you like to travel more?

■

(Where?) What's the best country / city / region

■

that Which country / city / region would you most like to

■

visit?... Describe a journey that you often make.

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you've visited? (Why?) (Why?)

Exercise 2

Student A

Look at the two photographs 1A and 1B. They show people

doing outdoor activities. Compare the photographs and say what the people are trying to do. Student A talks on his / her own for about 1 minute.

Student B

Which of the activities would you prefer to do, and why?

Student B talks on his /her own for about 20 seconds.

Student B

Look at the two photographs 2A and 2B. They show people's

rooms. Compare the photographs and say whose rooms they might be. Student B talks on his / her own for about 1 minute.

Student A

Which of the rooms is most similar to yours, and in what

ways? Student A talks on his / her own for about 20 seconds.

Exercise 3

Imagine that a local museum is trying to increase visitor numbers. Look at the ideas in the appendix for special exhibitions that are being considered by the museum.

First, talk to each other about how good each of the ideas is. Then decide which two would attract the most visitors to the museum. Students A and B discuss this together for about 3 minutes. 14

Exercise 4

Students A and B ask and answer the following questions ■

Do you like going to museums or art galleries?

(Why / Why

not?) ■

Which of the subjects interests you the most and which interests you the

least? (Why?) ■ What are the most well-known museums or art galleries in the place you come from? What do they have in them? ■ What kind of things do museums offer to attract young people? ■ What is the most interesting museum or art gallery that you've been to? (Why?) ■ Which museum or art gallery would you most like to visit? Where is it? What does it have in it? What would you like to see there? (Why?) ■ Some people think that museums and art galleries are boring. Do you agree?

Exercise 5

Students A and student B ask and answer the following questions Family and friends ■ Describe briefly the members of your family. ■ Describe briefly one or two of your best friends. ■ What kind of things do you talk about with your friends? ■ What influence have your family and friends had on you? 15

■ What interests do your family and friends have?

Exercise 6

Students A and B ask and answer the following questions

Money and possessions ■ What would you buy if you suddenly had a lot of money? ■ Do you want to be richer than you are now?

(Why? / Why not?)

■ What do people of your age generally want to buy? ■ What are your favourite possessions?

(Why?)

(Why?)

(Why?)

■ What would you like to own in the future?

(Why?)

Exercise 7 Student A

Look at the two photographs 1A and 1B. They show adverts

for films. Compare the photographs and say what the characteristics of each kind of film are. Student A talks on his / her own for about 1 minute.

Student B

Which of the films would you prefer to see, and why?

Student B talks on his / her own for about 20 seconds. Student B

Look at the two photographs 2A and 2B. They show people

cooking meals. Compare the photographs and say what you think the situation is in each photograph. Student B talks on his /her own for about 1 minute.

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Student A

Which of the people cooking would you prefer to be, and

why? Student A talks on his / her own for about 20 seconds.

Exercise 8

Imagine that you are organizing a competition at the place where you work or study. The prize for the winner is going to be a special day and you have to choose what kind of special day the prize will be. Look at the special days offered by a company in their brochure in the appendix.

First, talk to each other about how attractive each of the possible prizes would be. Then decide which one should be the prize.

Students A and B discuss this together for about 3 minutes.

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Exercise 9

Students A and student B ask and answer the following questions ■ Which of the special days would you like to experience personally? (Why?) ■ Which of the special days would you definitely not want to take part in? (Why?) ■ What dangerous sports are popular in your country? ■ What makes people want to take part in dangerous sports? ■ Why do people like going to theme parks? Which ones are good and which ones are not, in your opinion? ■ Some people say that young people don't have a wide range of interests. Do you agree?

Exercise 10

Student A and student B ask and answer the following questions Sport ■ What's your favorite sport?

(Why?)

■ Which sport(s) do you dislike?

(Why?)

■ Which sports are popular in your country? ■ Do you support a particular team? Is it a successful team? ■ What is your experience of taking part in sports?

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Exercise 11

Students A and student B ask and answer the following questions The news ■ Do you take an interest in what's happening in the news? (Why? / Why not?) ■ What newspaper(s) do you read? Describe it / them. ■ What is the news on TV like in your country? ■ Apart from newspapers and TV, what other sources of news can you use? ■ What's your opinion of the way the media present the news?

Exercise 12 Student A

Look at the two photographs 1A and 1B. They show people

taking photographs. Compare the photographs and say why the person is taking the photograph. Student A talks on his / her own for about 1 minute.

Student B

Which of the photographs being taken do you prefer, and why?

Student B talks on his /her own for about 20 seconds.

Student B

Look at the two photographs 2A and 2B. They show people at

airports. Compare the photographs and say what the situation is in each one. Student B talks on his /her own for about 1 minute.

Student A

Which of the people would you prefer to be, and why?

Student A talks on his / her own for about 20 seconds 19

Exercise 13 Imagine that you are responsible for planning a one-day festival that will take place on a local field. Look at the plan of the field and at the possible things to include in the festival in the appendix.

First, talk to each other about which things to include in the festival. Then decide where each of them should be.

Students A and B discuss this together for about 3 minutes.

Exercise 14 Students A and student B ask and answer the following questions ■ What kind of local events take place where you come from? Do young people take part in or attend them? ■ Would you like to organize an event like this?

(Why? / Why not?)

■ What's the best event you've ever attended? Why was it so good? ■ What's the worst event you've ever attended? Why was it so bad? ■ Do you think that local life is changing where you come from? (Why / Why not?) ■ Some people think that in the modern world, local communities are not as important as they used to be. Do you agree?

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Exercise 15 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions Music ■ What's your favorite kind of music? (Why?) ■ What kind(s) of music don't you like?

(Why?)

■ What kinds of music are popular with young people in your country? (Why?) ■ Have you ever tried to play a musical instrument? Did you do well? ■ Which instrument(s) would you like to be able to play?

(Why?)

Exercise 16 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions Technology / Gadgets ■ What pieces of technology or electronic gadgets do you own? ■ How did you learn how to use pieces of technology or electronic gadgets^ ■ What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of new technology for communicating with other people? (Why?) ■

Which pieces of technology or electronic gadgets would you like to own? (Why?)

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Exercise 17 Student A

Look at the two photographs 1A and 1B. They show people

working. Compare the photographs and say what the people's working lives are like. Student A talks on his / her own for about 1 minute.

Student B

Which of the situations would you prefer to be in, and why?

Student B talks on his / her own for about 20 seconds.

Student B

Look at the two photographs 2A and 2B. They show visitors

to a city. Compare the photographs and say what kind of trips the people are on. Student B talks on his /her own for about 1 minute.

Student A

Which of the trips would you prefer to lake?

Student A talks on his/her own for about 20 seconds

Exercise 18 Imagine that a friend of yours has a friend from another country staying with him/her. Your friend has to go out for a day next week and has asked you to look after the visitor for a day. Look at the ideas for what you could do with the visitor for that day in the appendix.

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First, talk to each other about whether each of the ideas would be good for the visitor and good for you. Then decide which two activities to do with the visitor and plan the day. Students A and B discuss this together for about 3 minutes.

Exercise 19 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions ■

If a visitor from another country came to stay with you, what would

be the first place you would take that person to? (Why?) ■ Do many overseas visitors come to your country?

(Why? / Why

not?) ■ When you go out with friends, what sort of places do you go to and what do you do there? ■ How active are young people in your country? Do they prefer to do things that involve sitting down for long periods? ■ What entertainment is available in the place where you live? What other kinds of entertainment do you think should be available? ■ Some people say that too much entertainment is available to people and so they are unable to entertain themselves. Do you agree?

Exercise 20 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions Personal history • How many different places have you lived in during your life so far? 23

Describe the home or homes you have lived in during your life. What kind of education and/or jobs have you had in your life so far? • What do you like most and least about the town/village/area where you live at the moment? • Do you think you will continue to live in the same place for a long time? (Why?/Why not?)

Exercise 21 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions Reading • How much time do you spend reading? • Do you read a newspaper regularly? (Why/Why not?) • What kind of magazines do you like reading? (Why?) • What kind of books do you like reading? Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction? (Why?) Describe a book that you particularly enjoyed. What was good about it? Exercise 22 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions Games and sports • Which indoor games do you play regularly? • Which indoor games are common in your country? • Do you take part in any outdoor sports regularly? (Which?) • Do you like watching any outdoor sports, live or on TV? (Which?) • Which game(s) or sport(s) do you dislike? (Why?)

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Exercise 23 Student A: Look at photographs 1A and 1B. They show crowds of people at different events. Compare the photographs and say what kind of experience you think the different crowds of people are having. Student A talks on his/her own for about 1 minute.

Student B: Which crowd would you prefer to be a member of? Student B talks on his/her own for about 20 seconds.

Student B: Look at photographs 2A and 2B. They show different groups of people celebrating somebody's birthday. Compare the photographs and say what you think people did in order to organize the different birthday celebrations. Student B talks on his/her own for about 1 minute.

Student A: What kind of celebration would you prefer for your birthday? Student A talks on his/her own for about 20 seconds.

Exercise 24 Imagine that you are the judges of a photography competition. The title of the competition is 'Perfect Surroundings'. Look at the photographs that you have to consider as possible winners of the competition on page 122. 25

First, talk to each other about what each entry shows and how effective each photograph is in showing 'perfect surroundings'. Then decide which photograph should win the competition and which should come second.

Students A and B discuss this together for about 3 minutes.

Exercise 25 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions Do you take a lot of photographs? (Why?/Why not?) • What are your favourite photographs that you possess? Why are they your favourites? • When do you/your friends/your family take photographs? What do you/they do with these photographs? • Some people say that taking lots of photographs is a waste of time. What do you think? • What kind of surroundings do you particularly like to be in? (Why?) • What kind of surroundings do/would you dislike being in? (Why?)

Exercise 26 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions Habits and routines • What happens on a typical day for you? • Describe a journey that you often make. • What do you usually do at weekends/in your free time? 26

• What do you usually do/eat at mealtimes? • Do you have any habits that annoy other people? (What?)

Exercise 27 1

Travelling to work

Student A: Look at photographs 1A and 1B. They show people travelling to work in different ways. Compare the photographs and say what you think are the advantages and disadvantages of the different ways of travelling to work. Student A talks on his/her own for about 1 minute.

Student B: Which way of travelling to work would you prefer? Student B talks on his/her own for about 20 seconds.

2

Shouting

Student B: Look at photographs 2Aand 2B. They show different people shouting in different situations. Compare the photographs and say why you think the people are shouting. Student B talks on his/her own for about 1 minute.

Student A: In what sort of situations do you shout? Student A talks on his/her own for about 20 seconds.

Exercise 28

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Look at the pictures in the appendix, which show various skills. First, talk to each other about the advantages of having each of these skills. Then decide which two skills are the most important for people to have. Students A and B discuss this together for about 3 minutes.

Exercise 29 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions • Which of these skills do you have? • Is there a skill that you would like to learn? (Which? Why?) • Are there any skills that you have tried to learn but been unable to learn? (Which? Why?) • How do people learn the skills that are useful in life? • Which practical skills do you think people should learn at school and which practical skills do people learn at school in your country? • Some people say that practical skills are more important than academic ability. What do you think?

Exercise 30 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions Jobs and careers • What kind of job would you like to have in the future? • How easy/difficult will it be for you to get that job? (Why?) • What kind of jobs and careers do young people in your country want to have? • Which job(s) would you really not want to do? (Why?) 28

• Which jobs do you think are particularly easy to do and which are very difficult? (Why?)

Exercise 31 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions Fashion • Do you like to wear fashionable clothes? (Why?/Why not?) • What are the current fashions in clothes in your country? • What kind of music is fashionable among young people in your country? • Do you think that young people pay too much attention to fashions in general? (Why?/Why not?) • Which fashion(s) do you think is/are particularly bad for young people? (Why?)

Exercise 32 1

Waiting

Student A: Look at photographs 1A and 1B. They show people waiting in different situations. Compare the photographs and say how the people might be feeling. Student A talks on his/her own for about 1 minute.

Student B: How would you feel in these situations? Student B talks on his/her own for about 20 seconds.

2

TV shows 29

Student B: Look at photographs 2A and 2B. They show people appearing in different kinds of TV programme. Compare the photographs and say what you think people enjoy about watching these kinds of TV programmes. Student B talks on his/her own for about 1 minute.

Student A: Which kind of programme do you prefer to watch? Student A talks on his/her own for about 20 seconds.

Exercise 33 Imagine that your school, college or workplace is organizing an Open Day, when visitors will come to see and find out about the place. People have been asked to help with various aspects of the event. Look at the pictures of things connected with the event.

First, talk to each other about what each aspect of the event will involve. Then decide which one you will offer to help with.

Students A and B discuss this together for about 3 minutes.

Exercise 34 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions • Would you enjoy helping at an event like this? (Why?/Why not?) • Have you ever organized or helped to organize an event? (Which? How?) 30

• What kinds of events are organized at the place where you study or work? • Is it common for people to organize events for charities in your country? (What events? Which charities?) • Do many people in your country do voluntary work to help others? (Why?/Why not? What kinds?) • Some people say that governments and not voluntary organizations should provide money for everyone who needs it. What do you think?

Exercise 35 Students A and B ask and answer the following questions

Visiting places • What's the most exciting place you've visited? (Why?) Which place(s) have you been to that were disappointing for you? (Why?) • Which place(s) would you particularly like to visit? (Why?) • Which place(s) would you really not like to visit? (Why?) • Do a lot of tourists visit the place where you live/your country? (Why?/Why not?)

Exercise 36 1

Loading equipment 31

Student A: Look at photographs 1A and 1B. They show people putting different equipment into vehicles for transport. Compare the photographs and say why you think the people are transporting the different equipment. Student A talks on his/her own for about 1 minute.

Student B: Which situation would you prefer to be in? Student B talks on his/her own for about 20 seconds.

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Extreme climates

Student B: Look at photographs 2A and 2B. They show people in different kinds of extreme climate. Compare the photographs and say what difficulties the people might face in the different places. Student B talks on his/her own for about I minute.

Student A: Which of the places would you prefer to go to? Student A talks on his/her own for about 20 seconds.

Exercise 37 Look at the pictures that show different images of friendship in the appendix . First, talk to each other about what aspects of friendship each picture shows. Then decide which two pictures show the most important aspects of friendship. Students A and B discuss this together for about 3 minutes. Exercise 38

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Students A and B ask and answer the following questions • Do you find it easy to make friends? (Why?/Why not?) • Do you prefer to spend time with one friend or with a group of friends? (Why?) • What qualities do you think are important in a friend? (Why?) • Some people say that friends are the most important thing in life. Do you agree? • What kind of person could never become a friend of yours? (Why?) • Do you think you will always have the same friends? (Why?/Why not?)

PART 2: TASK RESOURCES

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Exercise 2

Exercise 3

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Exercise 7

35

Exercise 8

36

37

Exercise 13

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Exercise 17

39

40

Exercise18

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Exercise 23

42

43

Exercise 27

44

45

Exercise 28

46

47

Exercise 32

48

49

Exercise 33

50

Exercise 36

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Exercise 37

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References Acklam, R., & Crace, A. (2008). Going for Gold. Pearson Longman. Cambridge First Certificate in English 5. (2005). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press . Evans, V. (2008). FCE Practice exam papers 1. Berkshire: Express Publishing. Evans, V. (2008). FCE Practice exam papers 2. Berkshire: Express Publishing. .Harrison, M. (2008). FCE Practice Tests. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Harrison, M. (2010). FCE Testbuilder . Oxford: Macmillan . Mann, M., & Taylore-Knowles, S. (2005). Use of English. Oxford: Macmillan . Osbone, C. (2008). First Certificate Practice Tests. HEINLE CENGAGE Learning. Roberts, P. (2008). Cambridge First Certificate Reaading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Simmons, A. (2008). Mastering the FCE Examination. Burlington Books.

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