Language functions for the speaking exam

Dear students, 

 Here you can find some useful expressions to prepare for the speaking parts of the PET exam. 

PART 1: In this part you have to introduce yourselves and answer to some personal questions asked by the examiner. Although you will be examined with a partner, this part is INDIVIDUAL.

· Introducing oneself

- Hello, ...

- Good morning/afternoon/evening, ...

·  Spelling your name

- My name is _________. It's spelt ... (My name is Josué. It's spelt J-O-S-U-E /yei-ou-es-yu-i/)

· Talking about your work and studies

* If you are unemployed:

- I am currently unemployed

- I'm not working at the moment

- I am looking for a job

- I would like to work as a/an ... (+ job)

* If you are working/studying:

- I'm a/an ... (+occupation): I'm a student; I'm an architect

- I work as a/an ... (+ job): I work as a teacher; I work as an architect

- I work in (+company): I work in Mercadona as a checker; I work as a guide in the Museum of Fine Arts

      - I'm studying ... (+ degree): I'm studying Psychology; I'm studying Business and Administration

* If you are working only temporarily:

     - I'm (currently) working in ... (place), but it's temporary work until I find something better.

     - I'm working in ... (place: McDonald's, a design company...) during ... (the summer, the holidays...) / until ...

· Talking about your likes and dislikes

- I (really) like ...  //  I enjoy ...  //  I love ...     + verb (-ing): I enjoy watching movies and reading

                                                                            + noun: I like movies and books

- My favourite pastime is ... (+ -ing verb): My favourite pastime is playing football

- In my free time I usually ... (+ infinitive): In my free time, I usually go out with my friends.

- I don't (really) like ...  //  I hate ...  //  I can't stand ...     + verb (-ing): I don't really like cooking

                                                                                             + noun: I can't stand noisy people

· Talking about your home and family

- I live in ...

- I live with ... (my parents; my boyfriend/girlfriend; my husband/wife...)

- I share a flat with ...

- My house is ... (big/small - you can also say how many rooms there are, or describe them)

PART 2: This part is IN PAIRS. You are given a situation in which you and your partner have to reach an agreement. You will have images to help you and give you some ideas. You have around 2 minutes to discuss the situation and arrive at some kind of conclusion. The examiner will evaluate the language used and the interactive strategies employed.

· Starting the discussion

-   Where shall we begin?

-   Let's talk about _____ first

· Giving opinions

-   In my opinion, ... / I think (that) ... / I believe (that) ... / Front my point of view, …

     ... ______ is a good idea because ...

     ... he/she should _________ (infinitive verb), because ...

     ... the best thing for him/her would be _________, because ...

· Giving arguments

-   One big advantage/disadvantage of ____________ is …

-   Don’t forget that …

-   Another thing is that ...

        Adding information: and … / also, … /…, as well / …, too.

        Contrasting information: but … / However, … / although …

>> Agreeing

- I agree

- That’s true

- You’re right

- That's a good idea, because ...

>> Disagreeing

- I disagree because ...

- I don't agree with you because …

- I'm not so sure about that because ...

- That may be true, but …

- Yes, you're right, but …

· Suggesting

-   What about

+ noun: What about a film? + phrase with –ing: What about going to the cinema?

-   What do you think about going to the cinema?

-   Would you like to go to the cinema?

-   Why don’t we go to the cinema?

-   What if we go to the cinema?

-   Shall we go to the cinema?

-   Let’s go to the cinema!

· Accepting -   That sounds great! -   That’s a very good idea! -   What a wonderful idea! -   Why not? -   Yes, I’d love to!

· Rejecting -   I’d rather go somewhere else -   I’d prefer to go somewhere else -   No, but thanks for offering -   That sounds good, but… -   I’m sorry, but…

· Concluding

-   What shall we do then?

-   Let’s reach an agreement

-   Ok, let’s do what you suggest (and next time we do something different)

PART 3: This part is INDIVIDUAL. There are two photographs (one for each student). You have to talk about your photograph for 1 minute.

·  Describing a photograph

-   This photograph/picture/image shows ...

-   In this photograph/picture/image I can see ...

-   There is / There are ...

·  Describing people in a photograph

     -   There is a ... (man/woman/child/teenager...) / There are (number) people.

*Physical appearance

    -    He/She is ... (adjective: young/middle-aged/old, tall/short, bald...)

    -    He/She has got ... (adjective + noun: blue/black/light/dark eyes, short/long black/brown/blond hair)

    -    He/She is wearing ... (clothes)

    -    He/She looks ... / They look ... (feelings: happy, sad, tired...)

* What are the people in the photograph doing?

     -   He/She is ___________ (verb -ing) / They are ___________ (verb -ing)

* Guessing

-   I think that he/she is ... / they are ...

-   Maybe he/she/they ...

PART 4: This part is IN PAIRS. You have a conversation with your partner about a topic related to the photographs from Part 3. The examiner will tell you what you have to talk about. There are always two elements (for example, Talk about where you like to go and what you like to do there), so make sure that you cover both points in the discussion.

·  Starting and asking your partner to continue the conversation

     -   I like _______ (noun or -ing verb). What about you?

     -   I like _______ (noun or -ing verb), don't you?

     -   I think/find that ___________ (sentence). What do you think?

      >>  Agreeing

              -   Really? Me too! :)

              -   Me too.

              -   So do I! 

              -   I agree with you about that.

      >>  Adding your own ideas

              -   That's interesting, because ...

              -   ... and another thing is that ...

              -   Also, ...

      >>  Disagreeing / Expressing a different opinion

              -   Well, I prefer ______ (noun or infinitive verb with 'to') / I'd rather ______ (infinitive verb without 'to')

              -   I'm not really into ______ (noun or -ing verb) / I don't really like ______ (noun or -ing verb)

·  Showing that you are following the conversation

     -   (nodding your head)

     -   Ahm.

     -   Yeah, that's true.