The second part of the Cambridge Advanced Speaking exam is the main part of the Speaking exam that students/candidates struggle doing well in. But if you know what type of things you have to say and do (and when), and you practise doing this part regularly, it actually isn't that difficult to do well in.
In this article, you'll find 4 examples (the photographs which you have to talk about for a minute) of this part of the Speaking exam which you use to practise by yourself.
To hear questions which you are likely to be asked in the first part of the speaking exam and to practise answering them, go to our CAE Speaking Part 1 Questions Practice web page.
The best way to practise
When you practise doing each, you need to time yourself doing it and also record what you say.
You should then listen to what you have said and analyse if you have done what you should have (e.g. answered both questions, spoke about the things in the correct order, expressed probability etc...) and think about what things you could have done better (e.g. use a wider range of vocabulary, speak about the second question more etc...).
When you have done this, record yourself doing the same example again. Doing this will help you to improve both your performance when doing this part in the exam and your confidence.
Before you see the 4 examples, I will very quickly explain what the format of this part of the Speaking exam is.
The format of Part 2
In this part of the Speaking exam you have a minute to answer two questions by yourself about two different photographs on the same topic (e.g. work, problems etc...).
The examiner will tell you both what this topic is and what the two questions you have to answer before you are asked to start speaking.
On the sheet you are given there are three photos. You have to only talk about two of them (and tell the examiner at the beginning which two you are going to speak about).
You have to answer each question for the two photos in the order that the questions appear on the top of sheet you are given which have the photos on (i.e. you to talk about the first question first and the second question second). Whilst you are answering the first question, you also need to quickly describe what you can on each of the photos.
You have to compare the photos (saying what the main similarity and/or difference is between them) when answering both of the questions.
After the minute ends the other candidate you are doing the Speaking exam with will be asked a question about the photos or about the topic they are on (the question which the other candidate is asked is written below each set of 3 photos). They can talk about any or all of the three photos on the sheet, not just the two which you chose to speak about.
Now here are the 4 examples for you to practise doing:
Example photos for Part 2 of the CAE Speaking exam
Example 1
Here are your photographs. They show people in stressful situations.
I'd like you to compare two of the photographs and say in what ways these situations are stressful and what can you do to become less stressed in them.
You have a minute to do this.
In what ways are these stressful situations?
What can you do to become less stressed in these situations?
The other candidate's question:
Which of these situations would you find most stressful and why?
Example 2
Here are your photographs. They show people doing different free time activities.
I'd like you to compare two of the photographs and say why would the people choose to do these activities and what problems could they encounter whilst doing them.
You have a minute to do this.
Why would the people choose to do these activities?
What problems could they encounter whilst doing them?
The other candidate's question:
What type of activities do you like to do in your free time and why?
Example 3
It's your turn first. Here are your photographs. They show jobs where people work with the public.
I'd like you to compare two of the photographs and say what difficulties could people face when doing the jobs and what type of people would be ideal for doing them.
You have a minute to do this.
What difficulties could people face when doing the jobs?
What type of people would be ideal for doing them?
The other candidate's question:
Which of the jobs would be the most difficult to do?
Example 4
It's your turn first. Here are your photographs. They show different types of achievements.
I'd like you to compare two of the photographs and say what type of things the people would need to do to achieve them and which would be the most satisfying.
You have a minute to do this.
What type of things would the people need to do to achieve these?
Which would be the most satisfying?
The other candidate's question:
What is your greatest achievement and why?