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HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
FIRST CERTIFICATE IN ENGLISH
PREPARATION
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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
3 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
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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
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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.
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RELEVANT QUALITATIVE FACTORS FOR SPOKEN INTERACTION LINGUISTIC RANGE
Edited from General
Linguistic Range; Vocabulary Range, Flexibility
LINGUISTIC ACCURACY Edited from
Grammatical Accuracy and Vocabulary Control
SOCIO-LINGUISTIC Edited from Socio-linguistic Appropriateness
FLUENCY
Fluency, Flexibility
INTERACTION
Edited from Turntaking, Cooperating, Asking for Clarification
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).
Appreciates fully the socio-linguistic 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 socio-linguistic 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.
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,
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 con-ceptually 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
8 professional or leisure topics
without having to restrict what he/she wants to say.
own contributions skilfully to those of other
speakers.
B2
Has a sufficient range of language to be able to give clear descriptions, express viewpoints on most general topics, without much con-spicuous 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.
B1
Has enough language to get by, with sufficient vocabulary to express him/herself with some hesitation and circum-locutions on topics such as family, hobbies and interests, work, travel, and current events.
Uses reasonably accu-rately 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 comprehensi-bly, even though pausing for grammatical and lexical plan-ning 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 re-peat back part of what someone has said to con-firm mutual understand-ing.
9 A2 Uses basic sentence patterns
with memorised phrases, groups of a few words and formulae in order to commu-nicate limited information in simple everyday situations.
Uses some simple structures correctly, but still systematically makes basic mistakes.
Can handle very short social exchanges, using everyday polite forms of greeting and address. Can make and respond to invitations, apologies etc.
Can make him/herself under-stood 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 ask for attention. A1 Has a very basic repertoire of
words and simple phrases related to personal details and particular concrete situations.
Shows only limited grammatical control of a few simple grammatical structures and sentence patterns in a memorised repertoire.
Can establish basic social contact by using the simplest everyday polite forms of: greetings and farewells; introductions; saying please, thank you, sorry etc.
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.
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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 grammati-cal 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 con-ceptually 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.
Can produce clear, smoothly flowing, well-structured speech,
showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
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B2 +
B2 Has a sufficient range of
language to be able to give clear descriptions, express viewpoints on most general topics, without much con-spicuous 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.
B1 +
B1 Has enough language to
get by, with sufficient vocabulary to express him/herself with some hesitation and circumlocu-tions on topics such as family, hobbies and interests, work, travel, and current events.
Uses reasonably accu-rately a repertoire of frequently used “routines” and patterns associated with more predictable situations.
Can keep going compre-hensibly, even though pausing for grammatical and lexical planning and repair is very evident, especially in longer stretches of free produc-tion.
Can initiate, maintain and close simple face-to-face conversation on topics that are familiar or of personal interest. Can re-peat back part of what someone has said to con-firm mutual understand-ing.
Can link a series of shorter, discrete simple elements into a
connected, linear sequence of points.
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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 pre-packaged 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
town /
village / district where you live?
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
you've visited? (Why?)
■
Which country / city / region would you most like to
visit?...
(Why?)
■
Describe a journey that you often make.
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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.
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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?
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■ 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?
(Why?)
■ Do you want to be richer than you are now?
(Why? / Why not?)
■ What do people of your age generally want to buy?
(Why?)
■ What are your favourite possessions?
(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.
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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.
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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?
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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
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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
non-fiction? (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.
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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.
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• 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.
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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?
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• 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.
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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?)
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• 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
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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.
2
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?)
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Exercise 2
35
Exercise 7
36
Exercise 8
38
Exercise 13
39
Exercise 17
41
Exercise18
42
Exercise 23
44
Exercise 27
46
Exercise 28
48
Exercise 32
50
Exercise 33
51
Exercise 36
52
Exercise 37
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