In part 4 of the LanguageCert Speaking exam across all levels, candidates have to talk for a period of time and answer questions afterwards. In A2 and B1, you need to speak for 1 or 1 and a half minutes respectively and in B2 and C1, you need to speak about your topic for 2 minutes. This might sound like an intense exercise but it is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate your level of English and use a variety of structures in a creative way. In this post, we will discuss the structure of this part and how to do well across all levels!
Preparation.
Before starting the exercise, the interlocutor will explain what your topic is and give you 30 seconds to write some notes down to help you with your monologue. It is very important to use this time wisely and write only the essential information to help you.
In this situation, it is better to avoid writing full sentences and instead aim for prompts. You don’t have time to write a script and if you’re reading from the paper it will only slow you down and disrupt your fluency so stick to simple notes. Let's say that this is your topic:
“Finding the time to do the things you want”
Instead of writing something like this:
“I manage to do most things over the weekend. On Saturday I like to spend time with my friends and exercise and on Sunday I enjoy…”
Try to write like this:
- Free time: friends, family, cycling
- Weekends
- Before and after work
- More time in the past
- Hope to have more time in the future
In the second example, you can see that more information is present with fewer words and each point provides a structure to follow and ideas in case you find yourself lost for words.
Structure.
Once your prep time is up, it’s time to speak! But don’t worry! By following the notes you have taken and with these tips you will be able to tick all of the examiner’s boxes.
When I am teaching my students about this part of the exam, I always remind them to follow the rule of PPFC. PPFC stands for Past Present Future and Conditional- if they can use examples of these tenses then they are on the way to getting a good mark. Using all of these tenses in a couple of minutes might sound like a lot but trust me it’s possible! Looking back at our previous examples about finding the time to do the things that you want, you could incorporate past structures such as “used to” to talk about your free time when you were younger, the present simple continuous to explain your current situation and by bringing the exercise to a orderly close, you could use both the future or even a conditional structure to express your future expectations like this “If I had more free time, I would try to learn how to play the piano because…” Don’t worry if you don’t manage to use all of these structures in the monologue, the questions after the monologue will provide you with a second chance to use them.
In addition to the grammar, there is also a need to consider the vocabulary used. Especially in the higher levels such as B2 or C1, it is important to demonstrate a wide understanding of the English language. Because of this, try to avoid repeating the same words or using the same words from the title of your topic such as in our previous example, instead of saying “the things you want” you could instead use words like “hobbies” “interests” or if you’re still at school, “extracurricular activities”. This is the same for using connectors to link your ideas, don’t just say “and… also…and” try to use others to link and contrast your points such as “on top of that” “furthermore” “adding to that” “moreover”. Now if you’re really struggling to think of synonyms, then it’s fine to use one connector or word twice or more, don’t let it disrupt your flow.
Questions.
After you’ve finished your monologue and spoken for the required amount of time, the interlocutor will ask you a number of questions about the topic. The number of questions asked can vary depending on the length of your response but they usually range from 2 to 3 questions per candidate. As I said before, if you’re concerned about not being able to use enough grammatical structures before then you have another opportunity to do this here. One key piece of advice I would say is don’t reply with one word answers “yes”, “no” or “I don’t know” have no place in your exam responses so try to be creative- if you’re not sure about something then try to make it up and if you’re unsure about the meaning of a question or even your topic, don’t hesitate to ask the interlocutor to repeat it!
After the questions section has been completed, you will hear the magic words “Thank you. That is the end of the exam.” and then you can relax and think back on what a great speaking exam you just did!
To sum up, in order to have a great speaking part 4, consider the following points:
- Stay calm and ask for clarification if you don’t understand something
- Use the preparation time wisely- key words not sentences!
- Incorporate a wide range of structures into your speech (don’t forget PPFC!)
- Never underestimate the power of using synonyms
- Answer the questions with detail and avoid simple or one word responses.
If you’re eager to put these tips into practice then take a look at the worksheet which contains some examples of monologue topics and questions for all levels! Additionally, if you’re interested in taking the LanguageCert exam at some point in the future and are looking for a course to guide you on that path then look no further than DAWAY! Use the code BLOG20 for a 20% discount on all courses!
