C1 (CAE) Speaking Part 1: Questions/Topics

Interlocutor: Good morning / afternoon / evening. My name is …….. and this is my colleague …….. .

And your names are …….. ?

Could I have your mark sheets, please?
Interlocutor: First of all, we’d like to know something about you.

Where are you from (Candidate A)?

And you (Candidate B)?

[address Candidate B] Are you working or studying at the moment?

[address Candidate A] And you?

Questions that may be addressed to each candidate are below.

CPE Speaking: Part 1 - Questions 1

 How would you describe the area you live in?

 What are your neighbors like?

 Would you prefer to live somewhere else?

 What would you like to improve about the area you live in?

 How much free time do you have at the moment?

 How good are you at organizing your time?

CPE Speaking: Part 1 - Questions 2

 Do you come from a large family?

 Do you have much opportunity to travel?

 Who are you closest to in your family?

 Do you have friends who are closer to you than family members?

 How important is friendship to you?

 What would your dream job be?

CPE Speaking: Part 1 - Questions 3

 Do you like to be physically active or do you prefer relaxing?

 How important is the internet to you?

 Is there anything you would like to learn about your country?

 Tell me about the TV advertising in your country.

 Do you enjoy cooking or do you find it boring?

 Is there an interesting area of your country that you would like to visit?
CPE Speaking: Part 1 - Questions 4

 Do you use the internet to study English?

 Are you a student or do you have a job, or both?

 Do many tourists visit your part of the country?

 What’s your favorite food?

 Do you find your hometown enjoyable to live in?

 Who do you spend your free time with?

CPE Speaking: Part 1 - Questions 5

 Do you have a large family?

 What do you like most about your studies/job?

 How are you planning on using English in your future?

 Do you enjoy playing computer games?

 Is fashion important to you?

 How do you prefer to travel? By train or by plane?

CPE Speaking: Part 1 - Questions 6

 How many hours TV do you watch in an average week?

 Describe a typical day at school/work/college.

 Do you live in a large house?

 Can you remember your first English lessons?

 Do you enjoy shopping?

 How much exercise do you take each week?

CPE Speaking: Part 1 - Questions 7

 Would you say you are very fit?

 Has your attitude to school/college/work changed since you started there?

 Do you enjoy reading?

 Tell me about your best friend.

 How much time do you spend at home?

 Would you describe yourself as ambitious?

CPE Speaking: Part 1 - Questions 8

 Do you use the internet a lot?

 Tell us about a TV program you really enjoy watching.

 Where did you go for your most recent holiday?

 Who are your best friends?

 Could you tell me something about the area where you grew up?

 What do you find most difficult about English?

CPE Speaking: Part 1 - Questions 9

 What type of house would you like to live in?

 What do you particularly like about them?

 What are the most popular sports in your country?

 Tell me about an interesting hobby you would like to take up in the future.

 Do you and your friends share the same ideas and opinions?

 Are you planning to do anything special this weekend?

CPE Speaking: Part 1 - Questions 10

 Could you describe your family home to me?

 Do you plan to take up a new sport in the future?

 Are there good quality TV program in your country?

 Have they done anything that has particularly helped you?

 Do you find it hard to relax?

 What was a memorable holiday when you were a child?

C2 (CPE) Speaking Part 1: Tips

 practice giving information about yourself

 give a few details as well as general information

 give short answers, but be prepared to extend them

 don’t memories answers about yourself – this will sound unnatural.

C2 (CPE) Speaking: Useful Phrases

Expressing opinion Personalizing the topic

 To my mind,  As far as I’m concerned…

 I’m of the mind that…  Speaking from personal experience I’d say
that…
 The way I see it,
 In my experience, …
 As I see it,
 I often find that…
 From my point of view/ perspective,
 In my case
 I look at it like this…
 Speaking for me personally
 I’m a firm/big believer in…
 From what I’ve seen
 Look, here’s what I think…
 I can’t speak for anyone else but in my
 If you ask me
case…
 I hold the view that…
 This is a topic that is close to my heart
because…

 This really resonates with me personally

because…

Rephrasing Time Buyers

 What I mean is…  It’s funny you should ask that…

 I guess what I’m trying to say is…  That’s weird I was just talking about this
the other day…
 In other words…
 Hhmmmm that’s a tough one…
 To put it another way…
 That’s an interesting question…
 How can I put this?
 Now let me see…

Changing topic Adding additional points

 Moving on to…  It’s also worth bearing in mind that…

 Now when it comes to…  Another point worth highlighting is…

 … which leads me on to…  What’s more/On top of that

 Now let’s take a look at…  It must also be pointed out that…

 Let’s move on shall we?  Aside from that,

Agreeing Disagreeing

 Totally/Absolutely/Exactly  I see what you mean but…

  I think we’re on the same page here,  I take your point but…

 I’m with you on that one.  I beg to differ I’m afraid.

 I couldn’t agree more.  I’m afraid I have to disagree with you there.

 Hear, hear!  Yes but if we look at it from another angle…

 I’d go along with that.  That’s not exactly how I see it.

 I was just going to say that.  No, you’ve lost me there.

 You took the words right out of my mouth.  I’m afraid I just don’t buy it.

Convincing/Negotiating Making a decision

 Wouldn’t it be better to  Right, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

 I hear what you’re saying but…  I’m torn between __ and___

 Hear me out here …  At the end of the day, we’ve got to choose
one…
 I’m sure we can come to a compromise.
 My first instinct is to go for… what do you
 0k, 0k, you’ve talked me round. (you’ve convinced
think?
me)
 The one that jumps out at me is…

Asking for opinion Impressive structures

 What’s your take on this?  Coming back to what (Javi) was saying
about …. I’d also like to point out that…
 Where do you stand on this topic?
 I think it’s important not to forget that…
 What do you reckon?
 The vast majority of people tend to think
 Would you go along with that? (after expressing
that…
opinion)
 When all’s said and done…
 What are your thoughts on this?

Giving examples Wrap up/referring back

 A clear example of this is…  So as I was saying…

 The first example that springs to mind is…  In summary,

 For instance,  In a nutshell,

 The most obvious example is…  In summary,

 When I hear the word __ I immediately think of __