Hello Exam Seekers,
May 1st holiday is coming, what are your plans for it? Well, here is some reading for you to enjoy the next few days.
The past few weeks I’ve been posting about C1: Advanced Speaking Exams. I’ve posted some tips about the Interview and the Long Turn, today I’m posting about the two missing parts Parts 3 and 4.
Part 3: The Collaborative Task
As I’ve mentioned before, Cambridge Exams from PET on are done in pairs/trios. In this part, candidates will have a conversation with each other. This part is about exchanging ideas, expressing and justifying opinions, agreeing and/or disagreeing, suggesting, speculating, evaluating, reaching a decision through negotiation, etc.
The examiner gives the candidates spoken instructions with written prompts which are used in a discussion. This discussion must hold up for about 2 minutes (3 minutes for groups of three). After the discussion time, the examiner will ask the candidate another question which requires he/she to make a decision. The candidates have 1 minute to talk together and make the decision.
This part of the exam looks like this:
Interlocutor: Now, I’d like you to talk about something together for about two minutes. Here are some things that people often have to make decisions about and a question for you to discuss. First, you have some time to look at the task.
(Place Part 3 booklet, open at Task 21, in front of the candidates. Allow 15 seconds).
Now, talk to each other about what people might have to consider when making these decisions.
Thank you. Now you have a minute to decide in which situation it is the most important to make the right decision.
Part 4: The Discussion
In part 4, it is a further discussion with the other candidate based on the topics or issues raised in the task in Part 3. The interlocutor asks each of the candidates some questions which they have to be discussed in pairs/trios.
In this part of the discussion, candidates will have about 5 minutes to express and justify opinions, agree and/or disagree. It follows like this:
Interlocutor: (Use the following questions, in order, as appropriate:)
- Is it best for people to make decisions on their own or to ask others for advice? …. (Why? / Why not?)
- Some people think it is best to plan their lives carefully; others prefer to make spontaneous decisions. What is your opinion? … (Why? Why not?)
- Why do you think some people find it harder to make decisions than others?
- Do you think countries should work together to solve environmental problems? … (Why? / Why not?)
- How do you think young people can be helped to take on responsibilities?
- Do you think that people whose jobs involve making important decisions should be highly paid? … (why? / Why not?)
Thank you, that is the end of the test.
The idea is that both candidates express their opinions in an equal amount of time. If you or the other candidate speak less, the interlocutor might ask:
- What do you think?
- Do you agree?
- How about you?
It is to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities.
So be sure to be practicing these kinds of questions of you are planning on sitting for the CAE. If you have other questions related to the C1 Speaking Exam Part 3-4, be sure to ask. I hope that this has cleared some doubts/questions you might have had about this test.
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Have a great week,
Patty
Thanks for this.