This post is to share ideas to give learners confidence and do well in Part 3 of the Pre-A1 Starters speaking test. It follows on from my previous post on Parts 1 and 2 of the Pre-A1 Starters speaking test.
What’s in this part of the Test?
In Part 3 of the speaking test, the examiner will show learners four of the object cards from the set of eight cards. (*Remember that three of the cards will have been used in Part 1, where learners are asked to place cards in different places in a big picture.)
I’m going to use the set of cards from Sample Papers Volume 1, available in the Teachers’ Resources here.
Let’s use the crocodile, the robot, the T-shirt and the juice pictures.
Each picture card will have three questions asked about it:
1 What’s this?What are these?
2 A yes/no question or a colour question.
3 A Wh- question which usually allows learners to say more when they answer.
I’m going to take you through the questions and suggest some simpler – and more extended answers to each question.
Obviously, if your students are able to produce more language, encourage them to do just that!
But also reassure them that the shorter answers are also fine, as long as it’s an appropriate answer to the question!
Examiner: (Showing the crocodile card) What’s this?
Learner: (It’s) a crocodile. /It’s a green crocodile.
Examiner: Do you like crocodiles?
Learner: No, I don’t! / Crocodiles are scary!
Examiner: What’s your favourite animal?
Learner: Elephants. / I love elephants. They’re cool/great/nice.
Examiner: (Showing the robot picture) What’s this?
Learner: It’s a robot.
Examiner: Have you got a robot?
Learner: Yes. / No. Yes, I’ve got two robots. No, I haven’t.
Examiner: Which toys do you play with?
Learner: Cars./Dolls. I like cars and trains./I play with dolls.
Examiner: (Showing the T-shirt card) What’s this?
Learner: A T-shirt. / It’s a T-shirt.
Examiner: What colour is it?
Learner: Blue. / It’s blue and white.
Examiner: What are you wearing today?
Learner: A T-shirt and trousers. / I’m wearing a white T-shirt, grey trousers and black shoes.
Examiner: (Showing the juice card). What’s this?
Learner: Juice. / Some orange juice.
Examiner: Do you drink orange juice?
Learner: Yes./No. Yes, I really like orange juice. No, I don’t like orange juice.
Examiner: What do you drink for breakfast?
Learner: Milk. / I have milk./I drink some milk.
As usual, I hope the ideas in this post will be useful to you and your learners. One of the key things to learning anything is to be ambitious – to try new things – so encourage your learners to do just that! Ambitious and adventurous learners – yes!