English Practice & Support

In part 1 of the FCE speaking exam you will be asked questions relating to your personal and professional life.

Remember to use the question to form your answers. This helps you to avoid making grammatical mistakes.

For example: Can you ... - Yes I can... or Will you...? - Yes I will...

Your answers should not be too short or too long.

A good way to get the size right is to follow your answer with a BECAUSE.

For example: for the question:

Do you like football?

The answer

Yes.

is too short.

A better answer would be:

Yes, I like football because I meet all my friends who play with me.

If you can add an example, that is a big improvement:

Yes, I like football because I meet all my friends who play with me. We try and have a game every Sunday.

Then you should stop and wait for the next question.

This kind of conversation at the FCE level requires a certain degree of sophistication in the answers.

This means you don't need to jump straight into the answer when asked a question.

It is better to put the subject into context before giving your answer.

For example, If you are asked the following question:

Would you like a higher salary?

In reality the answer is obvious, and you could just say

Yes.

A better approach would be to put your answer into context, by saying something like:

Money plays an important part in having an enjoyable life.

This could then be followed by:

There are many things I would like to do, and having money would make that possible.

which means YES, but said in a way that is not too direct.

Finally, the answer could be given a conclusion:

Having said that, earning money is not my main motivation in life.

The complete answer would then be:

A - Would you like a higher salary?

B - Money plays an important part in having an enjoyable life.

There are many things I would like to do, and If I had a lot of money, I would be able to do them.

However, having said that, earning money is not my main motivation in life.

This represents a more complete explanation of your opinions regarding the question, which just a YES or NO answer could not give, and therefore merits a better mark.

Notice that good grammar elements have been used:

A - Would you like a higher salary?

B - Money plays an important part in having an enjoyable life. (1)

There are many things I would (2) like to do, and If I had a lot of money, (3) I would be able to do them.

However, having said that,(4) earning money is not my main motivation in life.

1 Using a participle clause

2 Using modal verbs

3 Using conditionals

4 Using linkers