A2 Key · Speaking: the interview and the discussion
A2 Key و B1 Preliminary (KET, PET) · Cambridge English · A2 Key (KET) الموضوع 7 3:47 سرد باللغة الإنجليزية · ترجمة مدمجة بالإنجليزية + الصينية
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The speaking test is eight to ten minutes, with a partner and two examiners, and it is the friendliest part of the exam: a conversation, not an interrogation. Part one is the interview; part two is the discussion with your partner. The memory hook: part one is a friendly chat; part two is planning a trip with a classmate. The examiners want clear answers, interaction, and everyday vocabulary. They do not want speeches.
Part one answers come in sandwiches: the answer, a detail, a reason. Where do you live? Not Beijing, alone and sad. I live in Beijing, in an apartment near the park; I like it because it's quiet. Answer, detail, reason, every time. And rehearse the classics aloud until they're warm: your name spelled, your school, your family, your hobbies, your favourite food, your weekend.
Pause and choose. I play basketball with my classmates; it's fun, and I'm getting taller. Answer, detail, reason, and both matter: the fun and the height. Basketball alone is a word, not a sandwich, and the present continuous answers a question nobody asked.
Part two is five pictures and a partner, and the marks are in the interaction. The monologue earns nothing: I like the camera; the camera is good; I choose the camera. The discussion earns everything: I like the camera — what about you? Really? I think the book is better, because… Ask your partner's opinion, answer theirs, build on it. And disagreeing politely is free marks: I see your point, but I'd choose the bike. The exam is the one place where polite disagreement pays.
Pause and choose. I see your point, but I'd choose the bike, because the teacher rides to school. Respond to the partner, then add your own view: that is the interaction the marks live in. Yes with silence is a closed door, the book is a book is a riddle, and next question please ends the exam early in the worst way.
The traps. A memorised two-minute speech gets redirected instantly; prepare building blocks, not paragraphs. An unknown word is not a wall: describe around it — it's a thing for, you use it to — and paraphrasing is a marked skill, not a failure. In part two, look at your partner, not at the examiner; the discussion is with them. And speak up: audibility is free marks, and the quiet mumble earns nothing even when it is right.
Rehearse the interview, then run the discussion. Tell me about your family: there are four of us; my sister is twelve; we fight about the TV, and I usually win. The weekend: I play basketball with my classmates; it's fun, and I'm getting taller. Then the discussion with a partner: five gifts — a book, a bike, a camera, a game, a plant. Which is best for your teacher? Discuss, disagree politely, and remember the plant has feelings too.
Pause for four checks. Where do you live: the sandwich. Part two: respond to your partner; the interaction is the mark. An unknown word: describe around it; a green thing for your desk. And blocks, not speeches, spoken up. That closes A2 Key. The B1 Preliminary notes take the same skills one level higher.