Cambridge C1 Advanced
C1 Advanced (CAE) - Speaking Practice One
Here, you have a full Speaking test. What the examiner says is shown in italics.
Speaking Part One: Interview
2 minutes
Good morning/afternoon. My name is ________ and this is my colleague ________.
And your names are?
Can I have your mark sheets please?
Thank you.
Where are you from, (Candidate A)?
And you, (Candidate B)?
Address a selection of these questions to the candidates in turn, as appropriate.
What has been your biggest achievement so far?
How do you usually deal with disappointment?
Tell me about something you found difficult to learn.
What would you consider to be success in your future career?
Do you think making mistakes is important for learning? Why/why not?
Speaking Part Two: Long Turn
4 minutes (1 minute per candidate plus 30-second responses)
In this part of the test, I'm going to give each of you three photographs. I'd like you to talk about two of them on your own for about a minute, and also to answer a question briefly about your partner's photographs.
(Candidate A), it's your turn first. Here are your photographs. They show people experiencing different kinds of success. I'd like you to compare two of the photographs, and say what different kinds of success these people might be experiencing, and how they might be feeling.
[Candidate A speaks for 1 minute]
Thank you.
(Candidate B), which of these achievements do you think would be most meaningful to you personally? Why?
[Candidate B speaks for 30 seconds]
Now, (Candidate B), here are your photographs. They show people dealing with different kinds of setbacks. I'd like you to compare two of the photographs, and say what difficulties these people might be facing, and how they might overcome them.
[Candidate B speaks for 1 minute]
Thank you.
(Candidate A), which of these setbacks do you think would be the most challenging to overcome? Why?
[Candidate A speaks for 30 seconds]
Speaking Part Three: Collaborative Task
3 minutes (2-minute discussion followed by 1-minute decision-making task)
Now, I'd like you to talk about something together for about two minutes.
Here are some factors that can contribute to success in life. Talk to each other about how important each of these factors might be for achieving success.
- natural talent
- hard work
- education
- connections
- luck
After your discussion [after 2 minutes], you have about a minute to decide which two factors you think are the most important for success.
Speaking Part Four: Discussion
5 minutes
Now, to finish the test, we're going to talk about success and failure in general.
(Questions selected from below, addressed to both candidates)
- Some people say we learn more from failure than from success. What do you think?
- How has the definition of success changed in recent years?
- Do you think there's too much emphasis on academic qualifications in society?
- What role does failure play in innovation and progress?
- Is competition always helpful for achieving success?
- How can we help others deal with failure?
