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To get a good mark in the PET Speaking exam, you will need to produce simple sentences on familiar topics, and
also be able to give reasons, opinions and explain your plans. You will get top marks if you show you can speak for
extended periods of time and also if you use more complex structures (e.g., conditionals, comparative language,
passives, etc.)
Here at Atlas, we encourage our students to understand and use this range of language in our A2 and B1 classes.
There is also a focus on developing the techniques that will help you get the marks you need to pass the PET and
move on to preparing for the higher level exams. Let us describe a few of the best tips that we give our students in
classes that are preparing for the PET Speaking test.
You will be asked questions individually by the examiner. The questions will be about your life and you may
Part 1 be asked questions about the present, past and future. Focus on good pronunciation, and extending your
answers just a little.
You will be given some images and will be asked to interact with your partner. You will need to discuss,
make and respond to suggestions, and come to an agreement at the end. Focus on giving your opinions and
Part 2
supporting them with reasons, while also responding to your partners suggestions and opinions. Listen to
what your partner says and develop a conversation.
You will be given a colour photograph and, individually, will need to be able to describe
and speculate about what you see for up to 1 minute.
Part 3
*To speculate means you have to say what you think you see. See below for more details.
This is a general conversation based on the topic of the photographs in part 3. Youll work with your partner
Part 4 and you both need to give opinions, talk about your likes/dislikes, preferences, experiences, habits etc.
Again, try to develop a conversation.
You can find more information on how to do each part on pp.40-42 of the Cambridge PET Handbook.
http://www.uhu.es/lenguasmodernas/secretaria/prueba_nivel/doc/CambridgePETHandbook.pdf
Now, remember that these are just possible questions that you could be asked. Also, when you practise giving these
answers make sure you use good intonation in your voice to make them sound more natural before you go into your
exam.
Heres an example Part 2 question from the Handbook that you can start practising with. Try to use a number of
different ways of giving your opinion, asking for your partners opinion, and agreeing and disagreeing.
Question: A young man on holiday in North America wants to buy a present to take home to his parents. Talk
together about the different presents he could buy, and say which would be best..
You will need to do three things: refer to the picture, describe the picture, and speculate about the picture. Here is
some useful language that can help you get good marks in this part of the exam.
To refer to the photos you'll need to say what you can see in different parts of the photos, like this:
Some example sentences would be:
In the middle there is a woman, who might be a teacher, looking after the children.
In the foreground, we can see two children who are studying hard.
Speculating
We need to speculate when we are not sure of something. For example:
It could be a classroom or a busy library.
She looks like a teacher but could be a librarian.
They might be studying for an example.
Maybe they are studying for an exam
It must be a library.
So, try practising using the language to describe pictures you see online or in newspapers.
Extra tip!
Try recording yourself on your phone and listen to hear your answer. Or do this with a friend. Share your recordings
and talk about how you could make them better.
We recommend that you look back at the previous tips and reuse the language from each one for this task. But on
top of that, in this question you may need to refer to yourself a lot. Here is some language to help you do this:
Referring to yourself
For me, ....
In my experience, ...
When I was ...
When I am ...
In my opinion ..
.
So, these are our key pieces of advice to get you prepared for the PET Speaking exam. Remember, the exam is just
10 to 12 minutes long so make sure you show the examiners that you have a good, effective command of English
and are able to speak reasonably flexibly about many everyday things. Use a range of language, speak in extended
chunks without hesitating too much, and try to involve your partner and build a conversations. The examiners cant
give you top marks for having reasonable pronunciation and showing potential. Show them how good you are. Use
polite, friendly intonation and let them hear you do all the things that will allow them to give you really good marks in
your PET Speaking.