Speaking lab test 1

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Part 1: Analysis

Why this answer would score well

The Basics: The candidate's voice is loud and clear enough to be understood

Pronunciation is clear and the candidate's vocabulary is appropriate in relation to the questions asked There are no grammatical inaccuracies

Presentation: The candidate sounds very relaxed and friendly! At the very beginning, the candidate's personality comes through – good use of humour ('The most beautiful place

on earth')

Structure: The candidate responds appropriately to the questions asked The answers are well structured: the question is answered and additional, related details are given The rhetorical question, 'Do you know anyone who doesn't?' involves the examiner and demonstrates the candidate's confidence

Content: The responses answer the questions the examiner asks in detail (no one or two word answers!) He demonstrates a good, 'conversational' style The candidate's

personality shines through right from the very beginning making the experience an enjoyable one for both candidate and examiner

This is a good, confident start!

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Speaking Lab 1

Part 2: Analysis

Why this answer would score well

The Basics: The candidate's voice is loud and clear enough to be easily understood Pronunciation is excellent and the candidate's use of words/vocabulary shows he can communicate on the topic effectively There are no grammatical inaccuracies

Presentation: The candidate sounds quite relaxed and confident The personality of the candidate comes through by good use of vocal variety which made the topic more

interesting

Structure: The candidate responds appropriately to the questions asked on the Candidate Card The first three questions are answered quite quickly leaving most of the time to expand upon question 4 (explain why it was such a good holiday) A point is made and then additional, related details are given

Content: Remember the question required the candidate to discuss:

1 where you went

2 when you went there

3 what you did there and;

4 explain why it was such a great holiday

All of these aspects of the question were answered One of the interesting things about the presentation is that the candidate ran out of things to say - he had talked about the past and present and then he introduced ideas related to the future as a way of ending his presentation – which gave it a good ending He used 'P-P-F' (See Speaking Lesson 3) This is a good, confident continuation of the test!

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Part 3: Analysis

Why this answer would score well

The Basics: The candidate's voice is loud and clear enough to be easily understood Pronunciation is excellent and the candidate's use of words/vocabulary shows he can communicate on each topic raised by the examiner effectively There are no grammatical inaccuracies

Presentation: The candidate continues to sound relaxed and confident The personality of the candidate continues to come through and builds upon the rapport established through Parts 1 & 2

Structure: The candidate responds appropriately to the questions asked Firstly, he

answers the question then conversationally, he expands upon the topic In other words, a point is made and then additional, related details are given

Content: The information presented in the conversation clearly answers the questions Through use of idiomatic and colloquial expressions (‘a change is as good as a holiday’, 'let their hair down', ‘party mode’), the speaker demonstrates a very advanced knowledge

of the language Some good, academic words are used (eg negative impact,

consequences, the offenders)

This is a good, confident conclusion!

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Speaking Lab 1

Part 1: Transcript

Q1Can we talk about an aspect of your home town? How easy is it to travel around where you're from?

A1 Ah, yes I'm from Mitchford The most beautiful place on earth! It's quite a small

coastal city There's about 230,000 people who live there and we have quite a good transportation system there I'd say most people travel by car – our roads are pretty modern and well sealed but people who don't have a car usually catch a bus The bus travels to most parts of the city and it's quite cheap For example, to travel by bus from one end of the city to the other it costs about £2 and that's pretty cheap

compared to what I pay here in England

Q2 Ok Which kinds of public transport do you use most and why?

A2 Actually, that's a difficult question to answer because back home, I have my own

car I sure do miss that When I was younger I used to catch the bus to school In

my city all students under 16 who lived more than four maybe it was 3 anyway about 3 or 4 kilometres from the nearest public high school were given a bus pass which allowed them to catch the bus to school for free The problem was there was never enough seats to allow for all the students so usually most students had to stand

up in the bus all the way until they arrived at school but it was much better than having to walk I can assure you of that! Occasionally, I caught the taxi but it was a very rare thing taxis are about 4 or 5 times more expensive than regular bus fares so taxis were only used if there was no other option

Q3 But what about here? Do you use public transport here in England?

A3 Oh yes, here I mostly use the underground It's totally different from back home At

Mitchford we don’t have enough people to warrant an underground rail system at least I think that’s the reason we don’t have one That’s been a really interesting part about living here, getting used to the rail system

Q4 How do you compare public transport here in England with public transport back home?

A4 Well, actually, back home public transport is always late It’s not unusual for the bus

to be like 15-20 minutes late We have a saying, “If you want to arrive on time and you’re catching the bus, prepare for one hour of travel” Well, here the underground

is always on time It's been interesting in that it's always on time and extremely

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Q5 Ok, let’s move on to the topic of movies Do you enjoy watching movies?

A5 Yes, I do enjoy movies do you know anyone who doesn’t like movies? I don't! I

must say that I’m a bit of an action person I love action movies I like it when the tough bad guy gets beaten I love happy endings the hero’s always got to win!

Q6 How often do you watch movies?

A6 Well, it's actually been quite a while since I've been to the cinema to watch a movie I

think the last movie I saw was Action Force - a real action movie which I enjoyed immensely It's actually too expensive to go to the movies these days and besides, if

I wait for a while I can watch it at home besides I'm too busy studying at the moment there's really not enough time to watch movies!

Q7 Ok Let's talk about what you like to do in your free time What sorts of

activities do you like to do in your free time?

A7 Free time we’ll I don’t have too much of that nowadays but when I do I enjoy

reading I mostly enjoy reading business books and magazines my father has a business back home and once I finish my studies, I'm going to return home and help him with the running of it I enjoy studying about business and learning about new ideas and ways of making a business more successful and effective

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Speaking Lab 1

Part 2: Transcript

Q1 Ok, good I'm now going to give you a topic that you will need to speak about for 1-2 minutes You can take notes if you want You have 1 minute to prepare what you want

to say I want you to talk about the best holiday you have ever had.

Ok You have a maximum of 2 minutes to speak so if you go over 2 minutes, I will ask you to stop Can you please begin speaking now?

A1 The best holiday I have ever been on is a very difficult question to answer because I’ve been

on so many excellent holidays I guess I’ve been very lucky In the summer time back home, when I was young, my family used to go to the beach and we’d camp under the stars that has always been an excellent memory for me But, I'd have to say that the most wonderful holiday I've ever had was when I was 19, when I went to Minnesota in the United States for a summer camp experience It was just so much fun! I met over 200 teenagers and we participated in some excellent camp activities!

Let me see we had swimming in the lake, where the camp was situated We also had water skiing, which was excellent fun it was really difficult to hold on to the rope while the boat pulled us around the lake! Another fun activity was camping We our dorm went on a 3-day canoe trip I think there were about 10 of us in our group which took us to the Canadian boundary waters There I saw some of the most beautiful alpine scenery I've ever seen in my life! The lakes were so clear and we could drink the water from them by dipping our cups as

we canoed along it was just amazing I wish everyone could witness the incredible beauty

we saw on that trip Let’s see, what else? Ahh yes, there was basketball and volleyball which

we played in the big indoor gymnasium Some of the Americans were really good basketball players they even had cheerleaders at some of the games! I got to know so many people, in fact I still write to some of the people I met there you know, isn’t email a great way to keep

in touch? There were other things but I can’t think of them at the moment I will say this: I would love to go back there again in the future Now, of course I’m too old to be a camper but it would be excellent to be a staff member, they are always looking for volunteers If you volunteer at the camp they pay for your food and accommodation for the whole summer - and that’s around 3 months in America

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Speaking Lab 1

Part 3: Transcript

Q1 We've been talking about the best holiday you've ever had and I'd like to discuss one or two more questions that are related to this Firstly, let's consider the effect

of holidays What effect do holidays have on people?

A1 I believe holidays have a big, positive effect on people For many, I know that holidays

are the highlight of the year People wait all year - especially those who don’t like their job - they wait for the holiday periods they plan and prepare for what they will do and they get excited by what they're going to do on their holidays Typically people are in a good mood when they are on holiday They're smiling and alert, they show interest in their new environment I believe that for most people, holiday time is the best time of their year

Q2 Many people refer to their holidays as 'highlights' of the year Why do you think holidays are highlights for people?

A2 Yes um well, I think holidays are highlights for people because if a person doesn't like

his or her work, a holiday represents a break in what they would otherwise normally do You know, it gives people a chance to go in a different direction, to do something they want to do instead of being a slave to their job Holidays allow people to re-create, to refresh their mind and body I read somewhere recently that it's actually a very healthy thing for a person to take a complete break from what he or she normally does and then

to do something different I guess what I'm saying is, a holiday is a change It's a change in location and activity That reminds me of the expression, 'A change is as good as a holiday' - it's a good one, and I think it's true

Q3 Good Let's talk about a related issue, the issue of tourism Do you see any

negative aspects with regard to tourism?

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A3 Yes, absolutely I come from a coastal town and there is a constant, steady stream of

people who pour through it These people often cause problems in the accommodation industry which is obviously related to tourism They come in and kind of 'let their hair down' they show no respect for the facilities Often there is damage to the places where they stay I've heard of broken lamps and chairs, dirty marks on walls and carpets you know, those kinds of things They drink heavily and make a lot of noise, constantly in

a 'party mode' This has had a very negative impact upon our town and gives tourists a bad name in the minds of some of the local people

Q4 What could be done to stop the negative aspects of tourism from happening?

A4 I guess stricter laws could be introduced If people don't obey the laws, then the

consequences might be a financial penalty You know, an expensive fine, or perhaps throw the offenders into prison for a day or two That would certainly I imagine have a big effect upon the bad behavior of people visiting a city while on holiday

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