 Aptis Speaking Part 1

 Directions: In this part of the exam you will be asked three short questions
about yourself and your interest. You have 30 seconds to reply to each
question.
 What do you like to do on the weekend?(30 seconds)

Please tell me about your family.(30 seconds)

Please tell me about your best friend.(30 seconds)

Part 1– Personal Information (Giving personal Information): You will be given 3 questions and you will
need to speak for 30 seconds for each question.
Here are some examples of questions you might see in part 1 of the exam.
These questions should be easy to answer. Just relax used this as an opportunity to get used to talking to
a computer!
Topics: Family, My Job, Weather, Likes and Dislikes, Daily Routine,Interest and Leisure,Holidays
and Travel, Future Plans, Books, Films, Food, Health and Fitness, Media, Learning.
Examples of some questions might include:

1. Please tell me about your family

2. Please tell me about your hobbies.
3. Please tell me about your work or studies.
4. Please tell me about your favorite food.
5. What do you like doing in your free time?
6. What is the weather like today?
7. What is your typical day like?
8. What is the food like in your country?
9. What is your village/ town/ city like?
10. How do you like to spend your holidays and vacations?

Best Practices:
If you feel nervous: begin by repeating/ reading the question. ” What is your village, town or city like? It
is …….
If you need time to think, say: Let me see… or Hmm.. I would probably say..
Always use a stopwatch or ,mobile phone to time your answers.
Try developing a structure to answer these types of questions: This will help if you are struggling to fill up
the time.

: Your focus should be on improving your vocabulary and reduce repetition, pauses, and
nervousness.
Example of a typical answer:
Topic: INTERESTS AND LEISURE TIME
Please tell me about your hobbies and interest? (30 seconds)
I enjoy reading books in my free time. I especially enjoy non-fiction books. I’m also interested
in politics. I love watching debates on TV and trying to mimic the speakers. I love (verb +
ing ) listening to K-pop music. I make time to play with my kids on the weekend, and when I can, I
usually watch TV, in particular, the news. When I have the chance I make my own t-shirts and
clothes on my old sewing machine. One of my other interests is camping. I prefer outdoor
activities and spend a lot of time gardening. I’m growing cucumbers this year.
Example of a speaking structure:
In my free time I like______________.
It is______________, because____________.
I also like to____________, and___________.
I think is fun_________, because_________.
(Conclusion)That’s why free time is important to me
Expanding on a topic.
When I am________________ , I feel___________.
I wish I could ______________ all day, and I even forget about everything else.
I enjoy doing____________ with my friend (friends), because ________________.

 Aptis Speaking Task 2

 Directions: In this part of the speaking exam you will be asked to describe a
picture. Then you will be asked two questions about it. You will have 45
seconds to respond to each question.

 Please describe this picture. (45 seconds)

Please talk about how you use your mobile phone.(45 seconds)

Do you think mobile phones have helped people live better lives?(45 seconds)

Part 2- Giving a Basic Description of picture /Opinion/ Comparing with own situation
There are 3 task from part 2 of the Aptis speaking exam: 1. Describe the picture. (You have to speak for
45 seconds ) 2.Giving an opinion. (You have to speak for 45 seconds )3. Comparing with own
situation/experiences. (You have to speak for 45 seconds)
Question 1: Describing the picture.
DESCRIBE , SPECULATE , and REACT.

DESCRIBE THE PICTURE:

Who do you see? Where are they? What are they doing? What do they look like? How do you think they feel? What’s in the

background?(if applicable) What’s the weather like?(if applicable)

It’s best to give a general impression or description rather than separate details. And if you have time give short details

about separate details of the picture.

Example:

This is a picture of a busy neighborhood.

There are five people in the picture. I think they are at a family event. The

man on the right is making a toast.

I can see many skyscrapers in the background.

SPECULATE

This is a busy, bustling city. It must be New York.

She looks very sad. Perhaps no one remembered it was her own birthday.

I suppose it’s a holiday.

They all look very happy. The woman on the left is wearing skiing gear. They might be getting ready to go on vacation.

The man is wearing a tailored suit and a top hat. He must be Japanese because

of the flag on his briefcase. The woman behind him looks friendly.

They are all wearing formal clothes. They might be getting ready for a wedding.

The girl in the middle seems to be excited. She must be getting ready for a fun adventure..
He must be the child’s father.

She could be his grandmother.

They seem to be really relaxed.

She looks very sad.

She looks surprised. Perhaps she’s meeting and old friend.

I get the impression he is hurt because he is holding his head.

It’s not clear whether it’s a competition or not.

REACT

I like this photo. It reminds me of my family.This photo makes me think of my own mother and the time we celebrated

her winning an award.

I would love to try this. In fact, I’m going to try it this weekend.

I like this picture, though I’m afraid of dogs and I am not keen on being around animals.

Useful structures and vocabulary for describing a photograph

Beginning you description

This is a picture of………..

It shows………… key features)

Key tenses & structures

Present continuous: He’s riding a bicycle. They’re running under a bridge.

There is/are + object + verb +ing:

There’s a boy riding a bike. There are several people having dinner here.

Speculating (making guesses)

It looks as if… + a sentence (he/she/ it +is+ ing / they are + ing / there is/ are … etc.)

(He /She/ It looks …. or / They look like…) + a noun

(He/ She/ It looks …. or / They look…)+ an adjective.

I think..( he’s / she’s/ they’re probably)… (Verb + ing)

(He/She/ it/ they) might be… or/ must be…

Spatial language (Where in the picture you are talking about)

In the foreground / background…

Next to / Behind/ in front of… this, there is/ are…

Paraphrasing (explaining a word that you can’t remember)

It’s a thing that you use for…(making pancakes/ flipping eggs over in the pan)

It’s similar to a …

It looks like some kind of..

Question Two : Opinion

To do this we usually use adverbial phrases at the start of the sentence.
Here are some phrases/structure to use when giving an opinion.

Expressing your opinion

I think that…

Personally…
Surprisingly…

And after expressing your opinions, here are some ways that you can justify them:

Justifying you opinion

because.. (+subject verb)

as…(+subject verb)

since… (+subject verb)

because of… (+noun phrase)

due to….(+noun phrase)

as a result of…. (+noun phrase)

Question Three: Comparison with your own situation.

I would definitely choose picture one as I like……..

I guess my first choice would be picture two.

For me, the most important thing is to …………

I don’t think it really matters where you go as long as …………

Personally, I would prefer …………

Of course, the good thing about living in the city is that there are tons of facilities and entertainment.

On the other hand, life in the country is much less stressful.

I wouldn’t mind being on a beautiful island like that,

but on the other hand, I think I would be bored to death after a couple of days there.

If I had to choose one of these places, I would definitely go for the one in the picture at the bottom.