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Linguaskill Speaking
BY CAMBRIDGERORY FEBRUARY 2, 2021 LINGUASKILL
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Ahh, speaking. Is it harder than writing because you have no time to think? Well, that's not the
case with the Linguaskill speaking section as you do have time to think in some tasks.
However, in other tasks you don't have time to think and this scares the Bee Gees out of many
students! 'Scaring the Bee Gees' out of somebody isn't a real saying, I just made it up. Classic
band though, let's listen to a song:

The book below is good

for all intermediate and
advanced students >>

Read for FREE >>

Write a comment at the bottom of this page and let me know if speaking in English scares the
Bee Gees out of you Fever night, fever night, fever...right let's continue.

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Here >>

Linguaskill Speaking Format

Have you seen my Linguaskill page going through format of the whole Linguaskill test? If you
have, you'll probably remember that there are 5 different exercises/parts in the Linguaskill
Speaking section. I'll summarise the most important information from that page for you again
here:

The total paper length: 15 minutes

Access
How many parts: 5 restricted
Marking criteria for parts 1, 3, 4, 5: Task Achievement, Coherence / Discourse Management,
content
Language Resource, Pronunciation, Hesitation / Extent. and
courses
Marking criteria for part 2: Overall Intelligibility, Individual Sounds, Stress, Rhythm and
Intonation.
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Make sure you have a good understanding of these criteria before the exam. You can read
Today >>
more about them here:

TheSpeakingpaperfortasks1,3.4and5isassessedonthefollowingcriteria:

TaskAchievement:Doyoucompletethetaskaccuratelyandappropriately.Ifyou
achievethetaskbutwithdifficultyandyourquestionsarenotcompletely
appropriate,youwillnotreachthehighestlevel. Get a Free
Coherence/DiscourseManagement:Thecomplexityandcoherenceofyourideas E-book
willbeevaluatedhere.Thelesscoherentyourspeechis,theloweryourgradewill Register
be.
Now >>
LanguageResource:Forthiscriterion,youruseofgrammarandvocabularywillbe
assessed.Makesureyouareusingthecorrectverbtenseforthecontextandthat
theexpressionsyouusearegrammaticallycorrect.

Pronunciation:Ihopeyouhavebeenpractisingyourpronunciationofwords
becausetheywillpayattentiontothatduringyourSpeakingexam.Besides
pronunciation,therhythmandintonationofyourwordsisalsoevaluated.

Hesitation/Extent:Itisveryimportantforyoutogivenaturalandrapidanswers
Receive
whilemaintaininggoodpronunciationandcoherence.Yourtimemanagementwhile my email
answeringthequestionswillalsobetested.Thisiswhyyoushoulduseyour newsletter
preparationtimewisely.
with
InPart2,thecriteriadiffersasitisadifferentexerciseaswell.Heretheexaminers
special
willpaycloseattentionto: offers
OverallIntelligibility:Whetheryourpronunciationisclearandifthewordsyouuse (optional)
areeasilyunderstandable.Themoredifficultitistounderstandyourideasthelower Register
yourgradewillbe.
FREE
IndividualSounds:Makesureallthesoundsyoupronounceareclear.Itshouldbe
Here >>
easyforlistenerstounderstandallthesoundsyoumake.

Stress,RhythmandIntonation:Makesureyouusegoodrhythmandintonation
whenyouencounteracoma,anexclamationmark,aquestionmarketc.Itsvery
importantthatyoustresstheexpressionsyouarereadingappropriately.

Before we continue, I thought I should mention that I've published a book which contains lots
of information about this exam:

E-book >>

Paperback >>

Speaking Part 1: 'Interview'

Interview Format:
You answer some general questions about yourself in the first 'interview' part of Linguaskill
spekaing.

When I did a practice test, I was asked the following questions:

Linguaskill Speaking Part 1 Tip:

For this first part of the speaking you don’t need as much preparation as for other parts of the
test. However, there are a few things I recommend doing before the exam.

1. Think about what hobbies you have and what you like to do in your free time. These are
topics that will probably be asked during the 'Interview'.

2. Prepare some answers to these types of questions and record yourself saying your
answers. This will really help you improve your answers and tick the examiner marking criteria
boxes. Remember, in part 1 of the speaking section you will have only about 2 or 3 seconds
before you start speaking, so no preparation time will be given.

These will help you to complete the following technique...

Interview Technique:
1. As you can see you don’t have much time to speak, only 10/20 seconds, which means
you are not required, at this point, to give very detailed answers. However, make sure you
use most of the 10/20 seconds, do not stay in silence for too long while the clock is
running.
2. To make sure you speak for a suitable length of time, you can add something extra to
your answers. For example, with the question ‘where are you from?”, you shouldn’t simply
say ‘I’m from Spain’ as this will take you only 2 seconds. Alternatively, you should add a
small detail about the city and country you’re from. For example, you can answer
something like this: ‘I’m from Elche, a city in Spain where you can find the biggest palm
grove in Europe, which is considered a world heritage site by UNESCO’.
3. You should speak at a steady pace and as clearly as possible. We naturally speak more
quickly when we're nervous, so don't worry about taking your time.

'Interviews' are a typical way to start many English speaking tests. They are really designed to
get the candidate (you) feeling more comfortable. If you'd like to see loads more examples of
'Interview' questions, you should check out my B2 speaking part 1 and C1 speaking part 1
pages. While these are for different exams, you will see the questions are very similar and you
can adopt some really useful ideas!

Speaking Part 2: 'Reading Aloud'

Speaking Part 2 (Reading Aloud): Format:

In this part you will see 8 sentences which look like this:

You need to read these sentences out loud.

Speaking Part 2 (Reading Aloud): Technique:

1. Create a quick routine you use at the beginning of each part of the exam. This could be
as simple as counting "1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4" twice. The reason for this routine is to make you
focus on the exam and prepare yourself for the section you are about to face.
2. In part 2, the same as part 1, you will not have any preparation time. This means that
when the sentence you need to read comes up the time will start counting right away. As
you only have 10 seconds for each sentence you read, I don't recommend reading it in
your head first. However, I do recommend practising reading similar sentences before the
exam. You should record and critique yourself. You could practise copying the
pronunciation, word and sentence stress from some of my dictation videos here >>
Alternatively, if you are a member, you can practise this part of the exam in my Telegram
groups!
3. In the exam, make sure you read each sentence calmly and clearly.
4. Pay attention to the stress and pronunciation of words as well as the rhythm of the
sentence.

Linguaskill Tip: this is available for paid members only.

There are many tips, exercises and homework exercises throughout all the pages and the
videos. So, if you want to prepare effectively, you should watch and complete all of them!

To access all of these, register here >>

Linguaskill Speaking Part 3: Long Turn

1 'Presentation'

Speaking Part 3 - Long Turn 1 (Presentation) Format:

In this part you will need to speak about a topic for 1 minute. You will have 40 seconds to
prepare your response. The task looks like this:

Speaking Part 3 - Long Turn 1 (Presentation):

Technique:
1. Here you should follow the same logic as you learnt for the Linguaskill writing exercises.
Take the preparation time to read through the topics (bullet points) that you need to
mention.
2. Structure, on paper (if you believe you have time for that) or in your head the answer to
each point. Practise this before the exam to see if you have time to write an answer for
each point (it's unlikely). Remember, members can practise these exercises with me in
my Telegram groups >>
3. You should not try to prepare a full speech as you will not have time and it is not what’s
expected. You are expected to use the preparation time to think and structure what you
will say but your speech should not sound rehearsed.
4. During your answer, think about the topics and what you thought you could mention for
each topic and put the speech together as the time goes. It’s very important that you
keep track of time while you’re speaking. You want to make sure you have time to answer
all the points that are expected of you. Try to allocate equal time to each of the points.
The best way to do this is by practising beforehand. Again, practise in exam conditions
with a timer so you know when you should move on to the next topic.

Speaking Part 4: Long Turn 2

'Presentation with visual information'

Speaking Part 4 - Long Turn 2 (Presentation with

visual information) Format:
This part is very similar to part 3. The difference is you will see a picture or diagram and you
can prepare for slightly longer (1 minute). Again, you need to speak for 1 minute. Let's look at
an example:

Instructions

Part4

Youwillhave1minutetoleaveamessageforanEnglish-speakingfriendaboutsomevisualinformation.First,youhave1minutetolookattheinformationandpreparewhatyou
aregoingtosay.Youwillthenhave1minutetoleaveyourmessage.Thevisualinformationwillstayonthescreen.Pleasespeakforallthetimeyouhave.

ListenThink Speak
59seconds

BeSeenJacket StayDryJacket

YourEnglish-speakingfriendwantstobuyacycling Waterprooffabric ***

jacketandhasaskedforyouradvice.
Colour
Thistableshowsproductreviewsfortwocycling
jackets.
Comfort ***** ***
Lookatthetableandthenleaveamessageforyour Price $75 $110
friend,recommendingwhichcyclingjackettobuy.
Overallrating 7/0 9/10

https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/linguaskill/information-about-the-test
/test-formats-and-task-types/

Speaking Part 4 - Long Turn 2 (Presentation with

visual information): Technique:
1. Here you will have to pay attention not only to the questions and the written information,
but also to the graph or other visual information that is presented to you. Make detailed
notes before you start speaking so you don't go blank when speaking. Try to structure
your notes. Structuring beforehand will help you make sure you refer to all the information
you are asked to provide.
2. Memorise a first phrase that you can say, for example: "I could talk about...but I think I'll
start by mentioning..."
3. Remember, we talk quicker when we're nervous, so it's a good idea to practise talking
slowly and steadily.
4. Keep talking even if you run out of ideas. You should try and fill up the total talking time
because the more you talk, the more language you can show.

You can practise similar exercises from similar exams on my FCE speaking part 2 and CAE
speaking part 2 pages.

3 extra Linguaskill tips: these are available for paid members only.

If you want to access all these tips and more, register here >>

Linguaskill Speaking part 5

Speaking Part 5 Communication Activity Format:

In the final part of the Linguaskill speaking section, you will need to answer 5 questions about
1 topic. The questions will normally ask for your opinion about something. You will have 40
seconds to read about the topic before you hear the first question. After each question you
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