General Outline
You know when Part 3 has started because you will hear the examiner say the scripted wording…..
’”We’ve just been talking about (……………..) and now I’d like to ask you one or two general questions related to this topic. So first of all let’s talk about…”
Part 3 should take 4-5 minutes. This includes the time it takes for the examiner to introduce topics and ask questions. Part 3 of the Speaking test is the most demanding. Although it is described as a two-way discussion, the candidate will be expected to do most of the talking.
It is important to realise that in Part 3, the focus of questions and topics changes. In Part 1/Part 2, the focus of the topics and questions is “you” or “your life”. The questions or prompts you must answer in Part 3 are linked to the topic you spoke about in Part 2. However, in Part 3, the general focus is of “other people” or “society in general”. The questions asked by the examiner in Part 3 may be based on things in the candidate’s country, things in general (no particular place) or they may be about global issues but not specifically about the candidate personal life/experiences.
It is important to remember that you are involved in a discussion (not an argument) with the examiner. The discussion is designed to:
- make you think and comment about various issues in a relation in a specific topic area that concern people living in today’s world
- encourage you to give your opinions
- describing in detail
- contrasting and comparing
- discussing situations as they were in the past
- imagining or predicting situations as they might be in the future
- respond to questions and prompts about abstract ideas
Types of Questions – Part 1, 2 and 3 Connection
The examiner has 3 sets of topics to choose from. Each set contains 3 discussion prompts. An examiner must ask questions based on the prompts from at least 2 sets. The sets are graded in difficulty with set 1 being the easiest and set 3, the most difficult. Unlike Part 1 & 2, the examiner only has to ask initial questions based on the prompts in the test booklet and is free to ask/engage in whatever questions/comments that help ascertain your ability to express your ideas in spoken English.
There is a direct relationship between the Part 2 topic and Part 3 topics. However, as stated above, always remember that Part 3 topics will not be exactly the same as the previous Part 2 topic.
For example, if the Part 2 topic was: “Describe some travelling you would like to do in a different country from your own…” and the candidate described a trip to USA; in Part 3, the examiner might ask the candidate questions about:
- Different types of trips and holidays
- Comparing travelling abroad with travel in candidate’s own country
- The importance of tourism
The examiner will NOT ask about:
- Travel tips and destinations while travelling in the USA
- The candidate’s favourite ways of travelling
- Why the candidate likes travelling
One method for predicting questions/prompts for Part 3 is by focusing on topics that might appear in all three parts of the test. For example, the topic of “The Internet”:
Part 1 questions:
- Do you like using the Internet?
- How much time do you spend online?
- What types of websites do you prefer? Why?
- Do you think it’s bad for children to use the internet?
Part 2 task:
- Describe a website that you enjoy visiting. You should say:
– what type of website it is
– how you first became aware of it
– what the website is mainly about
– and why you enjoy visiting it.
Part 3 topics/prompts:
- The popularity of the internet
- why does everyone like to use the internet nowadays?
- do young and old people use the internet in different ways?
- is the internet more popular than what television was in the past?
- The role of the internet in the society
- how useful is the internet in modern society?
- what are some problems the internet has created in modern society?
- will modern societies be able to function without the internet in the future?
- The internet and information
- how reliable is information found on the internet?
- what other ways can people get reliable information without having to use the internet?
- Should governments restrict what information can be seen on the internet?
Score Adjustment
An experienced examiner can accurately award a speaking score midway through Part 2. Therefore, in Part 3 it is important for the candidate to demonstrate their English skills are higher than what the examiner has decided by the end of Part 2.
For example, at the end of Part 2, if an examiner has decided that a candidate is definitely a speaking BAND score of 6.5/7, he or she will then use Part Three to ‘push’ the candidate to their language limit (linguistically) to see if that candidate can actually get a BAND score of 7 or higher. The examiner will use set 2 and 3 which are more difficult. If an examiner believes a candidate will not attain a BAND 7 score, only set 1 and 2 will be used.
Many candidates find this aspect intimidating and either regress (talk only about themselves or repeat information from Part 1/2) or try to ’argue’. If you fully understand the functions of Part 3 questions, you can produce language that should increase your score.