Speaking lab test 3

Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 3

Speaking Lab 3
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 easy to understand. The candidate's vocabulary is appropriate
in relation to the questions asked. There are no grammatical inaccuracies.
Presentation: The candidate sounds quite relaxed and friendly.
Structure: The candidate responds appropriately to the questions asked. The answers are
well structured: the questions are answered and in all cases, additional, related details are
given.
Content: The responses answer the questions the examiner asks in detail (no one or two
word answers!). The candidate demonstrates quite a wide vocabulary base: ‘work
vocabulary’ (waiter): cutlery, plates, patrons, self-serve, buffet) ‘television vocabulary’:
news, documentaries, soap operas, storyline, comedy. The candidate's friendly
personality is quite evident right from the very beginning making the experience an
enjoyable one for both candidate and examiner. The candidate answers the questions
asked with good examples and involves the examiner with a rhetorical question.
This is a good, confident start!

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Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 3

Speaking Lab 3

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 and through the use of vocal variety, the topic is made more
interesting through the recounting of an interesting story.
Structure: The candidate responds appropriately to the questions asked on the Candidate
Card. The first three points are answered almost immediately leaving most of the time to
expand upon the last point (why you were proud of it). A point is made and then
additional, related details are given.
Content: Remember the question required the candidate to discuss:
1. what it was
2. why you made it
3. when it was made
4. explain why you were proud of it.
All of these aspects of the question were answered. Good expression used. The
vocabulary was varied and descriptive. For example,'carpentry vocabulary' [timber, saw,
file, tape measure, (two coats of) paint]. He concluded the speech by returning to the
original, main point (something he was proud of) and gave good reasons why he was
proud ['I'm not a carpenter (but I successfully made a shoe rack), 'we solved a problem',
'we spent quality time together'] One of the interesting things about the presentation is
that the candidate did not know what to say ('my mind's gone blank'). He decided to talk
about a very ordinary thing but he did it in a very interesting way – he obviously quickly
chose his subject material. He used the time to tell a story (the process of building the
shoe rack) – an excellent way to extend the Part 2 Long Turn.
This is a good, confident continuation of the test!

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Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 3

Speaking Lab 3
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 quite 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.
The candidate demonstrates very well that he has a diverse vocabulary on many different
topics - a demonstration of a very advanced knowledge of the language. Some good,
academic words are used and the candidate demonstrates his good vocabulary base by
using a range of words which relate directly to the subjects asked (eg: mechanisation, of
better construction, environmentally friendly, carbon monoxide, 'as a whole', to drive
(people) towards achievement). He expressed ideas that were clearly his opinions and not
a universal truth by saying, “I guess...”, “I believe...”, "I think" and “I would (have to)
say..”
This is a good, confident conclusion!

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Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 3

Speaking Lab 3
Part 1:
Q1 I'd like to talk with you about what you do. Are you a student or do you have a
job?
A1 Actually, I’m both. I have a part-time job and I also study!
Q2 Ok! You must be busy. Can you tell me about your job?
A2 Sure. I’m a waiter. It's not much...I don't do too much...it's only part time...not my
ideal job but it does offer me a modest income. I'm usually on the breakfast shift.
You see I work in a hotel and most of the guests of the hotel come to the restaurant
for breakfast.
Q3 What is it you like most about your job?
A3 I guess it's interesting to meet and greet new people. Most of the patrons of the
restaurant are from overseas so the restaurant is a good place to meet people from
other countries. It's a good working environment, the restaurant is air conditioned
which is also a plus.
Q4 Is there anything you don't like about your job?
A4 Yes, it's fairly repetitious work. There's not a lot of thought involved...you take away
dirty plates and cutlery and you replace them with clean plates and cutlery and on and
on the process goes. You serve coffee or tea, the rest is up to the customer...it's really
a self-serve buffet. I guess I'd like to do something which involves more thinking so
that's probably the main thing I dislike about my job.
Q5 Anything else you dislike?
A5 No, I guess not...oh...well, the boss. The supervisor, is really quiet...in fact, he's so

quiet that he seems unfriendly. I don't really understand him...he's an unusual man.
[Examiner: Unusual?] Well, he's just so quiet. I like people who are a bit more
friendly and show a bit more enthusiasm. He rarely smiles, he's always so serious. I
guess that's what I mean by ‘unusual’.
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Speaking Lab 3

Q6 I see, ok. Let's change topics and talk about television. Do you like to watch
television?
A6 Yes I do watch television but I try to mainly watch the news and documentaries. I
don't like watching a lot of the shows on television because they can waste a lot of
time - especially soap operas! Some people I know spend hours watching those sort
of shows, especially when you get to know the characters and the story line. I do like
some comedy shows though, some are hilarious!
Q7 Tell me about your favourite television show.
A7 Actually I really don't have one favourite television show but I do like watching
nature programs - programs about animals and birds and things. Last week I saw one
on crocodiles. I didn't realise that crocodiles lay so many eggs! I also remember one
show about hummingbirds. The camera showed the wings of the hummingbird in
slow motion, and it was just amazing...they go so fast. These are the sort of shows I
like, I wish there were more of them.
Q8 How popular is television in your country?
A8 Television is very popular in my country and I imagine that nearly every home would
have one. In fact, I think that many homes in my country have more than one
television. Televisions are very popular when there is a big sporting event on - like a
soccer match. People will invite their friends over to watch the match on television

and to cheer for their team. Another popular television program which people in my
country watch is the news, especially in the evening.

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Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 3

Speaking Lab 3
Part 2: Transcript
Q1

Ok that’s 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 something you have made which
you are proud of.
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

Something which I have made and am quite proud of is a shoe rack for my sons - a place
for them to put their shoes, when they're not wearing them. Maybe you're thinking, why
are you proud of a shoe rack? Well, the main reason I'm talking about it is
because...honestly, my mind's gone blank and I can't think of anything else I've made!
Anyway there are a number of reasons why I was proud of this thing that I made.
Firstly, I'm not a carpenter! I've never made anything before with wood, and also I
solved a problem... One night, about 2 years ago, my wife walked into our son's bedroom

and it was a really dark night. Anyway, she nearly sprained her ankle on one of his
shoes. They were always...their shoes...scattered around the bedroom. Her ankle looked
quite bruised the next day. So at that time, I decided to make a shoe rack. With my
oldest son, we took a tape measure and measured how long and wide it should be. Next
we bought a piece of timber. Anyway, we got home and I got out my....my saw and...a
pencil and ruler. We measured the lengths and then cut the pieces. Ok, we cut the
lengths, then we smoothed off the rough edges with a file. Next we got some nails and a
hammer and we nailed the pieces together. My oldest son, Aaron said, “Dad we need to
paint it”. I agreed. We got out some...ahhh...cream-coloured paint. We put two coats of
paint on that shoe rack. I was proud of what the boys and I had accomplished. We'd
solved a problem and, at the same time, spent some quality time together. We still have
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Sample Speaking Test

Speaking Lab 3

that shoe rack. It's still helping to keep my boy's room tidy...and no more sprained ankles
for my wife!

Speaking Lab 3
Part 3: Transcript
Q1 We've been talking about something that you made and I'd like to discuss one or
two more questions that are related to this. Firstly, let's consider hand-made
versus machine-made items. Can you comment on the popularity of hand-made
versus machine-made products in your country?
A1 Unfortunately, these days hand-made items tend to be more expensive than machinemade and as a result machine-made items are more popular in my country...because
they're cheaper. I think this is due to labour costs. If a machine can produce large
quantities of products automatically, this will always be cheaper when compared to

human labour. A person needs to be paid a wage, but a machine...well, it can work
day and night, I guess.
Q2 Are there any things in your country which are only made by hand?
A2 Only handmade...well, I know that some types of furniture are only handmade. Of
course this furniture is quite a lot more expensive and generally (of) better
construction than the....umm...machine made. Another thing that comes to mind is
jewellery. Most women desire a unique piece of jewelry...I know my wife...when I
got a ring made for my wife it was completely hand made...in fact, we gave the
design we wanted to the jeweller and he made it by hand. I guess there are other
things but I can't think of any others at the moment.
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Speaking Lab 3

Q3 Do you think in the future that handmade products will no longer be made?
A3 That's an interesting question. Of course we understand that machine made products
are cheaper to make. The bottom line for companies is that they need to make profits.
If a company can make more and more products and pay less and less to make them,
then I believe that mechanisation will win over hand-made products.
Q4 Ok. I'd like us to lastly consider creativity in general. Do you think people learn
creativity or is it something that comes naturally?
A4 Learn creativity...do people learn creativity...mmm. Well, I know some creative
people, especially artists, and I say to them, how can you draw like that? You know I
can only draw 'stick figures' but they can draw in such detail. They usually say to me,
I've always been able to draw and it comes naturally to me. I think that if you're good
at something and if you like it, you spend time at it. So what usually happens is the
naturally good artists tend to draw more so they get better and better.

Q5 Do you think that there are more or less creative people living in your country
today?
A5 Well...more or less creative...in my country we are often coming up with new
inventions – especially in the area of ‘environmentally friendly products’. I saw in the
newspaper recently that a new device for removing - or at least reducing - carbon
monoxide in vehicle emissions was made available to the public. I don't remember
how it worked but I remember thinking that there are still creative people around in
my country so I guess I would have to say that there are still some around, but
whether there are more or less than in the past, I couldn't say with any certainty.
Q6 What might be the effects of reduced creativity in society?
A6 Well, if people are less creative, then I believe society as a whole suffers. We need
creative people, problem solvers who are able to find problems and devise solutions.
I guess if a society becomes lazy, you know, sitting all day and night in front of the
television, if they have no goals or ambitions in life, nothing to drive them toward
achievement, then creativity suffers and society, I believe would suffer. People
would loose the spark or interest in life, it would be a terrible thing for any society to
lose its creative people!

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