PET SPEAKING EXAM
PART 1 – INTRODUCING EACH OTHER
PART 2 – DISCUSSION ABOUT A SITUATION
PART 3 – PHOTOGRAPHS
PART 4 – DISCUSSION ABOUT A TOPIC
PART 1 Just pretend you don’t know each other. Even if you do know each other, introduce
yourselves.
PART 2 When discussing the situation given to you by the examiner you can ‘keep the
conversation flow’ going by interrupting each other, so that you’re both continually talking,
though not at the same time, of course!
A: Interrupting each other
For example: Talking about starting a book club, one of you says:
Student A: “We can go on the Internet and order new books;”
Student B immediately after: “Yes, that’s a good idea! Why don’t we phone bookshops to
get book lists of new books?”
Student A: “Yes, but we should order graded readers, which are easier for our level. I’ve
another idea, we could…………….”
B: Disagreeing with each other Another technique is to disagree with each other and give
reasons why you disagree using these expressions:
“|’m sorry, I don’t agree with you…. I’m afraid I don’t agree at all……No, I don’t think that’s
a good idea because……. ……That’s not true!…..That may be true, but what about…….? How
can you say that? ……. I agree up to a point, but what about…..?
Student A: “We don’t need to buy books, students can read e-books on the Internet.”
Student B: “I’m sorry, I don’t agree with you. Students will only use the Internet to chat
and look at websites about cars.”
Student A: “That’s not true! Many of my friends learnt to read by reading on the Internet
and it’s great fun!”
In this way both of you keep the conversation going, without stopping for a moment!
Remember, you are being tested on your ability to speak English. The more you speak the
better!
If you make a grammar or spelling mistake, don’t worry. Just keep speaking, you’re mainly
being tested for your ability to communicate effectively in English. The examiner will not
expect you to speak fluently like a native speaker of English!
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D: VERY IMPORTANT! If you can’t think of a word in English you can ask your friend
or the examiner: “What’s the English for this [pointing to something in the photograph]?”
Also, if you don’t know the English for something, you can describe it in other words: “It’s
a thing for cutting paper.” [scissors] “It’s a place where you go when you’re sick.” [hospital]
Also, if you don’t understand the examiner’s instructions, don’t pretend you have
understood! Ask, ask, ask! “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand what you said. Could you repeat
it please.”
REMEMBER, NEVER, NEVER JUST SIT THERE IN SILENCE. IF YOU DON’T
UNDERSTAND, ASK THE EXAMINER TO REPEAT HIS INSTRUCTION OR
QUESTION. You will not lose marks if you ask, but you will if you sit in silence.
PART 3
When discussing the photos, as in Part 2, remember you should say as much as you can.
Don’t just give short answers: “ Yes, it is…..It’s a city…..The people are going to work…….It’s
raining……It looks like England….”
C: Make more than one sentence about the picture in front of you:
“It looks like the center of an American city. Lots of people are going somewhere. There’s a
bridge across the road and a train on it. I think the people in the train are going to work.
Also, there are people selling things in the street. It looks like they’re selling vegetables
and cheap clothes, T shirts, jeans and sunglasses. It must be summer because the people
are only wearing thin clothes.”
D: Don’t just describe what you can see in the photographs
You can talk about
anything that comes into your head, even if it’s not in the picture, but it should be
RELATED TO THE PICTURE. You can talk about what the people in the picture are
thinking or feeling, where they’ve been, why you think they’ve been there, where
they’re going and why you think they’re going there.
“That man looks angry! I bet he’s had an argument with his wife!……That looks like the
subway. I hate going by subway in big cities, it’s always hot, crowded and smelly in the
trains, especially during the rush hour!……..That man’s walking fast; he must be late for a
meeting or something.”
PART 4
Here, you are asked to talk about a topic related to the topic, e.g. living in a city compared
with living in the country. Again, as you will be talking with your partner you could use the
same techniques as you used in PART 2 [See above].
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