B1 Preliminary Speaking Parts 3 & 4

In the B1 Preliminary Speaking exam there are 4 parts. Obviously it is important to practise all of the parts, but B1 Preliminary Speaking Part 3 and Part 4 are always on the same topic, so it is a good idea to practise them together. B1 Preliminary Speaking Part 3 is a collaborative task where you discuss options with your partner. B1 Preliminary Speaking Part 4 continues on with the same topic from Part 3, but doesn’t have any visual aid. In this post, we’ll look at the topics to expect and the two classic task types in Parts 3 and 4. You can also download 2 example speaking papers for Part 3 and 4 of the Preliminary exam.

Topics for the speaking exam

The B1 Preliminary handbook specifies a series of topics that can appear in the exam. Any of these could appear in the speaking exam.

• Clothes
• Daily life
• Education
• Entertainment and media
• Environment
• Food and drink
• Free time
• Health, medicine and exercise
• Hobbies and leisure
• House and home
• Language
• People
• Personal feelings, experiences and opinions
• Personal identification
• Places and buildings
• Relations with other people
• Services
• Shopping
• Social interaction
• Sport
• The natural world
• Transport
• Travel and holidays
• Weather

B1 Preliminary Speaking Part 3 example

In Part 3 of the B1 Preliminary Speaking Exam you will be asked to talk about a situation together with your partner for about 2 minutes.

Two useful situations to practise are choosing activities for a group and choosing a gift or prize. Our materials below include one of each. Generally most of the options are good, but there may be one or two bad ones mixed in. Don’t worry about talking about all of the pictures, but you should try to talk about at least a few because it will create more variety and less repetition.

Here is an example of a B1 Preliminary Speaking Exam Part 3.

Now, in this part of the test you’re going to talk about something together for about two minutes. I’m going to describe a situation to you. A family with two teenage children is planning a holiday and they want to do some activities together as a group. Here are some activities they could do. Talk together about the different activities the family could do together and say which would be most interesting for everyone. All right? Now, talk together. Approximately 2 minutes Thank you.

Use the family-holiday visual in the preview below with this script.

B1 Preliminary Speaking Part 4 example

In Part 4 of the B1 Preliminary Speaking Exam you will be asked to speak with your partner about the same topic that you saw in the Part 3 task. The examiner asks questions related to the topic, inviting individual answers and discussion with your partner. This part lasts for approximately 3 minutes.

Here is an example of a B1 Preliminary Speaking Exam Part 4.

Use the following questions, as appropriate: • Where did you last travel? (When did you go?) • Do you prefer travelling with family or with friends? (Why?) • What’s the best place to visit in (candidate’s country)? (Why?) • Is it better to travel in your own country or to visit another country? (Why?) • Some people say travelling is a good way to learn new things. Do you agree? (Why? / Why not?) Thank you. That is the end of the test.

The materials

Practise with these B1 Preliminary Speaking Part 3 tasks and Part 4 questions. Either have your students practise in pairs or put them in groups of three with one examiner and two candidates.

EXAM PART: Speaking Parts 3 and 4

EXAM SKILLS: Expressing opinions, making a decision, discussing everyday topics

TIME: 10 minutes per pair task + feedback

PREPARATION: One copy of the speaking script and tasks for each pair or group of three

We also have 5 complete B1 Preliminary Speaking exams as part of Breakout English’s premium materials collection.