A2 Key for Schools Speaking Part 1 – Teacher’s Notes

Description

Students practise both phases of the Part 1 speaking test. The activities give them supported
practice of asking and answering questions about themselves before they combine both phases in a
speaking task. There is an optional follow-up task where they practise a mock Part 1 exam.

Time required: 30–35 minutes

Materials  a ball (or an object than can be thrown and caught easily)
required:  Blank sheet of paper (and pencil if necessary)
 Handout 1 (copy one for each pair of students and cut along line)
 Follow-up activity (optional)

Aims:  to familiarise students with A2 Key for Schools Speaking Part 1

 to highlight the importance of giving long answers

Procedure

1. Explain to students that they are going to do an exercise similar to that in Part 1 of the A2 Key
for Schools Paper 3 Speaking test. Tell students that the examiner will always start with
questions asking for their name and where they live. Write the following questions on the
board and ask students in pairs to think of the answers. Tell them you are expecting full
sentences and elicit the first answer.

Questions
 What’s your name?
 How old are you?
 Where do you come from?
 Are you from ______? (write up a different country from their own here)
 Where do you live?
 Do you live in ______? (write up a different city from their own here)

Answers
 My name’s ________.
 I am ________.
 I come from ________.
 No, I come from __________.

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  I live in ______________.
 No, I live in ___________.

2. Practise asking students the questions so they can refer to the board for the structure of the
answer. As they become more comfortable with the exercise, remove the letters from each word
so that only the first letter is left:
Board work
M. n…. ________.
I a… ________.
I c… f… ________.
N., I c… f… __________.
I l… i. ______________.
N., I l… i. ___________.

3. When you feel students are comfortable with the exercise, ask them to make a circle in the
classroom and throw the ball (or equivalent) to one of the students asking them one of the
questions. Keep the above support on the board so that weaker students have it to refer to.

If your classroom does not have the space to do the circle and ball game exercise, then ask
students to work in pairs practising asking and answering the questions. Keep changing the pairs
until they have spoken to everyone in the class.

4. Explain that was the first section of Part 1 and now you are going to practise the next section.
Tell students that the examiner will ask them questions about school and their home life.

5. Draw the table below on the board

1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10

Each number represents a question:

1) What subject do you like best?

2) What clothes do you wear to school?
3) What time do you finish school?
4) What do you eat after school?
5) Please tell me something about the homework you have to do.
6) Who do you live with?
7) How many bedrooms are there in your house?
8) Where do you watch TV at home?

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 9) What’s your favourite room in your house?
10) Please tell me what you like doing at home.

6. Students work in pairs, give them a sheet of paper and tell them that they have to choose a number.
You ask them a question and they must write down their answer on the sheet of paper. They will get
one point for a one-word answer and three points if the answer includes a reason or an example.
This is to encourage them to give as full an answer as possible. Do the following question with the
class and write it on the board so they have an example to follow.

Example ‘What (school) subject do you like best?

Possible Answer ‘Art’ (one point)
I like art because I love drawing (three points)

Explain that you want them to write the answer on the paper so you can check their grammar (this
will support visual learners and the weaker learners will get help formulating longer answers) and
award points.

7. Explain that during the speaking test if they do not understand any question they are allowed to
ask the examiner to repeat it for them. Reassure them that asking to have a question repeated
will not affect their score. Elicit from students the question(s) they could use for this and write it
(them) on the board.
Possible question: ‘Could you repeat that please?’

As you go through the speaking exercise, deliberately mumble or speak fast at points and force
students to ask you to repeat the question.

8. To consolidate the questions above ask students to interview each other, combining the
questions from Phase 1 e.g. Where do you come from? Students work in pairs one using
Student A worksheet the other Student B worksheet (Handout 1).

Follow-up task

Students can do a mock test in groups of four with one student acting as an examiner
asking two students questions and another student acting as the assessor giving them
marks for each of their answers in phase 2. Students should take turns in being the
assessor and interlocutor (examiner).

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A2 Key for Schools Speaking Part 1

Student handout 1

Student A
Interview your partner asking them the following questions

1) What’s your name?

2) How old are you?
3) Where do you come from?
4) Where do you live?
5) What subject do you like best?
6) What clothes do you wear to school?
7) What time do you finish school?
8) What do you eat after school?
9) Please tell me something about the homework you have to do?

---------------------------------------------------- cut along here -----------------------------------------------------

Student B
Interview your partner asking them the following questions

1) What’s your name?

2) How old are you?
3) Where do you come from?
4) Where do you live?
5) Who do you live with?
6) How many bedrooms are there in your house?
7) Where do you watch TV at home?
8) What’s your favourite room in your house?
9) Please tell me what you like doing at home.

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A2 Key for Schools Speaking Part 1

In groups of four complete the Part 1 speaking test, take turns to be the interlocutor
(examiner) and the assessor

Example speaking test

Interlocutor
To both candidates Good morning / afternoon / evening.
Can I have your mark sheets please?

Hand over the mark sheets to the Assessor.

I’m ……….., and this is ………..

To candidate A What’s your name?

To candidate B And what’s your name?

B How old are you?

Where do you come from?
Where do you live?
Thank you.

A How old are you?

Where do you come from?
Where do you live?
Thank you.

Phase 2
Interlocutor Now, let’s talk about food.

A, what did you have for lunch yesterday?

What time do you usually have breakfast?

B, what do you usually eat after school?

Who cooks your meals at home?

Now A, please tell me something about what you like to eat with friends.

(Student A gives answer)

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 Now, let’s talk about clothes.

B, what clothes do you wear to school?

What’s your favourite colour for clothes?

A, what clothes do you wear when you go to a party?

Who helps you to buy your clothes?

Now B, please tell me something about the clothes you like to buy.

(Student B gives answer)

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