Speaking
Part 2
B2 First Exam
In this section:
An overview and strategies for completing Part 2 of B2 First Speaking
B2 First Speaking Part 2
Part 2
Duration: 4 - 5 minutes
You have 1 minute to talk about two photos by yourself, and then respond to a question about your partner’s photos.
You’ll get a card with 2 photos. You must compare and contrast the 2 photos and answer the question in 1 minute.
Your partner will also be asked a question about your photos. You must respond to a question about their photos.
What type of people enjoy these activities?
What happens:
The examiner will explain the task to both of you.
The examiner will then hand Candidate A their photos.
The examiner will tell talk briefly about the photographs and paraphrase the question. This is the first time Candidate A will get to see the photos. While they are explaining the task, the student should also carefully read the question and think about what to say. There is no additional time to prepare; the time between receiving the photos and speaking is very short.
When the examiner says "all right?", Candidate A should start talking.
Candidate A talks about the photos for 1 minutes.
The examiner tells Candidate A when to stop talking.
Candidate B then is asked a question about the photos. They answer for about 30 seconds.
Then the process is repeated for Candidate B.
In this part of the test, nobody should interrupt you and you should not talk when the other candidate is talking.
The Task
You must:
Compare and contrast the photos
Answer the question
Complete all tasks within 1 minute
Common Mistakes:
Do not simply describe the photos; you must compare and contrast them. Use speculative language while doing this. For more information about speculative language, see this.
Some people stop when they make a mistake. Do not do this; just keep going.
Some people stop speaking after they have compared the photos and answered the question. Don't do this. Just continue comparing and contrasting the photos until the examiner tells you to stop.
Strategy
I find that people either say too much or too little for this task. To avoid such problems, I suggest this method:
COMPARE - Compare the photos.
focus on the most obvious comparison without saying too much.
CONTRAST - Contrast what you see in these photos.
Focus on the major differences.
Don't contrast the ideas of the photos, contrast what you see.
ANSWER THE QUESTION - There will be a question at the top of the photos which you must answer. I recommend continuing to compare and contrast the photos while answering the question.
Focus on big picture ideas so you talk about both photos before the time runs out
If you finish early, just continue to contrast the photos until the examiner tells you to stop.
Tips:
1 minute actually is not a lot of time. Keep your answers short and stay on topic.
If you tend to talk too much, try to answer in a way that addresses both photos at the same time so you don’t go over time.
You need to address both images while doing this task, so keep your ideas and answers short so you don't run out of time.
Once you've finished the task, just continue to compare the photos until the examiner tells you to stop.
Useful Language
Why are the people listening to music in these situations?
Talking about both photos:
In both photos we can see...
Both photos show...
They are quite similar because...
They are the same because....
In both photos, we can see that people are enjoying music.
Both of these photos are similar because they involve music.
Both the photos are quite similar because people are listening to music.
Talking about each photo individually:
In the photo on the right / on the top we can see…. whereas in the photo on the left / on the bottom there is….
In the first photo there is… while in the second photo there is…
In the top photo…
In the bottom photo…
While and Whereas can be used to connect two contrasting ideas in a single sentence:
You’d need to be really careful when working around electrical wires because you could lose your life while being a paramedic would require different skills.
In the photo on the top, the woman is enjoying music by herself while in the photo on the bottom they are enjoying it with other people.
In the first photo, the woman is relaxing with music whereas in the second photo, they are using it to get energized and pumped up.
Phrases like On the other hand and However are used when there are two different sentences:
You'd probably listen to music on your own if you wanted to relax yourself and were spending time at home. On the other hand, you'd most-likely go to a concert with your friends.
Using comparative language:
In this photo there is ... but / however in this one there’s…
This is as [adjective] as.... / This is not as [adjective] as....
This [noun] seems [comparative adjective] because….
Here there are more [noun] in this photo than…
Enjoying music during a concert is nice but some people just like to use music to relax.
Your answer should also include a lot of comparative and superlatives so you should study this kind of language:
Here we can see that there are a lot more people than in the other photo.
Without a doubt, the situation on the bottom would be the loudest.
Listening to music in headphones is not as loud as music at a concert.
Learn more about comparative and superlative adjectives here: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/comparative-and-superlative-adjectives
Adding an Opinion
Consider using the following alternatives to “I think”:
In my opinion…
I think...
I’d say that…
It seems to me that...
If you are less sure about your opinion, weaker openings could be:
I guess that…
I suppose that….
I’d say that…..
What type of people enjoy these activities?
Here's an example based on the first task on this page:
In both photos we can see people enjoying leisure activities. In the photo on the left, we can see people playing a game of chess, while in the photo on the right, someone looks like they are rock climbing, or rappelling, or something. I guess people who are really intellectual and smart would be interested in chess. It's a hard game that requires a lot of thinking and intelligence.... On the other hand, someone would have to be adventurous in order to rock climb. They would need to be athletic and really into sport. They probably do other sports as well. You'd have to be really courageous, whereas playing chess wouldn't need such a trait...
The follow-up task
On the exam, both you and your partner(s) will do this task with different photos. You will be asked a follow-up question about your partner's photos.
You should speak for about 30 - 40 seconds when responding to the question. This is enough time for 3 or 4 sentences.
Usually this question will ask you to use superlatives. For example: "Which activity is the most challenging?" "What do you think is most interesting?" or it may also be about your opinion about the task "What kind of leisure activities do you enjoy doing?".
Which activity would be the most interesting to do?
Well, for me personally, the activity in the second photo would be the most interesting because I love spending time in the great outdoors and I like challenging, sporty activities. I love activities that get my heart pumping, like rock climbing or ziplining. Sure, some people like chess but it doesn't appeal to a wide variety of people. Many might say it's boring, including me. So, I'd rather go repelling or rock climbing.