Perhaps the most important thing you should know about every exam in the Cambridge exams is that you need to be better than a B1 student - in other words, if you only say things that a B1 student can say, that's not good enough. That may seem like a really obvious thing to say, but it's especially important for Part 1 of the Speaking exam, because you might be asked a question like this: What do you like to do in your free time?
You might give an answer like this: I like to spend time with my friends, listen to music, and play football.
That answer may be true, but a B1 student can say this, so it's not good enough. So how should you answer these questions?
First of all, you only have 30 seconds to answer. To help you know how long that is, your answer can be 3 short sentences or 2 long sentences. Your answer should contain at least one interesting grammar point (again, B2 level, one that a B1 student couldn't do) and a few interesting vocabulary. You can check out a list interesting grammar here.
What do you like to do in your free time?
NOTE: Strangely enough, it's possible to answer this question without using the word like. You don't have to say I like listening to music, you can say Well, usually after a long day at work or school I listen to music and just chill out on my couch.
Grammar we could use to answer this question:
present simple, present perfect (simple or continuous), relative clauses, 1st conditional, clauses of concession, or anything else.
Vocabulary you could use:
to be into + noun/gerund - to like something: I'm not really into doing anything outdoors.
hang/chill out with someone - spend time with someone: In the evenings my friends and I go to a bar and hang out, have a few drinks, and maybe play some pool.
manage to do something - be able to do something despite some difficulty almost stopping you: I love going to the cinema, although I don't manage to go very often since it's so expensive.
take up + noun/gerund - start doing a new hobby: I've recently taken up painting and I've really enjoyed doing that when I have the time.
enjoy + noun/gerund - like: I enjoy reading. I'm kind of a bookworm so I spend a lot of time at home, or if the weather's nice, I'll go read at a park.
a bookworm - someone who reads a lot
a film/movie buff - someone who watches a lot of movies (and usually knows a lot about them, i.e. the names of the actors, what other films the director has made, etc.)
a gym junkie - someone who works out at the gym a lot
work out - to do exercise: I try to work out at least three times a week.
There are plenty of other useful vocabulary you could use, but I hope that you can see that our answers need to be more complex and interesting than what may have been expected of you in the past. So how can you practice for this part? You can actually prepare and rehearse some of your answers, as they always ask you about the same things: family, friends, cities, work, study, hobbies, sport, travel, and your country. Here are some example questions that you could be asked:
- What do you most like about the place where you live?
- What do you usually do at the weekend?
- Would you prefer to work for a big or small company?
- Have you ever used English while traveling?
- Who are you most like in your family?
- Do you enjoy reading?
- What sports do people play most in your country?
- Do you plan to study anything in the future?
To practice, choose one of these questions, write a 2 sentence answer for it including plenty of interesting vocabulary and at least 1 interesting grammar point, and time yourself. Your answer should be between 20-30 seconds. You also need to make a plan for if you get a question like this: Do you enjoy reading?
What do you say if you don't like reading? No I don't? That's not a good enough answer. They are asking you these questions to make you talk, so if they ask you What sports do you enjoy doing? and you don't like doing any sports, you can say something like, These days I don't do any sports. When I was younger I used to play football with my friends, but I haven't done that for many years. I much prefer to......
Again, the point of these questions are to make you talk. You do not have to be honest - please lie if that helps you talk more or use more interesting vocabulary. Is your hometown the most boring place on earth and you can't think of anything to say about it? Say you live in a city that you are familiar with and talk about that. Are you unsure about what you want to study at university? Have you never had a job? Just choose a career that you know a little about and talk about that. Be prepared to talk about all of these subjects, and you'll be able to fly through Part 1 of the speaking exam with no problem.
*BONUS TIPS*
Students have told me that being able to confidently answer in Part 1 helped them to relax and be more confident for the rest of the Speaking exam.
You can also voice record yourself to listen to your intonation.
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