Best Practices:

If you feel nervous: begin by repeating/ reading the question. ” What is your village,town or city
like? It is …….
If you need time to think, say: Let me see… or Hmm.. I would probably say..
Always use a stopwatch or ,mobile phone to time your answers.
I enjoy reading books in my free time. I especially enjoy non-fiction books. I’m also interested
in politics. I love watching debates on TV and trying to mimic the speakers. I love (verb + ing
) listening to K-pop music. I make time to play with my kids on the weekend, and when I can, I
usually watch TV, in particular, the news. When I have the chance I make my own t-shirts and
clothes on my old sewing machine. One of my other interests is camping . I prefer outdoor
activities and spend a lot of time gardening. I’m growing cucumbers this year.

Example of a speaking structure:

In my free time I like______________.
It is______________, because____________.
I also like to____________, and___________.
I think is fun_________, because_________.
(Conclusion)That’s why free time is important to me
Expanding on a topic.
When I am________________ , I feel___________.
I wish I could ______________ all day, and I even forget about everything else.
I enjoy doing____________ with my friend (friends), because ________________.

Part 2- Giving a Basic Description of picture /Opinion/ Comparing with own situation
There are 3 task from part 2 of the Aptis speaking exam: 1. Describe the picture. (You have to
speak for 45 seconds ) 2.Giving an opinion. (You have to speak for 45 seconds )3. Comparing
with own situation/experiences. (You have to speak for 45 seconds)
Question 1: Describing the picture.
DESCRIBE , SPECULATE , and REACT.

DESCRIBE THE PICTURE:

Who do you see? Where are they? What are they doing? What do they look like? How do you think they feel? What’s in t
What’s the weather like?(if applicable)

It’s best to give a general impression or description rather than separate details. And if you have time give short details ab
picture.
Example:

This is a picture of a busy neighborhood.

There are five people in the picture. I think they are at a family event. The man on the right is making a toast.

I can see many skyscrapers in the background.

SPECULATE

This is a busy, bustling city. It must be New York.

She looks very sad. Perhaps no one remembered it was her own birthday.

I suppose it’s a holiday.

They all look very happy. The woman on the left is wearing skiing gear. They might be getting ready to go on vacation.

The man is wearing a tailored suit and a top hat. He must be Japanese because of the flag on his briefcase. The woman be

They are all wearing formal clothes. They might be getting ready for a wedding.

The girl in the middle seems to be excited. She must be getting ready for a fun adventure..

He must be the child’s father.

She could be his grandmother.

They seem to be really relaxed.

She looks very sad.

She looks surprised. Perhaps she’s meeting and old friend.

I get the impression he is hurt because he is holding his head.

It’s not clear whether it’s a competition or not.

REACT

I like this photo. It reminds me of my family.This photo makes me think of my own mother and the time we celebrated

I would love to try this. In fact, I’m going to try it this weekend.

I like this picture, though I’m afraid of dogs and I am not keen on being around animals.
Useful structures and vocabulary for describing a photograph
Beginning you description

This is a picture of………..

It shows………… key features)

Key tenses & structures

Present continuous: He’s riding a bicycle. They’re running under a bridge.

There is/are + object + verb +ing:

There’s a boy riding a bike. There are several people having dinner here.

Speculating (making guesses)

It looks as if… + a sentence (he/she/ it +is+ ing / they are + ing / there is/ are … etc.)

(He /She/ It looks …. or / They look like…) + a noun

(He/ She/ It looks …. or / They look…)+ an adjective.

I think..( he’s / she’s/ they’re probably)… (Verb + ing)

(He/She/ it/ they) might be… or/ must be…

Spatial language (Where in the picture you are talking about)

In the foreground / background…

Next to / Behind/ in front of… this, there is/ are…

Paraphrasing (explaining a word that you can’t remember)

It’s a thing that you use for…(making pancakes/ flipping eggs over in the pan)

It’s similar to a …

It looks like some kind of..

Question Two : Opinion

To do this we usually use adverbial phrases at the start of the sentence.
Here are some phrases/structure to use when giving an opinion.

Expressing your opinion

I think that…

Personally…

Surprisingly…

And after expressing your opinions, here are some ways that you can justify them:

Justifying you opinion

because.. (+subject verb)

as…(+subject verb)

since… (+subject verb)

because of… (+noun phrase)

due to….(+noun phrase)

as a result of…. (+noun phrase)

Question Three: Comparison with your own situation.

I would definitely choose picture one as I like……..

I guess my first choice would be picture two.

For me, the most important thing is to …………

I don’t think it really matters where you go as long as …………

Personally, I would prefer …………

Of course, the good thing about living in the city is that there are tons of facilities and entertainment. On the other han
less stressful.

I wouldn’t mind being on a beautiful island like that, but on the other hand, I think I would be bored to death after a co

If I had to choose one of these places, I would definitely go for the one in the picture at the bottom.
3 questions. 45 seconds each.
Question One: Describe, Compare, and Contrast(see expressions from Part Two) . Question Two:
Speculate about these two situations/pictures Question Three: Choose one of the images or
situations

Question 1

Describing two pictures: In the first picture, I can see… / In the other picture, there are/is…../ Looking at the
(fist/second) picture I can see…/ Which may show…/ (They/He/She/) may be (verb+ing)..
Structures and vocabulary for comparing and contrasting two photographs

Things in common: Both pictures show/have / I think they both are (in/on/of..) / There is/are(_____) in both

pictures… /Similarly in the second picture, the first picture has…

Contrasting the pictures: There are several differences. / In the top picture is(____) whereas, in the bottom picture..

/In the picture on the right whereas , the picture on the left../ The picture of(___)is… / It looks like../ However,

the picture of(___) looks like…/ They look like..

Highlighting differences: The main difference between the pictures is…. / The main focus of the (first/top/L/R))

picture is (_____)whereas.. /After looking at these images , the biggest difference is ….

Adding ideas: In addition… / What’s more…. / One more thing…

Example Answer:

Both pictures show people at work. There are computers in both pictures. However, there are several

important differences. In the top picture or the picture on the (L/R) the man looks quite stressed. I think

she is probably a manager or a boss, whereas, in the bottom picture the man looks very relaxed. He probably

works as an Artist or in a museum . The woman might be preparing for a deal or a stressful decision. However,

the picture of the man looks like and nice peaceful environment, but the woman looks like her workplace is a

crowded stressful place to work………..

Question 2

Structures and vocabulary for speculating and choosing

Speculating :

I imagine it would be….(adjective)/ I would find it… (adjective) / It might be nice to.. / I could see myself…./

Perhaps it would be / I suppose … /I guess it would be nice to..

Question 3

Choosing one image / situation : I would choose the top/ bottom situation/ image because…/ I think I’d prefer
to… (verb) because… / I think I’d prefer to (verb) because….. /I would definitely choose to…. /
It would probably be better to… because…./ I doubt I would like to _____in picture (1/2) but I would prefer
to)_____in picture (1/2)/ In my opinion (1/2) would be better. because..