SPEAKING 

The APTIS speaking test has four parts:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 1- Giving personal information

These are the typical questions you will find in part 1: questions which are easy to answer and give you an opportunity to relax. You have 30 seconds to answer each question.

For this part you can use the following structures:

Most common questions:

1. Please describe this room.

2. Please tell me about your family.

3. Please tell me about your hobbies.

4. Please tell me about your work or studies.

5. Please tell me about your favourite food.

6. What do you like doing in your free time?

7. What is the weather like today?

8. What is your typical day like?

9. What is the food like in your country?

10. What is your village/town/city like?

11. How do you like to spend your holidays?

12. What did you do yesterday?

13. What did you have for breakfast yesterday?

14. Who is your favourite Singer?

15. Who is your favourite film star?

16. Have you got any plans for this weekend?

17. What is your favourite time of the year?

18. What was your first school like?

19. Tell me about the last book you read.

20. Tell me about the last film you watched.

For this part, you can use the following structures:

• Enjoy, like, love, adore, prefer, hate, be keen on, be into + verb ING

• Usually, sometimes, always, never + present simple

Example answers:

1. Interests and leisure time

• I thoroughly enjoy/like/love reading.

• I´m really into

• I’m keen on

• When I have the chance, I…

• One of my interests is…

• My preferred leisure activity is ….ing

• My favourite pastime is…

2. Family

• There are four of us in my family.

• My immediate family lives in Lebrija.

• My extended family consist of at least 30 relatives.

• We are a close-knit family and meet each other for family gatherings.

• I was raised in a lovely neighbourhood.

• I have 5 siblings.

3. My job

• I work as a

• My job is very demanding, but it is rewarding

• I often work long hours.

• Apart from teaching, one of my responsibilities is to organize exams.

• I’m responsible for managing the activities.

• In my work, I deal with …

• My work involves not only teaching, but also running the English club as well.

• I commute one hour to work.

• I usually get to work by…

4. The weather

• It’s incredibly hot today, but it may rain in the evening.

• The weather has become quite unpredictable recently.

• It’s boiling hot today, I hope it will cool down a bit in the evening.

• It’s very sunny and humid.

• It’s a lovely day today, bright and sunny with only a few clouds in the sky.

• The temperature is not too bad either.

5. Likes and dislikes

• I haven’t got much spare time, but when I do have time for myself I enjoy reading.

• I adore playing with my nephews/kids. They are so funny.

• I am mad about

• I am crazy about I’ve got quite a collection.

• I don’t mind doing most household chores, but I absolutely hate ironing.

• I thoroughly dislike loud parties.

• I can’t stand traffic jams. I get so frustrated when I’m stuck in one, which is almost every day.

6. Holidays and travel

• I love travelling.

• I have never been to China, but I want to go there one day.

• I am planning to go to the USA next summer. I want to do some sightseeing.

• I would like to go to Russia one day.

• I have been to the UK a few times and I thoroughly enjoyed the place.

• When I’m on holiday, I like to put my feet up and do nothing. If I get the chance, I like to go to the beach and do some sunbathing.

• I would like to go on a walking holiday one day.

7. Media

• I spend a lot of time watching TV.

• Sometimes I read newspapers, but I prefer the internet.

• I find TV shows rather boring.

• Soap operas have a predictable and meaningless plot.

8. Books

• The best book I have ever read is…

• I like romantic/science fiction/horror/drama/adventure/mystery books.

• The last book I read was called…

• It was about a woman/child that…

• It has an interesting and exciting plot.

9. Films

• The best film I have ever watched is…

• I like romantic/science fiction/horror/drama/adventure/mystery films.

• The last film I watched was called…

• It was about a woman/child that…

• It has a very interesting and exciting plot.

10. Food

• At the moment I am on a diet, so I avoid deep fried food, but I make sure I have at least one nourishing meal a day.

• I never skip

• I enjoy eating out and my favourite place is … This restaurant is very popular, so you need to book a table in advance.

• I have a sweet tooth, so for dessert, I particularly like chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on top.

11. Health and fitness

• I’m off colour

• I’m a bit under the weather I think I’ve got a cold coming on.

• I’m out of shape, so I’ve decided to do some yoga and aerobics in my local fitness club.

• It’s important to keep your body in good shape. Besides, exercising also uplifts your mood.

Part 2- Basic description of a picture and comparison with your own experience.

This part has 3 questions and you have 45 seconds to answer each one. In the first question you have to describe a picture (please, remember to speculate and react to the picture. Probably describing it would not be enough); in the second you will need to give an opinion, and in the third you will be asked to compare with your own situation or experience.

Here you have some useful expressions you can use:

1. Beginning your description

-This is a picture of… (main topic).

– It shows… (describe key features)

– We can see…

2. Spatial language

• In the foreground I can see…

• In the background I can see…

• On the left/right there is/are…

• Next to/behind/In front of… there is/are…

• In the middle…

3. Key tenses and structures

• Present continuous.

• There is/are + object + verb + ing

4. Speculating

• I think he/she is…

• In my opinion…

• I suppose…

• I would say that…

• He/She/It/They might/must be…

• He/she/it looks + adj

• He/she/it looks like + n

5. Paraphrasing

• It’s similar to a…

• It looks like some kind of…

• It’s a thing you use for + verb ing

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Part 3- Describe, compare and speculate.

This part has 3 questions and you have 45 seconds to answer each one. Most of the times question 1 is to describe, compare and contrast; question 2 is to speculate about the two situations in the pictures; and question 3 is to choose one of the images or situations.

1. Beginning your comparison.

• Both pictures show… (common topic)

• There is/are… in both pictures.

2. Contrasting the pictures.

• In the left picture I can see… while/whereas in the right picture…

• In the left picture there is/are… on the contrary/in contrast, in the right picture…

• I imagine it would be… (+ adj)

• I suppose…

• I would find it… (+ adj)

• He/she/it/they might/must be…

Part 4- Discussion of personal, abstract ideas.

In part 4 you will be shown an image, and presented with three points to discuss. You will have 1 minute to prepare your answer (you can make notes), and 2 minutes to answer it. In this part you will see an image, but you will not be asked to describe it as the picture is only used as a visual prompt to help you draw upon your own experiences

Example on how to answer to this part by linking the three questions asked:

Concerning to the first question I have to say that (answer your 1^st question in approximately 45 seconds)

Secondly, answering to if/wh- (mention the second question and answer it in approximately 45 seconds)

To finish, I don’t have a clear opinion about (mention the third question), but if you ask me I would say that (answer in approximately 45 seconds)