So you have done the B2 First Speaking exam! Well done! Isn't that fantastic?
But now you want to do the C1, the CAE, the Cambridge Advanced speaking exam! And you
want to know if there is a difference between the CAE and the B2 First speaking exam! And yes
there are differences but don't worry because I will tell you all of them! Brilliant!
My name is Toby and I am a Cambridge Speaking examiner. Wow, Toby! You are so successful! ...
This is SMASH English and here is everything you need to know
about the differences between the B2 First and the CAE, Cambridge Advanced speaking
exams.
Us examiners love marking your grammar. In fact one of my favorite things to do is criticize
students that make stupid grammatical mistakes. Bruce, how important is it to have the same
interests as your friends? Well I think it is very important. Your friends don't have to have
different interests to you because if they do it can make getting along very very difficult.
What? ... "Don't have to"! Jesus, Bruce! You idiot! You meant "mustn't" not "don't
have to"! Oh what a stupid mistake! Oh my god! Bruce, you think you're C1 level?
C1 level? "don't have to"? Oh my god! Yeah but Toby, you you told me to make that mistake
for the video... No I didn't! Shut up! For the CAE speaking exams our grammatical expectations of you
are slightly different when compared to the B2 First speaking exams. So let's have a look at the
CAE marking scheme that the speaking examiners use and don't worry because I will make a video
all about this later on. The first thing to realize is that for the B2 First speaking exam
the examiners only have one category to mark you on related to your grammar and vocabulary and
it is called "grammar and vocabulary". However for the CAE, the Cambridge Advanced speaking exam
the examiners have two categories: "grammatical resources" and 'lexical resources". This is not
a problem for you, it's a problem for me because I have more things to think about and assess. So
why am I telling you? Because I want to share my problems! Because a problem shared is a problem
halved. Also I have no money! If you want to help me with that then you can donate to the channel
like KINGA SLABY did! Wow I love KINGA SLABY and I'm sure you want to be just like KINGA SLABY so
links in the comments and the description. Thanks! Desperation. Now a one on the CAE assessment scale
is the same as a three on the B2 First assessment scale and remember a three is a pass.
So if you passed your B2 First speaking exam with a grade of C then that means you are a one at the
CAE level. Yeah, I'm sorry. You're just a one. You're a ONER. Not a WINNER... A ONER. Because of
this difference in the marking scheme for the CAE Speaking exam my advice changes. Oh my god Toby
your advice changes!? Yes it changes! For the B2 First speaking exam I ask my students to avoid
using the present simple at all costs and instead use more complex grammatical structures like
inversion for example. I love inversion. I tell my students to do this to ensure at least a three in
the grammar and vocabulary part of the B2 First speaking exam and this is because to get a three
all a student needs to do is attempt some complex grammatical forms. Yes, just attempt them. They
don't even have to get them correct they just have to try. So at the B2 First level please try! Let's
have a look at an example of what I mean. Do you think where someone is born has an influence on
their personality? Yeah totally! If I had been born in another country today I will be a very
different person. Monica has just tried to mix the third and second conditional which is fantastic.
That's an amazing thing to do! But she's done it incorrectly. But this doesn't matter!
No! Instead listen to what the examiner hears: "Hey Mr. Examiner, you're pretty cute. Also I
know that mixed conditionals exist and I can also try to use them. Wow I'm pretty smart right?".
That is all you need to do at the B2 First level. Just try! If you try you'll get a three and if you
get a three you'll pass. But this is not enough at the advanced level. No, no it's not. So how can we
get top marks in grammar at the CAE level? Well let's have a look at what we need to do to get a
five in the grammatical resources section. Here it says that the candidate must "maintain control
of a wide range of grammatical forms". This cannot be found on the B2 First marking scheme. So what
does it mean and how is it different to B2 First? Well let me tell you a secret! At the CAE level
there isn't any new grammar that you need to learn that you haven't already covered
at the B2 First level. Seriously? Seriously. Seriously? Yes! Seriously! It's the same
as the B2 First. Okay so there may be a few more inversion structures. There may be a few more
expressions with the subjunctive, and there may be a few more uses of modal verbs but in general
it's exactly the same. But in the speaking exam grammatically there is a big difference. Oh wow
no way! A B2 First student should be aware that the future perfect continuous exists for example.
They should be able to identify it in a text they should know when to use it and what it means. They
may even be able to complete grammar exercises all about it. However they probably cannot use it
naturally in conversation. A CAE student can. A CAE student should be able to produce the future
perfect continuous naturally and easily and I'm not talking about this tense in specific,
I'm using it as an example of complex grammar that a CAE student knows and is able to use with ease
when speaking. Bruce, do you think it's important for children to learn how to play an instrument?
Yeah I do. I started playing the guitar when I was a kid. In fact next year I'll have been
playing for 15 years. I think it helped me learn about dedication and perseverance. How was that?
What? Good. This clearly was not a rehearsed response. Bruce had an idea that he wanted to
express and in order to express it he had to use the future perfect continuous. This shows that
his grammatical ability does not place a limit on what he is able to say and this is necessary
at the CAE level in order to score the highest marks possible. At the B2 First level it's not and
you are not expected to be able to have this type of grammatical control. For CAE yes, yes you are.
You are probably very bored with listening to me telling students not to describe the pictures
in part two of the B2 First speaking exam and yes this advice still applies at the C1 level
except it is even more important because there are two questions to answer. Two questions?! Yes.
Oh my god, Toby there are two questions!? Yes! Two questions! This means instead of
answering one question about two pictures in one minute you must answer two questions about two
pictures in one minute. And that's not a lot of time. That's 15 seconds per question per picture.
Oh no. If you start describing without answering then you will run out of time and that's a
terrible thing. But that does not mean that there is no description involved because if you want to
answer the questions well then you will have to use some vocabulary related to the pictures. So
what happens then if you look at the pictures and you think "oh my gosh I have no vocabulary!?".
Well, the CAE, the Cambridge Advanced, the C1 exam tries to help you here. Instead of giving you two
pictures they give you three, and you must choose two pictures to talk about in the exam and that's
a really good thing. Look at the pictures and decide which two you have the most vocabulary
for and then speak about those two. Simple. Let's look at an example and these images come from
the Cambridge Handbook for Teachers. In this part of the test I'm going to give each of you
three pictures. I would like you to talk about two of them on your own for about one minute and
also to answer a question about your partner's pictures. Monica it is your turn first. Here are
your pictures. They show people attending special events. Okay, um. I would like you to compare two
of the pictures and say what the people might find interesting about these events and also how
difficult the events might be to organize. All right? Um yeah. Oh my god, come on Monica!
Which pictures should I choose? Oh my god I love fashion! I know so much about it so yeah
I'll definitely choose that picture... And oh my god tennis? No! Gross! A concert? Well yeah,
I go to concerts, so i can be a bit of a rock chick! You know what I mean? I'm a rebel....
Okay so I'm going to talk about the concert and the fashion show. Um I think people might
be interested in the fashion show because people are fascinated by beautiful things like me and um
they they could see beautiful things as something to aspire to. I reckon it would be really hard to
organize because it looks really complicated like the set is totally amazing. I cannot make out what
it is but it looks very expensive but fashion is so worth it! You can't put a price on fashion! I
think people might find the concert interesting on the other hand because it's like more inclusive.
Fashion is for the beautiful whereas music unites everyone even the dirty people outside. Oh my
god and no one is even wearing a mask! Gross! Ugly people smell! Hello!? Um this event would
probably be really easy to organize because it's just a stage in a field. Anyone could do that.
This was good. A bit weird but good. Here Monica decided that she couldn't speak about tennis. She
didn't have the understanding or the vocabulary to talk about why people might be interested in this
sport so instead she chose to describe the concert and the fashion show. This is what you should be
doing. Also notice how at the beginning Monica let the examiner know which pictures she was
going to talk about. This is good and you should do this too. Anyway, of course another great video
will be coming out all about part two of the CAE speaking exam so if you're feeling a bit confused
then don't worry, I will have a video all about it on my channel. If it's already made it'll be
here so click that link. If there's no link here then I haven't made it yet but give me time!
Jesus Christ I can only make one video a week! I cannot physically do more than that!
I already hate my life because of this channel as it is! Don't make me hate it even more! Thank you.
Parts three and four of the CAE, the C1, the Cambridge Advanced
Speaking exam are the same as parts three and four of the B2 First speaking exam.
However there are two differences. Two? Two. Two?! Yes! Two! The first difference is that you have
more time. You don't have a lot more time but you have a little bit more time. In part four of the
B2 First exam you have four minutes. In part four of the CAE exam you have five minutes. If you're
in a group of three you have eight minutes in the CAE exam for part four alone and eight minutes wow
that's a long time to talk for! And of course this means that you need to talk more obviously...
However this is not difficult because the questions at the CAE level are more interesting.
In fact I have learned most of my social skills from the Cambridge Advanced speaking exam!
Hey Bruce! Uh why am I here? I just thought us guys could hang out you know what I mean? Okay...
Bruce do you think it's likely that in the future there will be a global language that everyone in
the world speaks? What? What are you talking about!? Yeah, yeah, man... Me neither... Cool.
Seriously these questions require you to talk more so speaking will not be a problem. But
this brings me to my next point. Let's go back to that very exciting CAE, Cambridge Advanced,
C1 assessment scale! Yes! Here is interactive communication and this is how the examiners
mark you on how you interact with your partner. To get a one at the CAE level which is the same as a
three, a pass, at the B2 First level the candidate must "maintain and develop the interaction towards
an outcome with very little support". A three at the CAE level which is the same as a five
at the B2 First level requires the candidates to "link their contributions with those of the other
speakers" and this is why I tell students to never ever ever say "I agree" and instead to always
rephrase what their partner said before them. But for a five at the CAE level we have something new:
"widens the scope of the interaction". What does that mean!? It refers to the ability
of the candidates to start talking about a topic and then to slowly and naturally transition onto
other related topics. This is usually what happens in a natural conversation... if you have
social skills. Is it better to make decisions on your own or to ask other people for advice? Um
so, so Bruce what do you think? Do you prefer making decisions on your own or
asking other people for advice? To be honest I prefer making decisions on my own. I don't
think anyone else can truly understand what the best options are for me do you know what I mean?
Yeah Bruce but sometimes humans can be overly emotional so don't you think it could be better
to have someone outside of the situation evaluate it for you because they could be like impartial,
no? But Monica how could they possibly understand what's best for me? Yeah? No one knows what
my feelings are and therefore I think I am the best person to evaluate my options. Wow, Bruce
that's a bit solipsistic! Do you seriously think that only you have access to your reality?
Well yeah, Monica. No one else can truly understand what it is like to be Bruce you
know? As Joseph Conrad said in his novel "Heart of Darkness" "we live as we dream... alone".
Yeah okay. So this is a strange example but it's a good example. Monica and Bruce started talking
about the question but gradually the topic and the scope of the question was widened and they started
talking about broader and more philosophical topics. Wow! Amazing! Let's put it this way: when
you are having a conversation with your friend do you talk about one topic and then pause and look
at each other and go "I've got nothing else to say now". Well okay, I do this all the time but that's
because I am terrible company... But I don't need to take this exam! I already speak english
so...Brilliant! Normal people are able to have a nice conversation about something
and then slowly gradually transition onto another topic that is related to the first one.
Okay so don't talk about making decisions and then introduce the topic of aeroplane engines,
that makes no sense... but you wouldn't do that in a normal conversation either, would you? No!
Guys and girls, you can do this easily! Just be confident and be genuinely interested in what
your partner has to say and this actually isn't hard in the CAE exam because the questions are
interesting there will be questions that you will not have thought about before
and you will think "Wow! I don't know what my opinion is on that
so let me think about it and give my answer and I wonder what my partner thinks because maybe they
know something that I don't and if they do I want to know what I don't know and what they do know!".
That should be your attitude! Be inquisitive and have a nice thoughtful conversation with them!
Yes? Yes! And Monica what do you think? Well I suppose I can relate to what Bruce is saying
because I only ask myself for advice too but that's because I'm beautiful and perfect and I
know everything about everything already so I don't need to ask anyone else for advice.
But Bruce, if I were you I would ask me for advice too because... well, someone needs some fashion
advice! Monica, Bruce that is the end of the test. Goodbye! Yeah see you in the next video.... And
with that we are finished! Now you know everything you need to know about the differences between the
B2 First and the CAE speaking exams. If you liked the video don't forget to SMASH that like button,
subscribe if you haven't already, leave a comment down below! My name is Toby and this was SMASH
English...