If you do this in part three of the B2 First or the C1 Advanced speaking exam the examiners will
go crazy. Yes! Crazy! And not in a good way! My name is Toby, this is SMASH English and here is
the one thing that you mustn't do in part three of the B2 First and the C1 Advanced speaking exam.
In part three of the B2 First and the C1 Advanced speaking exams you will be given a question
with five different things to discuss. And in case you still don't know, it will look something like
this! Wow! That looks amazing! I love it! It is your job to answer the question with your partner
in relation to the five topics that surround the question and you will be given two minutes to do
this. Now let me tell you a secret. Yes! A secret! There is one thing that examiners really really
hate when marking part three of the B2 First and the C1 Advanced speaking exams... Now I'd like you
to talk together about something for two minutes. Okay great! Here are some things that people often
have to make decisions about and a question for you to discuss. First you have some time to look
at the task. Now talk to each other about what people might have to consider when making
these decisions. Yeah totally. Well, like, I think getting married is a super tough decision. Like,
you need to make sure that the person loves you and really appreciates you and finds you super
hot and stuff, like, do you know what I mean? If you love me then you better put a ring on me!
Yes I agree, and what do you think about starting a family? I agree and what do you think about... I
agree and what do you think about... I agree and what do you think about... Oh good god! It hurts
my head! Because it is terrible! It's terrible for C1 Advanced but it's also not acceptable
for B2 First and if your teacher tells you to say it then slap them! No! No, no. We've spoken
about this before, don't slap your teachers! Just subscribe to SMASH English instead...
But the question is "why?". Why is "I agree and what do you think about" so terrible? Oh my god,
Toby that's such a stupid question! Like, "I agree" is simple vocabulary. Instead you should
say something like "I tend to adhere to your position however I would be most interested to
understand your innermost sentiments with regards to starting a family". No no, Monica. That is also
terrible. Oh my god, Toby that is impossible! I practiced that like 20 times before my speaking
exam! Look it's got nothing to do with vocabulary. It's about your interaction with your partner. The
clue that we need to look at is the marking scheme that examiners use when marking your speaking
exams. Let's start with B1 Preliminary. If you want to pass the B1 Preliminary speaking exam
then there are some things that you must do in the category of interactive communication and this
judges you on how you interact with the examiner and your partner. So let's take a look: "initiates
and responds appropriately. Keeps the interaction going with very little prompting and support".
In light of what we have just seen let us think about what a candidate is doing when they say "I
agree and what do you think about...". Well saying "I agree and what do you think about..."
is keeping the interaction going so I guess if you are taking the B1 Preliminary speaking exam then
it's a good idea to say this during the speaking exam. However this certainly is not enough to pass
the C1 Advanced exam and if you repeat this over and over again in the B2 First exam then you're
definitely not going to get higher than a three in interactive communication and, simply put,
you can do better than that. You can. I believe in you. So now let's have a look at what we
need to do for the B2 First speaking exam in the category of interactive communication. Let's see
if you can spot any differences. "initiates and responds appropriately. Maintains and develops
the interaction and negotiates towards an outcome with very little support.".
So we have two additions: develops the interaction and negotiates towards an outcome.
How exciting. I want you to think about what it means to negotiate. Is saying "I agree and what
do you think about" a form of negotiating? Is it developing the interaction? No. Not really.
Actually it does the opposite. It closes the interaction. It blocks any further development
of the topic. Think about it: if your friend is sharing their opinion with you on a new type of
biscuit that they really enjoy and you just say "I agree and what do you think about snakes?"
well, you're not developing the interaction, are you? And this is why examiners don't like it when
you simply say "I agree". A negotiation is taking two ideas and trying to synthesize them. Maybe the
two ideas agree, maybe the two ideas disagree, it doesn't matter but it's about combining two ideas
together to create a synthesis. Okay I will be honest with you... maybe, just maybe, if
you repeatedly say "I agree and what do you think about" in part three of the B2 First speaking exam
you will just about score a 3: that is a pass. However I know that you know that you are better
than that and for that reason let us look at the marking scheme for interactive communication at
the C1 Advanced level. "initiates and responds appropriately linking contributions to those
of other speakers. Maintains and develops the interaction and negotiates towards an outcome".
And this right here is the key! This is why we never say "I agree and what do you think about..."
We need to link what we say with what the person before us has said and this is called
"a conversation". A conversation? A conversation! Oh no, Toby! I don't want to have a conversation!
That is the one thing that I stand against! Conversations! What is the point in them!?
If you simply say "I agree" and then change the topic to something else then you are not
acknowledging what your partner has said, you are not linking your contribution with what your
partner has said before you. Instead you are just producing a pre-packaged response "I agree". Well,
to be honest, you could say that for anything and this is why the examiners hate it. So instead
you need to ensure that you do three things! Number one: acknowledge what your partner has said
by rephrasing it. Number two: make your own point in relation to theirs and this is how you express
your opinion and number three: connect it to the next topic and I know, I know that seems
like a lot to think about but it's not. To be honest the best advice I can give you is to
not think about it. Let's see what it looks like in practice. Well getting married is like an
incredibly difficult decision because you need to make sure you're compatible with the person.
You're going to be spending the rest of your life with them so you must make sure that you
get on well you know what I mean? Yes, Monica. If you are not compatible then this could create real
problems down the line so you should make sure that you get on very well before making such
a commitment to each other. You should also make sure that you have the same goals and aspirations
before making the decision to marry somebody such as whether they want a family
or not so I think that this topic is linked to starting a family. What do you think, Monica?
In this example Bruce is asking for Monica's opinion about a new topic but he hasn't simply
said and "what do you think about..." Instead he has carefully linked it with Monica's prior
contribution about getting married. Bruce also agreed with Monica's comments about commitment
and expressed this by rephrasing it. He then added an additional point about aspirations and future
goals and used this to link it to the next topic: starting a family. This is the sort of thing that
you should be doing and do you know what? You do it all the time! Every single time you talk
to your friends this is exactly what you do! But then for some reason when you enter the B2 First
or the C1 Advanced speaking exam you decide to say "I agree and what do you think about...". Why?
Why do students do it!? I will never understand! Just please stop! Stop doing it. Yes? Yes. So
don't panic. Don't be scared. Don't be a robot and stop saying "I agree". Instead
rephrase what your partner said to acknowledge it, add your own point and then move on to the next
topic. That's all you have to do: rephrase what your partner said to acknowledge it,
add your own point and then move on to the next topic. That's it. And with that we are finished!
Now you know the one thing that examiners hate in part three of the B2 First and the C1 Advanced
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....