Speaking C1

genuine communication elements

active learning cognitive challenge
solid scaffolding approach
ideal cognitive challenge communication
project-based approach skills
21st century skills learning
game-design elements scaffolding

Don’t feel restricted by the exam format! Use exam practice

material as a resource and adapt it to suit your purposes.
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION  personal details  occupation  family  likes and dislikes  physical appearance  first
language  character  image

HOUSE AND HOME & LOCAL ENVIRONMENT  types of accommodation  interior design  local & regional
services/amenities  regional geographical features  national flora and fauna  region-specific phenomena

DAILY LIFE  at home  at work  income  prospects  stress  money management

FREE TIME, ENTERTAINMENT  leisure, hobbies and interests  TV, radio, cinema, theatre  computer, internet 
intellectual/artistic pursuits  sports  press  music  photography  the written word (reading, letter-writing, diaries
etc)  exhibitions, museums  leisure/work ratio

TRAVEL  public & private transport  traffic & traffic control  ‘green’ travel  holidays  accommodation  entering
and leaving a country  common currency eg. the euro  migration

RELATIONS WITH OTHER PEOPLE  family relationships  friendship  manners  social conventions  anti-social
behaviour

SHOPPING  shopping facilities  foodstuffs  clothes, fashion  household articles  prices  ethical shopping  retail
therapy

FOOD AND DRINK  eating habits  sourcing food locally  fast food  organic food  year round availability  diets 
food fashions

SERVICES  communications  financial services  emergency services  leisure facilities  care for the elderly  IT in
the community  diplomatic services  employment agencies

PLACES & LOCATION  satellite navigation systems  World Heritage sites  locating motorways and airports 
protecting open spaces  how geography affects people  alternative places to live eg. underwater, on Mars

LANGUAGE  foreign language ability  accents and dialects  preserving minority languages  bilingualism  universal
languages eg. Esperanto  body language

WEATHER  climate and weather  weather forecasting  climate change  extreme weather  weather and mood

MEASURES AND SHAPES  statistics  processes  importance of maths in everyday life

EDUCATION  schooling  subjects  qualifications and examinations  education systems  teaching and learning
THE ENVIRONMENT  recycling  pollution  global warming  endangered species  future of the planet

BELIEFS  the paranormal & supernatural  superstitions  unexplained phenomena eg. UFOs, coincidences etc.

ARTS  modern art, theatre, architecture  classical art, theatre, architecture  literature  popular culture

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY  scientific development  space exploration  power of the computer  important
inventions  genetic modification  ethics  animal testing

SOCIETY  individual rights  family life  parental responsibilities  social responsibilities  equal opportunities 
human rights  citizenship  the global village
COLLOCATIONS, CHUNKS, SENTENCE FRAMES, PHRASAL VERBS, BINOMINALS

Sentence stems and sentence frames

From my perspective, … The main difference between … At the end of the day, …
and … is that …
Another perspective is that … All things considered, …
This relates to my life because …
I’m convinced that … What I found particularly
Despite the fact that … fascinating about …
Based on what I know, it seems
to me that … What really gets me is that… Compared to other European
capitals, …
Having said that … He wanted nothing more than…
It is my mother who always plays
To make a long story short, … I vividly remember saying to my
the role of…
mum…
Considering these points, I would
All in all, taking everything into
argue that … I have considerable difficulty in …
account, …
I can’t help thinking that … Under no circumstances can you
Sometimes, in order to feel
…
Due to the fact that … confident, …
To cut a long story short, …
Unlike my brother, I’ve always … Considering the aspects of our
No matter where I go, … education system,
In contrast to …, I have …
 TAKE

(be) taken Emma was somewhat taken aback by his directness.

aback Derek was taken aback when a man answered the phone.
take after The baby took after his mother.
take apart Tom was always taking things apart in the garage.
The police took the house apart looking for clues.
take away They were taken away in a police bus.
Fish and chips to take away, please.
`Tell me again about the picture.' `It's beautiful. It's so beautiful it takes your breath away.'
take back You’d better take back that remark.
If the shirt doesn’t fit, take it back to the shop.
Having the grandchildren around takes me back to the days when my own children were small.
take down She made us take down all the posters.
Can I just take some details down?
take in Tom is always taking in stray animals.
The doctor explained possible treatments, but she was not taking it in.
Don’t be taken in by products claiming to help you lose weight in a week.
The police have taken him in for questioning in connection with the murder of a girl.
take off He wouldn't take his hat off.
He took off at once and headed back to the motel.
We eventually took off at 11 o'clock and arrived in Venice at 1.30.
 In 1944, he met Edith Piaf, and his career took off.
Mike can take off his father to perfection.
take on Don't take on more responsibilities than you can handle.
He's spoken to a publishing firm. They're going to take him on as of January 1st.
His life had taken on a new dimension.
take out We’re taking my folks out for a meal next week.
Before taking a loan out, calculate your monthly outgoings.
You can take out six books at a time.
Don’t take it out on me just because you’ve had a bad day.
take over Their plan was to take over the company's main electric vehicles division.
His widow has taken over the running of his empire, including six London theatres.
Cars gradually took over from horses.
take to He was a strange teacher whom the children had never really taken to.
My dad has taken to getting up at 6 and going jogging.
She took to dancing like a duck to water.
take up Roger took painting up for a while, but soon lost interest.
The headteacher takes her post up in August.
The hospital manager has promised to take the matter up with the members of staff involved.
Increasingly, more farmers are taking up the challenge of growing asparagus.
The little time I had outside of school was taken up with work.
I’ll take you up on that offer of a drink, if it still stands.

Do you think being educated at home has any advantages? Why?

Kids take to new routines quickly, … / Homeschooling will never take over / replace schools… well, I take it back, ….

phrasal verbs (0,6% of English)

binominals (0,7% of English: more common than phrasal verbs)

Alliteration: Rhyming:

 black and blue  here and there

 bread an butter  loud and proud
 from dawn to dusk  sink or swim
 fast and furious  smash and grab
 mix and match  wine and dine
 now or never
 part and parcel
 spick and span
 tit for tat Opposites:

 all or nothing
 come and go
 friend or foe
 life or death
Synonyms:  sink or swim
 trick or treat
 here and there
 win or lose
 hustle and bustle
 safe and sound
 sick and tired
 wine and dine
Part 1
What do you do at the weekend?

DEVELOPING IDEAS / EXTENDING ANSWERS

a) I like surfing.
b) I usually go surfing: this is something I’m really FANATICAL about. It lets me exercise, UNWIND,
and GET OUT AND ABOUT. I prefer to surf in isolated locations, though, I MUST ADMIT I’m a
little bit afraid of SHARK ATTACKS these days.

How to say you have no idea (Why do some people keep diaries in your opinion? / How far do you agree that
handwriting reveals a lot about your personality?)

How to evade a question (Why do some people think that a common currency is a threat to their country?)

How to ask for clarification (Have you ever fallen out with your best friend? / Would you describe yourself as an avid
reader?)
GET RID OF YOUR CARDS

INSERTING A WORD (sts are each given a card / incorporate the ’secret item’ as unobtrusively as possible)

RECORDING YOUR ANSWERS (Voice recordings transcribed and analysed: Did I say that?)

ANSWER IN A CHAIN (practise how to extend your answer)

Part 2

Respond + initiate interaction

REGISTERS! Same situation in different registers

How to react: Intonation practice vocally (Ooo! Mmm! Wow!) and verbally (Oh no! I see! Really? Rubbish! That’s
awful! Incredible! You’re joking!)

Memorising short dialogues and act them out (respond verbally and non-verbally / call for a total response from the
actors / a game instinct involved)

Functions: LESS IS MORE! (Do you FANCY getting some lunch? / You OUGHT TO… / Can you give me an idea how
long… / Could you shed some light on how to …)

Rewriting (adapting, improving, extending) written dialogues

Repeating speaking tasks (The Onion)

Blocking games

Recording dialogues

Paper conversations

Computer-mediated chat: Talking in slow motion!

Part 3
Less is more!

Agreeing
Yeah, I’d go along with that. Disagreeing
I couldn’t agree more. We don’t see eye to eye on that I’m afraid.
You have a point there. I take your point but…
Although I’m not 100% convinced, I’ll go along I tend to disagree with you there.
with you for now. That’s not always the case, in my opinion.

Provide solid scaffolding (practise in Hungarian / at lower levels / use fully scripted conversations that lead to
personalisation and fluency practice)

Find topics that touch a raw nerve

Sts prepare tasks for one another

Consensus debate
Part 4

Give them more preparation time

432 activity

Shrinking story

Silent Discussion activity

Listen and ask questions

Just a Minute!

Writing / Reading aloud (useful tools for the appropriation of spoken language)
Why shopping can become an obsession for people

The importance of studying arts

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Quizlet
EGO társasjáték
spinnerwheel.com
twee.com
learnhip.com
peterakosszabo@gmail.com