About today's practice
Part 1 is the gentle opener of the Speaking test — four to five minutes of familiar questions about you. We plant it in Week 1 so that by Week 4 it’s automatic. Today’s set is the most common opener of all: where you’re from and where you live.
Part 1 has no planning time in the real test. Read each question and answer on the spot in two to three full sentences — that on-your-feet fluency is exactly what this builds.
Questions — Hometown & Home
- Where is your hometown / where are you from?
- Do you like your hometown? Why or why not?
- What kind of place is it — a city, a town or a village?
- Tell me about the home you live in.
- What’s your favourite room in your home, and why?
- Has your hometown changed much since you were a child?
- Would you like to live somewhere else in the future? Where?
More questions — build a bank
Your hometown
- What is your hometown best known for?
- What do most visitors do or see there?
- Is it a good place for young people to grow up? Why?
- Has it changed much in the last ten years?
- Is there anything you would change about it?
- Would you recommend it to a tourist? Why or why not?
Your home
- Do you live in a house or an apartment?
- How long have you lived there?
- Which room do you spend the most time in?
- What can you see from your window?
- Is there anything you would like to change about your home?
- Do you think you will live there for a long time?
Looking ahead
- Would you prefer to live in a city or in the countryside? Why?
- Is it better to rent or to own your home, in your view?
- What kind of place would you like to live in one day?
Example answers — short reply grown into a full one Do you like your hometown? Yes, I’m really fond of it. It’s small enough that I run into people I know wherever I go, and that sense of familiarity makes it feel like home in a way a big city never could. What kind of place is it? It’s a medium-sized town rather than a city. There’s one main square with all the cafés and shops around it, and you can walk almost anywhere in about twenty minutes, which I love. What’s your favourite room? Probably the kitchen, oddly enough. It’s where everyone ends up — we cook together and talk there — and in the mornings the light comes straight in, so it just feels like the heart of the house.
Pair-work sequence (~30 min)
▸ Interview · 13 min — A asks every question, B answers (~6 min); swap so B asks and A answers (~6 min). The examiner-partner keeps the pace brisk, like the real test, and resists chatting back. No planning — straight in. ▸ Extend & re-run · 13 min — New partner. Run the set again — but now every answer must carry a reason (“because…”) and one example or detail. Faster, more natural delivery. ▸ Feedback · 4 min — Whole-class: read out two answers you overheard that grew from one word into a full, natural reply.
Listen for / feedback: Mark any answer that stops at one word — push that student for a reason and a detail. Praise natural extenders: “Well, actually…”, “I’d say…”, “It depends, but…”. Note tense slips (“I go yesterday”) for a quick thirty-second correction at the end.
Flexibility: Short on time today? Assign the whole set as paired home practice — a quick voice call or an in-person run — and have each student record one answer to bring back. If the room runs ahead of schedule, this slots straight in after the wrap-up.