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Aptis Advanced · Speaking · Part 2 · B2→C1

Speaking Part 2: experience and abstract topic (C1)

Aptis Advanced Speaking Part 2: three questions, one minute for notes, an anecdote, the move to the abstract and a C1 model answer, with mini-quizzes.

8 min video (Spanish narration)7 mini-quizzesB2→C1

1/7What you are asked to do

Part 2 of the Advanced Speaking is an abstract topic with three questions: one minute to prepare notes and two minutes to answer all three in a row. According to the exam it targets B2 level, but its top mark gives C1 and C2.

To reach C1, the descriptors ask you to answer all three questions, with well-structured speech, a range of complex constructions and connectors that mark the relationship between ideas. If you have to correct yourself or look for a word, it does not matter as long as the thread is not broken.

  • 1. Tell me about a time when you learned something important from a mistake.
  • 2. Why do you think people find it so hard to admit their mistakes?
  • 3. Should schools do more to teach young people that failure is part of learning?

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.How much time is there in Part 2 of the Advanced?
2.What level does this part target according to the exam?
3.What do the descriptors ask for to reach C1?

2/7Notes in one minute

Keywords, one line per question. If the first asks for an anecdote, note the moment, the mistake and what you learned. If the second is abstract, note two causes. If the third asks for an opinion, note your position and one argument.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.How should you take notes?
2.What do you note down for a question that asks for an anecdote?
3.What do you note down for an abstract question?

3/7The personal anecdote

The first question is usually personal and is the place to tell something concrete: when it happened, what happened and what you learned. Use past tenses precisely: past simple for the events and past perfect for what had happened before, as in I had assumed that everyone had read the schedule.

And finish with the lesson, not with the end of the story.

  • I had assumed that everyone had read the schedule.
  • What I learned from it was that assuming is not the same as checking.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.Which tense do you use for the events of the anecdote?
2.Which tense do you use for what had happened earlier?
3.What is the best way to end the anecdote?

4/7Moving to the abstract

The second and third questions are no longer about you, they are about people in general. Change your language: general subjects (people, we), verbs such as tend to and softeners such as I'd say or arguably. Order your ideas with markers (firstly, secondly, that said) and signal which question you are on with turning to or as for.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.Which subjects do you use to talk about people in general?
2.Which expressions soften a generalisation?
3.Which markers show that you are moving on to another question?

5/7Filling the two minutes

Share the time among the three questions and do not fall short on the first one. If you run out of content, you have three resources: a consequence, a contrast or a concession, such as that said or of course. And close each answer with a sentence that says what you think.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.Which resource helps you if you run out of content?
2.Which expression introduces a concession?
3.How should you close each answer?

6/7C1 model answer

In the first answer, the speaker tells of a project where they assumed everyone had read the schedule and a key date was missed; they learn that assuming is not the same as checking. In the second, they explain two reasons why mistakes are hard to admit. In the third, they argue that schools should do more.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.What did the person learn from their mistake?
2.Why do they say mistakes are hard to admit?
3.What do they propose for schools?

7/7Why it works

Our reading: in the anecdote, I had assumed is a past perfect and it ends on the lesson. In the second answer, Rarely do people feel safe enough… inverts the word order after rarely, and that said concedes without breaking the argument. In the third, if students were taught…, they would… is a second conditional, and not only would this build resilience, it would also… inverts after not only.

Check what you have learnt

You need 2 out of 3
1.Which structure is «Rarely do people feel safe enough…»?
2.Which structure is «If students were taught that failure is simply information, they would…»?
3.What does «That said» do in the second answer?

·For practice

For practice: choose three questions on an abstract topic, take a minute of notes and answer in one go, with the clock running. Then check whether you answered all three, whether you signalled which one you were on and whether you used the whole time.

Put it together

Now, practise

Choose three questions on an abstract topic, take a minute of notes and answer in one go, with the clock running. Check that you answered all three and signalled which one you were on.

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