2
people run this conversation
6 min
The shortest conversation
One minute to prepare, two to speak, then follow-ups. Rehearse it in the fortnight before, not the night before.
Two minutes alone on a card you were given one minute to think about, with nobody to rescue you at ninety seconds.
What actually happens
One of them is usually the real reason. What sits underneath it is what actually gets scored.
/01
“You write full sentences and then read them.”
Not sentences. Four or five nouns, one per bullet, plus one specific detail you can expand if you run short, that detail is the whole difference between two minutes and ninety seconds.
/02
“You hit the last bullet at sixty seconds.”
The bullets are a floor, not a plan. Most people sprint through all four and are left with a minute and nothing to say.
/03
“You start repeating the question in different words.”
When you feel yourself running out, the move is to go smaller and more specific rather than broader. A concrete example buys thirty seconds; a generalisation buys five.
/04
“You are still talking when the examiner starts the next question.”
Two, straight after, and they are part of the same score. Stopping cleanly matters more than finishing your thought.
Bring the real thing: the job description, the date on the letter, the words the school used. Everyone who runs the long turn will work from what you actually walked in with.
How a first conversation worksWho you will be talking to
In whichever order helps. The first 5 minutes with a free partner cost nothing, so you can talk to two of them before you choose.
5 min freeFull speaking test
5 min freeFull speaking testWhat it costs
A harder conversation simply runs longer. The shortest way to rehearse the long turn is 6 min.
You pay for the seconds you talk, and the minutes come off a balance you already hold. Nothing renews, and you are never sent a bill. Plans and refunds.
Exam format
13 min
is how long a conversation at this difficulty runs
Nine minutes: the card, the long turn, and the discussion that follows it.
At $50 an hour, rounded up to the 60-minute booking nobody will sell you less than.
Your first 5 minutes
01
The persona gives you one. Do not pick your own topic, choosing is not part of the test.
The terms, in full
02
The score shows exactly when you ran out, which is usually earlier than it felt.
Paid for out of your free minutes
Questions
Nearby
The rest of Exams first, then everything else at the same difficulty.
All the situations
B1 · workingB2 · confidentC1 · advancedNative paceAll three parts, timed, with an examiner who does not help you.3 peoplefrom 13 minPart one questionsC1 · advancedNative paceShort answers about your own life, which is where most people overrun.1 personfrom 5 minBehavioral round
B1 · workingB2 · confidentC1 · advancedNative paceTell me about a time. Then: what did you actually do, and what would you do differently.3 peoplefrom 12 min