The document provides information about Part 2 of the FCE Speaking exam, which involves comparing two photos. It outlines that in this part, students should focus on comparing the photos, noting both similarities and differences, rather than just describing each photo individually. The document then lists 37 phrases that students can use to effectively compare and contrast the photos within the one minute time limit, such as "Both...and...", "whereas...", and "unlike...". Mastering these comparative language structures is essential for doing well on this section of the exam.

2. FCE Speaking Exam
Part 2 – Interview Questions
http://www.onlinetefltraining.com/50-fce-speaking-questions-for-part-1-the-interview/
In the first part of the exam, the interviewer will ask you and your partner several
questions about everyday topics.
Possible topics to consider:
• Area where you live or used to live
• Sports
• Leisure (entertainment)
• Work and study
• Family and friends
• Travel and holidays

3. Area where you live or used to live
• Is there anything you would like to learn about your
country?
• Which area of your country would you like to get to
know better?
• What’s the most interesting place you’ve visited
near ….?
• Could you tell me something about the area where
you grew up?
• Could you describe your family home to me?

4. Sports
• Are you interested in sport?
• Is there a sport you’d really like to try?
• What sports do people play most in
your country?
• How much exercise do you take each
week?
• Do you like to be physically active or do
you prefer relaxing?

5. Leisure
• How much TV do you watch in a week?
• Tell us about a TV programme you’ve seen recently?
• Do you have a favourite newspaper or magazine?
• What do you spend your time doing?
• Do you enjoy reading?
• What sort of books do you read?
• Does anyone you know have an interesting hobby?
• What’s the difference between reading the news in the
newspaper and watching it on TV?
• Who do you spend your free time with?
• Do you prefer to be outside or inside when you have free
time?

6. Work and study
• Do you find it easy to study where you live?
• Do you use the internet to learn new things?
• Do you prefer working on your own or with other
people?
• What kind of work would you really like to do in
the future?
• Are you happier doing mental or physical work?
• Can you remember your first English lessons?
• What do you think were the most important things
you learned at primary school?
• Would you prefer to work for a big or small
company?

7. Family and friends
• Who do you spend your free time with
• Who are the most important people in
your life?
• Do you and your friends share the
same ideas?
• Tell me about your best friend?
• Do you normally go out with family or
friends?

8. Travel and holidays
Have you ever used your English on holiday?
Where would you really like to go on holiday in
the future?
Do you like to plan your holidays carefully or do
you prefer to just go?
How do you prefer to travel? by train or by
plane?
What’s public transport like in your country?

9. FCE Speaking Exam
Part 2 – Comparing photos
http://www.usingenglish.com/articles/how-to-teach-cambridge-first-certificate-
fce-speaking-part-two.html
After simply answering personal questions in
Speaking Part One, students really get down
to business in the second part of the FCE
Speaking test, which is an extended speaking
task where each student speaks
uninterrupted for a minute.

10. What students need to do to do well in FCE Speaking
Part Two
The first thing to notice about the questions is that the word “describe” is not
used at all. Therefore in the first (and main) part of the speaking task, the
candidate should concentrate on comparing the two pictures as they have
been told to. This can, and probably should, include talking about both
similarities and differences, and I recommend that every sentence or pair of
sentences that they come up with should compare or contrast the two photos.
It is also theoretically possible to describe one picture for twenty seconds or
so, then switch to the other and compare and contrast it with the first one.
However, timing is difficult when you do it this way and it’s almost impossible
to make sure that the things you say about the first picture are things that
turn out to be relevant when comparing the second picture with it. In my
experience, students trying to do this are also much more likely to run out
time before even getting onto the second question.

11. These “compare not describe” instructions mean that phrases sometimes taught in FCE
books like “in the top right corner” and “in the background” are of very little use – and
sometimes actually dangerous as they usually lead to descriptions which are impossible to
compare with the other picture. Instead, what students most need is language to compare
and contrast. In approximate order of how useful it is likely to be in this part of the exam,
language that should be taught and practised includes:
1. Both… and…/ … and… both
2. …, whereas…
3. …, but…
4. …. In contrast,…
5. Unlike…,….
6. …, and so is/ does…
7. …, and… is/ does too.
8. …, and… is/ does as well.
9. A/ One difference/ similarity (which stands out) is…
10.One thing that… and… have in common is…

12. 11.One of the (few) similarities/ differences between… and… is…
12.Another/ An additional difference/ similarity (which is instantly apparent) is…
13.The most obvious/ important/ apparent similarity/ difference (for me)
between… and… is…
14.A striking similarity/ difference is…
15.… and… are (quite/ very/ really/ really quite) similar/ different, for example…
16.… and…. are (quite/ very/ really/ really quite) similar/ different in terms of…
17.… is different/ similar, in that…
18.…, as is/ does….
19.… and… have a lot in common, for example…
20.… and… don’t have much in common, but…
21.There are more similarities than differences between… and… For instance,…
22.The main similarity/ difference between… and… is…
23.The only difference/ similarity between… that I can see is…
24.In comparison to…,…
25.Compared to…,…

13. 26.A/ One contrast between… and… is that…
27.… is (slightly/ a bit/ somewhat/ quite a lot/ a great deal/ substantially/ a
lot/ much/ far/ much much/ far far) … er/ more… than…
28.… is not (nearly/ quite) as… as…
29.…. In a similar way,…
30.Contrasting… and…,…
31.The most apparent difference/ similarity between… and… is…
32.…and that is (more or less) the same for…
33.… and… share…
34.A more subtle difference is…
35.… differs from… in that…
36.…. Likewise,…
37.Neither… nor…
38.One resemblance between… and… is that…