Speaking Practice Test 3 with Starter Phrases
In this video we’re doing something different again. It can be difficult to begin speaking in an oral exam, so this time we’re giving you starter phrases – useful sentence stems to help you improve your answers. You have to complete the starter phrases with your own ideas.
Lots of subject areas and themes come up again and again in the Aptis Speaking Tests. These sentence starters are for Practice Test 3, but you could apply many of them to other tests too.
Remember to try first with the mock-exam video Speaking Practice Test 3. Then watch this video. We recommend you press pause after each phrase, then repeat it and try to complete each stem with your own ideas. There’s no timer in this version of the video, so you can take as much time as you need.
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After you’ve watched the video and practised in your own time, go back to mock-exam Practice Test 3. Now try to use some of the starter phrases in your own answers and within the time-limits.
We’re sure you’ll notice the improvement!
Starter Phrases from Speaking Practice Test 3
You’ll see that here we’ve also included more starter phrases than there are on the video. There are also grammar tips about what type of language to use (infinitives, adjectives etc) after many of the stems. We think this will help you even more in your own answers.
Speaking Part One
Please tell me about your best friend
One of my best friends is …
We’ve known each other for (+ period of time) / since (+ point in time)
We first met at/in (+ place) / through (+ person)
He’s/She’s very (+ adjective)
I’ve never met anyone so (+ adjective)
If I have any problems, he/she always …
He/She likes (+ verb-ing or uncountable/plural noun)
We often (+ present simple) together
What do you like doing in winter?
I enjoy / I like / I’m really into (+ verb-ing or uncountable/plural noun)
I’m a real outdoors person, so …
My favourite cold weather hobby is (+ verb-ing or noun)
I’d love to try (+ verb-ing)
I’m not an outdoors person, so I prefer (+ verb-ing or uncountable/plural noun) to …
The best thing about winter is …
I’m a real outdoors person, so …
I’ve never (+ past participle), but I’d love to try it!
Tell me about your favourite food and drink
I enjoy / I like / I’m really into (+ verb-ing or uncountable/plural noun)
It’s hard to decide, but if I had to choose, I’d say …
I’ve got a sweet tooth, so I like …
I prefer savoury to sweet, so I love …
I’ve been vegetarian/vegan for years, so I …
My favourite food/drink of all time is …
I’m a real carnivore – I love …
Speaking Part Two
Describe this picture
It must be Halloween, because you can see …
It could be in the USA, because …
The little girl’s dressed up as (+ noun) and she’s holding …
The woman’s offering the girl some …
In the background there’s a (+ noun) / there are some (+ plural noun)
The woman’s offering the girl some …
What kind of festivals are celebrated in your country?
There are a lot of religious/traditional festivals, such as …
Everyone has to (+ infinitive)
The typical food/drink is …
I always take part in … / I’ve never taken part in …
People dress up as …
Every year we celebrate …
In the past, people used to (+ infinitive)
Do you think that traditional festivals will still be celebrated in the future? Why? Why not?
I think so / I don’t think so, because …
In my opinion, traditional festivals are …
That’s why I think that traditional festivals will/won’t (+ infinitive)
It would be a real pity if we didn’t (+ infinitive)
If I have children/grandchildren, I’d like them to (+ infinitive)
I think we’ll always (+ infinitive), because …
Festivals are really important for our culture, so …
I feel we can learn a lot about our culture from …
Speaking Part Three
Tell me what you see in these two pictures
The first picture shows…, whereas in the second picture you can see…
In the foreground / background, there’s a (+ noun) / there are lots of (+ plural noun)
It looks like (+ noun/noun phrase)
It’s probably …, because you can see …
The first/second picture could be …
What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a big city?
The main advantage/disadvantage is probably …
Another point in favour/against is …
Other pros and cons are …
It really depends on the person….
For a single person, … / For a family, …
On the one hand, … but on the other hand, …
Speaking personally, I …
Where would you prefer to live, and why?
If I had to choose, I’d probably (+ infinitive)
If I had/didn’t have kids, I’d (+ infinitive)
I’d prefer to (+ infinitive) / I’d rather (+ infinitive), because …
There are many reasons, including …
The main reason is …
It depends (on) …
If possible, I’d (+ infinitive), because …
There are many reasons, including …
Speaking Part Four
Tell me about a time when you had to do an exam.
I’ve done so many, but once …
I remember one particular time when …
I haven’t done an exam for a long time, but …
When I was learning to (+ infinitive), I had to …
To get into university / my last job, I had to …
It was when I was …
I really can’t remember the last time I …
I suppose the most memorable occasion was …
It wasn’t exactly an exam, but I …
How did you feel about it?
I’d prepared well, so/but …
I hadn’t prepared enough, so …
Before beginning, I felt very (+ adjective)
Once I’d got started, I felt (+ comparative adjective)
I was afraid I wouldn’t (+ infinitive)
I tried to calm my nerves by (+ verb-ing)
I didn’t feel as (+ adjective) as …
I felt (+ comparative adjective) than when …
Do you think that young people have to do too many exams these days?
In my opinion, …
As I see it, …
If you ask me, …
To my mind, …
Well, on (the) one hand, … but on the other hand, …
To tell you the truth, …
I have mixed feelings on this …
We hope that was helpful! You can also check out this post for more general starter phrases. They’re organised by category: 50+ Useful Phrases to help you pass your Aptis test.
And you can find all the practice tests and exercises in our Guide to the Posts.
Your website offers intuitive resources for remote learning and up-to-date tutoring. It is very easy to navigate, too. I find the sentence stem sections particularly useful for photo description, or topic discussion. Congratulations on launching this new tool for online students struggling with their communication skills. I shall recommend it on my blog for ESL learners, English Online Blog.
Thanks very much Carlos for your kind words and taking the time to leave a comment. We’re so happy that you find the resource useful.