Speaking Part 2 worries many test-takers: the examiner hands you a task card, and suddenly you have to talk alone for up to two minutes. The good news is that running out of ideas is a planning problem, not a language problem. With a simple routine, two minutes becomes easy to fill.

How Part 2 works

• You receive a task card with a topic and a few prompts to cover.
• You have one minute to prepare, and you are given paper and a pencil for notes.
• You then speak for one to two minutes. The examiner will stop you when time is up.
• The examiner may ask one or two short follow-up questions.

This is the same in both the Academic and General Training tests.

Use your one minute wisely

Don’t write sentences. Write one keyword for each prompt on the card, plus one extra idea of your own. Four or five words is plenty. For example, for “Describe a skill you learned as an adult,” you might write: cooking – 2023 – YouTube + mom – burnt rice – confidence.

Stretch each point with a simple pattern

Short answers usually happen because each idea gets only one sentence. Try giving every keyword three layers:

• Detail: who, where or when.
• Example or story: a specific moment you remember.
• Feeling or reason: how you felt and why it mattered.

Three layers on four keywords gives you roughly 12 sentences, which is about two minutes at a relaxed pace.

Keep going when you get stuck

• Look at your next keyword and move on. You don’t have to cover the prompts in order.
• Use natural linking phrases: “What I remember most is…”, “The reason this matters to me is…”, “Looking back now…”.
• If you finish early, compare past and present: how is it different today?
• Don’t stop just because you said everything on the card. Keep talking until the examiner stops you.

Practise with real-style cue cards

The more cue cards you try, the faster your planning becomes. Aim for one or two a day, mixing topics like people, places, objects and experiences. Over time, you will notice you can reuse the same stories for many different cards.