After you have introduced yourself and the Examiner has checked your ID, he or she will ask you questions on three topic areas. The first topic area will be about your studies, your work or where you live.
Examiner: Let’s talk about your home town. Where were you born?
Candidate: I was born in a place called Rochester in the Medway towns in Kent.
Examiner: Do you still live in Rochester?
Candidate: No, I haven’t lived in Rochester for a long time now, since I went to college. I live in London.
Examiner: Do most people like living in Rochester?
Candidate: I guess they do. I always wanted to live in London, so… my family still live there, but I guess it’s a nice place.
Examiner: Why?
Candidate: Well, it’s got beautiful architecture and it’s the home of Dickens and so there’s quite a lot of historical interest there and you’ve got countryside nearby and it’s easily accessible for London.
Examiner: Do you think you’ll stay in London?
Candidate: Oh, I don’t know. I’ve been here for quite a while now and although I love it, I can’t imagine spending my whole life here.
The next two topics will be more general.
Examiner: I’d like to move on to talk about sport. What’s your favourite sport?
Candidate: My favourite sport to watch is football, but to participate in, it’s swimming.
Examiner: When did you first become interested in swimming?
Candidate: Gosh, when I was a child, my dad used to take me swimming every week and I swam for my school.
Examiner: How often do you participate in swimming now?
Candidate: I try to swim at least two times a week.
Examiner: What equipment do you need for swimming?
Candidate: The great thing is that you don’t really need any equipment apart from goggles and trunks.
Examiner: Where do you go swimming?
Candidate: Anywhere I am. I love swimming in the sea but mainly I swim at my local pool.
Examiner: Now, let’s move on to talk about shopping. How do you feel about going shopping?
Candidate: I don’t mind going shopping. I like to know exactly what I’m going shopping for, though, I like to get in, buy it and go home again.
Examiner: Do you like buying clothes or goods on the Internet?
Candidate: I’ve never bought clothes on the Internet because I like to try them on before buying them but I’ve certainly bought electrical goods and other things on the Internet.
Examiner: What don’t you like about shopping?
Candidate: I don’t really like big crowds of people and fighting my way through them to get what I want. I guess I don’t like paying for it all.