B2 First Speaking Part 3: Agreeing and Disagreeing

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In B2 First Speaking Part 3, you and the other student need to discuss the different options of the central theme, described in the mind map or picture. You need to do this for two minutes and show you can pass the discussion back and forth between the two of you giving your opinions and agreeing and disagreeing. After this, you and your partner have one minute to decide which option is best. For both of these tasks, agreeing and disagreeing are essential. There are sample answers here.

Discussion Stage

There is one important fact you need to remember in C1 Advanced Speaking Part 3. It is an English test! You don’t have to be right. You don’t have to show the other person why you are correct, and they are not. An English test is stressful enough without arguing.

In the discussion stage, you need to be asked whether you agree or not before you can agree or disagree with the other person. This is a skill itself.

Here are various ways to ask for agreement after you have given your opinion.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Don’t you agree?

Do we see eye to eye on that?

What do you think of that?

….., don’t you think?

I’d be interested if you agree with that.

You should have the opportunity to agree or disagree with your partner about three or four times within the two minutes.

Try and use different phrases or expressions each time to show the examiner what you can do. It’s easy to use the same ones each time, and don’t worry if you do, but showing a range is always better.

Here are some examples of how you can agree with what the other candidate has just said:

I think we see eye to eye on that.

Yeah, I’d go along with that.

You’re absolutely right.

That’s so true.

Absolutely!

You took the words right out of my mouth.

I couldn’t agree more.

You have a point there.

I’m with you 100% on this one.

But it’s easy to just give you examples of the phrases, let’s put them in a discussion so they are really clear. Let’s use the diagram below.

Candidate A = Alan Candidate B = Brian

A/ In my opinion, doing less work is essential in today’s frantic times, wouldn’t you agree Brian?

B/ Yes, I would, Alan. A lot of people can’t cope with the stress. Doing exercise is similar from my point of view. It really helps with mental health. Don’t you agree?

A/ I couldn’t agree more Brian. In fact, exercising has helped me immensely. Surfing the internet, however, always strikes me as being really superficial and a waste of time. What do you think?

B/ Absolutely Alan. People who do that feel they are doing something interesting, but most of them just end up doing really mundane things. I think meeting friends is great though. Do we see eye to eye on that?

A/ I’m with you 100% on this one, Brian. I understand that people are sociable and need to have human contact. Many of these people also feel that it’s also better to get out of the house too.

B/ You have a point there, Alan. In another sense, though, aiming to have new experiences could be great too.

A/ Yeah, I’d go along with that.

Although agreeing is usually a more positive experience during the test, you may feel it’s necessary to disagree once. Here are some ways to express disagreement.

We don’t see eye to eye on that I’m afraid

I take your point but…

I tend to disagree with you there.

That’s not always the case

I beg to differ

Isn’t it more a case of…?

I don’t think so.

I’m not sure I agree with that.

Just for fun, let’s put these phrases into the discussion above.

A/ In my opinion, doing less work is essential in today’s frantic times, wouldn’t you agree Brian?

B/ No, I wouldn’t, Alan. A lot of people can cope with the stress. Doing exercise is similar from my point of view. It doesn’t really help. Do you agree?

A/ I tend to disagree with you there, Brian. In fact, exercising has helped me immensely. Surfing the internet, however, always strikes me as being really superficial and a waste of time. What do you think?

B/ I’m not sure I agree with that, Alan. People who do that are doing something interesting, but most of them just end up playing a stupid game. I think meeting friends is great, though. Do we agree there Alan?

A/ We don’t see eye to eye on that I’m afraid, Brian. Although I understand that people are sociable and need to have human contact, it’s not for me. Some people also feel that it’s also better to get out of the house too, don’t you think?

B/ I’m not sure I agree with that., Alan. In another sense, though, aiming to have new experiences could be great too.

A/ No, I don’t think so.

After the two-minute discussion in B2 First speaking Part 3, you and your partner(s) have to decide which option is the best or most important. In the above example, you are asked which are most important. You and your partner have one minute to come to an agreement on this.

In my opinion, it is much easier if you agree as soon as possible, then spend the rest of the minute discussing why the other options are not the best. Remember, you still need to discuss, so you can’t just talk by yourself.

So, if you agree naturally, that’s fine, but often the other person disagrees. If that happens, you can chaange your opinion. It’s a test, you don’t need more stress.

Here are some more of these expressions so that you can change your mind about the answer and just finish Part 3

Although I thought …… when I saw the question, I see your point and now agree with you on that

Even though I believed ………. I now think you’re right

Although I’m not 100% convinced, I’ll go along with you for now

Despite wanting to believe ……. I see your point

In spite of some personal experience in the matter, I agree with what you are saying

Again, using the above example

A/ In my opinion, having new experiences is by far the most important factor here. Do you agree?

B/ Not at all. In fact, I feel very strongly that doing more exercise is essential in the modern world. What do you say to that?

A/ Now that you mention it, I see your point and now agree with you on that.

B/ Great! I also think working less is crucial, but not nearly as important as exercising.

A/ Sure! And as for having meeting new friends and being outside. As far as I’m concerned, they are also not as important.

I hope you have learned some new ways to agree and disagree and also how to change your mind in B2 First Speaking Part 3. As ever, practice makes perfect, either with a teacher or a willing friend or classmate. Good luck with your test!