B2 First Speaking Part 2 Pictures for Better Results

There are various preparations you can make before Part 2 of your B2 First Speaking test. The first thing you need to think about is what you are going to speak about with any picture pair. Remember, compare and contrast rather than describe.

There are 3 main categories.
What can you say about the people? – Who could they be? What are they wearing? How old are they? How many people are there?

What can you say about where they are? – Are they inside or outside? If they are all outside, what is the weather like? Are they in a car or in a house? Is it a common place or somewhere more unusual?

What can you say about what they are doing? – Are they experienced or learners? Is it skilled or unskilled? Is it detailed or involve broader skills?

Your English is much more important than what you talk about, but if you have a clear idea of what to to say, it lets you concentrate on your language.

There are two main ways to talk about the two pictures you have chosen.

Ping-Pong This method involves comparing something from your first picture to the same kind of thing in the second. Then you just keep on comparing and answering the question if you can.

One After the Other – In this method, you talk about one picture, then you talk about the other one.

In Ping-Pong, you use more of the target language you need for your test, ie the comparison and contrasting language. Even if you pause for longer than you would like, you have still used the right words.

With One After the Other, however, it is far too easy to speak for too long about picture one, which doesn’t leave you enough time for picture 2. This is even worse if you hesitate.

Using the above pictures as an example, here are examples of the two methods.

Why might it be important to give advice in these situations?

Ping Pong

In the first picture, it looks as if there is a mother helping her son with his homework, while in the second picture, it looks as if there is a football coach telling his team how to win a game. In his mother’s eyes, it is important for the boy to study hard, so he passes his exams in my opinion. Saying that the coach may be giving advice on how to win a game in a competition, so the team will progress. Although the mother and the coach are both giving advice, there are only two people in the first photo, whereas, in the second, there are many more. A similarity is that both the son and the football team appear to be under pressure to succeed, but the mother and the coach are calmly working through the problems for the best results. On the other hand, there are still differences such as the team are all wearing football gear, while the mum and the boy are dressed casually. I guess they are at home, but the team seem to be in a changing room at some kind of sports facility.

One After the Other

In the first picture, it looks like there is a mother helping her son with his homework. In the mother’s eyes, it is important for the boy to study hard, so he passes his exams, in my opinion. There are only the two of them in the first picture and they look like they are at home. The boy looks like he is under pressure, but the mother is calmly working through the problem. It looks like they are at home, and they are dressed casually. In the second picture, it looks as if there is a football coach telling his team how to win a game. The coach may be giving advice on how to win a game in a competition, so the team will progress. He is also calm, while the players will be under more pressure to succeed in my opinion. The football team are wearing football gear and seem to be in a changing room at some kind of sports facility.

They may seem similar to you when you read them, but it’s a speaking test, so candidates are usually a little nervous and can hesitate. If you hesitate using the second method, you will not be able to compare and contrast so well.

Practice is key!