The BEC Exam Guide has made you a list of 65 common questions which examiners ask in Part One of the Speaking Exam. They come from official past exam papers, coursebooks, and Cambridge English Exam Preparation material. The questions are in different categories to help you prepare and to practice, but the examiners do not need to follow this order.
The questions are not organised by level. However, the C1 Business Higher questions are at the end and are usually longer.
Opening Questions
Could I just check your name, please?
Where are you from?
What is your nationality?
What part of your country do you come from? Can you describe the area to me?
How do you spell your family name?
Your Job
Do you work?
What work do you do?
What do you do?
What do you do for a living?
What kind of business are you involved in?
What do you like most about your job?
Do you like working in a team?
Could you tell me something about a typical day at your work?
How long do you think you will stay in your present job?
Would you like to work from home?
How important is it to follow the news in order to do your job well?
Have you ever been on a training course for your work?
Your studies
Are you a student?
What are you studying?
Tell me about the course you are doing/ your studies?
What do you enjoy most about your studies?
Why did you choose to study XX?
Why did you choose this course? / What training course would you most like to do in the future?
What job would you like to do later?
Do you think you would ever want to work abroad?
What job would you like to do in the future?
What kind of business are you planning to be involved in?
Would you like to do a job where you often travelled abroad on business?
You
Tell me something about your home town.
What kind of jobs do people do in your home town?
Tell me a bit about (name of city/region). What’s it like?
What are the traditional industries of the city/region?
How do people normally travel to work in your city/region?
What kind of jobs have you done in the past?
Do you plan to do more studying?
What ambitions do you have for the future?
Where would you prefer to live and work?
In what ways do you expect your career to differ from your father’s / mother’s?
Is it easy to find interesting jobs in your country?
Is there anything that you’d like to change about your home town? (Why?)
What are you planning to do in the next year?
What do you like doing best in your spare time?
Which leisure activities are most popular with young people in your country?
What area of business interests you most? (Why?)
Why are you learning English?
Would you like to learn English in the UK/USA, etc.?
How useful do you think it is to speak English?
If you could study anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
Do you expect international travel to be a necessary part of your career? Would you welcome that?
Your Opinions
Do you think it is better to live in the countryside or a big city?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in an open space office?
Which do you prefer, speaking to people on the phone or sending emails?
Do you think it is important for companies to help employees improve their English level?
What hours do most office staff work in your country?
What qualities does a good business person have?
Do you think it’s important for business people to relax in their free time?
Should companies provide facilities such as sports clubs for their staff?
Do you think there are advantages in meeting clients socially?
Do you think new technology makes our working lives easier or more difficult?
At what age do you think people should retire from work?
Is the opportunity for an annual pay increase important to you?
What skills do you think employers look for in young people nowadays?
Do you think companies should spend money on newspaper advertisements?
Do advertisements make consumers buy a product?
The BEC Exam guide hopes that you find this article useful and informative.
