Lesson plan – C1 Advanced Speaking Parts 3 and 4

Description
This lesson plan is designed to help students prepare for C1 Advanced Speaking Parts 3 and 4 – the
collaborative task and discussion. It can be delivered face to face or online. The ‘online options’ column
gives teachers ideas how the stages could be adapted for teaching online.

Time required: 60 to 90 minutes

Materials ▪ Copy of Student handout for each student
required:
▪ Consider emailing a copy of the handouts to each student in advance
if teaching online (excluding the Answer Key).
▪ Board and markers
▪ Presentation slides if teaching online

Aims: ▪ Boost students’ range of vocabulary related to transport and the

environment.
▪ Review useful expressions to help students interact in Speaking parts
3 and 4
▪ Practise exam strategies for Speaking parts 3 and 4
▪ Reflect on strengths and areas to work on for Speaking parts 3 and 4

Procedure
Lesson Stages Online options
Task 1 Warm-up Show the question on the screen.
To introduce the topic of Transport and the Environment set Student Students work individually and post
handout Task 1 as a race against the clock – negotiate a time limit with their answers in the chat box when
your class. they think they have got all of them.
Put students into small teams (2 or 3 students). They can put their hands The winner is the first person to post
up when they think they have the correct answers. all of the answers with the correct
spelling.
Feedback: See Answer key. Make sure students have spelled answers
correctly. Congratulate the winning team.
Task 2 Building fluency If you have the option and it is safe to
do so, students can work in breakout
Give students some time to ask and answer the questions in Task 2 in
rooms to do Task 2.
their group. Monitor discreetly and ask students to share any interesting
answers with the class. This follow-on discussion activity gives students It’s easy to switch between breakout
the opportunity to recall other vocabulary related to the topic that they rooms if you have them. Turn off
know. your video and audio to monitor more
discreetly.
During feedback try to elicit/introduce some of the more challenging
vocabulary from Task 3 such as carbon emissions, respiratory illnesses, You could also use an online tool like
asthma, greenhouse gas. Padlet or Flipgrid so students can
record and post answers.

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 Task 3 Focus on vocabulary and Task 4 Verbs to describe cause This discussion could be turned into
and effect a poll using the poll function if your
platform has one or an online tool
Give students a few minutes to read the comments in Student handout
such as Kahoot.
Task 3 and discuss with a partner which situations they feel are similar to
their own country. Give students options to
agree/disagree with e.g.,
Alternatively, you could use mini-whiteboards or in-class technology to
conduct a poll, (see online option). • Most people in my country
Students work individually to replace the verbs in bold with the verbs use public transport to get to
relating to cause and effect from the box in Task 4. Allow time for them to work.
compare their answers in pairs and finally, check the answers with the
• Air pollution is a problem in
answer key.
my neighbourhood.
To check students understand more subtle differences in meaning you
could also ask concept-checking questions. For example: As feedback, students can post
reasons for their answers in the chat
account for box. The teacher can then correct or
Do I use it to explain the reason for something (yes) or to say something provide useful vocabulary as needed.
has a particular result? (no)
add up to
Do I use it to explain the reason for something (no) or to say something
has a particular result? (yes)1
Also, point out features of form e.g., put something down to something,
lead to / led to (irreg.)
Exam strategies and Top tips Speaking Part 3 Show the information on a slide or
direct students to their copy of the
If your students are familiar with the exam format, you could elicit what
handout.
they know about the format of Speaking Part 3 before they look at the
information and tips in the Student handout
Give students time to read the information and tips.
Feedback: Check understanding by asking questions like Why is it
important to interact with your partner? or What would be the problem if
you don’t listen carefully?
Task 5 Get ready for Speaking Part 3 This could be done as a
brainstorming activity in the chat box.
Give students a copy of Task 5a. Put them into small groups. Give them
time to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each idea in their group.
Clarify cycle lanes and congestion charge if necessary.
Ask them to think about how they could use some of the verbs from Task
4 e.g., Building more cycle lanes makes cycling safer and this could lead
to more people choosing to cycle to work.
Feedback – ask students to share some of their ideas in open class.
Guide the discussion by encouraging students to think about how they
might politely agree or disagree with their classmates.

1
Cambridge student dictionary online

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 Task 6 Analyse a model answer If you have the option and it is safe to
do so, students can work in breakout
Distribute Task 6 from the Student handout. Give students time to read
rooms to compare answers.
the model answer and answer the two questions individually. This
focuses on the ‘reach a decision’ element of Speaking Part 3 which Prepare a slide showing the table
candidates often find challenging. and phrases so you can reveal the
answers during feedback.
Students can then compare their answers in pairs before checking
together as a class (see Answer key)
Task 7 Useful language
Students read the task in the Student handout. They should work alone
to match the phrases in bold from the model answer in Task 6 to the
correct boxes in the table and then compare their answers. See Answer
key for feedback.
Task 8 Practise Speaking Part 3 If you have the option and it is safe to
do so, students can work in breakout
Distribute Task 8 from the Student handout. Now put students into rooms.
groups of four made up of two pairs. One pair will do the task while the
You could also get students to do the
other pair observes and completes the Speaking Part 3 feedback
speaking task individually as
checklist below. The observers could also time the activity. They then homework and record and post their
switch roles. answers using online tools such as
Note: In the exam students may be tested in groups of two or three. Padlet or Flipgrid.
If it is a group of three, you will need to add extra time for the third
student.
After they complete the first activity give them time to share their
feedback. Monitor and praise students who are giving each other
feedback that is realistic and helpful.
To round off the activity you could elicit the main points from their
discussion in open class:
1. Were they broadly in agreement? What points did they discuss?
2. Reflect on the tips – What worked well? What do they need to
work on? How successfully do they think they interacted with their
partner?
Exam strategies and Top tips Speaking Part 4 Show the information on a slide or
direct students to their handout.
As above, elicit what students remember about Speaking Part 4 before
they read the information and tips for Speaking Part 4
Feedback: Ask questions to check their understanding e.g. How is Part 4
different from Part 3?
Task 9 Practise Speaking Part 4 If you have the option and it is safe to
do so, students can work in breakout
Distribute Task 9 to the students. Put them into pairs to discuss the rooms.
questions. Set a time limit of 5 minutes.
You could also get students to do the
Monitor discreetly and let students know when 5 minutes is up. speaking task individually as
Note: In the exam, students may be tested in groups of two or three. homework and record and post their
If you have a group of three, allow 8 minutes for this task. answers using online tools such as
Padlet or Flipgrid.

Copyright © UCLES 2021. All details are correct at the time of publication in June 2021 3
 Round off the activity by sharing any good answers and opinions as a
class and giving feedback on common errors.
Task 10 Reflect and progress If you have the option and it is safe to
do so, students can work in breakout
Allow time for students to read and reflect on Task 10 from the Student rooms.
handout. Encourage them to self- or peer-evaluate using the Reflect
column in the checklist and to choose some activities to help them
progress.
Encourage students to make their choice of activities S.M.A.R.T (specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) e.g., by noting a date
when they plan to complete them by and how they will get feedback.
Task 11 Extra practice – Speaking Parts 3 and 4
An additional sample question is included on the Student handout for
further practice in this or a subsequent lesson.

Useful links for teachers and students

Learning English Teaching English The Mock test toolkit
Lots of resources to help your Find the teaching resources you Includes links to sample papers,
students keep practising! need such as lesson plans and information booklets and
activities. preparation materials.

Quiz your English App Speaking test videos Webinars

Motivate your students to review Show your students a real Learn more about preparing
the grammar and vocabulary Speaking test so there are no students for the Speaking test in
they need for the test with our surprises on exam day. our webinars for teachers.
latest App.

Copyright © UCLES 2021. All details are correct at the time of publication in June 2021 4
Student handout
Task 1 Warm-up

How quickly can you unscramble the letters to make six types of transport?

1 2 3
2

iii
ii
i
lonomair no tofo
lcteecri hlcevie

4 5 6

iv v vi

mart lcteecri reoostc bledou-ckreed sub

Task 2 Building fluency

Discuss the questions with a partner.

a) Which types of transport in Task 1 do you think have the lowest environmental impact? Why?

b) How do people typically travel to work or school in your country?

c) What could individuals and the government do to reduce air pollution from transport in your country?

Copyright © UCLES 2021. All details are correct at the time of publication in June 2021 5
Task 3 Focus on vocabulary

Read the comments from different students discussing the environmental impact of transport in their
country.

How are the situations (a–d) similar or different in your country?

a.
c. I read that road vehicles 5) cause more
than half of the greenhouse gas emissions
Air pollution 1) causes conditions such as
in my country. If everyone stopped driving
asthma and other respiratory illnesses in the
to work and took public transport, cycled or
community and that 2) causes increased
walked instead, it would 6) cause a
pressure on public health services.
significant reduction in carbon emissions.

2b.
b.
d.
Only a small minority of people cycle to A major challenge 7) is caused by the fact
work in my country. This could be 3) that my country’s population is increasing
caused by the high number of road and becoming wealthier, so more and
rage incidents and accidents 4) more people can afford to buy cars.
caused by dangerous driving and
cycling.

Task 4 – Verbs to describe cause and effect

The verbs in the box below can all be used to talk about cause and effect. Replace the words in bold in
Task 3 with verbs from the box. Think about the meaning and the sentence structure. Sometimes more than
one answer is possible.

gives rise to put down to leads to account for add up to stems from resulting from

Exam Strategies and Top tips – Speaking Part 3

Speaking Part 3  Top tips

In Part 3 of the exam:  The question you need to talk about is written on the
paper but listen carefully to the imaginary situation the
• The examiner will ask you to talk
examiner gives you too.
together with the other candidate for 2
minutes.  It is very important to interact with the other candidate
in Part 3. You will get marks for this.
• The examiner will give you an imaginary
situation and a question to discuss. You  Try to use a range of expressions to agree or disagree
will have 15 seconds to read the politely, ask questions and move the discussion on.
question before you speak.
 It’s okay if you run out of time to discuss all of the
• After 2 minutes, the examiner will give prompts or come to a final decision as long as you
you 1 minute to reach a decision discuss the topic together.
together.

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Task 5 Get ready for Speaking Part 3
a. Look at the example Speaking part 3 question below. Work with a partner and make a list of two benefits
and two drawbacks for each idea.
b. Make a note of how you could use some of the verbs from the box in Task 4 to describe some of the
benefits.
Examiner: Now I’d like you to talk about something together for about 2 minutes. Imagine you have been
asked to propose some ideas to reduce traffic in a city. First you have some time to look at the task. Now
talk to each other about the benefits of these ideas.

build more
cycle lanes

invest in
businesses make buses
that allow free
people to shop
locally What are the
benefits of these
ideas for reducing
traffic in a city?

build more
introduce a
pedestrian
congestion
zones in the
charge
centre

Task 6 Analyse a model answer – coming to a decision

Look at the second part of the task and the model answer. Discuss the questions with a partner. Give
reasons for your answers.
• Do the candidates come to a decision?

• How well do you think they completed the task?

Examiner: Thank you. Now, you have a minute to choose which three ideas to propose.

Model answer
Candidate 1: Well, I am strongly in favour of investing in small businesses so that people can shop
locally – I think it can lead to a big difference in the quality of life in a neighbourhood too.

Copyright © UCLES 2021. All details are correct at the time of publication in June 2021 7
 Candidate 2: I’m with you on that but some people might say it will take too long to implement and
maybe we want to focus on things we could do more quickly like introducing a congestion charge. That
can often give rise to substantial reductions in traffic. How do you feel about that one?
Candidate 1: That’s a very good point and I think we should definitely include it but going back to
your point about the length of time – what about putting forward a mix of long-term strategies and
short-term strategies?
Candidate 2: That’s just what I was thinking. So we agree on investing in small businesses and
introducing a congestion charge. Which one do you think is the most beneficial of the other ideas?
(1 minute)

Task 7 Useful language

The phrases in bold help the candidates to interact effectively. Match them to the different functions in the
table below.

Function Phrase/s

Stating an opinion

Asking for an opinion

Agreeing

Agreeing but considering other

people’s opinions

Referring back to an earlier

point

Task 8 Practise Speaking Part 3

Now work in groups of four (two pairs).

Pair A: Practise answering both parts of the Speaking Part 3 question.

Pair B: Time pair A (2 minutes for the discussion then 1 minute to reach agreement) and make notes on
how well they do the task using the checklist below.

After pair A complete the task, switch roles.

Speaking Part 3
Feedback checklist
How well does each candidate... Candidate 1 Candidate 2

understand and answer the question?

use some of the phrasal verbs from Task 4?

Copyright © UCLES 2021. All details are correct at the time of publication in June 2021 8
 interact with their partner using phrases from Task 6?

speak clearly and confidently for the full amount of time?

Exam strategies and Top tips – Speaking Part 4

Speaking Part 4  Top tips

In Part 4 of the exam:

• The examiner directs the interaction by  Listen carefully to the question and ask the examiner
asking questions related to the topic to repeat it if you don’t understand.
introduced in Part 3.
 Listen to your partner and be prepared to comment or
• The questions are different from Part 1 in react to what they have said if asked.
that they ask for opinions rather than for  Always give reasons for your answers but also
information. consider the What, Where and How too. See
example below.
• This part of the test gives you the chance to
show that you can discuss issues in more  Practise discussing different topics with a study
depth than in the earlier parts of the test. buddy.

Task 9 Practise Speaking Part 4

a. Work with a partner. Discuss the following questions:
1. How effective are approaches taken to reduce traffic pollution in your country?

2. What challenges do governments face when they try to reduce traffic pollution?

3. What could individuals do to reduce air pollution from transport?

4. Would schemes such as car sharing work in your country? Why? Why not?

5. How confident were you and your partner in answering the questions?

 Top Tip

If you have practised Parts 3 and 4 of the speaking and did not feel confident about the topic, this is an
opportunity to go and find out more. Use a search engine to conduct research, practise reading in English
and make notes.

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Task 10 Reflect and progress

Tick the areas from the Reflect checklist that you feel you have improved on in this lesson.
Is there anything you still need to work on? Choose three things or more in the Progress column that you
will do to help you improve.

Reflect: How well did you...? Progress: Suggestions to help you improve

 ...understand and answer each  look at sample tasks in your course book to get more familiar
question with the topics typically covered in Speaking Parts 3 and 4.

 improve your listening skills by watching TV shows, films or

online videos in English or listening to podcasts.
 ... interact with your partner e.g.,  write out a dialogue like the one in Task 5 for each sample
asked questions, question you practise – incorporate as many of the useful
agreed/disagreed, kept the phrases as you can.
conversation going
 try some of the free listening and speaking activities on the
Cambridge Exam Preparation website to review useful
language for making decisions, asking for opinions and
agreeing and disagreeing.
 ... use a range of vocabulary e.g.,  make vocabulary cards to help you remember useful
different ways of referring to cause vocabulary and expressions. Include the meaning and an
and effect example sentence.

 find a study buddy to practise with outside class – try to think

of a question to ask each other with the word on each card.

 ... speak for the full amount of time  choose a topic to speak about and try to keep talking – for 30
seconds at first, then 1 minute and finally 2 minutes.

 search for discussion questions online – choose a question

and try to discuss it with your study buddy for 2 minutes.
 ... speak clearly and confidently  take a deep breath before you start speaking and smile –
this can help you relax.

 do the same task more than once and record yourself so you
can check how successful you were each time and identify
points to work on.

 speak as much English as you can – the more practice you

have, the more confident you will feel.

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Task 11 Extra practice - Speaking Parts 3 and 4

Use these additional Speaking Parts 3 and 4 questions for extra practice.

Examiner: Now I’d like you to talk about something together for about 2 minutes. Imagine you have been
asked to find ways to make your workplace more sustainable. First you have some time to look at the
task. Now talk to each other about which ideas would have the most impact.

set up a
website to
help
colleagues car pay for travel
invest in a solar- passes to
share
powered rooftop encourage staff to
use public transport

Which of these ideas for

making your workplace
more sustainable would
have the most impact?

expand recycling
initiatives to include allow people
office furniture and to work from
equipment home

Examiner: Thank you. Now you have a minute to choose which two ideas to implement first.

Speaking part 4

• To what extent do you think it’s important for companies to become more sustainable?

• Do you think your school or workplace does enough? What more could they do?

• What challenges do companies or schools face in becoming more sustainable?

• What could individuals do to reduce waste?

Copyright © UCLES 2021. All details are correct at the time of publication in June 2021 11
Answer key

Task 1 Warm up
1. electric vehicle
2. monorail
3. on foot
4. tram
5. electric scooter
6. double-decker bus

Task 4 Verbs to describe cause and effect

a.
c. I read that road vehicles 5) account for
Air pollution 1) gives rise to / leads to
conditions such as asthma and other more than half of the greenhouse gas
respiratory illnesses in the community and that emissions in my country. If everyone
2) leads to / gives rise to increased pressure stopped driving to work and took public
on public health services. transport, cycled or walked instead, it would
6) add up to a significant reduction in
carbon emissions.
b.
2b.
d.
Only a small minority of people cycle to A major challenge 7) stems from the fact
work in my country. This could be 3) that my country’s population is increasing
put down to the high number of road and becoming wealthier, so more and
rage incidents and accidents 4) more people can afford to buy cars.
resulting from dangerous driving and
cycling.

Task 6 Model answer – coming to a decision

No, the candidates agree on two ideas but run out of time to agree on a third. This is not necessary,
however. They complete the task very well – both candidates interact effectively by giving and asking for
opinions in equal measure. They justify their opinions and use a range of accurate vocabulary and grammar
to do so.

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Task 7 Useful language

Function Phrase/s

Stating an opinion I am strongly in favour of ...

Asking for an opinion How do you feel about ...?

What about ...?
Which one do you think is ...?

Agreeing That’s a very good point.

That’s just what I was thinking.

Agreeing but considering other I’m with you on that but some people might say ...
people’s opinions

Referring back to an earlier ... but going back to your point about ...
point

i Photo by Ernest Ojeh on Unsplash

ii Photo by Yousef Salhamoud on Unsplash
iii Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash
iv Photo by Vinícius Henrique Photography on Unsplash
v Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
vi Photo by Mariana Alves on Unsplash

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