CONSIGLI E TRUCCHIImages Discussion

  • 4 pictures
  • Task 1: about 1 minute
  • Task 2: about 3 minutes
  • With your partner
  • Task 2 ends in a decision

This is a collaborative task built around a set of pictures. First, you and your partner talk for about a minute about one or two of them, answering a focused question. Then you look at all the pictures and discuss a wider task for about three minutes, ending with a decision.

The pictures are a starting point, not the subject. The examiner is listening to how you interact: developing ideas together, negotiating, and weighing up options in precise, natural language.

Task 1 is a warm-up

The first question is short and focused on one or two pictures. Don't describe them in detail: react to the question, speculate about the situation and bring your partner in quickly. A minute goes very fast.

Go beyond the pictures

In Task 2, use the pictures as springboards to the real issue, such as the effects of tourism or where transport money should go. Talk about causes, consequences and who is affected, not about what the photos show.

Evaluate, don't list

Rather than working through the pictures one by one, weigh them against each other: which issue is most urgent, most widespread, most harmful? Comparing and ranking gives you something real to decide on at the end.

Negotiate with finesse

Show your full range: concede a point ('Fair enough, though...'), challenge one ('I'm not entirely convinced that...') and summarise ('So we seem to be saying...'). Handling the conversation skilfully is part of what's assessed.

Keep the decision in view

Task 2 always ends in a decision. Signal when it's time to decide ('Shall we try to narrow it down?') and make sure your choice follows from what you've discussed. If you disagree, explain why.

Practising on your own

Here there's no partner, so record the tasks and argue with yourself: make a point, imagine a counter-argument and answer it. It trains exactly the flexibility the real discussion needs.

Strategy

  1. 1Read Task 1 and note which pictures it refers to and exactly what it asks.
  2. 2Answer Task 1 briefly, speculating and inviting your partner's view.
  3. 3Read Task 2 carefully to find the issue and the decision you must reach.
  4. 4Use the pictures to open up the wider issue rather than describing them.
  5. 5Compare the options and rank them, giving reasons for your priorities.
  6. 6Respond to your partner's ideas by conceding, challenging or extending them.
  7. 7Steer the conversation towards a decision in the last part of the three minutes.
  8. 8State your joint conclusion, or explain clearly why you disagree.

Espressioni utili

Speculating

  • It looks as though ...
  • I'd imagine the people here are ...
  • There's a sense that ...
  • This could well be ...
  • Judging by ..., I'd say ...

Evaluating and prioritising

  • By far the most pressing issue is ...
  • What concerns me more is ...
  • ... pales in comparison with ...
  • The knock-on effects of ... are considerable.
  • If we had to single one out, ...

Negotiating

  • Fair enough, though I'd argue ...
  • I take your point, but ...
  • I'm not entirely convinced that ...
  • Building on what you said, ...
  • Where do you stand on ...?

Reaching a decision

  • Shall we try to narrow it down?
  • So we seem to agree that ...
  • It looks as though we'll have to agree to disagree.
  • On balance, I think we should go for ...
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