BULATS- Speaking Part 3 Discussion Script

BULATS Speaking Part Three Discussion script and useful phrases

Discuss this question in pairs:

What are the most important things to make a brand successful?

 

 

 

Here is a typical format for this discussion stage at the end of the BULATS speaking exam. How similar or different was your discussion?

Examiner: Ask the question

Candidate: Speak while thinking about the question.

Candidate: Give one possible answer to the question

Examiner: Respond

Examiner: Ask for more possibilities

Candidate: Tentatively give another possibility

Examiner: Ask for (more specific) examples/ clarification

Candidate: Give examples

 

Examiner: Suggest another possible answer

Candidate: Agree or disagree, with reasons

Examiner: Respond

Examiner: Mention your own experience

Candidate: Respond

Candidate: Mention your own experience

Examiner: Respond

Examiner: End the exam

 

Brainstorm at least two phrases that could be used in each of the places in bold above.

Check your ideas against those on the next page.

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Candidate: Let me think/ Let me see/ I’ve never thought about this before, but…

Candidate: I think that one of the most important things must be advertising/ One thing could be marketing/ I would say that how much publicity the brand gets is vital

Examiner: Good point/ I think you’re right/ That’s certainly possible

Examiner: Can you think of anything else?/ Are there any other important factors?/ What else would you say has a big impact?

Candidate: I suppose famous people using a brand might have an effect/ I guess being used in films is also relevant/ You could say that a reputation for quality is also in the list of things to consider

Examiner: What kind of effect do you mean?/ What exactly do you mean by “being used in films”?/ Can you give an example of a brand which is popular because of its reputation for quality?

Candidate: For instance, an actress wearing a dress at the Oscars and then people rushing out to buy it/ One example is the James Bond car/ For example, Mercedes

 

Examiner: What about the image of the country that the brand comes from?/ How about word of mouth?/ Do you not think that the logo and name are at least as important?

Candidate: Actually, I think you’re right/ I’m not sure about that, to be honest/ Not really…

 

Examiner: In my experience, an impressive shop in a major shopping street really changes people’s impression of a brand/ I personally find myself most impressed by guerrilla marketing campaigns/ I once bought a computer just because the name sounded Japanese, and then later found out that the brand is Chinese

Candidate: The exact same thing happened to me/ I don’t have any experience of that, but it sounds quite common/ In my own experience, the appearance of your local shop is more important

 

Which parts of the phases above could be used in almost any speaking exam? (“I think that…”, etc)

Find synonyms above, e.g. “important” and “big impact”.

Can you think of any other synonyms for words and phrases in the model answers?

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Answer key

Useful phrases

The parts in bold can be used more generally:

Candidate: Let me think/ Let me see/ I’ve never thought about this before, but…

Candidate: I think that one of the most important things must be advertising/ One thing could be marketing/ I would say that how much publicity the brand gets is vital

Examiner: Good point/ I think you’re right/ That’s certainly possible

Examiner: Can you think of anything else?/ Are there any other important factors?/ What else would you say has a big impact?

Candidate: I suppose famous people using a brand might have an effect/ I guess being used in films is also relevant/ You could say that a reputation for quality is also in the list of things to consider

Examiner: What kind of effect do you mean?/ What exactly do you mean by “being used in films”?/ Can you give an example of a brand which is popular because of its reputation for quality?

Candidate: For instance, an actress wearing a dress at the Oscars and then people rushing out to buy it/ One example is the James Bond car/ For example, Mercedes

 

Examiner: What about the image of the country that the brand comes from?/ How about word of mouth?/ Do you not think that the logo and name are at least as important?

Candidate: Actually, I think you’re right/ I’m not sure about that, to be honest/ Not really…

 

Examiner: In my experience, an impressive shop in a major shopping street really changes people’s impression of a brand/ I personally find myself most impressed by guerrilla marketing campaigns/ I once bought a computer just because the name sounded Japanese, and then later found out that the brand is Chinese

Candidate: The exact same thing happened to me/ I don’t have any experience of that, but it sounds quite common/ In my own experience, the appearance of your local shop is more important

 

Synonyms

• advertising/ publicity/ marketing
• be an important factor/ have a big impact
• for instance/ for example