FCE (First Certificate in English) Speaking- Needs Analysis

Cambridge First Speaking Part One needs analysis and questions review

Ask questions and write notes about your partner below. Any questions on those topics are fine. Don’t show your partner the form (so they have to listen carefully to your questions). There is no need to write full sentences, but try to include all the useful information, as your teacher will take the form in later to learn more about your partner.

Name
Motivations for studying English and taking this class
	Present	Past	Future
Using English
English classes
English exams
Self-study
Strengths and weaknesses/ Priorities

Answer your partner’s questions in the same way, not looking at the form to make sure that you listen to the questions. Then ask about any you couldn’t think of questions for.

Ask each other any questions below that you haven’t and write that info in the boxes too.

Can I ask your name?/ What would you like me to call you?/ How do you spell your family name?
Why are you interested in taking Cambridge First?/ Why do you want to learn English?
Using English	How often do you use English?/ How often do you speak English outside class?/ Do you ever use English in your work or studies?	Have you ever lived abroad?/ Have you used English in your overseas travels?/ When did you last speak English outside class?	Do you want to use English more in the future?/ Will you use English more in the future?/ When will you next use English outside class?
English classes	Why are you taking this class?/ Are you taking any other classes?	Is this your first class in this school?/ How long have you been studying English?	Would you like to study abroad?
English exams	X	Have you taken any English language exams?/ Have you taken Cambridge First before?	When are you going to take the B2 First exam?/ Are you taking the computer-based test?/ Do you want to take any other exams after this one?
Self-study	Do you have any self-study books?/ Do you ever use language learning apps?/ How do you learn English vocabulary?/ What do you do to improve your reading speed?	When did you last use a self-study book?/ Have you ever tried studying grammar on your own?/ Have you ever seen a film with no subtitles?	What else are you planning to do to help pass the exam?
Strengths and weaknesses/ Priorities	What is the most difficult part of this test for you?/ Which part of your English do you most need to improve?/ What are your strengths and weaknesses in English?/ Are you good at… in English?/ How difficult is it to… in English for you?

Ask about any questions which you are not sure how to answer and share any other questions which you asked each other which are not above. 

Which of these questions are similar? What are the differences between them?

• Are you …ing (…)?
• Are you going to…?
• Are you interested in… (in the future)?
• Are you planning to…?
• Do you want to…?
• Will you…?/ Do you think that you will...?
• Would you like to…?

Brainstorm similar suitable past, present and future questions into the boxes below, with a range of different tenses etc. They should all be answerable by anyone in this class.

Topic	Present	Past	Future
Other languages
Education/ Studies
Work
Family
Home
Free time

Compare your questions with the list of typical Cambridge First Speaking Part One questions below, and share any extra questions that you made.

Languages

• Do you speak any other foreign languages?
• What do you enjoy most about learning other languages?
• What languages did you study at school?
• Are there any other languages which you’d like to learn?

Education

• Are you studying anything at the moment?
• Do you like to study on your own or with other people?
• What was your favourite subject when you were in primary school?
• Is there something new you’d really like to learn about?

Work

• Are you working, or are you a student?
• Can you tell us something about the place where you work or study?
• Have you ever had a part-time job?
• What type of work would you like to do in the future?
• What would be your perfect job?
• What qualifications do you think you’ll need in the future?

Family

• Do you have a large family?
• What do the other members of your family do?
• Do you spend a lot of time with your family?
• Do you take after your mother or your father?
• Did you get on with your parents when you were younger?
• Would you like to have a large family?
• When will you next meet up with your extended family?

Home

• Where are you from?/ Where do you come from?
• Do you live in a house or a flat?
• What is there for young people to do in your area?
• Where have you come from today?/ Did you have to travel far to get here today?
• Would you like to live in your hometown when you retire?
• What type of home would you like to live in in the future?

Free time

• Do you have any hobbies?
• How do you like to spend your weekends?
• How sporty are you?/ Would you describe yourself as sporty?
• What did you do last weekend?
• Has your choice of free time activities changed over the years?
• Are there any new hobbies you’d like to take up?
• Are you doing anything special at the weekend?

Ask about any questions above which you aren’t sure how to answer.

What are the differences between these questions?

• Where do you come from?/ Where have you come from?
• Do you like…?/ Would you like…?

What are the different meanings of Present Continuous in these sentences?

• Are you studying anything at the moment?/ Are you doing anything special at the weekend?

What are the different meanings of “How” in these questions?

• How do you like to spend your weekends?/ How sporty are you?

Take turns asking each other questions like those above to fill in another blank copy of the form and/ or to practise the test in the exam format below, asking extra follow up questions like “What makes you say that?” if the first answer is very short.

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Examiner’s script

“Good morning/afternoon/evening. My name is ………… and this is my colleague …... And you are?

First of all, we’d like to know something about you.

I’d like to start by asking you about (name of one of the topics above)

(ask two to four questions about that topic, starting with the present and moving on to the past and/ or future)

Now I’d like to move on and ask you about (name of a different topic above)

(ask two to four questions about that topic, starting with the present and moving on to the past and/ or future)

I’d also like to ask you some questions about (name of topic)

(ask two to four questions about that topic, starting with the present and moving on to the past and/ or future)”

 

Underline useful question stems above for making other questions and/ or ask each other different questions using the same question stems.