Speaking · Part 2
Photo description. About 3 minutes. Describe a colour photograph on your own for about a minute.
Talk for the whole minute: say where the people are, what they are doing, what they are wearing and how they feel. If you don't know a word, explain it in other words.
Useful language for Part 2
Words for the exam topics
Learn the vocabulary you need to talk and write about the topics that come up most often.
About B1 Preliminary Speaking Part 2
- Task: Photo description – about 3 minutes. Each candidate describes a colour photograph on their own for about a minute.
- What it tests: describing people, places and activities, and using the present continuous.
How to do it
- Say where the people are and what they are doing.
- Talk about the background, the clothes and how the people feel.
- If you don't know a word, explain it in other words.
Example answer
Examiner: Here is your photograph. It shows people in a kitchen. Please tell us what you can see.
Good answer (beginning): “In this photo I can see a family cooking together. On the left there’s a man cutting vegetables, and next to him a girl is washing something. I think they’re making dinner because…”
Why it works: say where things are (on the left, next to), use the present continuous for actions, and guess (“I think…”, “maybe”). If you don’t know a word, describe it: “a thing for cooking rice”.
Frequent questions
What is B1 Preliminary Speaking Part 2?
Photo description: about 3 minutes. Each candidate describes a colour photograph on their own for about a minute.
How long is the B1 Preliminary Speaking test?
About 12–17 minutes for two candidates, with two examiners: one asks the questions and the other listens and marks.
Is this B1 Preliminary practice free?
Yes. You can start straight away without an account, and a free Levoop account opens every exercise and saves your progress. Only the AI feedback on your Writing and Speaking is paid, and you can try both for free.
🇪🇸 Guía en español: Speaking del B1 Preliminary: cómo es cada parte y frases útiles →