What Questions Come Up in the Multilevel Speaking Section

Don't Fear the Multilevel Speaking Section: The Secrets of Its 3 Parts

While preparing for the National Certificate or the international-level Multilevel exam in English, many students feel a bit uneasy about the Speaking section. That's natural — live conversation and a time limit create a certain amount of pressure. But the good news is that this section has a clear structure, and if you know the rules, scoring well isn't actually that hard.

Today, as the CEFRify team, we'll take a detailed look at exactly what format the Speaking exam follows, what kinds of questions come up, and what criteria examiners use to score you.

The 3 main parts of the Speaking section

Regardless of whether the exam is conducted by computer or face to face with an examiner, the sequence of questions is generally made up of three parts:

Part 1: Personal questions and introduction (Interview)

At this stage, you'll be asked simple questions about your daily life, your interests, your studies, or your work. The goal is to help you relax and to check whether you can communicate freely on ordinary topics.

• Sample questions:
  • Where do you live? Tell me about your hometown.
  • What do you usually do in your free time?
  • Do you prefer reading books or watching movies? Why?

Part 2: Picture description and a short presentation (Long turn)

In this part, you'll be shown one or two pictures and asked to describe them and answer a specific question. You'll be given a short time to think, after which you need to speak continuously for 1-2 minutes.

• Sample question:
  • Look at the picture showing people shopping in a supermarket. Describe what you see and explain why people prefer supermarkets to traditional markets.

Part 3: In-depth discussion and topic-related questions (Discussion)

This is the most complex part, and the one where the higher scores are decided. Building on the topic from Part 2, you'll be asked general, philosophical, or society-related questions. You need to not only state your opinion, but also support it with arguments and examples.

• Sample questions:
  • How has technology changed the way people communicate compared to the past?
  • Do you think advertisements have a strong influence on what people buy?

What criteria do examiners use to score you?

While taking the exam, aiming for grammatically flawless speech alone isn't enough. Four main criteria are taken into account during scoring:

• 1. Fluency and Coherence: Speaking without unnecessary pauses, at a natural pace, and logically connecting your ideas using linking words such as 'however', 'furthermore', 'in addition'.
• 2. Lexical Resource: Using not just simple words but advanced vocabulary and idioms appropriately, matched to the topic.
• 3. Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Using not only simple tenses but complex sentence structures, conditionals, and passive constructions, while avoiding mistakes.
• 4. Pronunciation: Pronouncing words correctly and following the rules of stress and intonation. It's important that the examiner can understand you without difficulty.

Next practical step

Start preparing for the Multilevel Speaking exam today! To find out your level and get familiar with the official requirements, log into the official account on my.gov.uz or the Knowledge Assessment Agency's (formerly DTM) portal, and check the latest updates.