Speaking questions - talking about the local area - Foundation
Photo-based speaking task
When describing a photo, the first thing to do is say what you can see. Try to think about some things that you could mention, eg:
Who is in the photo, what they are doing, where they are and what other things can you see.
Here are some useful phrases to help describe a photo:
| en esta foto hay ... | in this photo, there is/there are ... |
| la foto trata de ... | the photo is about ... |
| se puede ver ... | you can see ... |
| veo ... | I can see ... |
| a la derecha/izquierda ... | on the right/left ... |
| en primer plano ... | in the foreground ... |
| al fondo ... | in the background ... |
| en esta foto hay ... |
| in this photo, there is/there are ... |
| la foto trata de ... |
| the photo is about ... |
| se puede ver ... |
| you can see ... |
| veo ... |
| I can see ... |
| a la derecha/izquierda ... |
| on the right/left ... |
| en primer plano ... |
| in the foreground ... |
| al fondo ... |
| in the background ... |
Look carefully at the photo above. How would you answer the following questions?
Question
Describe la foto.
¿Es mejor vivir en el campo o en la costa? ¿Por qué?
Click to listen to some example answers.
Transcript:
- Describe la foto.
- En la foto se puede ver una calle con tres casas. También hay cinco coches. A la izquierda hay unos árboles. Hace buen tiempo. Veo una familia con niños pequeños y un grupo de adultos que están hablando.
- ¿Es mejor vivir en el campo o en la costa? ¿Por qué?
- Para mí es mejor vivir en la costa porque me encanta ir a la playa. Me gusta nadar en el mar y jugar al voleibol con mis amigos.
Translation:
- Describe the photo.
- In the photo, you can see a street with three houses. Also, there are five cars. On the left, there are some trees. It's nice weather. I can see a family with small children and a group of adults who are talking.
- Is it better to live in the country or on the coast? Why?
- For me, it's better to live on the coast because I love going to the beach. I like swimming in the sea and playing volleyball with my friends.
Question
What other questions might you be asked? Click to listen to some potential questions and answers.
Transcript:
- En mi opinión, vivir en un pueblo es aburrido para los jóvenes. ¿Estás de acuerdo?
- Estoy de acuerdo, es bastante aburrido vivir en un pueblo porque es demasiado tranquilo. Personalmente prefiero la ciudad porque no hay mucho para los jóvenes en un pueblo.
- ¿Qué hiciste en tu barrio el fin de semana pasado?
- Fui al cine con mis amigos y también fuimos de compras al nuevo centro comercial. Tuvimos que coger el autobús porque estaba bastante lejos. Lo pasamos bien.
Translation:
- In my opinion, living in a village is boring for young people. Do you agree?
- I agree it's quite boring living in a village because it's too quiet. Personally, I prefer the town because there is not much for young people in a village.
- What did you do in your local area last weekend?
- I went to the cinema with my friends and we also went shopping in the new shopping centre. We had to catch the bus because it was quite far away. We had a good time.
