Part 2

Band 5+: Describe a place you went to that surprised you. You should say: - Where it was - Why you went there - What made it surprising And explain how this surprise changed your view or feelings about that place.

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Polished transcript:

Male Female

Three days ago, I went with my friend to Constantine. It's a city in my country, Algeria. Actually, I went with him because his passport had been accepted for the Schengen visa. We went to pick up that passport and to take a walk and see the city and all the beautiful places there. So, actually, we were two friends, Mohammed and I, and Mohammed is the person who actually had this issue and went to fix it to get his passport back. So when we arrived, when we reached the city of Constantine, he put a protest on the mall. There is a big mall there. Its name is XG. We went there to do some shopping and hang around. And he went to the Chinese consulate to get his passport. What made me really shocked and surprised me is the huge number of female workers. It's not normal for me because in my city there aren't as many women working, and actually the number of women is far more than the number of male workers there. That helped me to accept the idea of female workers. Because before, I couldn't accept it basically. Because I saw it as embarrassing.

Actual audio transcript (What native speakers are likely to hear):

3 days ago I went with my friend to Constantin. It’s a city of my country Algeria. Actually I went with him because he has his passport, has been accepted for the Shynes visa. we go to pick that passport and to get a walk and see the cities and these are all beautiful places there. So, actually we were two friends and Mohammed, the person who actually has this problem and go to fix it to get his passport back. So when we arrived, when we reached the city of Constantin, he put a protest on the mall. There is a big mall there. His name is XG. We go there to get some shopping and hanging around. And he goes to the Chinese consul to get his passport. What makes me really shocked and surprised me is the huge number of female workers. It’s not normal for me because in my city there isn’t as much of women working and actually the number of women is more by far is more far than the number of mall workers there. That helped me to accept the idea of the female workers. Because before I can’t accept it basically. Because I see it as embarrassing.

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Speaking Time: 80 seconds

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Overall Band Score

(+/- 0.5)

Vocabulary Complexity:
B1 - Intermediate
Using more sophisticated words could be beneficial.

Vocabulary Repetition:

went: 6

there: 6

city: 4

actually: 4

because: 4

passport: 4

number: 3

workers: 3

Try using synonyms for the above words

Pronunciation

Your pronunciation is above average. However, you may find complexity in certain words challenging. Regular practice should aid in improvement.

Task Response

The answer addresses the topic by describing the place (Constantine), the reason for going (to collect a passport and explore the city), and the surprising element (the high number of female workers). However, the response lacks depth and detail in several areas. The explanation of how the surprise changed your view is brief and could be expanded with more personal reflection and specific examples. Additionally, the narrative includes some irrelevant details (e.g., the friend's name and the specific mall) that do not contribute to the main topic. To improve, focus on providing a more structured and detailed account, including a clearer description of the place, a more vivid explanation of the surprise, and a deeper exploration of how this experience altered your perspective.

Fluency & Coherence

The answer is generally coherent and follows a logical sequence, but there are noticeable issues with fluency. There are several instances of self-correction and repetition (e.g., 'we go to pick that passport and to get a walk and see the cities and these are all beautiful places there', 'What makes me really shocked and surprised me'). The use of cohesive devices is basic, and some ideas are not clearly linked (e.g., the transition from the mall to the consulate is abrupt). To improve, practice organizing your ideas with clear signposting and avoid unnecessary repetition. Use a wider range of linking words and phrases to connect your thoughts more smoothly.

Lexical Resource

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but it lacks precision and flexibility. There are some errors in word choice and collocation (e.g., 'put a protest on the mall' instead of 'went to the mall', 'Shynes visa' instead of 'Schengen visa', 'get a walk' instead of 'take a walk'). The range of vocabulary is limited, and you rely on simple, everyday words. To improve, try to use more specific and varied vocabulary, and pay attention to correct collocations. For example, instead of 'huge number', you could say 'a striking number' or 'an overwhelming presence'.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

There are several grammatical errors that affect clarity and accuracy. These include tense inconsistencies (e.g., 'we go to pick' instead of 'we went to pick', 'he put a protest' instead of 'he went to'), incorrect use of articles (e.g., 'a city of my country' instead of 'a city in my country'), and subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'the number of women is more by far is more far than the number of mall workers there'). The range of grammatical structures is limited, with a heavy reliance on simple sentences. To improve, focus on using past tenses consistently, and practice using a variety of sentence structures, such as complex sentences with subordinate clauses.

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Band 5+: Describe a place you went to that surprised you. You should say: - Where it was - Why you went there - What made it surprising And explain how this surprise changed your view or feelings about that place.

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