This is an activity focused on getting students to make speculations about photographs in preparation for part 2 of the CAE speaking. In part 2 you will also be required to compare and contrast the photos, I intend to cover that in a future post. The main aims of this activity is to ensure that students are comfortable with various different phrases for speculating.
Divide the class into teams (2-3 per team). Give out this handout. Go through the language to make sure that it is all clear. The handout contains some typical questions that require speculation from the CAE speaking part 2 and present and past speculation phrases.
Typical Questions:
How might the people be feeling?
What might they be thinking?
Why are they doing this?
What has just happened?
Speculation:
Present
They could/might/may be…………..
They can’t be………………..
They must be…………………
Perhaps they…………..
They look as if they……………….
Their expressions suggest that……………….
Past
They could/might/may have just + past participle (very recent events)
They can’t have just + past participle (very recent events)
They must have just + past participle (very recent events)
Perhaps they have…………..
They look as if they have……………….
Project this prezi on to the board (or print out the pictures)
The prezi contains a series of individual photos. Each team has 2 minutes to make as many speculations as they can. For every correctly structured sentence they receive 1 point, they will also receive 5 bonus points if they manage to use all of the phrases on the handout. The idea is that they are forced to use different structures thus showing a wider range of language to the examiner.
