Questions about yourself in the A2 Greek speaking exam
The first part of the speaking exam is questions about yourself. Don’t answer in one word: give the answer, a “because” and one detail.
If your answer is short, the examiner asks more questions; if it is fuller, there are fewer of them. So it is better to add a reason or an example straight away.
How to answer: answer, “because”, detail
You will almost always be asked why, so give the reason yourself. Three steps:
- First, a short answer to the question.
- Then the reason: “because…”.
- Finally, one detail or example.
For example, the question “What’s your favourite season?”:
- Summer. I love summer because it’s hot. At weekends we go to the sea.
If they ask “Which do you prefer, A or B?”, answer the same way: your choice, the reason, a detail.
What they ask
The questions below are retold from what past candidates say. The examiner speaks to you with the polite “you”, and almost every answer is followed up: “Why?” or “Which do you prefer, A or B?”.
- How are you feeling right now?
- Where are you from?
- How long have you lived in Cyprus?
- Where do you live, what is the area like, do you like it?
- A house or a flat? Describe it.
- What is your job and what do you do at work?
- What do you wear to work?
- What do you do after work?
- Family: who do you live with?
- Do you cook, and what?
- Hobbies and sport.
- Why are you learning Greek, and for how long?
- When is your birthday?
- Your favourite season, and why?
- Which languages do you speak?
- What time do you go to bed?
- The city or a village: which suits you better?
- The cinema or a film at home?
- What do you do for your health?
- How did you spend Christmas?
- How much time do you spend online?
The topic is always your own life, so you can prepare your answers in advance.
What to prepare in advance
Have short answers ready for the most common topics, and fill in your own words: your town, your job, your hobby.
- Where you’re from: country and town.
- Where you live and how many years you’ve been in Cyprus.
- What you do: work or studies.
- Who you live with: family, children.
- Hobbies and what you like doing after work.
- Why you’re learning Greek.
- Your favourite season and why.
- Which languages you speak.
What to do if you didn’t understand the question
Don’t go quiet and don’t guess: ask the examiner to repeat, to speak more slowly or to say it more simply. Ready-made phrases with the polite “you” are on the page How to ask the examiner to repeat.