Part 2 topic family

Activities and habits

Activity cards ask about something you do repeatedly, which makes them the natural home of the present simple, frequency adverbs, and process language. They are also generous: because the activity is real and current, you rarely run out of material. The risk is the opposite one, that the answer becomes a flat list of steps with no personality.

What the examiner is listening for

Process and sequencing language, frequency and duration expressions, and whether you can explain why the habit stuck when so many others do not.

How to spend the preparation minute

You get exactly sixty seconds with a pencil and a sheet of paper. This is how to divide them on a card of this shape.

0:00–0:15
Nail the specifics
Not 'exercise' but 'swimming, Tuesday and Thursday, the pool by the station'. Specific habits speak themselves; general ones stall.
0:15–0:30
How you started
Note the origin — who introduced you, or what made you begin. This gives you a past-tense section inside a present-tense answer.
0:30–0:45
The process
Write three or four steps or stages in order. This is your sequencing language: first, once that is done, at that point.
0:45–1:00
Why it stuck
Note the payoff — what it gives you that nothing else does. That answers the explain bullet and gives you a strong close.

Language that transfers across every card here

I have got into the habit of…
Present perfect collocation for a routine that has become fixed.
it has become second nature
For something you now do without thinking.
I stick at it even when…
Phrasal verb for persistence; shows range beyond 'continue'.
it clears my head
Natural collocation for the mental benefit of an activity.
on and off for about three years
Duration phrase that sounds honest rather than rehearsed.
I am not a morning person, but…
Self-characterisation that adds personality to a process answer.
it is a slow burn
For something whose benefit only appears over a long period.

Grammar this family pulls out of you

Grammatical range is a quarter of your Speaking band. These structures arise naturally on these cards, so you do not have to force them in.

Frequency adverbs in mid position: “I usually go straight after work, and I rarely miss a session.”
Present perfect continuous for duration: “I have been doing it for about eighteen months now.”
Sequencers for process: “First I soak the rice, then while that is happening I get the spices ready.”

What costs people marks on these cards

Turning the answer into a recipe or an instruction manual with no first person in it.
Choosing an activity you wish you did rather than one you actually do; the detail dries up in twenty seconds.
Repeating 'I like it because it is good for me' three times instead of naming one specific benefit.

Cue cards in this family

11 cards

Where Part 3 usually goes after these cards

The examiner follows your long turn with a four to five minute discussion on the same theme, worked from two related discussion topics. On this family the discussion tends to travel in these directions.

Why adults find it harder to take up new activities than children
Whether governments should fund public sport and leisure facilities
How screen-based leisure is changing the way people spend free time
Whether cooking at home is a dying skill and what is lost if it is
How workplaces could better support learning and healthy habits

The timing you are rehearsing against

1 minute
Preparation
The examiner hands you the card, paper and a pencil. Make notes — a few words per cue point, never sentences.
1–2 minutes
Your long turn
Speak until the examiner stops you at two minutes. Finishing early is the most common self-inflicted problem in Part 2.
1–2 questions
Rounding off
The examiner may ask one or two short follow-up questions, then moves straight into the Part 3 discussion on the same theme.

Part 2 takes three to four minutes in total. The whole Speaking test runs 11 to 14 minutes across three parts, and Part 3 that follows lasts four to five minutes.

Part 2 topic family

Activities and habits

What the examiner is listening for

Process and sequencing language, frequency and duration expressions, and whether you can explain why the habit stuck when so many others do not.

How to spend the preparation minute

You get exactly sixty seconds with a pencil and a sheet of paper. This is how to divide them on a card of this shape.

0:00–0:15
Nail the specifics
Not 'exercise' but 'swimming, Tuesday and Thursday, the pool by the station'. Specific habits speak themselves; general ones stall.
0:15–0:30
How you started
Note the origin — who introduced you, or what made you begin. This gives you a past-tense section inside a present-tense answer.
0:30–0:45
The process
Write three or four steps or stages in order. This is your sequencing language: first, once that is done, at that point.
0:45–1:00
Why it stuck
Note the payoff — what it gives you that nothing else does. That answers the explain bullet and gives you a strong close.

Language that transfers across every card here

I have got into the habit of…
Present perfect collocation for a routine that has become fixed.
it has become second nature
For something you now do without thinking.
I stick at it even when…
Phrasal verb for persistence; shows range beyond 'continue'.
it clears my head
Natural collocation for the mental benefit of an activity.
on and off for about three years
Duration phrase that sounds honest rather than rehearsed.
I am not a morning person, but…
Self-characterisation that adds personality to a process answer.
it is a slow burn
For something whose benefit only appears over a long period.

Grammar this family pulls out of you

Grammatical range is a quarter of your Speaking band. These structures arise naturally on these cards, so you do not have to force them in.

Frequency adverbs in mid position: “I usually go straight after work, and I rarely miss a session.”
Present perfect continuous for duration: “I have been doing it for about eighteen months now.”
Sequencers for process: “First I soak the rice, then while that is happening I get the spices ready.”

What costs people marks on these cards

Turning the answer into a recipe or an instruction manual with no first person in it.
Choosing an activity you wish you did rather than one you actually do; the detail dries up in twenty seconds.
Repeating 'I like it because it is good for me' three times instead of naming one specific benefit.

Cue cards in this family

11 cards

Where Part 3 usually goes after these cards

Why adults find it harder to take up new activities than children
Whether governments should fund public sport and leisure facilities
How screen-based leisure is changing the way people spend free time
Whether cooking at home is a dying skill and what is lost if it is
How workplaces could better support learning and healthy habits

The timing you are rehearsing against

1 minute
Preparation
The examiner hands you the card, paper and a pencil. Make notes — a few words per cue point, never sentences.
1–2 minutes
Your long turn
Speak until the examiner stops you at two minutes. Finishing early is the most common self-inflicted problem in Part 2.
1–2 questions
Rounding off
The examiner may ask one or two short follow-up questions, then moves straight into the Part 3 discussion on the same theme.

Part 2 takes three to four minutes in total. The whole Speaking test runs 11 to 14 minutes across three parts, and Part 3 that follows lasts four to five minutes.

What the examiner is listening for

How to spend the preparation minute

Nail the specifics

How you started

The process

Why it stuck

Language that transfers across every card here

Grammar this family pulls out of you

What costs people marks on these cards

Cue cards in this family

Where Part 3 usually goes after these cards

The timing you are rehearsing against

Preparation

Your long turn

Rounding off

What the examiner is listening for

How to spend the preparation minute

Nail the specifics

How you started

The process

Why it stuck

Language that transfers across every card here

Grammar this family pulls out of you

What costs people marks on these cards

Cue cards in this family

Where Part 3 usually goes after these cards

The timing you are rehearsing against

Preparation

Your long turn

Rounding off