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C1 Advanced collaborative task: Speaking Part 3

C1Listening & Speaking40 questionsUpdated

In the C1 Advanced collaborative task you and your partner discuss a set of written prompts and then reach a decision together. What is assessed is the interaction as much as the language: inviting, responding, building on what your partner said and negotiating towards an answer.

What this task tests

  • Interactive communication: initiating, responding and developing another speaker’s ideas.
  • Expressing and justifying opinions rather than simply stating preferences.
  • Agreeing, half-agreeing and disagreeing in a natural register.
  • Negotiating a decision within a time limit.
  • Speculating about prompts you know little about.
  • Managing turns: coming in politely and handing the turn back.
  • Keeping going without long silences, using natural hesitation devices.
  • Sharing the time roughly equally with your partner.

How to do it

  1. Step 1:

    Open by organising, not by opining

    ‘Shall we start with this one?’ takes half a second, sets the structure and shows the examiner interaction from the first line. It also stops both candidates starting at once.

  2. Step 2:

    Give a reason with every opinion

    One sentence of justification turns a preference into an argument: not ‘I like this one’, but ‘This one would reach more people for less money.’ The reason is what gets assessed.

  3. Step 3:

    Respond before you add

    Say something about what your partner just said — agreeing, qualifying, questioning — before moving to your own point. That single habit is what separates a discussion from two monologues.

  4. Step 4:

    Use half-agreement to disagree

    ‘I see what you mean, but I am not sure it would work here.’ At C1 this is worth more than flat contradiction, and it keeps the conversation going rather than ending it.

  5. Step 5:

    Watch the clock on the prompts

    You are not required to cover every prompt, but do not spend the whole time on one. Two or three minutes of discussion means roughly half a minute each on the ones you choose.

  6. Step 6:

    Bring a quiet partner in

    ‘What do you make of this one?’ Ask a direct question about a specific prompt. You are assessed on interaction, and drawing your partner out demonstrates it more clearly than fluency alone.

  7. Step 7:

    Signal the decision stage

    ‘So, of the five, which two would work best?’ The second stage asks for a decision, and naming that shift is an easy way to show control of the task.

  8. Step 8:

    Do not be afraid to change your mind

    ‘On reflection, I think you are right about the cost.’ Shifting position for a reason is natural, well regarded, and much better than defending a weak point for two minutes.

Mistakes that cost marks

  • Not thisPreparing a speech about each prompt and delivering it in turn.

    ThisTalking with your partner about the prompts.

    Two monologues score poorly for interactive communication however good the English in them is.

  • Not thisAnswering everything with ‘Yes, I agree.’

    This‘I agree, and it would also help people who cannot travel.’

    Bare agreement gives the assessor nothing. Adding a reason or a qualification is what develops the discussion.

  • Not thisRushing to a decision in the first thirty seconds.

    ThisDiscussing the prompts, then deciding when the second question is asked.

    The task has two stages. Deciding immediately removes the material the first stage is meant to produce.

  • Not thisTalking over your partner to get more speaking time.

    This‘Could I just come in there?’ and then handing the turn back.

    Dominating damages your interaction mark as surely as silence does, and it usually makes the other candidate go quiet.

  • Not thisFalling silent when you cannot think of anything about a prompt.

    This‘I do not know much about this one — what do you think?’

    Speculating or asking keeps the task alive. Silence is the only thing that cannot be assessed.

  • Not thisSaying ‘That is completely wrong.’

    This‘I see it slightly differently, actually.’

    Register matters in disagreement. The softened form is both more natural at C1 and more likely to get a useful reply.

Language this task keeps reusing

Shall we start with…?
a phrase for organising the task
Where do you stand on…?
inviting your partner’s opinion
That’s a fair point
acknowledging before qualifying
I’m not so sure about that
a softened disagreement
I see what you mean, but…
half-agreement before a counter-point
Could I just come in there?
asking for a turn politely
I didn’t quite catch that
asking for repetition
narrow it down
reduce the options
go along with
accept someone’s suggestion
on reflection
having thought about it again
be inclined to agree
tend to agree
What makes you say that?
asking for a reason
come back to
return to a point later
to sum up
stating the decision reached

Practice: the collaborative task

40 original questions. The first 10 are open to everyone. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class as it is.

In the collaborative task, candidates are asked to:

2Complete the sentence.

Shall we startthis one?

3Complete the sentence.

Where do youon that?
Decide whether each statement about this task is true or false.
  • Interactive communication is assessed, so inviting your partner in earns marks.
  • You are assessed on whether you reach the correct decision.
  • You are expected to discuss the prompts before deciding.
3 to go
Your partner has said very little. The best move is:

6Complete the sentence.

I’m not soabout that, to be honest.

7How do you disagree politely and keep the conversation going?

Which response develops your partner’s point rather than replacing it?

9Complete the sentence.

That’s a fair, though I’d add one thing.

10Complete the sentence.

I see what you, but there is another side to it.

Keep going

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Frequently asked questions

What if my partner is much weaker than me?

You are assessed individually, so their English cannot lower your marks — but their silence can, if you let the interaction die. Ask short, direct questions about specific prompts, and leave space for the answer.

Do we have to agree?

No. Reaching a genuine disagreement politely and saying so is perfectly acceptable, and often more interesting language than a forced agreement. What matters is that you negotiate rather than simply state positions.

Do we have to talk about every prompt?

No, and trying to usually makes the discussion shallow. Two or three prompts handled with reasons and responses show far more than five touched on in a sentence each.

Is it bad to hesitate?

Natural hesitation is fine and sounds authentic — ‘well’, ‘I suppose’, ‘let me think’. What is assessed is whether you keep the interaction going, not whether you speak without pausing.

How can I practise this without a partner?

Record yourself arguing both sides of a prompt for ninety seconds, switching roles aloud. It feels odd but it builds the phrases for responding, and those are the ones candidates lack when a real partner is sitting opposite.