The key ideaIn task 2 you are not asked to answer well: you are asked to question well. Two minutes are enough if you know which families of questions to prepare.
What the task really assesses
Speaking lasts 12 minutes and has three tasks. The second is an interaction exercise of 5 minutes 30, including 2 minutes of preparation: you have to obtain information in an everyday situation. The instructions state your role and the examiner’s.
You are assessed on your ability to ask questions that fit the situation. A candidate who asks three perfect questions and then falls silent has shown less than one who asks ten varied, natural ones.
Two minutes, five families of questions
During preparation, do not write full sentences: note one word per family of questions. You will phrase them aloud.
- The setting: where, when, for how long
- The price: rate, discounts, payment methods
- The conditions: age, level, equipment, documents
- The process: schedule, steps, who to contact
- The unexpected: cancellation, delay, refund
Vary the form of your questions
Ten questions starting with “est-ce que” sound like a list. Alternate forms: inversion, question word, indirect question, request for detail.
Practise without memorizing
Reciting a text learned by heart is treated as fraud by France Éducation international, and it can be heard. Train the five families on different situations, not a script.
Once you are signed in, an AI partner answers every question: you learn to follow up, which no list of questions will teach you.
Checklist
- I note one word per family of questions, not sentences.
- I aim for about ten varied questions.
- I alternate at least three question forms.
- I react to every other answer.
- I practise on different situations, without a script.
