CAE Speaking Test 3: communicating ideas, patience and group strengths
CAE Speaking Test 3 is a free C1 Advanced Speaking practice test in four parts, with recorded examiner prompts and 6 photos. You compare ways of communicating ideas and working patiently, then discuss how groups can use their members’ different strengths. The Part 3 question is “How might these approaches help a group use its members’ different strengths?”
- Free, no sign-up to start
- Solo practice with recorded examiner prompts
- Estimated Cambridge English Scale score
What is in CAE Speaking Test 3
| Part | Task | Exam time | In this test |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Interview | 2 min | 8 questions (6 asked), from “Where do you live at the moment?” |
| 2 | Long turn | 4 min | 3 photos each: people communicating an idea in different ways; people working patiently on detailed tasks |
| 3 | Collaborative task | 4 min | How might these approaches help a group use its members’ different strengths? |
| 4 | Discussion | 5 min | 6 questions (5 asked), from “Why are some groups more effective than a collection of highly skilled individuals?” |
Solo practice: you answer recorded examiner prompts. The real test is face to face with two examiners, usually in pairs.
Part 1: interview
- Where do you live at the moment?
- What do you find most interesting about your work or studies?
- When do you usually have your best ideas?
- Do you enjoy developing an idea with other people? Why?
- What has helped you see a familiar subject differently?
- How do you decide whether advice is useful?
- Which creative activity would you like to spend more time on? extra
- Is there an opinion you have changed as you have gained experience? extra
Part 2: long turn
Candidate A (you)
Photos of people communicating an idea in different ways.
What might the people be trying to communicate?
How effective might these ways of communicating be?
Partner question: Which of these ways of communicating would you find easiest to understand? Why?
Candidate B
Photos of people working patiently on detailed tasks.
Why might patience be especially important in these situations?
What might motivate the people to keep working?
Partner question: Which activity do you think would be most rewarding to complete successfully? Why?
Part 3: collaborative task
How might these approaches help a group use its members’ different strengths?
- letting members choose their roles
- sharing unfinished ideas
- learning about one another’s experience
- changing roles occasionally
- agreeing on a common purpose
Now you have about a minute to decide which two approaches would be most useful when a group first starts working together.
Part 4: discussion
- Why are some groups more effective than a collection of highly skilled individuals?
- Is it better to develop a person’s strengths or to work on their weaknesses? Why?
- How can a quiet person make a strong contribution to a group?
- Should everyone in a group have an equal say in important decisions? Why?
- What can disagreements reveal about the way a group works?
- How might working with people of different generations change the results a group achieves? extra
How it is marked
CAE Speaking marking
Grammatical Resource, Lexical Resource, Discourse Management, Pronunciation, Interactive Communication and Global Achievement: 75 marks. Our expert evaluation gives an estimate from your recordings.
More CAE Speaking tests
CAE Speaking practice tests · CAE Mock Test 3 · Updated 15 November 2026
Ready for CAE Speaking Test 3?
15 minutes in the exam; the solo practice is a little shorter. Free, no sign-up to start: you give an email address when you submit, and we email you when your expert evaluation is ready to view.