Dear colleagues,
I’d like to share some universal ideas which your students can use to describe a photo in the speaking part of the RNE task 3.
According to the Task 3 your student has to choose one of the three photos from his/her photo album to describe to his/her friend.
Here’s the plan to follow:
where and when the photo was taken
what/who is in the photo
what is happening
why you keep the photo in your album
why you decided to show the picture to your friend
As for the first three aspects they can’t be the same and depend on the picture except for the opening and closing remarks. Remind your students to start with: “I’ve chosen photo number …” and to finish with “That’s all.” As for the last two points of the plan my students and I suggest the following idea:
why you keep the photo in your album
I keep this photo in my album because I think it’s one of the best photos I’ve ever taken. On a rainy (cold, winter, nasty) day, I just have to look at it and then memories of a wonderful adventure (holiday, travelling, journey) come back, and I can imagine that I’m in sunny Italy again (that I’m on holiday again).
or
I keep this photo in my album because I think it’s one of the best photos I’ve ever taken. When I’m in a bad mood, I just have to look at it and it makes me smile (feel happy, forget about my problems).
why you decided to show the picture to your friend
I decided to show the photo to my friend because I’d like to take part in a school photo contest. My friend’s opinion is very important for me. I need to know if I have any chances to be the first. I hope I will win.
