ING 100 Midterm
Speaking Exam Practice
Week 8
Prepared by Yeşim Kılıç
● Can you ride a bike?
● What are the advantages of a bicycle over a
car?
● What are the disadvantages of bicycles?
● Do you think bicycles will be used more or
less in the future?
● Is your country bicycle-friendly?
■ This exam aims to assess
your knowledge of the SDGs
as well as your speaking
skills. To do that, you will
speak about a poster like this
one during the exam.
■ Exam task: speaking about
the connection between a
poster and the SDGs by
giving reasons/examples for
2-3 minutes*
*You will have 1.5 minutes to prepare before you start speaking.
In BORs, discuss the connection between this poster and the
SDGs. The questions below might help you to do that:
· How can cycling improve our lives?
· Does cycling have an effect on our environment/cities?
You can take a picture of this slide before going to your breakout room.
Read the sample response carefully and pay attention to the
steps you should follow when giving your own response.
1. Start by describing This poster promotes a bicycle project
the poster with a few during European Mobility and
sentences. Sustainable Development Week. As you
can see on the poster, the wheels of the
bike are the circular logo of the Goals. I
believe this implies that the project aims
to address the sustainable development
goals, particularly SDG 3: Good Health
and Well-being.
After describing the poster, you can build the
connection between the poster and one (or two)
SDG. Now, it is time to explain why and how
they are related →
2. Build a connection between the poster and the SDGs and
elaborate on it. Read the sample response below and complete the
sentence with the gaps. This will help you build this connection.
In my opinion, this poster and the project it is describing
will help achieve Goal 3 because riding a bike is a healthy
and fun form of exercise for all ages. It can help to protect
you from serious diseases such as heart attack, some
cancers, and obesity. It is a great way to keep fit and have
fun. Cycling can also bring about a feeling of greater self-
esteem and self-control.This can make you feel good about
yourself and the world around you. A bike ride creates
positive emotions and reduces stress. As you're aware, SDG 3
is also about …., so this project can ….
For all these reasons, riding a bike can help people achieve
SDG 3 on an individual level.
A sample response:
(...) As you're aware, SDG 3 is also about mental
and psychological health, so this project can
contribute to enhancing your overall well-being
and so help reach SDG 3.
If you have time, you can explain the connection
with some other SDGs. Read the text below and
complete the blanks with one or two words.
Using a bike instead of a car reduces Co2 emissions greatly,
and this can offer the possibility for achieving Goal 13:
Climate Action. Switching to cycling for more of our shorter
journeys helps to protect the ________________. It creates less
noise, less ______________, and results in fewer emissions that
are warming the atmosphere. So, in my viewpoint, this
initiative may have a modest yet positive ____________ in the
pursuit of Goal 13.
🠶
Using a bike instead of a car
reduces Co2 emissions greatly,
and this can offer the possibility
for achieving Goal 13: Climate
Action. Switching to cycling for
more of our shorter journeys
helps to protect the
environment. It creates less
noise, less air pollution, and
results in fewer emissions that
are warming the atmosphere.
So, in my viewpoint, this
initiative may have a modest yet
positive impact in the pursuit of
Goal 13.
How to extend your ideas
After building the connection between the SDG(s) and the poster
you can:
1. give examples from your city/country and explain how your
country is doing in terms of this SDG.
2. give personal examples and explain what you do to help with
this goal in your life.
3. explain why this goal is important for humanity in general.
4. elaborate on the challenge described on the poster and
propose solutions to overcome it.
5. explain how our lives will improve if this SDG is achieved.
Whichever way you choose, make
sure to connect your ideas to the SDG
at the end of your speech. E.g.:
Talk about the
visual/slogan
here
This poster is related to SDG 5 because
(...) In order to ensure gender equality in
society, we must promote equal access
to education for girls and women.
Ensuring equal opportunities in the
workplace is also essential to close the
gender pay gap. (...) To sum up,
achieving SDG 5, is critical for all
nations as it contributes to social
progress and economic growth. By
ensuring equal rights and opportunities
for women and girls, societies can thrive
Add more
ideas, reasons
regardless of their gender.
etc.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE:
You will have 1.5 minutes to prepare and take notes of
your ideas at the beginning of the exam.
If you speak about the connection between the poster
and one or two SDGs by giving reasons and specific
examples for 2-3 minutes, GREAT!
However, if you start speaking about the poster-SDGs
connection and then struggle to find ideas to explain
this connection in detail, then your instructor will ask
you follow-up questions about the SDG you have
mentioned or the SDGs in general.
Some follow-up questions
1. Which of the UN's 17 SDGs relate to the
environment?
2. What are some ways in which your country
attempts to help the environment?
3. What are some ways in which you personally
attempt to help the environment?
These examples can give you an idea of the type of questions you
may be asked to respond during the exam.
Building a connection with the SDGs
Don’t try to build a connection with every SDG. Just choose 2 or 3 of
the SDGs (depending on the poster) and focus more on the reasons
why these SDGs are related to the poster.
If the poster is describing a global issue, consider Qs below:
✔ which SDG can solve this problem and how?
✔ which SDG would be hard to achieve due this problem and why?
✔ Also consider the target group; is it children who got affected or
women or employees or the nature or animals in the ocean?
These questions will help you find the connection easily.
Building a connection with the SDGs
If the poster is a project/an initiative, consider these questions:
✔ Which SDG can this project/activity contribute to achieving and
how?
✔ What aspects of our lives would improve thanks to this project?
E.g.:
Health Goal 3
Environment Goal 6, 13, 14, 15
➔ Do not forget to justify your choice by giving reasons or examples.
➔ Practice before the exam. Think about global issues or projects to
address them and practice building a connection between them and
the SDGs.
🡪
🡪
The
Sustainability
Flower – an
integrated
sustainable
development
framework
Look at the poster.
What issue (not the
SDGs) is it about?
Now describe the poster and explain which SDG(s) this
poster is linked to by giving reasons in the BORs.
Now, you will see two steps to follow to complete this task. You will also
find a sample response with some blanks. Fill in the blanks with words
and terms related to the topic and the task. At the end of the response,
you can provide a specific example to expand on your ideas and
strengthen your argument.
1. Start by giving brief information about the topic of the
poster by defining the problem in the poster.
Climate migration is when people have to ….. because of ……
such as …… This problem is closely linked to the SDGs, more
specifically, SDG ……
2. Then, move onto the description of how the SDG is related to
the problem depicted in the poster, how it can or should address
the problem.
I think SDG …. is very important in dealing with this problem
because ….. is the biggest reason why many people have to ….. If we
effectively address …….., it will improve the lives of climate refugees.
By reducing the frequency and impact of ………., we can reduce the
number of people who have to …………. against their will.
Unfortunately, if SDG …….. is not achieved, the problem will only
become more significant.
Your answer to these questions can be different
from the ones suggested in the next few slides.
As long as you justify your opinions, you will be
fine ☺
Let’s see which SDGs are related to the poster
and more importantly how:
1. Start by giving brief information about the topic of the
poster by defining the problem in the poster.
Climate migration is when people
have to leave their homes,
cities, or countries because of
climate-related disasters such
as heavy rain, droughts, and
environmental damage. This
problem is closely linked to the
SDGs, more specifically, SDG 13.
2. Then, move onto the description of how the SDG is related
to the problem depicted in the poster, how it can or should
address the problem. A specific example to strengthen your
argument can be provided.
I think SDG 13 is very important in dealing with this problem
because climate change is the biggest reason why many people
have to migrate. If we effectively address climate change, it
will improve the lives of climate refugees. By reducing the
frequency and impact of climate-related disasters, we can
reduce the number of people who have to leave their homes
against their will. Unfortunately, if SDG 13 is not achieved,
the problem will only become more significant. A lot of people
in Africa had to move because of extreme weather. For
example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, long droughts and the spread
of deserts have made millions of people leave their homes to
find water and good land. This shows why action on SDG 13 is
so important.
This response by itself
will take close to 2
minutes to say, which
is exactly the amount
of time you need to
speak during the
exam!
Now, we will read another short response
where the same poster is connected to a
different SDG. After reading, tell us which
SDG is being discussed.
I believe SDG … is related to the poster.
How? Let me explain: In my opinion,
achieving this SDG is crucial for climate
refugees because it focuses on creating
strong and weather-resistant
infrastructure. It promotes considering
climate change when planning cities. By
implementing this SDG, we can provide
better support to communities in
climate-vulnerable regions and reduce
the need for people to relocate.
You can talk about 2 SDGs
because, remember, the Goals
are interdependent!
Can you tell which two SDGs
can be used together to describe
the connection between this
poster and the SDGs?
Now read this possible response where SDG 13:
Climate Action and SDG 1: No Poverty are used.
Climate refugees are the people who have to leave their homes because of
climate change. I believe they're connected to SDG 1 and SDG 13. If we
don't achieve SDG 13, climate change gets worse.This leads to situations
where people can't grow their own food, so they're forced to move
somewhere else. And the tough part is, they often end up in poverty
because it's hard to find stability and get a job in these new places. But
that's where SDG 1 comes in. It's all about fighting poverty and making
sure these climate refugees have support. And if we can actually make
SDG 13 work and address climate change effectively, we can reduce the
number of climate refugees and help them escape poverty.
Look at the posters below. Work in groups to
explain their connection to the SDGs.
Fillers in Speaking
Q: “Do you think there is a connection between cycling and Goal 5?”
A: “Well, let me see. I haven’t actually considered the relation between riding a bike and
Gender Equality. The first thing that comes to my mind is that bicycles can actually make it
easier for girls to go to school in small villages or rural areas”.
Read the Q and Q above. How do the underlined sentences serve the speaker?
★ They are fillers.Fillers are the words/sentences that we use to fill gaps when you
think.
Umms and Ahhs are filler sounds and might represent a breakdown in language. Try to
avoid them as much as possible.
How to avoid an awkward silence or Umms and Ahhs during the speaking exam:
★ Study the SDGs and prepare for possible topics. The more you are prepared, the
more you have to say.
Also use filler words when you need time to organize
your thoughts.
● First of all
● I want to say
● Let me tell you why Relying on filler phrases
● By the way or nouns is natural.
● At the end of the day However, you cannot use
● The fact is the same filler phrase
● Let’s be clear over and over as a
● Let me be very clear crutch, as this will lower
● I guess
your Fluency score.
● I think
● You know
A brainstorming activity:
1. Students work in BORs to discuss and write a list
of global issues on Google Docs.
2. For each problem, they also write the SDGs that
are related.
3. When students come back to the main room, their
ideas on Google Docs can be shared on screen.
Students can only name the SDGs that are related
to the issues or briefly discuss the connection
between the issues and the SDGs.
Sources
1. https://unric.org/en/sustainable-development-goals-cycling/
2. https://ieltsaolcc.ca/how-to-use-filler-words-in-a-correct-way-
in-ielts-speaking-test/
