Effective communication is an art, particularly when it comes to expressing opinions in a way that resonates with others.

Today I'll introduce you to some of the critical skills needed for CELPIP Speaking Task 7, Expressing Opinions.

You'll learn about the importance of honesty paired with creativity, and why you should draw from personal experiences while also being imaginative when necessary.

We'll also talk about the essential strategies for tackling this speaking task, including the importance of staying on topic, using time effectively, and ensuring responses are well-structured with clear arguments.

To finish off, we'll talk about transition words that can help you improve the flow of your responses.

Takeaways:

• Practice expressing your opinion on various topics to prepare for speaking task seven.
• Use your brainstorming time wisely to organize thoughts before recording your answer.
• Support your opinion with at least three reasons and specific examples for clarity.
• Transition words are essential to connect ideas and create a cohesive response.
• Stay on topic throughout your response to avoid getting sidetracked during the exam.
• Be honest in your opinion and don't worry about whether your answer is right or wrong.

Links referenced in this episode:

• cellpipsuccess.com/resources

Mentioned in this episode:

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Do you know one of the most dangerous questions I've been asked by my wife over the 23 years that we've been married? Here it is. Do you think this dress makes me look fat?

Now, over the years, from personal experience and the experience of many other guys I've gotten to know, I've learned that if you want to survive this question, there is only one right answer. Instantly, with zero hesitation and all the conviction you can muster, you must respond, no, of course not.

Now, for the record, this would be my honest answer as well as the safe one to offer. And there are other questions my wife has asked me where I've needed to offer my opinion honestly, like, do you think these glasses are nice?

Or do you think that that's a good price? Or do you think we should get this or that thing? Those questions require me to give my opinion right.

But I also need to offer more in my response than just a simple yes or no. I need to explain it, right? I need to explain why. Well, that's what CELPIP speaking task seven is all about, effectively expressing your opinion.

And if you'd like some helpful strategies to help you practice, then listen in to todays episode. Well hello there and welcome to the speak English Fearlessly podcast.

This is the podcast for motivated english learners who want to speak English fearlessly and learn practical tips and strategies to conquer the CELPIP exam.

I also love to feature encouraging interviews with regular people, people just like you who are working towards becoming fluent in English so we can learn from their experiences together. Who am I?

My name is Aaron Nelson and I've been an english teacher for over 17 years and I now help students prepare for the CELPIP examined through online classes. So cellpip speaking task seven, like we said in the intro, is all about expressing your opinion in response to a do you think style? Question.

Now this might sound obvious, but it's actually a vital first step that will help you begin practicing for this speaking task right now. Do you want to know what it is? You need to practice actually having an opinion about a variety of topics and then you need to share it.

This might be more challenging than you think if you're not used to speaking up about current events or things going on in your life. So that's the first thing I want to offer you today.

Practice being aware of your opinion on things going on around you and then share those opinions with others. In English of course. Alright, so that's the first point. Practice having and expressing your opinion with others and do it in English for the exam.

Here are five keys to doing well on speaking task seven. The first one, honesty and creativity. You should express on the exam your real, genuine opinion about the question you are being asked to respond to.

In a recent class around this topic, I was pleasantly surprised when a student spoke for the full time of the full 90 seconds about the question and did an effective job conveying her opinion on the matter.

After she finished, we congratulated her on her great response, and then she confessed that she had never actually experienced the situation she was being asked to comment on before, so she used her imagination. You should do the same thing. You might have personal experience to speak from on this question, and you should totally use it.

Use your personal experience whenever you can when you're sharing your answer on this question and on all the other speaking task questions as well. This will help you to give well a more authentic answer when you're speaking from your own experience.

But if you don't have personal experience on the matter, be like my student and use your imagination to speak about it. You know what? She did such a great job that she had us she had me convinced that she had actually done this thing that she was talking about.

So point number one is make sure that you share your actual opinion about the topic, especially if you've already experienced it, and make sure that you be creative. If you haven't, use your imagination. Number two, time management is so important. This point is vital for every single task on the CELPIP exam.

You need to be aware of each question's time constraints. On speaking task seven, you will have 30 seconds to brainstorm, and in that 30 seconds you need to read the question, organize your thoughts.

This is going to be followed by a 90 seconds recording phase where you'll deliver your response. Make sure you use your brainstorming time well. This will help you to give a stronger answer in the recording phase.

Remember, 90 seconds is a really long time. Brainstorming will help you to figure out what you will say to so that you can fill out that time correctly.

So make sure that you're aware of your time. How much time do you have to brainstorm? How much time will you have to be actually speaking?

Like I said before, on speaking task, 7 30

seconds for brainstorming and you'll have 90 seconds to actually record your answer. So make sure that you are aware of the time and as well that you make sure that you use that brainstorming time effectively. Don't forget it.

Point number three, stay on topic. It's so important that you fully understand the question.

And when you are in the brainstorming section or the brainstorming phase of the question, make sure that you really do a good job of mapping out what you're going to say as you express your opinion on the matter. And when you are actually giving your answers, make sure that you follow the points that you mapped out in your brainstorming session.

The worst thing that can happen to you, or one of the worst things that can happen to you in this question is that you can begin sharing your opinion on the topic and then get sidetracked. Or you you think of something random that you want to add to that answer and that random thing that comes to mind might pull you off of the topic.

You need to be careful not to let this happen. So make sure that you stay on topic.

And to stay on topic, make sure you spend adequate amount of time in the brainstorming section of this of this question, mapping out what you're going to say and when. And it's also really important in this staying on topic theme to pay attention to how many questions there are for you to respond to.

Is it just one question or are there other topics hiding or nesting inside of the big question that you also need to speak about? You need to be careful to address all of the questions that you're being asked now.

Probably most of the time it will be a one question opinion piece that you need to speak about, but there could be other things that you need to include in your answer. So make sure you stay on topic by covering all those things that the question is asking you to speak about.

Point number four, make sure that you have a well structured argument. You need to quickly decide. First of all, if you will respond with a yes or a no to the to the question that you're being asked.

And by the way, there's no right or wrong answer to this. You're just giving your opinion on the topic. So don't fret and don't worry about if you gave the right answer or not. That's not the point.

The point is you sharing your opinion. And like we already mentioned before, try to do that as honestly or authentically as you can.

What do you really think about this matter, or about this question that you're being asked now?

To help you to provide structure to what you're saying, you should develop at least three reasons to support your opinion and use three specific details or examples to reinforce each point that you make.

Using three reasons and three supporting details for each will help you to meet the test rater's expectations for the depth of your answer and how well you elaborate or create your answer. So it's not enough for you to just say, yes, I think this is a good idea, and here's one reason why that's a good beginning.

You do need to provide that reason, but then you need to provide a little bit of extra detail to that reason to help support your answer. So go make it your goal to go for three reasons, and for each of those reasons, a supporting detail or an example to go with each.

Finally, number five, use transition words. Transition words help you connect one idea to another one, and it creates a more solid response.

Make sure that you include transition words in your answer. Here are a few example transition words that you might find helpful for this task.

Additionally, you'd use that if you want to add extra information to a point that you've already made. Therefore, that one's used when you want to kind of give like a summary or a conclusion to something that you're that you're already expressing.

For example, is another very helpful transition word that helps you to provide an example for a point that you've already made.

Then there are other helpful transition words that will help you to move from one point to another point in a list, and you probably have used these a lot yourself. If you're giving like an ordered list of things, consider using first or first of all, and then the next point could be second and third.

Be careful not to say firstly, secondly, or thirdly. It should always be first or first of all, second, third. All right, keep that in mind. And you could also say, and then or my next point is.

Those are also helpful ways to transition from one idea to another. And when you are ready to give a concluding statement to what you're talking about, it's very helpful to use.

And finally, I'd like to say, or in conclusion, this is why. And then you explain or you give your the big reason why you are saying yes or no to whatever that question might be.

So, to quickly recap, in order to do well on speaking task seven, you'll need to use your real opinion or imagine what it would be if you were actually experiencing the situation. You also need to keep track of your time.

Remember, in speaking task seven, you'll have 30 seconds to brainstorm and 90 seconds to actually record your answer.

You also need to remember to stay on topic and make sure that you develop three reasons for your opinion, as well as three supporting details to back each of those reasons up. And finally, make sure you're using transition words to help you move from one idea to the other one.

Would you like even more help with this speaking task? I've got a free worksheet for you that will help you to remember what I've covered in today's episode.

This free worksheet has the key points we've talked about today, as well as some practice questions and answers to help you with your own answers. To grab yours, just go to celpipsuccess.com/resources. That's celpipsuccess.com/resources.

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. I hope that I'll see you again next Tuesday. Bye.