Paper 2: three tasks, developed answers
Paper 2 (Speaking, AO2) rewards range, accuracy, clear tones and fluency. Three tasks: Task 1 ROLE PLAY (you play a role); Task 2 PICTURE TASK (describe a photo, then answer questions); Task 3 a two-theme CONVERSATION. DEVELOP every answer with an opinion and a reason, never a bare yes/no: 我很喜欢跟朋友一起旅行，因为又好玩又能放松。(Wǒ hěn xǐhuan gēn péngyou yìqǐ lǚxíng, yīnwèi yòu hǎowán yòu néng fàngsōng.) — I love travelling with friends, it is fun and relaxing.
Match register (你/您) and ASK, not only answer
Choose your pronoun: 您 (nín — polite) for a stranger, shopkeeper or official; 你 (nǐ — informal) for a friend. Open a request with 请问 (qǐngwèn — may I ask). The role play and conversation require you to ASK, not only answer — form a real question with the right interrogative (几点, 在哪儿, 多少钱, 为什么), never a statement with a rising tone. Polite ask: 请问，这个博物馆几点关门？(Qǐngwèn, zhège bówùguǎn jǐ diǎn guānmén?) — Excuse me, what time does the museum close?
Three time frames, clear tones, no Cantonese
Higher speaking rewards moving across time frames in one answer: PAST 了 / 过 / 以前 / 上次, PRESENT 现在 / 经常, FUTURE 打算 / 会 / 以后. Model: 我以前不喜欢做饭，可是现在经常做，以后打算学做中国菜。(Wǒ yǐqián bù xǐhuan zuò fàn, kěshì xiànzài jīngcháng zuò, yǐhòu dǎsuàn xué zuò Zhōngguó cài.) — I used to dislike cooking, now cook often, and plan to learn Chinese food. Use clear tones (买 mǎi buy ≠ 卖 mài sell) and standard Mandarin (是, 不, 没有, 他/她, 看, 吃), NOT Cantonese 係/唔/冇/佢/睇/食.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Ignoring the exact question word or facet
Answer the precise question and facet. ✗ 我从五岁开始学 (I started at five) to 你学了多久？(how long HAVE you studied?) ✓ 我已经学了三年了 (Wǒ yǐjīng xué le sān nián le) — I have studied three years. Match the facet too: asked the ACTIVITIES in a lesson, say what people DO (他们在做实验 — doing an experiment), not your feelings. Name the question word (多久, 什么时候, 在哪儿, 什么) and answer exactly that.
Digest (Speaking AO2): candidates answered WHEN they started instead of HOW LONG they had studied, and gave feelings instead of the activities / home in the UK instead of accommodation in Taiwan (June 2023 1CN0/2H; June 2024 1CN0/2H).
Bare yes/no -- or over-long -- answers
A bare 是 (yes) or 不 (no) caps your mark — add an opinion and a reason. ✗ Q: 你喜欢运动吗？ A: 喜欢。 ✓ 我很喜欢运动，因为对身体好，我每周都打篮球 (Wǒ hěn xǐhuan yùndòng, yīnwèi duì shēntǐ hǎo, wǒ měi zhōu dōu dǎ lánqiú) — I love sport, it is healthy, I play basketball weekly. But do not over-talk: in the conversation go DEEP on a topic rather than rushing many points, so you still cover every question.
Digest (Speaking AO2): too-short yes/no answers with no opinion cap marks, while over-long answers eat the time; in the conversation go in depth rather than skimming many points (June 2024 1CN0/2H; June 2023 1CN0/2H).
A wrong tone is a wrong word
Tones carry meaning, so a wrong tone is a different word: 买 (mǎi, 3rd — buy) vs 卖 (mài, 4th — sell); 问 (wèn, 4th — ask) vs 闻 (wén, 2nd — smell); 睡觉 (shuìjiào — sleep) vs 水饺 (shuǐjiǎo — dumplings). Sloppy tones make an answer ambiguous even when the vocabulary is right, and pronunciation is directly assessed on Paper 2. Practise minimal pairs aloud.
(general FL trap)
Past question answered as a future one
The weakest spot is unseen PAST-time questions. ✗ 我的航班一个小时以后到 (my flight arrives in an hour) to 你的航班多久以前到的？(how long AGO did it arrive?) ✓ 我的航班两个小时以前到的 (Wǒ de hángbān liǎng gè xiǎoshí yǐqián dào de) — it arrived two hours ago. Likewise 你来台湾多久了？needs a completed duration: 我来台湾已经三个星期了, NOT 我会在台湾三个星期 (I WILL be…). Never let future 会 leak into a past answer.
Digest (Speaking AO2): past-tense unseen questions are the weak spot -- how long you HAVE BEEN vs WILL BE, and how long AGO the flight arrived answered as it WILL arrive (June 2024 1CN0/2H; June 2023 1CN0/2H).
Missing one key word blocks the answer
One missing key word can block a whole answer, so build theme vocabulary first. Candidates stalled on 夏令营 (xiàlìngyíng — summer camp), 零花钱 (línghuāqián — pocket money), 回收箱 (huíshōuxiāng — recycling bin) and 自然资源 (zìrán zīyuán — natural resources); Theme-5 global-issue cards were weakest. If a word escapes you, paraphrase around it rather than falling silent.
Digest (Speaking AO2): a missing key word blocks a whole answer -- summer camp, pocket money, recycling bin, natural resources; Theme-5 global-issue cards were the weakest area (June 2024 1CN0/2H; June 2023 1CN0/2H).
Overusing 了 on habitual actions
了 marks a COMPLETED action or a change of state, not a habit. ✓ 我昨天去了公园 (Wǒ zuótiān qù le gōngyuán) — I went to the park yesterday. ✗ habitual 我每天去了学校 — drop 了: 我每天去学校. Overusing 了 on habitual statements, and confusing 了 with 过 (experience, 我去过中国), underlie the past-tense weakness examiners flag.
(general FL trap; spoken past-tense difficulty flagged June 2024 1CN0/2H)
Thinking the role play is answer-only
The role play is two-way: some prompts require YOU to ask a question, and a missing interrogative loses the mark. ✗ told to ask the price, saying 这个很贵 (this is expensive) ✓ 请问，这个多少钱？(Qǐngwèn, zhège duōshao qián?) — Excuse me, how much is this? A find-out prompt means FORM A QUESTION with the matching interrogative (什么, 什么时候, 在哪儿, 多少钱, 多久, 为什么).
(June 2023 1CN0/2H)
Role play -- register, do each prompt, ASK
Set the register first: 您 + 请问 for an official, 你 for a friend. Then do exactly what each prompt says — request, react, ANSWER, and ASK your own question with the right interrogative (几点 / 在哪儿 / 多少钱). A find-out prompt means FORM A QUESTION, not a statement.
Picture task -- describe, then develop
Open with 这张照片上有…… (in this photo there is…), then say who / where / what they are doing with 正在, and add an opinion 我觉得…… with a reason. Then answer the follow-ups across time frames — a past experience and a future plan. Describe first, then develop; do not just list objects.
Conversation -- O-R-E every answer
Use O-R-E on every conversation question: Opinion, Reason (因为……), and an Example or detail. Work in a past experience (以前……了) and a future plan (以后我打算……) to show range. Go DEEP on two topics within a theme rather than skimming many, yet still cover every question.
Delivery -- clear tones, keep going
Delivery is assessed, not just content. Speak with clear, full tones (买 mǎi ≠ 卖 mài). Keep to standard Mandarin — no spoken-Cantonese forms (係 / 唔 / 冇 / 佢). Keep going: a short thinking pause is fine, but long silence loses fluency marks — use a filler or paraphrase.
Paper 2 tests AO2 (Speaking): communicating and interacting in spoken Chinese. Marks reward how much you communicate, your range and accuracy of vocabulary and structures, your pronunciation and intonation (clear, correct tones), and your fluency. There are three tasks -- develop every answer with an opinion and a reason, and use standard spoken Mandarin, never spoken Cantonese.
| Task 任务 | What you do | Rough tariff |
|---|---|---|
| Task 1 Role play 角色扮演 | A short transactional exchange -- you play a role (customer, visitor). You must ASK as well as answer. | ~10 |
| Task 2 Picture-based task 看图说话 | Describe a photo, then answer questions about it. | ~24 |
| Task 3 Conversation 对话 | A discussion with the examiner across TWO themes. | ~30 |
All three are marked holistically by level descriptor -- there is no single right answer.
Which "you" is polite/formal, and which is informal? When do you use each in the speaking exam?
在角色扮演里，你常常需要向老师提问。请用中文写出四个疑问词（例如"多少钱"），并标出拼音和英文意思。
Level-of-response questions with model answers and mark scheme rubrics.
这是一段口语角色扮演（Role Play）。情境：你想约你的好朋友周末一起去看电影。你（考生）扮演自己，老师扮演你的朋友。因为对方是朋友，请用非正式的语气（用"你"）。请用中文完成下面的任务： （1）说你想做什么，并邀请朋友（例如：周末一起去看电影）； （2）说清楚时间（哪天、几点）； （3）回答朋友一个关于在哪里见面的问题； （4）向朋友提一个问题（例如：想看哪部电影，或者要不要叫别的同学一起去）； （5）礼貌地结束对话。（约10分）
这是一段口语"看图说话"练习（Picture-based Task）。虚构照片：一家人正在公园里野餐，天气很好，草地上有食物和一个球，几个孩子在旁边玩。请你用中文完成下面的任务： （1）描述这张照片（照片上有谁？他们在做什么？看起来怎么样？）； （2）说说你对跟家人一起活动的看法； （3）说一件你以前跟家人一起做过的事（过去）； （4）说一件你以后想跟家人一起做的事（将来）。请尽量用连接词和不同的时间框架把内容展开。（约24分）
为了准备口语考试，你要先写一段简短的自我介绍，作为对话练习的稿子。请给你的中文老师写一条信息，内容要写清楚以下几点：（1）你的名字、年龄和你住在哪里；（2）你在学校最喜欢的一门课，以及为什么；（3）问老师一个关于口语考试的问题（例如：考试有几个部分，或者考试大概多长时间）。请用中文（汉字）书写，约80-90字，语气要礼貌。（8分）
这是一段两个主题的口语对话（Two-theme Conversation, Paper 2）。两个主题是「学校生活」和「未来的计划」。老师会用中文问你下面这些问题，请你用中文回答，每个回答都要展开，给出理由和意见，不要只回答一两个字： （1）你最喜欢学校的哪门课？为什么？ （2）你觉得你们学校有什么优点和缺点？ （3）你以前和现在的学习习惯有什么不一样？（用过去和现在的时间） （4）中学毕业以后，你打算上大学还是找工作？为什么？ （5）你以后想做什么工作？这份工作跟你现在学的东西有关系吗？ 请尽量用连接词（因为……所以、虽然……但是），并跨过过去、现在和将来的时间。（约30分）
