Speaking Success: Starters, Movers and Flyers

Philo and Sophia guide the youngest learners through the Cambridge English Young Learners (YLE) Speaking test.

Philo

Sophia, of all four skills, Speaking must feel the most different for a young child — there's no paper to hide behind, just a conversation with a stranger.

Sophia

That's exactly why the Young Learners Speaking test is designed so gently, Philo. It's always one-to-one with a friendly examiner, it's always built around pictures rather than abstract questions, and a second, familiar adult can even sit nearby at Starters and Movers for comfort.

Philo

So the pictures do a lot of the talking, in a sense — the child just needs to describe what they already see.

Sophia

Precisely. And the four parts of the test barely change in shape from Starters to Flyers — only the length of the conversation, and how independently the child is expected to speak, really grow. Let's walk through each level.

StartersPre-A1 MoversA1 FlyersA2

3–5 minutes, one-to-one with the examiner 4 parts A familiar adult may sit nearby

Part 1Follow instructions to point to objects and place cards on a big picture

Part 2Answer questions about the picture and describe objects

Part 3Respond to questions about a set of small object cards

Part 4Answer simple personal questions about age, family, and friends

1 Point and Place

The examiner shows a large picture and asks the child to point to specific objects or people within it, and to place small picture cards in the correct place on the scene, following simple spoken instructions.

Examiner: "Can you find the dog? Point to the dog."
Child: (points)
Examiner: "Now put the cat next to the tree."

Tip for grown-ups helping at home: This part needs listening more than talking — practising following two-step spoken instructions ("put the ball under the chair") builds exactly the skill it tests.

2 Talk About the Picture

Using the same or a related picture, the examiner asks simple questions about what is happening in it, and invites the child to describe particular objects — their colour, size, or position.

Strategy: Short, correct answers are exactly what is wanted here — "It's a red ball" is a complete, successful answer; a child does not need to add more to succeed.

3 Object Cards

A set of small individual picture cards is shown one at a time, and the examiner asks a simple question about each — its name, its colour, or a small detail — encouraging one-word or short-phrase answers.

Tip: Everyday object vocabulary (toys, food, animals, clothes) is exactly what this part rehearses — naming things around the house in English is genuinely useful practice.

4 About You

The examiner closes with a few very simple personal questions — the child's name, age, and questions about family or friends — giving the child a chance to talk about themselves directly.

Strategy: Rehearsing these exact questions at home until the answers come automatically — name, age, "I have a brother," "I have a friend called..." — builds real confidence for this closing part.

5–7 minutes, one-to-one with the examiner 4 parts A familiar adult may sit nearby

Part 1Describe the differences between two similar pictures, led by the examiner

Part 2Continue a story using a sequence of four pictures

Part 3Identify and explain the one picture that differs in a set

Part 4Answer personal questions about yourself

1 Spot the Difference

Two very similar pictures are shown side by side, and the examiner leads the child through finding and describing several differences between them, modelling the first one or two before the child continues independently.

Tip for grown-ups helping at home: "Spot the difference" picture games are wonderful direct practice, especially when the child is asked to say the difference aloud in a full short sentence rather than just pointing.

2 Tell the Story

Four pictures in sequence show a simple story without any words. The examiner starts the story from the first picture, and the child continues it, describing what happens in each of the remaining pictures in turn.

Strategy: Encourage using simple sequencing words — "then," "after that," "next" — to link the pictures into one flowing story rather than four separate sentences.

3 The Odd One Out

A small set of related pictures is shown, and one of them differs from the others in some way. The child identifies which one is different and explains why, in their own words.

Tip: This part rewards comparison language — "This one is bigger," "This one doesn't have a hat" — so practising simple comparisons between everyday objects builds this skill directly.

4 About You

As at Starters, but with a wider range of personal questions — hobbies, likes and dislikes, and everyday routines — giving the child more room to speak about their own life and interests.

Strategy: Encourage answering in a full short sentence rather than one word alone — "I like football" rather than just "football" — since this is the level where that habit really starts to matter.

7–9 minutes, one-to-one with the examiner 4 parts

Part 1Describe four differences between two similar pictures

Part 2Answer questions about a picture, then ask similar questions back

Part 3Continue a story, describing a sequence of three pictures

Part 4Answer personal questions about school, hobbies, and family

1 Spot the Difference

As at Movers, but now the child is expected to find and describe all four differences largely independently, with the examiner offering less modelling than at the earlier levels.

Tip for grown-ups helping at home: Timing this practice gently — encouraging four full sentences within a couple of minutes — builds the pacing and independence this part expects.

2 Ask and Answer

This is the one genuinely new task type introduced at Flyers: after answering the examiner's questions about a picture, the child must then ask the examiner similar questions about a second, related picture — a real step from responding towards initiating conversation.

The biggest step up in the Speaking test.

Forming a clear question, not just answering one, is a genuinely new skill at this level. Practising simple question forms out loud at home — "What colour is it?", "Where is the...?", "How many...?" — is the single most useful preparation for this part.

3 Tell the Story

As at Movers, a picture story is continued by the child, but now from three pictures rather than four, requiring slightly more content and detail to be generated from each individual picture.

Strategy: Encourage naming feelings and reasons, not just actions — "She is happy because..." — which adds the richer detail this level rewards.

4 About You

The closing personal questions now range more widely — school subjects, weekend activities, hobbies, and future plans — giving confident speakers real room to extend their answers.

Tip: Encourage a reason or an extra detail after the main answer — "I like Saturdays because I play football with my friends" — which shows the richer, more connected speech examiners are listening for at this level.