What kind of topic to pick for Trinity spoken exam?

[Noetic]

I'm wondering what kind of topic people have picked for their Trinity exam? The conversation topics include culture, modes of transport etc so does this mean I couldn't choose Big Finish audio dramas (a large range of audio dramas that started out as Doctor Who spin offs etc)? Another topic I am considering is our local volunteer run museum but would this clash with the culture topic?

[ohara]

I chose photography as I do that as a hobby / semi-professional. Really, it doesn't matter what you choose. They are just looking to make sure your use of adjectives, tense etc is correct.

Just pick something you know a lot about. It doesn't matter if the examiner understands anything about it, as long as your English is correct.

Judging by the 3 posts you have made on this forum so far and the fact you have lived here since 1999, I believe you will have absolutely no problem in passing with distinction.

EDIT:

The conversation topics you speak of (culture, transport) are a couple of the ones the examiner will choose, not the ones you can use.

[Noetic]

Hi,

Thanks for that, my main hobby is swimming but I'm not sure it's something I can find anything worth talking about to be honest!

Re culture, modes of transport, that's what I mean, since those are the examiner's conversation topics I'm a bit worried that talking about our local museum may not be allowed because it's sort of under that topic too.

It's a good topic to pick though because you can talk about the history of it, what the buildings used to be used for in the past, what they exhibited previously, what kind of volunteer work people can do there, the lottery grant they got and how they're currently renovating it & I'm looking forward to the re-opening later this year, and the open day during a local festival in a few weeks. So past, present and future are covered. Plus I figure it's something they probably haven't heard about before.

But I've got a few other ideas if I chicken out due to worries about clashes with the examiner topics. I can always bore them to tears with a talk about NHS prescription data or something else from work I suppose.

[ohara]

Just do it. There are a load of different subjects the examiner can choose from and they will only pick two, so there's no worry about you using one of them.

I found it quite funny when I did my exam. I understand how strict everything is to prevent fraud/cheating, especially after the ETS scandal. Had to remove watches, have my voice recorded etc. I wouldn't be surprised if HO got suspicious because of how good my English was. When I actually entered the room where the examiner was, the first thing I said was "this is going to be pretty straightforward".

I picked photography as it's probably the only thing I can talk about in great detail. At one point I was explaining the inner technical workings of a digital SLR camera, and the examiner kept trying to move it on and prompting me to insert past/future tense stuff. I don't think it took her long to suss that I was a native English speaker. When it was her turn to pick the topic, she was talking slowly and clearly like you would to someone who barely knows English. Then my answer came back at twice the speed and perfectly spoken. We pretty much just had a chat

[Noetic]

Thanks so much, I guess I can understand why they have precautions against impersonation etc but I would hope they don't treat someone unfavourably / with added suspicion because they have, as the HO would like all immigrants to do, adapted well and speak English fluently.

I hope I don't get de-merits because of my Yorkshire accent

[ohara]

I highly doubt it. HO must accept that there are foreign born people who have lived in the UK for a very long time. I think it's silly that I couldn't use 25 years of residence, along with 14 years of UK education, to prove that I could speak English proficiently

[secret.simon]

I wouldn't be surprised if HO got suspicious because of how good my English was.

I can empathise. The British Council in my country of origin refused to accept my application form for IELTS as I had listed English as my first language. I had to argue with them about the definition of "first language" - I argued that it was the language I think in. I did end up with getting 8.5 out of 9.

[Noetic]

Had the exam on Saturday morning, stayed in a nearby hotel to avoid being late (£35 a night for a hotel across the road seemed worth it when you pay £150 for an exam!), passed with flying colours.

[ohara]

Well done. Which centre did you take the test at? I did it in Cardiff and there were no hotels nearby, I just drove there and did the test, and had a day out in Cardiff city centre before driving home that night.

[Noetic]

Well done. Which centre did you take the test at? I did it in Cardiff and there were no hotels nearby, I just drove there and did the test, and had a day out in Cardiff city centre before driving home that night.

Leeds was the nearest, I figured if I have to be there 8:30 I'd rather get a good night's sleep than get up stupidly early and worry about train delays or car trouble.