Learning outside the classroom

C2 Proficiency · Speaking Collaborative · Cambridge Ready original exercise

Work with your partner. First talk about two of the pictures for about a minute, then use all five pictures to discuss a situation and reach a decision together in about three minutes.

Now you're going to do a task together. Here are some pictures of people learning in different ways away from a classroom.

Learning outside the classroom

Adults listening to a guide beside a large skeleton in a museum.

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/f97fd6a175553e0ac36b4c11fcc81735066e97b016a2315f3091910ad81594fd.avif

candid documentary photograph, a group of adults of mixed ages listening to a guide in a natural history museum, looking up at a large dinosaur skeleton, absorbed expressions, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

An older carpenter showing a young apprentice how to plane wood.

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/5a9274742c52a6c7f6ab106ad786cbff125919b88d16fbea4a4faf2828f7bdf1.avif

candid documentary photograph, an older carpenter showing a young female apprentice how to plane a piece of wood in a sunlit workshop, sawdust in the air, patient mood, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

A woman watching an online lecture at home and taking notes.

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/8fcd5897ff998ec0b6d14bd6a8ac5a064f3c27bf6890401fa4c6886eec3a73f2.avif

candid documentary photograph, an East Asian woman in her thirties watching an online lecture on a laptop at home early in the morning, taking handwritten notes, light from a nearby window, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

Students and their lecturer taking water samples in a shallow river.

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/4f440f35e2ad1b89cd856b1b7b0063cd9768079c8a1c4ae762dbaa1d163b90a3.avif

candid documentary photograph, university students in wellington boots taking water samples in a shallow river with their lecturer, overcast sky, cheerful concentration, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

Two young adults practising a language together over coffee in a park.

https://cdn.cambridgeready.com/images/7dd69931267279e5ca3179a1a86772156eeed468d75c71f7ed407776cb8098e5.avif

candid documentary photograph, two young adults from different backgrounds practising a language together over coffee on a park bench, one pointing at a small notebook, both laughing, natural light, shot on 35mm film, no text, no watermark

To begin with, I'd like you to focus on pictures {a} and {b}. Talk about what kind of knowledge people might be picking up in each situation, and how long it's likely to stay with them. You have about a minute for this.

Now think about all the pictures. Imagine a university wants to encourage its students to spend part of their degree learning beyond the lecture hall. Discuss how valuable each of these experiences might be for a young person's development. Then decide which one the university should support most generously. You have about three minutes for this.

Answer this Speaking task out loud and an AI examiner marks it on the official Cambridge Speaking criteria, with what you did well and what to fix next.

Practise this Speaking task free online: solo with exam timers and a self-recorder, as a live mock Speaking test with a partner over a video call, or as a full three-person mock exam — a real examiner reads the official examiner script to Candidates A and B. Rooms are invite-by-link; partners can join without an account.

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