5.3 Oral Tarea 2: Describing a Photograph (Monologue)

Quick Focus: Oral Tarea 2 (Descripción de una fotografía) is a 2–3-minute monologue. You describe one of two photos of an everyday scene, using guideline questions printed on the sheet. The interviewer doesn't intervene while you describe. The photo also sets up Tarea 3, the conversation, so choose it with both tasks in mind.

What the Official Specification Says

The official guideline questions

In Modelo 0 (Opción 2. Una fiesta familiar), the sheet asks you to talk about:

• the people: what they look like, what personality you think they have, and what they are wearing;
• the place: where they are, what objects there are; describe the place;
• actions: what the people are doing;
• relationships: what relationship you think there is between them;
• feelings: what they are thinking or how they feel, and why;
• before and after: what they have done before and what they are going to do next.

These questions work like a checklist. Task fulfilment is rated by points, as in Tarea 1: band 2 allows at most one point unanswered or two incomplete. The official band-1 sample failed partly because the candidate never mentioned the clothes or what happened before and after.

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The Grammar Each Guideline Needs

Irregular gerunds to know

leer → leyendo, dormir → durmiendo, pedir → pidiendo, decir → diciendo, servir → sirviendo, ir → yendo.

Clothes: llevar (and usar)

In Spain the usual verb is llevar (lleva una camisa blanca). In much of Latin America usar is also common (usa lentes). Both are valid Hispanic norms; use one consistently.

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Organizing the Description

A logical route helps the rater follow you and makes it easier to hit every guideline:

1. General scene (1 sentence): En la foto se ve una fiesta familiar en un salón.
2. Where things are: en el centro, a la izquierda, a la derecha, al fondo, delante de, detrás de, al lado de.
3. People: two or three people, with appearance and clothes.
4. Actions: estar + gerundio for each person.
5. Interpretation: relationship, feelings and why.
6. Before and after: han preparado…, van a….

A sample description (extract)

En la foto se ve una fiesta en un salón. En el centro hay una mesa grande con una tarta y muchos platos. A la izquierda está una mujer mayor; tiene el pelo blanco y lleva gafas y una blusa rosa. Parece muy simpática. A la derecha hay dos niños que están riendo. Creo que es el cumpleaños de la abuela, porque la tarta tiene muchas velas. Están todos muy contentos. Seguramente han cocinado toda la mañana y después van a cantar y a abrir los regalos.

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Making the Most of the 2–3 Minutes

• Answer every guideline question. Tick them off mentally as you speak.
• Use hypotheses. You can't know the relationship or the feelings, and the task asks you to guess. Creo que, parece que, seguramente, quizás are expected; quizás even appears in the band-3 descriptor.
• Give reasons. …porque llevan ropa elegante turns a guess into a supported comment, and details, comments and reasons are what band 3 requires.
• Don't stop at a list of objects. Hay una mesa, hay sillas, hay platos is minimal. Link sentences: En el centro hay una mesa con…, y alrededor….

Linking to Tarea 3

The Tarea 3 conversation takes place in a simulated situation connected with this photo. In the model, the photo of a family party leads to planning a surprise party for your parents' anniversary. When you choose between the two photos, read both Tarea 3 situations too and pick the pair you can handle best.

Common Mistakes

• Skipping the clothes or the before/after question.
• Using es for location (es a la izquierda) instead of está or hay.
• Using only the present simple for ongoing actions (el niño sopla) when está soplando describes the scene better.
• Stopping after one minute. Prepare enough detail for each guideline.