Your free guide to the CIPLE exam

Oral Expression

Prepare for the CIPLE oral component with topic cards and typical exam questions.

What is the oral component?

Oral Production and Interaction is worth 25% of the final score. It is a face-to-face conversation with an examiner (and usually another candidate). It lasts about 15 minutes and has three parts.

~15
Minutes long
3
Parts of the exam
25%
Weight in the final score

The 3 parts of the oral exam

Part 1

Personal introduction

Talk about yourself: name, nationality, where you live, family, work, daily routine, hobbies. The examiner asks simple, direct questions.

Part 2

Interaction with another candidate

Simulation of a practical situation with another candidate: arranging a meeting, making plans, asking for information, solving a problem.

Part 3

Conversation with the examiner

Conversation about an everyday topic: travel, health, shopping, transport, free time. The examiner asks for your opinion.

Speaking tips

Speak, even with mistakes

It's better to speak with errors than to stay silent. The examiner assesses your ability to communicate, not perfection.

Use simple expressions

"Eu acho que...", "Na minha opinião...", "Gosto de... porque..." — short, clear phrases are enough.

Prepare the common topics

Practise talking about family, work, routine, hobbies and plans. These topics come up almost every time.

Listen before answering

Listen to the full question before answering. If you don't understand, you can ask: "Pode repetir, por favor?"

Topic cards — practise out loud

Click a card to see the questions

Practise speaking with full simulations

In the full simulation, you record your answers and get AI scoring — pronunciation, fluency and content.

Start at cipleonline.pt →