BEC Exam - BEC Speaking Test Sample Questions with Answers
Do you want to pass the BEC Speaking test?
Test your Business English vocabulary and improve it with these sample questions and answers.
These are examples of common BEC speaking test questions.
The best way to prepare for the exam is to take as many practice tests as possible, but this will give you an idea of what’s on the test.
You can also use these examples when preparing for interviews or presentations at work. These are all real-world situations that people encounter daily in business, so they should be easy enough to understand even if you don’t know some of the words yet.
BEC Higher Speaking Test Part 1
In this section of the BEC Higher speaking test, you will take turns with the other candidate(s) answering questions from the interlocutor.
You will have to provide some personal information about yourself and you will also be expected to be able to express some of your personal opinions.
BEC Higher Speaking Part 2
In this section of the BEC Higher speaking test, you have to present a short talk based on a particular business related topic.
You will be asked to select one of the topics from three possible options given on a card the interlocutor will give you.
Once you have chosen the topic for you talk, you will be allowed one minute to plan and prepare your ideas for the talk.
You will be expected to talk on the topic for about one minute.
BEC Higher Speaking Topics
A Quality control:
The importance to a company of monitoring the quality of its goods and services
B Information management:
How to ensure that information is managed effectively within a company
C Financial planning:
The factors involved in deciding on appropriate pricing strategies
BEC Higher Speaking Test Part 3
In this section of the BEC Higher speaking test, the interlocutor will give you a discussion topic.
There will be 30 seconds for you to review the task prompt, see the example below, and then you will be expected to discuss the topic with your BEC Higher speaking test partner.
Once you have finished the discussion, the examiner will normally ask you both some follow-up questions which are relevant to the topic of your discussion.
For two candidates:
The company you work for is about to take over another company and is keen to encourage staff from both companies to work together effectively. You have been asked to prepare a proposal for team building.
Discuss and decide together:
- what kinds of work projects and leisure activities would be suitable to encourage teamwork
- what benefits effective teamwork could bring to the company
- what arrangements should be made before new colleagues start working together* [for three candidates]
BEC Higher Speaking Test Follow-on Questions
BEC speaking test sample questions with answers:
What benefits do you think individual employees get from working in a strong team?
Answer:
Three main benefits come from being a part of a strong team.
First: by being around so many people every day, we learn the strategies and tactics our colleagues employ to survive.
This will help us to do more at with less stress, stronger work ethic and better attitude.
Second: in times when you are stuck on a problem, it is comforting to know that your teammate may have already faced the same thing or know someone who has faced something similar.
You can share your challenge with them and together come up with a solution for the problem because both of you have been through challenges before in different ways.
Third: weekly communication briefings provide an opportunity for everyone involved to understand what the priorities and short-term objectives are.
What do you think is the ideal number of people to work in a team? [Why?]
What many people don't clarify when answering this question is that there is no "one-size-fits-all" answer.
The best number of people to work in a team often depends on the project and company.
For example, it's not uncommon for an IT company to have small teams comprised of 4 - 8 members. But if you're working on a film, for instance, that same amount of people might be spread out over 3 different countries.
Whatever the case may be, everybody must work together without feeling alone or unimportant to facilitate communication and decision making throughout the company as well as product quality delivery.
Do you think a company needs individualists as well as team workers? [Why? / Why not?]
Individualists are a diverse group of thinkers who often come up with unanticipated solutions to problems. And they have the potential to be excellent leaders.
One drawback is that the team members may find it more difficult to understand what the individualist hopes to achieve because their thoughts don't follow the conventional paths.
Conventional thinkers may believe their mission has an endpoint, but an individualist understands that by giving themselves room for discovery, they can create never-before-thought-of ideas.
Do you think it is the responsibility of the company or each employee to make sure people work well together? [Why? / Why not?]
The company has a responsibility to provide physical space, communication channels and processes, but it usually doesn't have any way to prevent cliques from forming.
All team members share responsibility for creating an environment conducive to teamwork.
Examples of introducing challenges might include rotating leaders on a project every month to make sure each person has opportunities and is listened to equally. Or sharing responsibilities for keeping the physical space clean (for example, "cleanup crew" responsibilities).
A particularly effective technique might be one where you summarize your feelings in response to what another said and see if they feel the same way. If not, say how you would like them to change what they're proposing.
How far should team building be taken into account when making long-term plans for a company?
Yes! There are many strategic reasons why team building is beneficial. One good example is that with a united team, there's more chance for creativity.
Also, in business school, I learned about people trying to take over a company's enterprise values and philosophy of how the company should be run. This can happen when management doesn't have strong bonds with employees for motivation.
It takes an inspiring leader to motivate a team to come up with creative ideas on strategies that would work well to compete against so much competition these days.
Many jobs today are automated, and companies may decide they can replace many teams without hesitation because they aren't seen as such a priority anymore due to data-driven "business intelligence". But if future leaders do not value teamwork, it will prove to be a big mistake for their company!
Speaking Tip
It is essential that you practice speaking with a partner in the format of the BEC test so that you can become familar with what is expected - and listening to your speaking partner's responses also.
It is a key skill being able to collaborate positively together in the speaking exam.
