Paper 3 Speaking: role play and topic conversations
Rehearse five transactional turns and two familiar-topic conversations, while keeping the centre's assessment role clear.
Section S4 · S4 · Speaking assessment objective
Exam scope and assessment notes
This is an original StudyForA starter sequence, not the approximately 130 guided learning hours Cambridge uses as a planning guide. A qualified Mandarin teacher still needs to check every Chinese sentence, character form, vocabulary choice, register and pronunciation cue. The complete 2025–2027 and 2028–2030 vocabulary lists have not yet been reconciled word by word. Browser speech synthesis is variable practice audio, not Cambridge recordings. Speaking rehearsal and written self-checks do not award Cambridge marks; the centre conducts, marks and records Paper 3 and Cambridge moderates it. No full-length timed mock papers are included. All Chinese examples and practice prompts are original StudyForA material, not copied Cambridge assessment content.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Which answer best develops «你喜欢什么运动？»
What you will learn
- Approximately 10 minutes of speaking plus 10 minutes' supervised preparation
- Unassessed warm-up; one role play with five transactional questions; two topic conversations
- Communicate in predictable everyday contexts, develop opinions and maintain interaction
- 2025–2027 preparation: no notes; 2028–2030: notes allowed during supervised preparation and handed to examiner
- Centre teacher/examiner conducts and marks; Cambridge externally moderates
Answer the whole transactional prompt
A role play has five short practical questions. For each one, identify whether you need to ask for information, give a time, express a choice or explain a reason. Use one clear Mandarin sentence per point when possible.
In both topic conversations, answer first, add a specific detail, then give a reason or example. Use a follow-up question only when it fits the conversation.
Follow the exact year-specific preparation rule
For exams in 2025–2027, candidates have supervised preparation but may not make notes. For exams in 2028–2030, candidates may make notes under supervision and must hand them to the teacher/examiner before the test. The test still takes place before the main examination series.
A browser recording and checklist can help you practise intelligibility and completeness. They cannot judge tones, interaction or official speaking bands reliably; the centre conducts and marks Paper 3 and Cambridge moderates it.
Sources for this lesson
- Cambridge IGCSE Mandarin Chinese Foreign Language 0547 subject page
- 0547 syllabus for exams in 2025–2027
- 0547 syllabus, version 2, for exams in 2028–2030
- 0547 2028–2030 syllabus update
- 0547 vocabulary list for 2028
- 0547 specimen Paper 1 mark scheme for exams from 2028
- Cambridge guidance on simplified and traditional responses
Pause and explain
Who awards the official Paper 3 assessment?
Worked example
At a café, ask for a menu, order a drink, ask its price, say where you will sit and explain that you cannot eat peanuts.
Show the worked solution
- Make five separate moves, one for each prompt.
- Use a polite request and a clear question.
- State the allergy as information; do not assume the café has checked cross-contamination.
Answer Possible rehearsal: «请给我一份菜单。我要一杯水。请问多少钱？我坐在窗边。我不能吃花生。» This covers five communicative points. A real learner should verify the wording and explain any allergy directly to staff.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Practise five turns for arranging a library visit: ask when it opens, say when you can go, ask about membership, explain what book you need and ask where to meet.
Give me a hint
Number the five prompts before speaking so none is missed.
Compare my reasoning
- Ask one opening-time question.
- Give your availability and ask about membership.
- State the book need and ask for a meeting place.
Example: «图书馆几点开门？我星期六上午有空。需要办借书证吗？我想找一本旅行书。我们在哪里见面？» Each question or statement addresses a separate prompt; adapt the wording to the card.
Look for these in your work
- Covers five distinct points
- Uses clear question forms
- Keeps the exchange practical
Speak for 45–60 seconds about a leisure activity: give a preference, when you do it, one past experience and a reason. Write a self-review with one strength and one next step.
Give me a hint
Use a time marker for the past event and do not claim a grade.
Compare my reasoning
- Answer with the activity.
- Add a usual time and one past example.
- Name a specific improvement for the next rehearsal.
Example: «我最喜欢游泳，因为运动以后我觉得很轻松。我通常星期六去游泳。上个月我和朋友参加了学校的比赛。» Self-review might note that the answer includes a reason and past event, then set a goal to slow down one unclear phrase. This is not a Cambridge mark.
Look for these in your work
- Develops the topic
- Uses time and a reason
- Sets a concrete self-review goal
Compare how you would prepare for the same role play in 2027 and 2028. Write what you may do during preparation in each cycle.
Give me a hint
The note rule changes; the role play format remains similar.
Compare my reasoning
- State that 2027 preparation is supervised and notes are not allowed.
- State that 2028 preparation allows supervised notes.
- Say what candidates do with 2028 notes before speaking.
For 2027, read and plan under supervision without writing notes. For 2028, brief notes may be made under supervision and must be handed to the teacher/examiner before the test. Candidates should verify the exact instructions with their centre.
Look for these in your work
- Separates the two exam cycles
- Explains the hand-in rule
- Does not apply a later rule to an earlier exam
Plan, speak and review your response
Microphone recordings stay in this page and are not uploaded or graded.
Mandarin speaking rehearsal
Respond to five everyday role-play points, then explain a familiar opinion with one experience and one reason.
Use about 1 minute to plan your practice response, then speak for about 120 seconds. This practice timer does not reproduce exam preparation rules.
The recording is not transcribed. This optional text and the audio both stay in the open page.
Review your recording
- Answered every requested point
- Used a relevant time, place or detail
- Connected an opinion to a reason
- Checked intelligibility and tones with a teacher or trusted model
- Remember this is rehearsal, not an official Cambridge mark
Practice only. Original browser speech synthesis is not Cambridge exam audio and may pronounce words differently. This does not reproduce supervised examination conditions, examiner interaction or official marks. Use the current year's instructions from Cambridge and the exam centre.
Common mistakes
- Missing one of the five role-play prompts
- Reciting a memorised answer that does not answer the examiner
- Using preparation notes in the 2025–2027 cycle
- Treating a self-recording as a Cambridge mark
What can you explain now?
What must happen to preparation notes in the 2028–2030 speaking test?
Compare with the explanation
Hand them to the teacher/examiner before the test begins
The revised syllabus permits supervised notes but requires them to be handed in.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
Your review choice appears on Today. Sign in to sync it across devices.
Make it stick
Before leaving paper 3 speaking: role play and topic conversations, explain one idea from memory, answer the checkpoint and name one syllabus detail you still need to practise.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.