Study guide
5.1 Speaking Part 1: Find the Differences
Cambridge English A2 Flyers YLE
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1 Chapter 1: Exam Structure, Administration & Shield Scoring
1.1 Exam Overview & CEFR A2 Standard 1.2 Shield Scoring System & Statement of Results 1.3 Test Day Logistics & Candidate Guidelines
2 Chapter 2: Listening Paper Mastery
2.1 Listening Part 1: Name Matching 2.2 Listening Part 2: Note and Form Completion 2.3 Listening Part 3: Picture Matching 2.4 Listening Part 4: Three-Option Multiple Choice 2.5 Listening Part 5: Colouring, Writing & Paper Pacing
3 Chapter 3: Reading & Writing: Vocabulary & Dialogue Processing
3.1 Part 1 Matching Definitions to Target Vocabulary 3.2 Part 2 Continuous Dialogue Completion & Speech Functions 3.3 Part 3 Short Story Cloze & Title Selection
4 Chapter 4: Reading & Writing: Grammar, Comprehension & Story Writing
4.1 Part 4 Factual Text 3-Option Grammar Cloze 4.2 Part 5 Story Comprehension & 1-to-4-Word Gap Filling 4.3 Part 6 Open Cloze & Guided Text Completion 4.4 Part 7 Picture-Prompted Story Writing
5 Chapter 5: Speaking Paper Components & Performance
5.1 Speaking Part 1: Find the Differences 5.2 Speaking Part 2: Information Exchange 5.3 Speaking Part 3: Picture Storytelling 5.4 Speaking Part 4: Personal Questions 5.5 Speaking Assessment Criteria & Confidence Building
6 Chapter 6: Essential CEFR A2 Grammar & Structures
6.1 Past Tenses & Narrative Time Sequencing 6.2 Modals, Conditionals & Obligation 6.3 Relative Clauses, Conjunctions & Subordination 6.4 Comparatives, Superlatives, Quantifiers & Flyers-New Structures
7 Chapter 7: Thematic Vocabulary, Spelling & Exam Strategies
7.1 Nature, Places, Buildings & Travel Vocabulary 7.2 Daily Life, Work, Health & Leisure Vocabulary 7.3 High-Risk Spelling, Collocations, UK/US Variants & Word Families
5.1 Speaking Part 1: Find the Differences
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
Speaking Part 1 opens with the examiner greeting the child and asking for name, surname and age.
The examiner reads statements about the examiner's picture; the candidate looks at their own picture and identifies six differences (Handbook for Teachers 2024).
Differences relate to number, colour, position, appearance, activity, shape and relative size.
The 2026 public format page says four differences, but it repeats the A1 Movers wording; teach the Handbook's six.
The part tests understanding statements and responding with differences, so a short contrast sentence beats pointing or echoing.
Last updated: September 2026
5.1 Speaking Part 1: Find the Differences
Quick Answer: Part 1 begins with the examiner greeting the child and asking name, surname and age . The examiner then shows two similar pictures, reads statements about the examiner's picture , and the child looks at the candidate's picture and says how it is different. The Handbook for Teachers 2024 specifies six differences . Children bring nothing into the room.
How the Speaking paper is set up
A2 Flyers Speaking lasts 7–9 minutes , has four parts , and is marked by one examiner for a maximum of five shields . An usher — often a teacher the child knows, who speaks the child's language — explains the format in the child's first language before taking them in. The standard format is always one candidate and one examiner , and children bring nothing into the room. Pictures and questions stay inside the Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers word and structure lists, and the four parts always follow the same order, so a well-prepared child should meet no surprises.
Part 1 is an interactive task, not a monologue. The child who has only practised describing a picture alone will freeze the first time the examiner makes a statement and waits. Use English for everyday classroom instructions so Look at , Ask , Give , Put and Find are automatic — those are the Handbook's own instruction verbs, and a child meeting them for the first time in the test wastes a minute of a 7–9 minute paper.
The examiner greets the candidate and asks for name, surname and age . That is not small talk parked outside the mark scheme. It is the opening of Part 1. Children should answer in a clear phrase, not a whisper:
Hello.
My name is Helen Chen. / I'm Helen. My surname is Chen.
I'm ten. / I'm eleven years old.
Train Hello , Goodbye , Thank you , Sorry and I don't understand . The Handbook says children create a good impression when they use greetings and other social formulae confidently. Sorry and I don't understand are legitimate support moves: Interaction Band 5 and Band 3 both include Is able to ask for support if required . Silence is worse than asking.
Children bring nothing to Speaking — no pencil, no coloured pens, no notes, no wordlist. Coloured pencils belong to Listening Part 5. Ordinary pens belong to Reading and Writing. The examiner holds the pictures and cue cards in Speaking.
The examiner demonstrates what is required and shows two pictures which are similar but have some differences. The examiner reads statements about the examiner's picture . The candidate looks at the candidate's picture , identifies six differences , and says how the picture is different.
The 2026 public format page currently summarises this as four differences. Teach the Handbook 2024 specification: six differences. Normally the newer Cambridge source wins a conflict, but not here, and the reason is checkable: the Flyers format page uses the same wording as the A1 Movers format page , where four differences is correct. The Handbook is the detailed task description, it is still the prep material Cambridge links from the Flyers preparation page, and the current sample papers carry the same © 2024 date. Read the website line as a summary that inherited the Movers number. If a website card, an old worksheet, or a parent blog says four, do not cut two differences out of classroom practice. A child trained for four will stop after four and leave two statements hanging.
The seven difference types
Differences between the examiner's statements and the candidate's picture relate to number, colour, position, appearance, activity, shape and relative size.
Type Examiner says (about the examiner's picture) Candidate replies (about the candidate's picture)
Number In my picture there is a cake. In your picture there are magazines.
Colour In my picture the bag is blue. In your picture the bag is red.
Position In my picture the cat is under the table. In your picture the cat is on the chair.
Appearance In my picture the man has a beard. In your picture the man has a moustache.
Activity In my picture the girl is reading. In your picture the girl is writing.
Shape In my picture the clock is square. In your picture the clock is round.
Relative size In my picture the dog is bigger than the boy. In your picture the dog is smaller than the boy.
The Handbook's own shape example is the clock: In my picture the clock is square but in your picture the clock is round. That but is cohesion. Children who only name the object ( clock… round ) have understood the difference but have given the examiner less Vocabulary and Grammar evidence. A short contrast sentence is the target, not a story about why the clock changed.
The sentence frame that earns the mark
Classroom practice should copy the Handbook frame:
Hear the examiner's statement about their picture.
Look at your picture.
Say the difference in a full contrast. The examiner models In my picture… ; the child comments on how the candidate's picture is different, often as In your picture there are magazines.
Keep the contrast short and exact. Do not invent a story about why the magazines are there. Do not describe the whole picture. Six targeted contrasts are the task.
Worked example: cake, magazines, and a round clock
Examiner: In my picture there is a cake on the table. Candidate (looking at a pile of magazines on the same table): In your picture there are magazines.
Examiner: In my picture the clock is square. Candidate: In your picture the clock is round.
Examiner: In my picture the girl is reading. Candidate: In your picture the girl is writing.
If the child cannot see a difference, Sorry, I don't understand or Can you say that again, please? is better than guessing a random object. The examiner can rephrase. Interaction rewards asking for support; it does not reward a long, invented description of the wrong object.
Part 1 traps
Practising four differences because a 2026 website summary used that number. Handbook 2024 specifies six .
Pointing silently at the picture. There is no mark for a finger.
Changing the whole scene ( In my picture it's a kitchen and people are happy ) instead of the one stated difference.
Echoing the examiner's sentence unchanged.
Waiting for the examiner to ask What's different? after every line. The task is: hear a statement, say the difference.
Using only colour language. Number, position, appearance, activity, shape and relative size are all in play.