For private speaking practice: give a recorder permission only when you choose, record a short answer to a prompt, play it back once against a checklist, then delete it. The private speaking recorder and review on this site follows that pattern, and this page gives you the routine around it.
It suits any subject with spoken work, such as English, French, Malay or Chinese, and also helps if you must explain a concept aloud in a sciences or humanities class.
What are the privacy controls to check first?
Go through these before you press record. They take under a minute.
- I clicked “allow” on the microphone myself and know how to turn it off again.
- The recording stays on my device. It is not uploaded.
- Nobody else in the room can be heard, or I have asked them.
- I know where the delete button is and I will use it after reviewing.
- I am not recording anyone else’s voice.
If microphone permission is denied, the prompt and the checklist below still work. You can practise aloud and tick the review items from memory, or ask a friend or family member to listen and tick them with you.
Practice routine in five steps
- Read the prompt twice. Jot three keywords, not sentences.
- Set a timer for the length you want. Sixty to ninety seconds is enough for most practice answers.
- Record one attempt without stopping to restart. Real speaking does not allow restarts.
- Play back once and complete the review table.
- Delete the clip, then try a second attempt fixing one thing only.
Self-review table
| Area | Question to ask | Yes / Partly / No | Note for next attempt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answered the question | Did I speak to the prompt, not around it? | ||
| Organisation | Did I have an opening, two or three points and an ending? | ||
| Accuracy | Which one error did I hear (tense, agreement, word choice)? | ||
| Range | Did I use at least one phrase I do not use every day? | ||
| Pace and pauses | Did I rush, or fill gaps with the same filler word? | ||
| Clarity | Would a listener who does not know me catch every key word? |
Choose one thing to change in the second attempt. Improving six things at once usually improves none.
Filled example: French, everyday routine
Prompt: “Décris ta routine du matin.” (Describe your morning routine.)
Keywords jotted: se lever, petit déjeuner, transport.
Attempt 1 (transcribed while reviewing): “Je me lève à six heures et demie. Je mange le petit déjeuner et je vais à l’école en bus. Je arrive à sept heures.”
| Area | Result | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Answered the question | Yes | Covered waking, eating and travel |
| Organisation | Partly | No ending; stopped after travel |
| Accuracy | Partly | “Je arrive” should be “J’arrive” before a vowel |
| Range | No | Only simple present, one connector |
| Pace | Yes | Steady |
| Clarity | Yes | Clear |
Attempt 2 goal (one thing only): fix the elision and add one time connector such as “ensuite” (then) and an ending sentence.
Attempt 2: “Je me lève à six heures et demie. Ensuite, je prends le petit déjeuner et je vais à l’école en bus. J’arrive à sept heures, donc j’ai le temps de relire mes notes.”
This version fixes the elision and adds an ending, and the word count stays short enough to say in under 30 seconds. Quote-check: “j’arrive” is the correct form, and “donc” introduces the consequence.
Where does this fit in your revision?
Treat it as one short block of a weekly plan, such as two or three recordings a week, each followed by a deletion. Keep notes from the review table in your mistake log if the same error returns.
Speaking and listening components, and any oral endorsement, depend on the syllabus code and year. Check the subject page on Cambridge for the current assessment structure, and ask your exam centre about arrangements, since registration and access arrangements are handled there. See the wider toolkit on the resources page, or read how our one-to-one lessons work.