Polish B1 oral part:
topics and preparation

Short answer. The oral part of the Polish B1 exam lasts up to 15 minutes, and you need at least 50% of its points to pass. Prepare by the B1 standard: it lists monologues, dialogues, roles and 16 topic blocks, from personal life and home to work, health and general topics.

The oral part of the state Polish B1 exam lasts no more than 15 minutes. You draw one of the sets of tasks; the examining board states the time for the whole oral part on the set, and the regulation does not split it by task. The official sets are not public, but the B1 standard, an annex to the regulation on the exams, describes in detail what you need to be able to do, on which topics and in which roles. That is what to prepare by.

We wrote the sample tasks below ourselves, based on the types of speaking and topics in the standard. The wording at the exam will be different.

What you need to be able to do

The B1 standard for adults expects you to speak fluently in typical situations, so that your Polish does not get in the way of communication. In practice that means you can:

• start and end a conversation, join someone else's conversation, and exchange information and opinions on familiar topics;
• handle a simple phone call;
• talk about your interests, experience, dreams and plans;
• give and justify an opinion, describe and recount events, and briefly summarise a text you have read;
• ask someone to repeat, explain or spell something, and check that you were understood correctly;
• choose a formal or informal style to suit the situation.

On pronunciation the standard says that the influence of your first language may be noticeable but must not get in the way of understanding.

Types of speaking

The standard lists the monologues and dialogues tested at B1. Under each one is our sample task to practise with. Pan and Pani are the polite forms of "you" for a man and a woman.

Monologues

• About your interests, experience, plans and dreams. Proszę opowiedzieć o swoich planach na przyszłość. (Please tell us about your plans for the future.)
• Summary of a book, film or article with a short comment. Proszę streścić film, który ostatnio Pan oglądał, i krótko go ocenić. (Please summarise a film you watched recently and briefly give your opinion of it.)
• Account of an event. Proszę opowiedzieć o swojej ostatniej podróży. (Please tell us about your last trip.)
• Description. Proszę opisać miejsce, w którym Pani mieszka. (Please describe the place where you live.)
• Describing a person. Proszę opisać swojego najlepszego przyjaciela. (Please describe your best friend.)
• An opinion with reasons. Czy lepiej mieszkać w dużym mieście, czy na wsi? Dlaczego? (Is it better to live in a big city or in the country? Why?)

Dialogues

• A simple phone call. Proszę zadzwonić do przychodni i umówić się na wizytę u lekarza. (Please call the clinic and book an appointment with a doctor.)
• A situational dialogue. W mieszkaniu zepsuła się pralka. Proszę porozmawiać z właścicielem mieszkania. (The washing machine in your flat has broken. Please talk to the landlord.)
• A dialogue on a topic. Jak spędza Pan wolny czas? (How do you spend your free time?)
• A short discussion. Czy dzieci powinny mieć smartfony? Proszę podać argumenty za i przeciw. (Should children have smartphones? Please give arguments for and against.)

Roles

In the dialogues you may find yourself in any of the roles listed in the standard: a stranger or an acquaintance, a colleague or a friend, a family member, a guest, a traveller, a student, an employee, a visitor to a public office (petent), an owner or a landlord, a buyer or a seller, a customer, a driver, a patient, a viewer or a reader, a participant in an event, a participant in a phone call.

Topics: 16 blocks

Phrases that hold an answer together

• Moim zdaniem… (In my opinion…)
• Wydaje mi się, że… (It seems to me that…)
• Z jednej strony…, z drugiej strony… (On the one hand…, on the other hand…)
• Na przykład… (For example…)
• Dlatego uważam, że… (That is why I think that…)
• Przepraszam, czy może Pan powtórzyć? (Sorry, could you repeat that?)
• Nie jestem pewien, czy dobrze rozumiem. (I'm not sure I understand correctly.)

A four-week plan

1. Week 1: about yourself. The blocks on the person, home, daily life and work. A two-minute talk about yourself without notes, a description of your flat and of your working day.
2. Week 2: situations. Phone calls and role-play dialogues: a patient, a tenant talking to the landlord, a bank customer, a visitor to a public office. Two dialogues out loud every day.
3. Week 3: opinions and summaries. One topic a day from the blocks on general topics, nature and education: a two-minute opinion with linking phrases and a summary of a short article or film.
4. Week 4: exam mode. Draw a random topic, take a minute to prepare, answer against a timer and record yourself on your phone. Listen back and write down three mistakes you keep repeating.

How the whole exam works, with the written modules, the 50% thresholds and the certificate deadlines, is covered in the guide Polish B1 for long-term EU residence.

Where to practise speaking

The best option is a live partner: a teacher, a conversation club, colleagues. If you don't have someone to talk to every day, add AI. On Talkfirst you can speak Polish out loud with an AI conversation partner on everyday topics or in scenes: meeting someone, at a café, asking the way, and on Pro also a job interview, the doctor, renting a flat and the airport. After each conversation you see your pauses and mistakes, explained in English, Russian or Ukrainian. There is also a mock oral B1 exam: three tasks following the published descriptions of the format, a picture, a monologue and a role-play dialogue, with spoken answers, a score in per cent and a “would pass” mark from 50 %, as in the regulation. The official criteria are not published; the tasks and pictures are ours. On Free, once every 7 days. More on the Polish B1 mock exam page, and more guides in Polish guides.

Questions and answers

Source: regulation of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of 14 February 2025 on exams in Polish as a foreign language (§ 17, 23 and Annex 1, section E for adults: points 5 and 7). Checked on 3 October 2026.