Oral exam topics and subtopics

Classroom discipline
Phase one: Remember your secondary school teachers. Were they able to maintain classroom
discipline? How? /Why not?
Phase two: Agree on the 3 most important measures which might be helpful to maintain classroom
discipline as a teacher.

Student types
Phase one: Think back to your secondary school class. Who was the best/worst student in your
class? What made him/her good/bad?
Phase two: What makes a student a good student in terms of behaviour?

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HW: Vocabulary behaviour/misbehaviour/discipline Medgyes in Kontra article

Classroom management

Phase one: How do you think the seating arrangement may/can influence the success/effectiveness
outcome of a lesson?

Phase two: Agree on the three most important classroom management techniques.

(arranging the seating; giving instructions; using the board; monitoring groupwork)

U-shaped seating arrangement, get students to focus their attention on what has been said by the
teacher, keep eye-contact, encourage cooperation, use a wide variety of materials, introduce a
variety of ways for working with the materials that you use

Make reachable expectations, be predictable. set feasible/achievable/attainable goals

Provide/give Feedback respond to feedback, take the feedback on board

Non -verbal communication: proximity, eye-contact, tone of voice, gestures

To create and maintain appropriate behaviour of students in classroom settings

ensuring that lessons run smoothly without disruptive behaviour

To set effective limits

To establish, maintain, and restore relationships within the group in the class

To maintain authority

To pique the curiosity of the students. 😊 arouse students’ interest. Generate interest, attract interest
Motivation

Learner types

Phase 1

People learn languages differently. A method which works for one student, may not be as successful
with another. Think of different types of learners and name them.

When the test begins, describe some people you know who represent different learner types.

Phase 2

What can a teacher do to accommodate the needs of different types of learners? Suggest/agree on
at least 4 different ideas.

The teaching profession

A: INDIVIDUAL TURN

What would you do if you hadn’t chosen the teaching track and the teaching profession?
Would you be doing something related to/in connection with English?

B: PEER DISCUSSION

What would make the teaching profession more appealing to young people? Collect at least
three ideas and rank them in order of importance.

Talent for languages Aptitude

Phase 1

In your opinion is there such a thing as a talent for languages?

When the test begins, be ready to back up your opinion with concrete examples. Describe what
makes a good language learner.

Phase 2

What advice would you give to someone who needs to learn English very quickly? She is attending
an intensive course, but wants to do things on her own as well.

Hw: aptitude Neuromyths article, Sarah Mercer article (Dispelling the myth …)

Secondary school vs. university

Phase 1

What did you find most challenging about being a university student when you first joined ELTE?

Phase 2

What are some of the main differences between being a secondary school student and a university
student? Come up with at least 4 differences and rank them in order of importance.

Hw: vocalulary Illes and Akcan (continuous assessment)

Life/work/study balance

Phase 1

What does the following quotation mean to you? Think of an anecdote, story which illustrates its
meaning. “The problem with a rat race is that even if you win you are still a rat.” -Lily Tomlin

Phase 2

What makes teaching a particularly stressful job? Discuss some of the sources and then come up
with at least 4 ideas for dealing with stress.

Monologue topics that actually appeared in previous exams:

Talk about a YouTube video / TED lecture which had a great impact on you. What was it and
why was it so influential?

What’s your first memory of school? Why is it memorable? Why do you still remember it?

Giving homework:

1. Did you have any pieces of memorable homework?

2. Do you think that giving homework is useful?

Classroom:

1. Have you ever had a shy classmate?

2. What would you do as a teacher to break up cliques and maintain the class as a
community?

Testing:

1. What is your best memory of taking a test?

2. What is the best way of testing?

School trip:

1. What is your best memory of school trip?

2. Agree on 4 things that should be arranged before going on a school trip.
Dream- job:

1. What was your dream job?

2. How can you motivate your students not to give up and reach their aims?

Language learning:

1. How did you start learning the English language?

2. How can you back up your students with different learning styles?