Notes from the examiners report 2009 Oral English

Guidelines for Candidates and Examination

report provide clear and detailed information.

Feedback is available ..

YET a number of candidates continue to ignore the information and advice given and do

not use them to improve their score.

You have 10 minutes to prepare for BOTH parts of the exam. You should spend 8 minutes preparing for the Individual Presentation and 2 minutes

brainstorming ideas for the discussion

In these 8 minutes you should: o read text o get a general understanding o organise key points to include in the presentation

However, some candidates commenced note taking as

soon as they were told to start their preparation.

Some candidates copied large sentences or chunks and tried to use linking words and synonyms to make it seem like their own. But all were penalized for using chunks from the text.

Some candidates used only one or two points from

the original text and added their own ideas. A general understanding of the whole text is important. You must cover all of the key information in the text.

 the number of candidates reading from their note card was on the increase. Even some more able candidates wrote their presentation (with good grammar) but lost marks for reading and not

giving a presentation.

The judges can tell the difference between genuine eye contact and occasional glancing.

Recommendations:

Skim the text for gist

Identify the underlying theme of the passage

Identify MAIN and supporting ideas in each paragraph Present these in your OWN words Feelings, personal opinions and background knowledge should be incorporated only if this can be done in a coherent manner. You do not get extra mark for personal opinions. Intelligibility audibility, clarity of speech, accuracy of pronunciation and grammar, fluency and ease of language production are also important Eye contact and manner of delivery

Group discussion Candidates overused formulaic expressions such as Shall we begin,

what is your opinion, what do you think In many instances, the discussion did not flow smoothly on account of poor turn taking skills and candidates simply spoke one after the other with out really listening or responding appropriately to the other

participants.
Some candidates also responded with irrelevant points or repeated points that had already been made in the discussion. Others merely repeated the points previously mentioned or summarized

them without adding new ideas of their own.

Some candidates did not fully understand the task. Some also were OK with things like sport but had little to say about local and international issues.

Eg What is wrong with this exchange!

A: I think we should have a poster competition

B: I agree with your point and we could run some games

Recommendations:
You should spend about 2 minutes of preparation time listing points for the discussion on reverse of the

note card
Make effective use of presentation material from all candidates

Participate actively
Use English language regularly outside -find and make opportunities to use language. (F 6 students would benefit from taking part in debates) and keep informed about current affairs

an ability to use the English language helps us to

meet the requirements of work and study contexts and to communicate effectively. In learning English, you are not just preparing for a public examination, you are empowering yourself for life.