Oral English

 

PART A: ROLE PLAY

 

1.      Formal Introduction (Framework)

“ Good      afternoon / evening  ,      Sir / madam     . My name is Chris Wong,    (your post)   . I’m    doing a survey / (your task)    . May I ask you a few questions? ”

 

2.      Asking for clarification

e.g. I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?

       I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that. Could you say it again?

 

3. Most common headings in 1996 – 99 past papers

 

Heading Frequency

Examples

Reason(s) 66

Why do / did/ have you …?

What’s the reason for …?

(your) opinion of … 43

What do you think of …

What’s your opinion of …

Place(s) 37

Where …

In what place…

Kind(s) of …. preferred / wanted / needed 29

What kind(s) of … do you prefer / want / need?

What sort(s) of … would you like?

Length of stay / time 28

How long are you staying …

How long have you been …

(your) favourite 25

What is you favourite of …

Which … do you like most?

Problem(s) 24

What is the problem with …

What problem(s) do / did you have?

Number of … 22

How many …

What is the number of …

Frequency of … 21 How often do you …
Suggestions for improvement 20 Can you suggest some ways to improve …

 

4. Points to notice

-      Since you don’t have time to write complete sentences, focus on nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and include only those details that answer your question. You must get the information right.

-      Use different colour pens, one for your questions and one for the answer from Examiner 1. Make certain there is no chance of getting the two confused.

-      Don’t be afraid to ask Examiner 1 to repeat something he has said. If done properly, it can show your mastery of an important questioning technique, and your effort should be rewarded. Even if done poorly, though, it is better than giving wrong answer to Examiner 2.

-        When the examiners don’t understand you,

(a)    If Examiner 1 does not understand your question, he / she will say: “I’m sorry. What do you mean?” Don’t just repeat the same question. Say it in another way, more simply if possible. If you are really desperate and don’t know what to do, you could try simply putting ‘what is’ or ‘what are’ + ‘the’ or ‘your’ in front of the heading. You may lose partial mark for grammar, but the examiner will probably had to give you the content marks.

(b)   If Examiner2 does not understand your answer, he / she will say the same thing. Read your notes again and try to answer in a different way. Even if you don’t know what the word you wrote down means, if you get the sound right, you may get the mark. If you really don’t know the answer, you may say,

“I’m sorry. I didn’t catch what he said.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t understand his answer.”

 

 

PART B: GROUP DISCUSSION

 

1.      Most common discussions topics in 1996 – 99 past paper

(a) Planning school activities / projects (16)

(b)  General argumentative topics (16)

(c)  Travel (12)

(d) Social service (10)

(e)  Parties e.g. class picnic, farewell dinner (9)

(f)   Clubs e.g. organizing new clubs (9)

(g) Tourism e.g. poster / video / leaflet about tourist attraction (8)

 

2.      Dos and Don’ts during discussion

Dos Don'ts

Do …

(1)   simile

(2)   sit up straight

(3)   look confident

(4)   look professional

(5)   talk at regular intervals

(6)   be helpful and encouraging

(7)   use a variety of discussion technique

(8)   make sure everyone stick to topic

(9)   get the quiet candidates involved through good questioning

(10) make it look as if you are interested no matter how boring the topic is

 

Do not …

(1)   look down at the paper all the time

(2)   look at just one candidate

(3)   look too much at talkative candidate

(4)   apologize

(5)   use negative words

(6)   talk on and on

(7)   let more than 30 seconds go without making some contribution

(8)   put your elbows on the table

(9)   just give your opinion and agree with the other

(10) talk too softly

 

 

 

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