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How to approach the Oral Examination

Monologue

Course prescriptions

New course prescriptions (2009 – 2013) for French Extension were published on 26 October 2007.

The new prescribed issues for 2009 – 2013 are:

The new prescribed text is:

Jean de Florette, Pagnol, Marcel, 2004, Brodard & Taupin, Éditions de Fallois, Paris.

Click here for full details on the French Course Prescriptions 2009-2013 (external website). (external website)

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General information

The oral examinations take place in August and September each year. All languages oral examinations (except for Modern Hebrew) are held on a Saturday. A letter will be spent to the student’s home with information including the examination date, time and venue at least three (3) weeks before the examinations commence.

It is important that you check the Higher School Certificate Languages Oral Examination Timetableat the Board of Studies website. It is also important that you understand the information on the back of the timetable. (link for timetable http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/events/ (external website))

The oral examination relates to Objective 1 in the French Extension Stage 6 Syllabus. It is designed to assess your knowledge and skills in using spoken French to present and support a point of view.

Objective Outcomes
The student will:

1 present and discuss opinions, ideas and points    of view in French		 The student:

1.1 discusses attitudes, opinions and ideas in       French

1.2 formulates and justifies a written or spoken       argument in French

© Board of Studies, French Extension Stage 6 Syllabus, updated July 2008

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Examination specifications

The oral examination is worth 10 marks.

You will choose one question from a choice of two questions. You are required to present a spoken monologue of approximately three minutes, related to the prescribed issues. The new prescribed issues are listed above.

The questions will be written in both English and French, for a response in French.

The examination is approximately 10 minutes long, which includes 7 minutes preparation time.

Ensure that you write your Centre Number and Student Number on the examination paper, as you will be required to hand it in at the conclusion of the oral examination.

During the preparation time, you may make brief notes in the spaces provided on the examination paper. You may refer to these notes during the examination but you must not read directly from them.

The use of dictionaries is not permitted during the oral examination.

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Criteria for judging performance

In your answers you will be assessed on how well you:

Responses which create a positive impression demonstrate a good understanding of the issues and present a sophisticated, coherent argument to support a point of view. These responses will:

A student who has well-developed speaking skills will:

Note: The Board of Studies NSW has developed a French Standards Package CD-ROM, which contains detailed information on the level of achievement for each performance band, including examples of student responses. While these are not the current prescribed issues, hearing and reviewing actual student responses are excellent ways to understand how the marking criteria are put into practice. This will demonstrate the standard expected. The package can be accessed online at http://arc.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/standards-packs/SP02_15690/ (external website) or should be available through your school. It can also be ordered through the Board of Studies’ website at: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/multimedia/stand_packs_index.html (external website).

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Before the examination

It is important to familiarise yourself with the prescribed issues listed above.

Remember that the oral examination is related to the prescribed issues and NOT directly to the prescribed text. The prescribed text set from 2009 is listed above.

(Your knowledge of the prescribed text will be assessed in the Written Examination, Section I: Response to prescribed text. It is therefore unnecessary to refer to incidents or characters from the prescribed text in the oral examination.)

The issues which have been set for study are broad and can be explored from a number of different perspectives (which are not prescribed), allowing you a degree of flexibility in the sub-topics you wish to pursue. While the prescribed issues are mandatory, the dash points listed in the French Extension Higher School Certificate 2009–2013 Course Prescriptions (Gina please link toè http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/french-ext-prescriptions-09-13.pdf) document are not. They are suggestions only and are included to give a sense of the scope of the prescribed issues.

It is important that you have as much practice as possible in preparing and delivering the monologues. It is good practice to think about a given topic, checking vocabulary and expressions that you might use. It is important that you attempt the task under exam conditions, i.e. no written essay. Just allow 5 minutes preparation, make the notes and then record your speaking.

It is also very important that you experiment with different styles and find one that suits you. Some students use dot point, other number, some use arrows, others highlight or draw a mind-map. Experiment until you come up with your own system, but do not write lengthy sentences which you intend to read. It is not appropriate and can be identified as read and, once finished, will leave you with nothing further to say.

Reading widely in French on the issues will introduce you to a range of material and ideas and help you build a bank of appropriate vocabulary and expressions, which are likely to have application across a number of sub-topics.

Consider, for example, the issue The outsider versus social order. You might read articles on, for example:

In collecting a range of vocabulary and expressions, you may find examples which are common to a number of sub-topics and may be adapted and included in a range of responses:

The following are examples only:

When considering your response you should remember that it is not the particular viewpoint you take which is important, but rather your ability to build a relevant and well-balanced argument and to support it logically and coherently. You should aim to address the topic in general terms and avoid over-dependence on person anecdotes or lists of items.

You should provide an introduction where you very briefly:

You should then begin your first point being careful to clearly explain and support the first argument, always linking it to the question.

Next you should do the same for the second argument. (Two or three arguments if well explained and supported will usually suffice and are far more impressive than a list of ideas without any explanation).

Finally you should draw the points together for a convincing conclusion.

It is not appropriate to try to change the question to suit an argument that you have already prepared, and that you simply deliver.

Remember, it is important to support the point of view you present in your response. The following advice may be helpful:

Wide reading in French is recommended to develop the habit of thinking in French. Your teacher could possibly suggest some other resources available to you.

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During the examination

Remember to relax. If you take a moment to think and plan your approach, without rushing to provide a response, you will be able to adapt what you know to answer a range of questions.

You will have 7 minutes preparation time.

In deciding which question to answer, you should choose the question which allows you to use different arguments, vocabulary and structures.

You are allowed to make brief notes as memory prompts in the spaces provided on the examination paper. You may choose to do this in a variety of ways. For example:

Remember that the examiners will have access to your notes, although these notes are not marked. You are not permitted to write out your monologue in whole sentences and then simply read this out. The brief notes you write are to be used as a guide or as a prompt only, to assist you in presenting your argument. When selecting a question, you should make sure you understand exactly what the question requires. Consider the following:

This question does not ask for a general discussion of the multicultural nature of Australian society. It asks you to present and support an opinion on the advantages (or disadvantages, should you choose to take the opposite point of view) of living in a multicultural society. The monologue questions are given in both French and English to avoid any possibility of misinterpretation. The relevance of your response is very important, and responses which are vague and do not target the question are easily identifiable.

When answering the question, you should begin with an introduction, followed by a well-supported and balanced argument. In expressing a point of view, you may decide to acknowledge the other side of the argument (e.g. Certains pensent que …, par contre …, d’après …) when presenting your case. Although not mandatory, this approach may assist in keeping your argument well-balanced.

You should speak for approximately three minutes. After two minutes and thirty seconds the examiner will ring a warning bell. The examiner will ring a final bell at three minutes, at which time you must bring your response to a conclusion.

A relevant conclusion is important and will complete your response. Although it may be relatively brief, a good conclusion will tie together the threads of the argument and re-affirm your viewpoint, e.g. En fin de compte seuls ceux qui…, en conclusion disons que l’avenir nous le dira. It might even end with a question, Qui sait si…?

Note that a good conclusion will not simply re-state the question printed on the examination paper.

Other students may discuss their own responses with you after the examination. You should not be alarmed if they have taken a different approach in answering a question. The nature of the monologue question invites a variety of opinions and approaches. All justified interpretations, which are relevant to the question, are acceptable.

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