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Home > Spanish > Beginners Course > How to approach the exam > The Oral Examination > Oral Examination

How to approach the exam: the Oral Examination

1. Examination specifications
2. Preparing for the examination
3. During the exam
4. Related Board of Studies Websites

Examination specifications

The new Spanish Beginners syllabus will be examined for the first time in 2008.

The oral examination will take approximately five minutes and is worth 20 marks.

The oral examination assesses your knowledge and skills in interacting in Spanish. It relates to Objective 1 – Interacting, and the following outcomes, where you:

The oral examination is held on a date in Term 3, earlier than the HSC written examinations. The Board of Studies publishes a Languages Oral Examinations Timetable each year at (http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/events/ ). You should be familiar with the practical advice supplied with the timetable. You will be advised of the examination date, time and venue at least three weeks prior to the examination. Make sure that your school and the Board of Studies have your correct contact details.

The examination will consist of a general conversation between you and an examiner. In the conversation, you and the examiner will discuss your personal world, as it relates to the prescribed topics in the syllabus.

You are not permitted to use dictionaries or refer to written notes during the oral examination.

Other useful and related documents provided by the Board of Studies are included at the end of this section.

Preparing for the examination

You should aim to establish effective communication and to maintain the flow of the conversation to create the best overall impression. You should demonstrate how well you can:

• exchange relevant information (i.e. give relevant answers to the questions asked)
• exchange opinions and make comments (e.g. say why you like something, why you don’t want to do something, etc.)
• use appropriate intonation and pronunciation
• demonstrate a variety of vocabulary and language           structures.

This is an examination for which you can be well prepared. You may be asked about aspects of everyday life (see the topics listed below), from the perspective of your personal world. This is your opportunity to talk about yourself, your friends, your family, etc.
You are advised to:

• familiarise yourself with the topics prescribed in the syllabus. These are:
  • Family life, home and neighbourhood
  • People, places and communities
  • Education and work
  • Friends, recreation and pastimes
  • Holidays, travel and tourism
  • Future plans and aspirations
    
    
• learn as much useful vocabulary as you can. This will enable you to speak across the range of topics.
  
  
• practise your pronunciation. There are a number of resources available to help you do this, e.g. the audio material which comes with textbook courses, commercially available material which focuses specifically on pronunciation, etc. Some of these are available electronically. Listen carefully and try to model your pronunciation on what you hear.
  
  
• practise responding to a wide range of sample questions.
  
  
• practise speaking with classmates, with different Spanish teachers, etc.
  
  
• record your answers and, if possible, ask your teacher for feedback. This will give you practice in recording your responses and will also help you to assess areas on which you may need to focus, e.g. pronunciation, intonation, variety of vocabulary, sentence structure, etc.
  
  
• practise speaking in full sentences and extending your responses where possible. This will enable you to show a greater facility with the language than if you consistently answer with simple phrases or single words. Practise making a number of relevant comments in your response.
  
  

  e.g.	Examiner:	¿Cuántas personas hay en tu familia?
  	Student:	Hay cinco personas en mi familia.
  	Examiner:	Háblame de ellos. ¿Quiénes son?
  	Student:	Pues, mi padre se llama Peter y mi madre se llama Carla. Y, tengo una hermana mayor Katie. Mi hermano se llama Tim y tiene trece años.
  	Examiner:	¿Qué hacen tus padres? ¿Trabajan?
  	Student:	Sí. Mi padre es constructor y trabaja por cuenta propria. Mi mamá es farmacéutica y trabaja en una farmacia cerca de casa.

  
  
• practise giving a range of information in your answers. You may be asked a range of questions from the perspective of your own personal world and you should not limit yourself to extremely brief answers. Conversing well, across a range of topics, will create a good impression. It is up to you to maximise this opportunity during the five minutes of the examination. You should remain consistent throughout the conversation, e.g. it is inadvisable to say you have three brothers at the beginning of the examination and then claim to be an only child at the end.
  
  
• practise speaking in the past tense, e.g. La semana pasada fui de vacaciones con mi familia. Lo pasé muy bien.
  
  
• practise using subordinate clauses, e.g. No tenemos un perro porque nuestro piso es muy pequeño.  En mi barrio hay un parque donde jugamos a fútbol los sábados.
  
  
• concentrate on verbs and know how to use them correctly. You should be able to talk not only about yourself and what you do, etc, but also about other people – your family, friends, etc. To do this, you will need to use different verb endings and should practise this.
  
  e.g. Yo soy australiano, pero mi padre es inglés y mis abuelos son griegos.
  e.g. Vivo con mi familia. Vivimos en una casa grande. Mis tíos viven en el campo.
  
  
• ensure that you use the appropriate pronouns.
  
  e.g. En tu familia ¿qué os gusta hacer? – Nos gusta hacer muchas cosas. A mí me gusta chatear por Internet, a mi hermana le gusta escuchar música y a mis padres les gusta ver la tele.
  
  e.g. Me llamo Jenny y mi hermano se llama Tom.
  Me divertí mucho y mis amigos se divirtieron también.
  
  
• use the appropriate tense for the situation, El año pasado fui de vacaciones a Brisbane, este año me quedo en casa y el año que viene iré a España.
  
  
• identify and respond to each question word appropriately, e.g., ¿Por qué..? ¿Para qué ..? ¿Cómo..? ¿Cómo es? ¿Cuánto...? ¿Cuándo...?

During the examination

You should:

• remain calm and speak confidently and clearly.
  
  
• avoid the temptation to rush into a response. If you need a moment to think about your answer, then take this – just as you might in a normal conversation. On the other hand, long pauses would not be natural, and should be avoided, especially as this examination only lasts for five minutes.
  
  
• listen carefully to the question. If you have not understood, or are uncertain, then ask the examiner (in Spanish) for clarification, or to repeat it, e.g. Lo siento, no entiendo. ¿Puede usted repetir por favor?
  
  
• be aware that the questions asked may follow on from the answers you have already given. However, a number of different topics may be covered in the exam. So there may be a switch to other topics during the course of the conversation. You should be prepared for this to happen.
  
  
• be prepared to expand your answers. This does not mean giving a prepared monologue and attempting to dominate the conversation. However, you should attempt to expand your responses by making a number of relevant comments to demonstrate the range of vocabulary and language structures you have at your disposal. You may find that aiming for roughly three comments in an extended response will assist you in this.
  
  
• try to treat every question as a springboard to show what you know. Avoid the temptation to restrict your response to Sí or No, or to simply repeat the question. Consider the following examples. Which response do you think would make the better impression?
  
  

  Example 1	Examiner:	¿Qué te gusta hacer los fines de semana?
  	Student:	Me gusta salir.
  Example 2	Examiner:	¿Qué te gusta hacer los fines de semana?
  	Student:	Bueno, me gusta salir con los amigos.  En verano, si hace buen tiempo, nos encanta ir a la playa, pero en invierno, o si llueve, generalmente vamos al cine o a un restaurante. También, a veces, nos gusta ir de tiendas.

  
  
  
• be aware that this is not a normal ‘conversation’, but rather a one-way conversation, with a series of questions provided for you to demonstrate your knowledge. It is therefore not appropriate for you to ask the examiner questions, e.g. whether he/she has seen a film, where he/she goes on holidays, etc.
  
  
• remember that there is a wide range of possible questions that you could be asked. It is impossible to accurately predict the questions in this type of examination. However, if you have practised, you can be confident you will be able to handle any line of questioning that develops.
  
  
• answer as best you can, but do not worry if there is a question you cannot answer. A range of questions may be asked across a range of topics.
  
  
• be aware that you should not ask the examiner for assistance, other than to repeat or clarify the question.
  
  
• note that if you are asked a question in vosotros or ustedes form, then you are being asked about yourself and other people, and will probably want to respond with the nosotros form.
  
  

  e.g.	Examiner:	¿Te gusta ir de camping? (Sí, me gusta...) A ti y a tus amigos, ¿os/les gusta ir de camping?  (No, no nos gusta...)
  e.g.	Examiner:	¿Practicas algún deporte? (Practico la natación.) Tú y tu hermano ¿practicáis/practican algún deporte? (Practicamos el surf.)

  
  
• be prepared to answer a question(s) in the past tense.
  
  
• avoid using English words if you don't know the correct word or expression in Spanish. You should have a range of appropriate vocabulary at your disposal and should keep to what you know to be correct. The examination is not a good time for experimentation.
  
  
• always remember that the examiner’s role is to facilitate the examination. The aim is to provide you with a positive experience, by giving you the opportunity to show your range of ability in spoken Spanish.
  
  

  e.g.	Examiner:	¿Vives en una casa o en un piso?
  	Student:	Vivo en una casa.
  	Examiner:	¿Cómo es la casa?
  	Student:	Es bastante grande.  Tiene cuatro dormitorios y dos cuartos de baño. También hay una sala de estar y una cocina… y... mm…
  	Examiner:	Tu dormitorio ¿cómo es? ¿Me lo puedes describir?
  	Student:	Sí, en mi dormitorio hay mi cama, un armario, una mesa con mi ordenador, hay unos estantes para mis libros… Mi cuarto es pequeño, pero me gusta mucho.
  	Examiner:	¿Por qué te gusta tanto?
  	Student:	Porque está lleno de luz y, además, es mío, no tengo que compartirlo con mi hermano.

Related Board of Studies Websites

Syllabus
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/

2008 HSC Specimen Examination Package
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/Spanish-beginners-spec-exam-pkg-2008.pdf

HSC (Year 12) Examination Timetable
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/events/

Equipment Checklist for Higher School Certificate Examinations and School Certificate Tests
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/manuals/equipment_list.html

Rules and Procedures for 2008 Higher School Certificate Candidates
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/hsc-rules-procedures-08.pdf

2008 HSC Important Dates for Practical Submissions/Marking
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/events/pdf_doc/hsc-important-dates-2008.pdf