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How to approach the Oral Examination
Monologue
- Course prescriptions (2009-2013)
- General information
- Examination specifications
- Criteria for judging performance
- Before the examination
- During the examination
Course prescriptions
New course prescriptions for Spanish Extension for 2009 – 2013 were published on 26 October 2007.
The new prescribed issues for 2009 – 2013 are:
- Personal choice and growth
- Solidarity and survival
- Social justice
The new prescribed text is the film, The Motorcycle Diaries.
Click here 
for full details of the Spanish Course Prescriptions 2009-2013 on the Board of Studies’ website.
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. Students will be sent a letter to their home with information relating to 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 Timetable at the Board of Studies website. It is also important that you understand the important information on the back of the Timetable. For full details, go to http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/events/ HSC (Year 12) Languages Oral Examination Timetable and http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/syllabus2000_listg.html (HSC Languages Courses - Oral Examination) General Information for Teachers (Published on 1 August 2008).
The oral examination relates to Objective 1 in the Spanish Extension Stage 6 Syllabus. It is designed to assess your knowledge and skills in using spoken Spanish to present and support a point of view.
| Objective | Outcomes |
|---|---|
| The student will: 1 present and discuss opinions, ideas and points of view in Spanish |
The student: 1.1 discusses attitudes, opinions and ideas in Spanish 1.2 formulates and justifies a written or spoken argument in Spanish |
© Board of Studies, Spanish Extension Stage 6 Syllabus, updated July 2008
Examination Specifications
The oral examination is worth 10 marks.
You will choose two questions from a choice of three questions. You are required to present two spoken monologues of approximately two minutes each, related to the prescribed issues. The new prescribed issues are listed above.
The questions will be written in both English and Spanish, for a response in Spanish.
The examination is approximately 15 minutes long, which includes 10 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.
Criteria for judging performance
In your answers you will be assessed on how well you:
- present and support a point of view
- demonstrate clarity of expression (pronunciation, intonation, stress)
- demonstrate accuracy and variety of vocabulary and sentence structures.
Responses which create a positive impression are given by those students who have a good understanding of the issues and are able to present a sophisticated, coherent argument to support their point of view. These responses will:
- remain relevant to the question at all times
- reflect a depth of understanding of the issue/s involved
- be delivered with confidence, correct pronunciation and intonation, and a high level of grammatical accuracy.
A student who has well-developed speaking skills will:
- demonstrate a degree of authenticity, formulating ideas in Spanish, rather than translating from English
- demonstrate breadth and sophistication in the use of vocabulary, expressions and sentence structures.
Note: The Board of Studies NSW has developed a Spanish Standards Package CD-ROM, which contains detailed information on the level of achievement for each performance band, including examples of student responses. Hearing and reviewing actual student responses is an excellent way to understand how the marking criteria are put into practice. This will reassure you of the standard expected. The package should be available through your school. It can be ordered through the Board of Studies’ website at: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/multimedia/stand_packs_index.html .
Before the examination
It is important to familiarise yourself with the prescribed issues published by the Board of Studies, listed above.
Remember that the oral examination is related to the prescribed issues and NOT directly to the prescribed text. The prescribed texts set from 2009 are also 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 Spanish Extension Higher School Certificate 2009–2013 Course Prescriptions document are not. They are suggestions only and are included to give a sense of the scope of the prescribed issues.
Reading widely in Spanish 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 Social justice. You may read articles on:
- accepting people from different social status
- breaking down barriers between the wealthy and the poor
- dignity
- human rights
- the consequences of poverty
- poverty and wealth
- social solidarity and fraternity
- greed
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:
Note: the following are examples only
- Hay gente que mantiene/insiste/sostiene/ que…
- Es difícil de creer, pero es verdad!
- Los prejucios pueden llevar a …
- La injusticia sólo causa…
- Sobre el tema de la justicia, sólo puedo decir lo siguiente.
- El desequilibrio social lleva a…
- Se puede decir que a través de actos generosos…
- El desarrollo personal es primordial en la vida de una persona…
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 support it logically and coherently.
You should begin with an introduction and, after providing a well-supported argument, draw your monologue to a close with a logical conclusion. You should aim to address the topic in general terms and avoid over-dependence on personal anecdotes or lists of items. If you provide an introduction, followed by three or four main ideas, developed with supporting evidence, and finally a conclusion, you should be able to speak for approximately two minutes, as specified by the syllabus.
Remember it is important to support the point of view you present in your response. The following advice may be helpful:
- Read widely, keep your own bank of useful vocabulary and expressions, and practise regularly to develop your ideas.
- Be familiar with a few expressions which help you link your arguments and give your monologue structure. These need not be long or complex, but will help your response to flow logically.
- Learn a variety of ways of expressing an opinion and avoid obvious repetition of the same structures. Remember, it is the quality of your argument which is the most important factor, and over-reliance on rote-learned phrases which are not particularly relevant should be avoided.
- Look at past HSC papers in Spanish and other languages, as the generic nature of the Extension syllabus means there is some crossover between the languages that have Extension courses.
- Practise monologues and record yourself at home so that you are used to giving your opinion. If possible, practise monologues with other students, to assist in the development of ideas and viewpoints.
- Expose yourself to as much Spanish as possible. Access the various forms of media available which relate to the prescribed issues, bearing in mind that some of these resources may be aimed at background speakers of Spanish. However, they may assist you in gathering information and opinions to support your point(s) of view. Some sources may include:
- HSC Online
- Spanish magazines and newspapers, including ‘El País’ and ‘La Capital’.
- Spanish news websites such as www.radioclm.com/noticias
- Other sources of a more general nature can provide further opportunities for you to hear spoken Spanish. These include SBS radio and television in many areas of NSW. You will find information at http://radio.sbs.com.au/index.php?page=df
Wide reading in Spanish is recommended to establish the habit of thinking in Spanish. Your teacher could possibly suggest some other resources available to you.
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.
As you will have 10 minutes preparation time, allocate your time wisely, making sure you leave adequate time to prepare both questions.
In deciding which questions to answer, you should choose those which allow you to use different arguments, vocabulary and structures. It is important to avoid repeating your arguments and ideas across the two monologues. Your two responses should stand alone and be different.
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:
- numbering the points in the order in which you will make them
- drawing up columns for different aspects of your argument
- using different coloured inks to indicate the “pros and cons”
- drawing a mind-map.
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 these 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:
El vivir en una sociedad multicultural tiene muchas ventajas. Comenta.
Living in a multicultural society has many advantages. Discuss.
This question does not ask for a general discussion on 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 Spanish 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 when presenting your case e.g.:
Mucha gente piensa que…
Se sabe que…
Es un hecho que…
Although not mandatory, this approach may assist in keeping your argument well-balanced.
You are required to speak for approximately two minutes on each question. If you try to give a longer response, aiming for quantity rather than quality, your response may lose relevance and structure.
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 as in, e.g.:
Por lo tanto…
Insisto en que…
De hecho…
It might even end with a question, e.g.:
¿Pero quién sabe qué nos depara el destino?
Note: 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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