Make Your Way 8, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD

Make Your Way to the Oral Matura: Speaking Contents In this section you will find material to help you with your preparation for the Oral Matura . Your Oral Matura in English will come in two parts, viz. • an Individual long turn • a Paired activity A Individual long turn This part of the oral exam tests your ability to speak at some length about a topic. Typically, you will have to compare and contrast pictures capturing opposing aspects of the topic, argue for and against issues related to it, and state your opinions with reasons and examples. You will have to speak for about 5 minutes , talking on your own, without a partner. There is a preparation time of 10 minutes . B Paired activity In this part of the oral exam, your ability to participate in spontaneous, goal-oriented interaction is tested. Together with a partner, you will have to discuss a topic for about 10 minutes . At the end, both of you should come to an agreement on the matter. There is no preparation time . The material in this section has been arranged as follows. You will find: • 8 Individual long turn prompts • 8 Paired activity prompts Tips for the Oral exam: Individual long turn • During preparation time : Carefully read the instruction sheet . Make sure you have understood everything you are supposed to do. • Draw a mind map of the points to cover. Be sure to take into account all bullet points from the instruction sheet . • Organise your points, discarding unnecessary or repetitive ones. • Structure your speech: Note down in your mindmap what ideas to talk about first, second, third, etc. Write down phrases and words that can help you structure your speech. • Set your mind to think positively . This you can achieve by recalling an event in which you did very well – an exam or a sports competition, for example. • During the exam : Take deep breaths , sit upright. This will make you look confident. And you will FEEL confident, too. • Also, watch your body language . Don’t fold your arms across the chest. Rather, place them loosely on the table, thus appearing open and interested. • Keep eye contact with the person sitting opposite you (the “interlocutor”). Don’t be distracted by the “examiner” in the background taking notes and assessing your performance. • When you are asked to describe, compare and contrast two photos and to give your personal feelings about them, ensure that you leave some time for explaining your views. • If you cannot remember a word/an idea or have lost the thread, don’t despair . Take a deep breath and fill the time with expressions that give you time to think (“Let me see ... what do these photographs show?”), or paraphrase what you want to say. You could also say things such as: “Please give me a moment while I think about the answer …” • Bear in mind that an exam represents a formal situation . Therefore, don’t make your language too colloquial, informal or – in the worst case – impolite. 180 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentu des Verlags öbv