Transcript TIPS FOR ORAL INTERVIEW - The Southern Cross School

TIPS FOR ORAL INTERVIEW
14 minutes
General advice
Examiners “like” candidates
who:
• Are friendly and sound
interested in what they are
doing.
• Answer questions as fully as
they can.
• Can ask as well as answer
questions.
• Are not afraid to say that
they don’t understand.
Examiners “don’t like”
candidates who:
• Look bored and miserable.
• Only answer questions with
‘yes’ or ‘no’.
• Don’t listen to other people.
What to do when you don’t know a word
Don’t panic! Vocabulary is
only one of the things
the examiners give you
marks for and you
won’t fail the exam if
you don’t know a few
words.
Try to use these ideas:
• It’s a sort of/kind of (tool, musical
instrument)
• It’s something we use for…
(mending the car)
• It’s one of those things we use
when we… (go on holiday, have a
baby)
• It’s something we use in… (the
house)
• You find things like this in… (an
office)
• It looks (a bit) like… (a spoon)
Remember
This is a formal situation so act as such.
• Don’t slouch, or lean back; sit straight.
• If you’re wearing a hat, take it off.
• Get rid of the chewing gum.
• Don’t fidget.
• Look at the people who are talking to you.
• Stay calm and smile 
PART 1 interview
THE EXAMINER WILL ASK YOU
TO TALK ABOUT YOURSELF.
Questions may be on:
• Your job/ studies
• What you do in your free
time
• Your plans for the future
• Your family
• Where you live
• As you enter the room greet the
examiners. (one is the
interlocutor, and the other one
is the assessor)
• Be prepared to give your name
to the examiner.
• Listen carefully to the
examiner’s questions and
answer them as fully as you can.
• Look at the examiner when you
are speaking. (Don’t look at the
floor or up to the ceiling!)
• Speak clearly so that both
examiners can hear you. (Don’t
cover your mouth while
speaking)
• Try to be calm and cheerful.
Example
House & home
Can you tell us something about your neighbourhood?
Daily life
What do you normally do at the weekend?
Education
What is your favourite subject at school, and which one do you like the least?
Why?
Languages
How important do you think it is to learn other languages?
Likes & dislikes
What kinds of books do you like to read?
Travel
How do you normally travel to school?
Part 2 Long Turn
Describing photographs
This picture shows…
There seems to be…
It’s probably…
This photo was probably taken
in/at…
On the left/right…
It looks like there’s…
I´m not sure but I think…
It's not very clear, but…
Perhaps…
Comparing & contrasting
Both photos are on the subject
of…
Both these photos show…
The photos show different…
In comparison to the first
photo, the second photo
is…
In this picture… while/whereas
in the other picture…
More suggestions…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
In the background…
In the foreground…
Just above the…
Just below the…
On the right…
On the left…
On the top left hand
corner…
• On the bottom right
hand corner…
• At the top of the
picture…
• At the bottom of the
picture…
• Next to…
• Near the…
• In the middle…
• Be prepared to answer a question related to
the topic of the pictures of the first candidate
once they have finished.
• Say just one idea, it’s a very brief intervention.
Example:
People doing different
activities in their free
time
How much would
you enjoy doing
activities like these?
Do you ever do activities like
these?
Part 3 Collaborative Task.
Useful language
Expressing likes & preferences
•I’d prefer…
•I’d quite like…
•I’d rather…
•I’d really love…
•I don’t think I’d like…
•I wouldn’t choose…
•I wouldn’t like to…
•There’s no way I’d…
•I can’t stand (-ing)…
More suggestions
Asking for opinions
• What do you think
about..?
• What’s your opinion
about..?
• What about you?/ How
about you?
• How do you feel
about..?
Expressing opinions
• In my opinion…
• It seems to me…
• As I see it…
• I personally believe…
Agreeing
• I feel the same way as you.
• I completely agree with you.
• I think you are right.
• I agree.
• That’s very true.
• That´s exactly what I think.
• Yes, I hadn´t thought of that.
Disagreeing (politely)
• I see what you mean, but…
• You could be right, but…
• Yes, but don’t you think…?
• I don’t agree that…
• That’s true, but what
about…
• You have a point, but on the
other hand…
Example
I’d like you to imagine that a busy international
hotel is looking for staff for the holiday
season. Here are some jobs available.
First, talk to each other about how difficult it would be to
do these jobs without training. Then say which job you
would each find the most difficult.
Part 4 Three way discussion
• If you worked in a hotel, where would you like that
hotel to be?
• What do you think you would learn from working in a
hotel?
• Would you prefer to stay in a big international hotel
or a small friendly hotel? … Why?
• Would you like a job in the tourist industry? … Why
(not)?
• Which areas do tourists normally go to in your
country? … What do they do there?
• In what ways can tourists be a problem?