Revised format for Primary 3 and 4 Oral Exam Format

I recently attended an Oracy Workshop held by a Primary School. We are notified that there will be some changes to how Oral will be conducted.

Previously, there are three components; Reading Aloud, Pictorial Description, and Conversation. The new format will be Reading Aloud (6 marks) and Stimulus-based Conversation (10 marks).

 

 

1. Reading Passage. The student will be expected to read a passage of 120-135 words. Before the student starts to read, the tester will give an imaginative setting for the latter. The setting could be Telling a Story, Giving a Speech or Making an announcement. Students will be graded based on Pronunciation, Expressiveness & Fluency, and Appropriateness of Voice Quality for the purpose, audience and context (based on the given setting).

• Pronunciation.  The tester will be looking out for clear, consistent and good pronunciation.
• Expressiveness & Fluency.  The student is graded based on fluency, expressive reading, variation in tone, pace and volume.
• Appropriateness of Voice Quality for the purpose, audience and context.  Appropriate use of stress and intonation to convey meaning of purpose, audience and context is expected.

 

• Stimulus-based Conversation. The passage read will be related to this conversation. The student will be given some pictures. The tester will begin the question by asking a question in relation to the picture. The picture is supposed to act as a stimuli to aid in the conversation. The student is not expected to describe the picture as per previous format. Students will be graded based on Personal Response, Clarity of Expression: Fluency, Clarity of Expression: Language Use and Pronunciation, and Engagement in Conversation.

• Personal Response.  Listening carefully to what the tester is asking and giving personal responses with development will be expected here.
• Clarity of Expression: Fluency.  Responses are expected to be expressed clearly and with confidence.
• Clarity of Expression: Language Use and Pronunciation.  Using a range of appropriate vocabulary and structures, supported by correct pronunciation.
• Engagement in Conversation.  The conversation should be engaging with hardly any prompts. Consistent eye contact is also expected here.