iRevise contributor, Blaithin Seoighe, an Irish teacher and Leaving Cert oral examiner, delivers her top tips on preparing for aural and oral exams, the common mistakes to avoid, and how to impress the examiner.
Make it a conversation
The orals are meant to test how well you could have a conversation in a particular language, so your preparation for the orals needs to be just that – a conversation. Think about how you have a conversation in English: you’re used to it and you sound natural.
Practice, practice, practice - try to talk with your friends or with a gaeilgoir. The best way to get comfortable speaking any language is to surround yourself with those who speak it. If you are more comfortable, you’ll sound more natural. Don’t be afraid to appear relaxed, using hand gestures and little jokes is always a good way to impress.
For the Sraith Pictiúirí in particular, it’s important that there is a flow and continuation throughout the picture sequence, try not to spend too long or waste time thinking about a word - keep going!
Phrases
Another way to make the conversation flow more would be to include phrases - it lets the examiner know that the student can use the language in a more complicated way. A couple words here or there, such as ‘Gan a thuilleadh’ or ‘ar luas lasrach’, really brings the quality of the conversation up a level.
Listen to the aural tests on iRevise to get the flow of conversation and handy phrases.
Most common mistakes
Blaithin says the biggest mistake she comes across when acting as an examiner is "tenses".
Keep your ears open to the question you are being asked. A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ won’t be enough to show off all the hard work you have put in, so if you are asked a question try to give a couple of words back to the examiner in the same tense as the question.
However, if you find yourself getting panicky, take a deep breath and be consistent. Don’t get bogged down if you do start off in the wrong tense, make the best of it, and stick to the same tense throughout your answer.
What to talk about
A lot of students have the same worry that the examiner will bring up a complicated subject like Brexit; remember that you are in the driving seat!
This is not a test of your knowledge of politics or science, or anything else, just a test of your communication skills. You will not get asked about Brexit unless it is something you have introduced in conversation. So, think through what you want to talk about and practice some vocabulary.
Fully immerse yourself in the language ahead of the exam and this way it won’t be so daunting when you are actually sitting in front of the examiner.
The night before...
Today’s students have the luxury of easily recording themselves. Record yourself throughout your study, practicing your conversation, and listen over to it, the night before the exam.
Try to get yourself thinking in the language on the morning of the exam, listen to Raidió na Gaeltachta or the Beo Ar Éigean podcast.
Know when to take a break
Every student is different and copes differently, but parents need to talk to their children and check that stress levels do not cross a line to the point where the student’s ability to study and learn is affected; that is when stress becomes a major problem.
Tog sos agus lig do scíth!
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