Exam Focus: speaking

Class: 050531/3/4 Date: 19th Nov. , 2008

Objectives

1) To familiarize students with the content of the speaking tests.

2) To provide useful exam tips.

Tasks and Schemes

1. Formal letter writing (left work)

2. Speaking overview.

3. The tips for personal information.

4. The tips for one minute talk.

5. The tips for collaborative task.

Formal letter writing:

1. When planning formal letters and other types of writing, the following areas should be considered:

1) Purpose Before starting, a writer should always ask: Why am I writing?

(purpose). Is it to persuade, inform or complain? What outcome do I expect from the letter?

In the letter in the unit, the writer expects to provide clear information for the business associate.

A secondary purpose is to make social contact with the visitor so that the visitor will feel relaxed upon arrival.

2) Paragraphing As with any writing, the writer needs to organize ideas into

paragraphs. These aid clarity and make the letter more accessible.

3) Audience Another question which a writer should always ask is :

Who am I writing to? (audience). Is the reader an expert on the topic or will the information be difficult for him / her? Is the reader a native or non-native user of the language? What impact will these factors have on the way I write the letters?

In the letter in the unit, the reader is a non-native speaker of English and the letter therefore needs to be clear. Layout as well as language may aid clarity.

(In the exam, however, candidates need to guard against being over-simple, they need to demonstrate the range of their written language while remaining clear.)

4) Functional phrases It is common to use standard functional

phrases in formal letters, e.g. Referring: Further to your letter of …in

which… Requesting: I would be grateful if you

could…… Inviting further contact: Should you have

any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on …

2. Essential letter writing phrases:

Referring to previous contact:1) Thank you for your interest…

2) With reference to your letter of / dated…in which…

3) Further to our conversation of …

Starting the reason for writing:1) I am writing to confirm/apply for/outline…

2) I would like to thank / complain / comment on …

3) I am writing concerning…

Enclosing information:1) Please find enclosed …

2) As requested, I enclose …

Offering assistance:

1) Should you have any further questions, please contact me on the above number.

2) In the meantime, if you require any further information, please do not hesitate to all me on …

Referring to future contact:

1) I look forward to hearing from you / meeting you / seeing you / working with you.

2) I hope to hear form you soon.

3. The example letter:

Dear Ricardo

Further to our conversation of 30 March, I am writing to outline the

proposed program for your visit to our offices ( 12 – 15 April ).

On Thursday morning I will be at the airport to meet your flight and,

assuming there are no delays, I will take you straight to your hotel so

that you can check in and freshen up. As Mr. Wilkins wishes to see

you before the meeting, as business lunch has been arranged. We

will then travel to the company in time for the meeting, scheduled to

run form 14:30 to 18:00. After such a long day I suggest diner at

your hotel.

Friday’s meeting is due to start at 9:30. A taxi has been arranged to pick you up at

the hotel at 8:30. Since the meeting lasts all day, the company will provide a work-

ing lunch. After work you will have a chance to return to your hotel before dinner

at The Riverside Lodge at 20:00.

Your name has been entered for the Golf Tournament ( 8:30 on Saturday morning ).

Mr. Wilkins will collect you from your hotel at 8:00. After the competition there is

a formal dinner with a distinguished speaker at 19:30.

A taxi will collect you from your hotel at 7:30 on Sunday morning to take you to

the airport in time for your 9:45 return flight.

I look forward to meeting you on the 12th. In the meantime, please do not hesitate

to contact me on 020 855 9800.

Yours sincerely

Speaking overview:

1. The Speaking Test takes place with two, or possibly three, candidates and two examiners. The first examiner speaks to the candidates. The second examiner listens and assesses the candidates’ English.

2. Generally students are examined in pairs, except when a centre has an unequal number of candidates. In this case, the remaining three candidates are examined together.

3. Length: time for the group with two candidates is about 16 minutes, and with three students about 22 minutes.

4. In the Speaking Test the first examiner will give candidates a global achievement ; the second examiner will give candidates respective scores from four points: grammar and vocabulary, discourse management(话语运用 including organization of ideas and linking of words), pronunciation, interactive communication.

5. The components of the Speaking Test:

6. How to succeed:

1) Interactive communication: Candidates are assessed on their ability to work well together in their pair / group of three. Marks are given for initiating and responding appropriately, contributing fully to the conversation and showing an ability to complete the task successfully. In Part Three of the Speaking Test, where candidates have to complete a collaborative task, the examiner will pay attention to how well candidates work together, noting their ability to sustain interaction and show sensitivity to turn-taking without the involvement of the examiner.

Part format input task

1 Examiner talks to each candidate individually

Examiner ask questions

Speaking about yourself. Responding to questions

2 Candidate talk to candidate Written prompt

Giving a one-minute talk

3 Candidates discuss a topic together

Written prompt

Completing a collaborative task.

2) Organization of ideas: Candidates are assessed on their ability to use English at and beyond sentence level. This refers to the ability to produce extended utterances and to organize ideas and speech coherently (e.g. by introducing amian points and supporting ideas logically, using organizing / linking words and phrases ). In Part One of the test, candidates should answer the examiner’s questions as fully as possible. In Part Two, candidates have the opportunity for a more extended turn when giving a one-minute talk. In part three, candidates are required to express and justify opinions when discussing a given topic.

3) Grammar and vocabulary: Marks are given for accuracy, appropriateness and range of the candidate’s grammar and vocabulary.

4) Pronunciation: Candidates are assessed on their ability to produce comprehensible utterances. Marks are given for production of individual sounds, word and sentence stress, and intonation.

Personal information:1. Content:

the examiner will ask candidates some general questions about themselves.

2. Exam tips:1) Ask the examiner to clarify if you do not fully

understand a question.2) Answer each question fully and keep to the

question.3) Speak to the examiner and not the other

candidate in Part One.4) Do not interrupt the other candidate in this part

of the test.

Short Talk:

1. Task: in this part candidate talks for one minute on one of three given topics. They will given one minute to prepare their ideas.

2. Exam tips: use your preparation time well. List and order your main points and supporting ideas.

3. The model: try to follow the following framework to organize your one-minute talk:

1) Opening sentence

2) Main points and their relevant supporting ideas

3) Concluding sentence

4. Look at the following examples:

How to ensure good communication within teams:(p74)• It’s very important to ensure good communication within teams

and this can be done in several ways.• Regular team meetings are our first choice, such as planning

meetings to decide on different stages of the development project, problem-solving meetings at which people can put their heads together and work together to find a solution, brainstorming meetings to produce a lot of ideas very quickly, etc.

• For teleworkers or virtual project teams, we can encourage sharing of information and ideas among team members by making good use of e-mail. This will give them a sense of participation.

• Also we can organize activities within the team such as outings or small parties or celebrations, which help them know each other better by daily contact.

• I think in these ways, there can be good communication within teams and it will be good for getting synergy between team members to increase efficiency.

The importance of having a good CV

• Well, in my opinion, you can never under-estimate the importance of having a good CV.

• In the majority of cases, your CV is the employer’s first impression of you, your first chance to impress your potential employer, let’s say. It is the essential illustration of your suitability for the job, showing how your skills and experience match your employer’s requirements.

• But more than that, it shows our ability to summarize, prioritize and present information effectively, essential skills in today’s job market. It also shows your linguistic and communicative abilities.

• Even though employers these days use a variety of selection techniques, such as analyzing our handwriting,a good CV is still the single most important part of any application.

The importance of ethics in today’s business world• Well, today globalization is allowing companies to source from

ever greater distances. This enables a company to exploit the economic advantages of low labor costs in one country and high market value in another.

• Of course, they have to be careful not to be seen to be exploiting the workers. Consumers are becoming ever more sensitive to the exploitation stories and indeed environmental issues. This is because as consumers become richer and become used to spending more on a product, they also feel that they should be spending ethically. This is backed up by media stories and press items, and exploitation stories receive very good press. And of course, they can cause great damage. The bigger the brand, the higher the risk of a PR disaster.

• Also companies are now having to worry about PR among their own employees. After all, recent stories about fat cat executive salaries can easily affect morale and thus workers’ productivity.

How to fill a key vacancy• In order to fill a key vacancy, a company will usually

follow the some standard procedure.• It will begin by producing an accurate job description

of what it would like the successful candidate to do. From this, it can then produce a profile of this ideal candidate, which is a list of skills, experience, attributes and so on.

• Having produced this profile, the company must then decide on the best recruitment method to capture a candidate with this profile. This might be an internal advertisement or an external advertisement in a newspaper, on the Internet say, even an agency or perhaps a headhunter.

• Having decided on the best recruitment method, the advertisements are then placed or the headhunter contacted and a list of candidates will be then drawn up to be put through the company’s recruitment processes. This might be interviews, psychometric tests or even hand-writing analysis. This will then produce the ideal candidate for the company.

• The company will then have to negotiate terms with this candidate and, hopefully, this will result in terms which are both affordable for the company and attractive enough to get the candidate they want.

collaborate task: Exam tips

1) Read the task instructions very carefully.

2) Use the preparation time given to organize your ideas.

3) Begin by quickly agreeing on a context (the type of company you work for etc.)

4) Give reasons to support our ideas.

5) Invite your partner to express his / her ideas and respond to them.

6) When you disagree, say why and give an alternative idea.

7) Make sure you are moving th task towards a conclusion.

8) Recap and summarize your decisions when necessary.

The assignment (one-minute talk) on p74:

1. Personnel: The importance of providing staff training is obvious. The first is to let staff fit in with new environment and be

familiar with new job. It can make them do their job well soon.

Secondly staff should be given the chance to acquire new knowledge and to develop a range of new skills, which can maintain and improve their ability and performance.

The third is to satisfy their needs of fulfillment. This will make them happier and work harder for the company., also give them real and long-lasting motivation.

Indeed, providing staff training is very important since a strong workforce is very important for a company to meet its long-term needs and to be more competitive.

2. Finance: There are essentially seven ways of raising capital for new

investment, namely, Bootstrap, Friends and Family, Government Grants, Angels and Angel Groups, Venture Capital Funds, Debt, and Public Markets.

Bootstrapping is the first choice. It is to finance the company through retained earnings or other forms of the owner’s own money. This way of raising capital can be used if the company has abundant retained earnings and strong profitability without having to resort to outside capital.

Also Venture Capital Funds will be a good channel. They are limited partnerships that are set up to invest in companies. The money comes form wealthy individuals (also called “angels”), as well as institutions such as pension funds, university endowment funds, corporations, and state and local government agencies.

Personal investors

Accumulation fund

风险投资基金

Certainly Public Markets will give you a broader space. When a company goes to public markets, it raises capital through initial public offering and the proceeds of the IPO go to the company, or by selling additional shares to the public, that is called a secondary offering, and the proceeds go to the public company.

增发新股 配股

In short, to raise capital for new investment, features such as activities, prospects, profitability, company structure and financial relationship should be considered before an effective way is decided.

As for how to write an effective CV, you can enter the following Website to consult relevant information:

http://www.cvtips.com/CV_example.html

• Assignment: choose either of the topics ( personnel or finance ) on page 74 to prepare a one-minute talk in your spare time and perform in the classroom next time.

Thank U 4 your attendance!

The assignment (one-minute talk) on p74:

1. Personnel: The importance of providing staff training is obvious. The first is to let staff fit in with new environment and be

familiar with new job. It can make them do their job well soon.

Secondly staff should be given the chance to acquire new knowledge and to develop a range of new skills, which can maintain and improve their ability and performance.

The third is to satisfy their needs of fulfillment. This will make them happier and work harder for the company., also give them real and long-lasting motivation.

Indeed, providing staff training is very important since a strong workforce is very important for a company to meet its long-term needs and to be more competitive.