REPOST FROM SPANISH GROUP !!!!!!
hello !!!! here is a part 2 to the speaking exam tips !!!! this one is gonna be about the photocard + general conversation !!
A - PHOTOCARD
1) CHOOSING THE CARD !!! - in my past speaking exams, my teacher has told me I wasn't able to get higher marks for analysis / complex theme because of the choice of cards available. This isn't always a bad thing though !! As long as you know enough about the topic on the card to answer the question, that's the most important thing. If the topic is quite surface level such as tourism or young people, as long as you use the subjunctive a couple times, chuck in a couple statistics and answer in good french, you'll be fine !!
2) ANSWERING THE CARD !!! - you get 5 minutes to prep the card. The tricky thing is knowing what to write and not writing too much of it. Personally, I cannot write my answer without writing in full sentences but I use a lot of shorthand, eg. PQ = parce que, SLT = selon le texte, JCQ/JPQ - je pense/crois que, IMP = important, IFQ = il faut que, JD'ACC - je suis d'accord
In my answers, I usually write 3, maybe 4 sentences. Other people may prefer to write out bullet points and that is totally personal preference!!
But what should I write !!!!!!!
Similar to PEEL/PETER/PETERC paragraph structures, we've been given one ourselves (this might also be taught in other sixth forms/colleges too but it might be totally new to some of you) for answering the speaking card: ARSQ
A - Answer the question / say whether you disagree with the statement and why
R - Refer to the text, reword something a quote or statistic
S - Structure, more specifically, complex structures, such as using the subjunctive or a si'il (n')avait (pas) (past participle), il (n') aurait (pas) (past participle) evaluative phrase [[this prhase uses the pluperfect, followed by the conditional perfect]]
Q - Questions, you have to ask the examiner 2 questions related to the card, pick the low hanging fruit, make it easy for yourself!! don't ask the same question you are asked on the card, don't ask the same question twice but slightly changed
Firstly, I always write the ARSQ bit at the top, cross it out when I tick each box. I always write bullet points/upside down question marks for a visual reminder for the questions. - I normally try to get these out of the way first.
I'm using an example photocard about divorce's recent legalization in spain, here is what a typical answer would normally look like:
"In Spain, custody was always given to the mother. With the new divorce law, shared custody allows both parents to participate in looking after their children"
The changes introduced by the new law create a more fair situation for children
-Could the legalization of divorce lead to other legalizations that will help other marginalized identities like gay, transgender people? (Q)
-Why was divorce illegal in Spain? (Q)
I agree with the statement (A), because shared custody, as referenced in the text (R), allows the child to see both of their parents. This means that the child could have emotional and financial support from both parents. Furthermore, this law can help parents develop and maintain a relationship with their child, despite the divorce. On the other hand, if this law had not been passed, many families would not have had (S - si'il n'avait pas past par., ils n'auraient pas past par. phrase) the opportunity to escape a harmful/toxic family environment.
This is a full answer, many things would be in shorthand !!
Try to stop writing around the 4 minute mark (your examiner should tell you when you have one minute left) so you have time to go over your answer in your head a bit before the actual exam.
3) DELIVERING YOUR ANSWER !!! - nerve wracking but at this point, you're on the final stretch of your speaking exam !! well done !!
The examiner will ask you the question or the statement, and you will present your answer. It's unclear whether examiners will give you the opportunity for you to ask your questions. They might ask after you've presented, they might ask after the general conversation. To make sure you get your questions in, after you've presented, say "j'ai deux questions pour toi"
I cannot stress how important it is to engage with the examiner. Look up at them and make eye contact, even if it's just a glace midway through reading a sentence. Eye contact is hard !! And I've been marked down before for this and it sucks !! But it's only these 12 more minutes that you have to manage with !!!
4) HOW TO REVISE !!! - unfortunately, the only way to properly revise for photocards is by doing them yourself !!! If your teacher has not already shared previous years' photocards with you, search online for them !! It's useful to look at other exam boards as well to expose yourself to more variety and if you run out of your own exam board's cards. Even if you don't do every photocard to revise, it's still useful to look at them and read to gage the sort of topics and themes you could get.
B - GENERAL CONVERSATION - I don't think there's any more "answering" tips I can think of, so feel free to share if you have any more ! this section will be mostly about revision !
1) REVISING TOPICS - we were given end of topic questions (abbreviating to EOTs for ease) to write our answers for. I have a list of some of these EOTs, we have different exam boards so they may not overlap entirely but I will post them in a separate post !!!
-Practice spontaneously answering these questions
-Write summaries of answer paragraphs (if you have any paragraphs you can take from)
-Make a list of key statistics / definitions / facts / years / locations eg. the rate of unemployment amongst young people and the general population
okay and !! that is all !!
I will post the EOT questions in a separate post !!!
hope this helps !!!!!!!