Specification
control measuring materials
to be held in 2016
unified state exam
in FOREIGN LANGUAGES
1. Purpose of the examination paper
Control measuring materials make it possible to establish the level of mastery by graduates of the Federal component of the state educational standard of basic general and secondary (complete) general education.
The results of the unified state exam in a foreign language are recognized by general educational institutions that implement educational programs of secondary (complete) general education as the results of state (final) certification, and by educational institutions of secondary vocational education and educational institutions of higher professional education - as the results of entrance tests in a foreign language. language.
2. Documents defining the content of the examination paper
1. Federal component of state standards of basic general and secondary (complete) general education, basic and profile level(Order of the Ministry of Education of Russia dated March 5, 2004 No. 1089).
2. Sample programs in foreign languages // New state standards in foreign languages. Grades 2-11 / Education in documents and comments. M.: AST: Astrel, 2004.
3. Programs of general education institutions. English for grades 10-11 in schools with in-depth study of foreign languages. M.: Education, 2003.
4. Programs for general education institutions. German language for secondary schools with in-depth study of the German language. M.: Education: MARCH, 2004.
5. Programs of general education institutions. French for grades 1-11 in schools with in-depth study of foreign languages. M.: Education, 2001.
6. Programs of general education institutions. Spanish for grades 5-11 in schools with in-depth study of foreign languages. M.: Education, 2005.
When developing CMMs, the following are also taken into account:
7. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. MSLU, 2003.
3. Approaches to selecting content and developing the structure of the Unified State Exam KIM
The purpose of the unified state exam in a foreign language is to determine the level of foreign language communicative competence of the examinee. The main attention is paid to speech competence, i.e. communication skills in different types speech activity: listening, reading, writing, as well as language competence, i.e. language knowledge and skills. Sociocultural knowledge and skills are tested indirectly in the “Listening” and “Reading” sections and are one of the objects of measurement in the “Writing” section; Compensatory skills are tested indirectly in the “Writing” section.
Consequently, the Unified State Exam KIM in foreign languages contains sections “Listening”, “Reading”, “Grammar and Vocabulary” and “Writing”. It should be borne in mind that although the sections “Listening”, “Reading” and “Writing” have skills in the corresponding types of speech activity as objects of control, these skills are provided by the necessary level of development of the language competence of the examinees. Successful completion of tasks to control receptive types of speech activity is ensured by knowledge of lexical units, morphological forms and syntactic structures and their recognition/recognition skills. The tasks in the “Writing” section require the examinee, in addition to this knowledge, to have the skills to operate lexical units and grammatical structures in a communicatively meaningful context. Spelling skills are the object of control in tasks B4-B16 of the “Grammar and Vocabulary” section, as well as tasks C1, C2 of the “Writing” section.
4. Structure of KIM Unified State Exam
The examination paper contains sections “Listening”, “Reading”, “Grammar and Vocabulary” and “Writing”.
To differentiate examinees by levels of foreign language proficiency within the limits formulated in the Federal component of the state standard of general education in foreign languages, all sections are included along with tasks basic level tasks of higher difficulty levels.
The level of difficulty of tasks is determined by the levels of complexity of the language material and skills being tested, as well as the type of task.
The work on a foreign language includes 28 tasks with a choice of answers from three or four proposed, 16 tasks open type with a short answer, including matching tasks, and 2 open-type tasks with a detailed answer.
Basic, advanced and high levels of complexity of Unified State Examination tasks correlate with the levels of foreign language proficiency defined in documents of the Council of Europe 1 as follows:
- Basic level - A2+ 2
- Advanced level - B1
- High level - B2
1 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. MSLU, 2003.
2 Since the entire possible range of levels of foreign language proficiency is presented in the Council of Europe document by only six levels, it is obvious that within each of them certain sublevels can be distinguished. The designation of the basic level of the Unified State Examination as A2+ means that from the description of level A2, to prepare tasks at the basic level, developers are guided by descriptors that lie closer to level B1, and not to level A1.
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Hi all!
As they say, the main test in your favorite subject is just around the corner. What am I talking about? Yes, about the Unified State Exam in English, of course! Some of them already took their chances on April 8, passing the Unified State Exam (his?) ahead of schedule. Let's sort it out with you assignments of the Oral part of the early Unified State Examination in English 2016, which were published on the website fipi.ru
Task 1.
Imagine that you are preparing a project with your friend. You have found some interesting material for the presentation and you want to read this text to your friend. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, then be ready to read it out aloud. You will not have more than 1.5 minutes to read it.
People have enjoyed sports for thousands of years. Children, men and women play sports both for pleasure and for challenge. Every sport involves physical skill. Every sport has a set of rules that the players of the sport follow. In some sports one person competes against other individuals. Examples of these sports include boxing, tennis and so on. In many games one team competes against the other team.
People can go in for winter and summer sports. Summer sports are typical for warmer countries. Those who live in regions that experience cold winters have long enjoyed ice skating, skiing, and sledding. These activities have grown immensely in popularity over the years. Today thousands of resorts cater to the winter tourist trade, and millions of people each year take winter sports vacations.
Listen to the audiofile below:
Audio: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or higher) is required to play this audio. Download latest version. In addition, JavaScript must be enabled in your browser.
Vocabulary
women [´wimin] – (pl. h. from"woman") women
pleasure [´pleʒə] – pleasure
set of rules - set of rules
to compete – compete, compete
to go in for sports – go in for sports
ice skating – speed skating
skiing – skiing
sledding - luge
immensely - extraordinarily, extremely
to cater [´keitə] – serve, supply
Task 2.
Study the advertisement.
You are considering buying some flowers and now you’d like to get more information. In 1.5 minutes you are to ask five direct questions to find out about the following:
Best presents in our flower boutique!
2) opening hours
3) kinds of flowers in stock
4) if they sell pot plants
5) discounts for big orders
You have 20 seconds to ask each questio
Vocabulary
boutique - boutique, small store of fashionable and expensive goods
in stock – in stock, in stock
pot plants – indoor flowers (plants)
discount - discount
Sample answer
- Where is your flower boutique located/situated?
- What are the opening hours of the boutique? / When is the boutique open?
- What kinds of flowers are there in stock? / What kinds of flowers do you offer? / What kinds of flowers are available in your boutique?
- Do you sell pot plants? / Are there any pot plants on the sale? / You sell pot plants, don’t you?
- Are there any discounts for big orders? / Are discounts for big orders available?
Task 3.
Imagine that these are photos from your photo album. Choose one photo to present to your friend. You will have to start speaking in 1.5 minutes and will speak for not more than 2 minutes (12–15 sentences). In your talk remember to speak about:
- where and when the photo was taken
- what/who is in the photo
- what is happening
- why you keep the photo in your album
- why you decided to show the picture to your friend
You have to talk continuously, starting with: “I’ve chosen photo number …”
Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo3
I"ve chosen photo number 2. (Be sure to start your answer with this phrase, after selecting the photo number).
First of all, I should admit that winter is my favorite season and I try to spend a lot of time outdoors when the weather is not very frosty and cold. So, this picture was taken on a wonderful winter day in the local park. I usually go there with my friends at weekends.
Can you guess who is in the photo? Right, in the foreground of the picture you can see my best friends Dasha and Nastya. They are having fun playing snowballs. They are both in a good mood and laughing. In spite of the fact that it is winter, they are wearing light clothes. Nastya is wearing a red tracksuit and a hat that her granny has knitted for her. Dasha prefers to wear jeans wherever she goes. Also, she’s got a trendy white hat.
The ground is covered with plenty of fresh snow. In the background of the picture you can see bare trees which, I hope, don’t spoil the view.
You know I keep this photo in my album because we are school-leavers and soon we’ll go to study in different towns that’s why I try to capture the best moments we spend together which will remind me of our friendship and school years.
I decided to show this picture to you because I want you to learn how cute my friends are and to tell you how much I will miss them after leaving school (how much they mean for me).
That's all I wanted to say. (phrase For examiner)
Task 4.
Study the two photographs. In 1.5 minutes be ready to compare and contrast the photographs:
- give a brief description of the photos (action, location)
- say what the pictures have in common
- say in what way the pictures are different
- say which of the ways of taking care of your health presented in the pictures you’d prefer
- explain why
You will speak for not more than 2 minutes (12–15 sentences). You have to talk continuously.
Now I will compare and contrast these two photos.
I’d like to stress out right from the beginning that lots of young people nowadays are concerned about healthy lifestyle. And these two photos prove that. (introductory phrase)
So, the theme which relates these photos are the way people take care of their health.
Let me start with the first picture which shows young people who are doing some exercises in the gym at the moment. They are walking on the treadmills. There is a screen in front of each person. I think it might be very convenient to watch the records of your walking speed, pulse and number of loosing calories. It seems to me that they are having their training in the evening when their working day is over.
As for the second picture you can see a young girl jogging in the city park. She is wearing a nice coral T-shirt and dark sports trousers. I guess the action is taking place in a warm summer morning because you can see bright spells of the sun on the emerald green grass and trees. The girl is very slender and looks very happy.
As I've already mentioned both pictures depict young people who are taking up sports to be in a good shape (to feel strong and healthy). And this is the main similarity between them. Also both pictures show us cheerful people who really enjoy doing sports (who are doing sports with pleasure).
The most obvious (obvious) difference between picture 1 and picture 2 is that in the first picture you can see a group of people doing work out indoors while in the second picture the girl is shown running out of doors on her own (alone). The clothes people wearing in picture 1 are snow-white whereas the girl in picture 2 prefers bright colors.
In conclusion I would like to say that as I spend most of the day studying at school or at home, I would rather go jogging in the open air to avoid hypoxia.
So, to do regular exercises is better than to be a couch potato. (Final phrase)
I've come to the end of my talk. Thank you for listening.(Ftimes for the examiner, which is not scored. It serves as a signal for the end of communication)
Foreign language examinations are in great demand among children who plan to further study at universities in this particular field.
There are no fundamental changes planned in the state exam in foreign languages next year. It is planned to break down all questions into written part and questions requiring oral answers
Some new points will appear in the procedure for passing the state exam. The student will be given three attempts to pass the examination.
Unified State Examination in English 2016 About 9% of graduates try. Changes in the examination affected only the structure of the tasks. The oral part was introduced and the form of several questions was modified. In general, the exam remained the same as in previous years.
Unified State Examination in German 2016 was changed in the first part, where test tasks were replaced by oral questions.
Unified State Examination in French 2016 is particularly unpopular among teenagers, however, even so, the number of low ratings is quite small. A number of changes affected the structure and form of the tasks themselves. Some questions for which it was necessary to choose the correct answer from the proposed options were replaced with tasks in the form of a search for correspondence.
Unified State Examination in Spanish 2016 is also not popular, due to the low quality of teaching in schools. However, there are surprisingly few negative marks in this foreign language. There are no changes in the state exam, with the exception of structural changes.
A number of innovations affected the organization of the state exam in a foreign language. The delivery scheme for CMMs and their storage conditions will change radically. Until the examination period, the materials will be stored in special warehouses, under guard, and local authorities will not have access to them.
It is worth noting that CMMs will be developed not only on the basis of codifiers, but also taking into account the time difference between regions.
Structure of Unified State Exam 2016 tasks in foreign languages
For each foreign language, its own KIMs have been compiled. The number of questions in tasks for each language is 46.
The questions are divided into two groups. The first group consists of test tasks, and the second group in 2016 began to be oral in nature.
The first 14 questions relate to the text you listened to, are basic and require choosing an answer from those proposed. The next 7 questions require answers from a written text.
A number of other questions concern grammatical and lexical norms language and a one-word answer. When passing the test, you are required to compose a letter to a friend. The last task includes an essay on a chosen topic. In general, the questions are the same in all languages.
Letter to the Unified State Examination in Foreign Languages 2016
As a task for the Unified State Exam in a foreign language, it was proposed to compose a personal letter to a foreign language friend. According to the requirements, the volume of the answer should not exceed 100-140 words. In general, the task is not difficult, however, it must be completed quickly and in compliance with certain rules.
The rules for design and content are usually as follows:
- the recipient's address and the date of the letter are indicated in the upper right corner;
- The letter should begin with an informal greeting indicating the name of the recipient;
- It is very important to remember that after the address there is a comma;
- the text is divided into a number of logical paragraphs;
- the first paragraph consists of thanking the friend for the message, the second is devoted to all the issues that need to be addressed according to the rules of the task itself, the last part indicates the reason why it is necessary to complete the letter and future contacts.
Before the exam test, the teenager should draw up an approximate letter template so that during the exam he does not waste time on its formulation and composition.
Essay in the Unified State Examination in Foreign Languages 2016
Another task in the state exam in a foreign language was writing an essay.
Perhaps this task can be considered one of the most difficult tests in the exam. This is explained by the fact that writing a paper requires high-quality content and clear structuring of the text.
It is considered a big mistake of graduates that they do not complete the task in the form in which it is required, namely, instead of an essay with elements of reasoning, they simply complete an essay. This does not allow us to fully disclose the topic being voiced.
It is necessary to use an exclusively formal style when writing an essay and not use abbreviations. Also, you should not use water words in your work.
The success of the work lies in clearly structuring the essay. The essay plan should be as follows:
- The first paragraph states the main problem that will be discussed later in the text.
- The second paragraph should contain your point of view regarding the problem and the reasons why other opinions are not acceptable.
- At the end, the results of the argument are summarized.
A very important point to remember is that the amount of work should not be more than at least 200-250 words. Otherwise, the task will not be counted.
Categories of those taking the Unified State Exam in foreign languages
To pass a test in a foreign language, you need to register and receive a special document to take part in the examination. Everyone has the right to take the state exam. These could be school graduates and teenagers who did not score the required number of points. Also, graduates of secondary vocational institutions who want to improve their previously obtained results and enter a higher educational institution can take part in the examination.
Also, citizens of foreign countries can participate, provided that they have completed a school-wide training program.
How to become a participant in the Unified State Exam 2016
Registration of the application required for passing examination test, can take place in several places. First of all, such a document is accepted by school exam organizers. It is possible to register an application both with the university admissions committee and with the regional body of the municipality.
It is very important that the application contains all the teenager’s data, as well as the disciplines in which the teenager wants to be examined.
To pass the test in the early period, the application is registered before February, and to pass the Unified State Exam in the main period, the student must register before the beginning of December.
Early completion of the Unified State Examination in foreign languages in 2016
Previously, only those teenagers who had good reasons, such as conscription for military service, moving or competitions, then next year it is planned to allow everyone to take the state exam ahead of schedule. Early completion of the Unified State Exam allowed in mid-April.
The disadvantage of this option is that an additional burden is placed on the child, since he is forced to combine his activities at school and preparation for the exam, which negatively affects the level of school performance and the number of points received on the state exam. The advantage, as before, is that a teenager can pass the state exam in advance and prepare for admission to a university.
Additional information about the Unified State Exam 2016
Before going to the exam, the student needs to familiarize himself with the list of subjects approved by Rosobrnadzor that are allowed for the exam. The main permitted items are a passport, a worksheet and a black gel pen.
For a number of disciplines, it is allowed to use some reference materials. As a rule, before exams, a specification of subjects is drawn up, in which the subject and materials are designated.
As for a foreign language, as additional materials, you can use sound-reproducing equipment and media containing texts to complete a number of tasks.
It is strictly prohibited to bring cell phones and other electronic computing devices to the examination. Also prohibited are manuals, textbooks, and brochures that are not listed in the list of permitted items.
Next year, the passing score in a foreign language will be increased from 20 to 22, and it is planned to use a new scoring system when calculating the results.
There are situations when there is a violation of the examination test procedure on the part of the organizers. In this case, the examinee has the right to protest the state exam itself. To do this, you need to fill out two copies of the complaint without leaving the audience and give it to the organizers, and take one copy with their mark for yourself.
In the event that disagreement arises regarding the number of points scored, then here the teenager can protest the results by filing a complaint within two working days. Please note that the check will be performed on the entire work and the number of points may be further reduced if additional errors are found. A very important point to know is that the work must be rechecked by independent experts. The time to draw up a response to the appeal is three days.
For several years now, teenagers have not received a paper document confirming passing exams. This certificate has been replaced by an electronic version of the document, which is registered on the official website of the Unified State Exam. The certificate is valid for four years from the date of its issue. The document indicates the details of the examinee and the number of points he scored in compulsory subjects. You can also include other disciplines in the certificate if the sum of points for them is satisfactory.
How to prepare for the 2016 Unified State Exam in foreign languages
Preparation for the Unified State Exam in English 2016 or in other foreign languages, such as German, French, Spanish, is to use both similar questions and tasks, tests, and textbooks, manuals, brochures.
The following manuals are quite suitable as preparation materials:
Suitable for preparing for the Unified State Examination in English: demo version of the Unified State Exam in English 2016 and demonstration materials. These versions of past Unified State Examinations, posted on the FIPI website (fipi.ru), are intended so that a teenager can prepare to pass the test in a mode as close as possible to what it will be like during the exam itself.
Another way to prepare is to train by taking online tests. The advantage of such training is that the graduate can practice completing tasks against time.
In order to properly prepare for the exam, both mentally and physically, a teenager should organize the preparation process correctly. Psychologists advise drawing up a clear preparation plan and defining goals.
Parents are required to provide the necessary atmosphere support your child throughout the entire period.
Statistics on passing the Unified State Examination in foreign languages in past years
Over the years, foreign languages have not been popular among teenagers. The lowest average score usually occurred in German– 59 points. As for other languages, the average score there exceeds 65 points. The smallest number of test takers is in French, while English is considered the most popular. The maximum number of students who did not score the required number of points is in the German language and is about 3.3%, and the largest number of 100-point students is observed in the English language - 581 graduates.
Exam Schedule
Early stage of passing the exam in foreign languages in 2016 - April 8 (Fri) - oral; April 9 (Sat) – in writing.
The main stage of passing the exam in foreign languages in 2016 is June 11 (Sat) - oral; June 14 (Tue) – in writing.
This page describes in detail the oral part of the Unified State Exam in English 2016, explains its assessment system and gives practical recommendations for preparing and successfully passing this test.
Since 2016, the oral part, or speaking, has become a mandatory component of the Unified State Exam in English. It represents a set of four tasks: 1) reading the text, 2) asking several direct questions, 3) describing one picture, 3) comparing two pictures. Next, we will look at each type of task in detail.
Task 1. Reading the text.Task 1. Imagine that you are preparing a project with your friend. You have found some interesting material for the presentation and you want to read this text to your friend. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, then be ready to read it out aloud. You will not have more than 1.5 minutes to read it.
Thus, according to legend, you and a friend are preparing a project. You have found interesting material for a presentation and want to read it to your friend. You will have one and a half minutes to prepare for reading, after which you will have another minute and a half to read.
The 2016 demo offers us the following text:
The mystery of why trees don’t stop growing is still unsolved. Human beings usually stop growing sometime during their teens. Many animals reach full growth within a year. Others are fully grown in just a few years. Birds and insects also stop growing at a certain age. But trees keep growing as long as they live. Trees live, grow, and reproduce themselves by an amazing process. The thousands of leaves put out by the tree breathe for it and manufacture its food. Its root system gathers minerals and vast quantities of water. To carry this water to the leaves, the tree is equipped with an intricate circulation system that extends upward from the millions of root hairs through the trunk and branches. The trunk holds the leaves up to the sunlight, sends them water from the roots, and gets food back from them. Then seeds are borne in flowers or cones.
This task can earn you 1 point. However, having to do with checking USE papers, we can competently say that the vast majority of students fail this task. It is too difficult for those taking the exam.
To get one coveted point, you can make two serious mistakes. A serious mistake is when one word is written, and you read it in such a way that it turns out something else. For example, the word as [ez] is written - “when”, “how”, and you read it as [es] - “donkey”! Stunning the final voiced consonant is a typical mistake of most students taking the exam in English, which often fails them.
Let's go through the proposed text and find places where serious mistakes can be made.
1. growing: the examinee can read not [grow...], but [grau...] 2. sometime: the examinee can, out of habit, add -s and read [samtaymz], not [samtaym] 3. insect: the stress is likely to shift from the first word On the second
4. certain: for some reason many people read [kyoten] and not [shoten] 5. live (live): they often mistakenly read [live] and not [liv] 6. process (process): often the emphasis is shifted to the second syllable, by analogy with the Russian language
7. through: this is generally a stumbling block for many examinees who distort it in any way they like
The list of “dangerous” places in this text can, of course, be further expanded, but that is not our task. We just want to say that there are plenty of such places to make a serious mistake more than once or twice. If there are three gross errors, then the point is no longer counted.
A phonetic defect should be distinguished from a gross error. A phonetic omission is an error that does not distort the meaning of the word. For example, in this text there is the word human, which is correctly read [humen], but many people read it [humen]. In general, this word can still be understood by ear, and it is unlikely to be confused with any other word, so such an error will be considered only a phonetic defect.
About intonation. The most important thing is not to confuse the intonation of an affirmative sentence with an exclamation or interrogative. Otherwise, the experts assessing this task are very fair about intonation.
1) In general, decide whether it is worth spending your time to prepare for the first task at all, because it gives only one point, and the probability of getting this very point is very small.
2) Find texts of approximately the same length (these can be excerpts of any texts) and practice for a while. You are given one and a half minutes to read the text in the exam. Reduce this time during training.
3) Record yourself on audio. Listening to yourself from the outside is useful, since we don’t sound exactly as we think.
4) When you come to the exam and see the text, do not try to delve into its meaning. Understanding the text is not the goal of this exercise.
5) If you made a mistake in reading a word and caught yourself making this mistake, then do not be afraid to immediately read the word again. The last option you spoke is taken into account.
6) Read the text clearly and moderately loudly, so that the expert checking the task can hear each word clearly. If you pronounce a word indistinctly, you may be given an error, since the expert, in fact, should not guess what you meant there.
Task 2. Direct questions.Work with pictures begins with the second task. The 2016 demo offers the following image:
The task itself is formulated as follows:
Task 2. Study the advertisement.
You are considering starting breakdance lessons and now you’d like to get more information. In 1.5 minutes you are to ask five direct questions to find out about the following:
1) tuition fee
2) course location
3) duration of the course
4) special clothes
5) evening classes
You have 20 seconds to ask each question.
So, according to legend, you are about to enroll in a breakdancing school. But you have questions that you would like to find out. You have one and a half minutes to prepare. Then you are given 20 seconds for each question.
The first question should concern the tuition fee, the second – the location of the school (course location), the third – the duration of the course, the fourth – special clothes, the fifth – the possibility of classes in the evenings (evening classes) .
The most important thing you must understand is what a direct question is. Let's explain with examples:
How much does the tuition cost?
Where is the course located?
How long will the course last?
Do I need any special clothes?
Can I visit the class in the evening?
All the above questions are direct! Here's an indirect question:
I'd like to know how much the tuition costs. – I would like to know how much the training costs.
Such questions do not count. Also, questions starting with What about... and How about... are not counted.
Each question is worth one point. Five questions – five points. But in order to get them, you need to ask direct questions (and not indirect ones) and avoid making gross mistakes in the choice of words and pronunciation.
1) Find exercises for interrogative sentences on the Internet and work them well.
2) Forget about What about... and How about...
3) Don't overthink it! Ask simple questions without “bells and whistles”
In the third task you are given three pictures to choose from. The 2016 demo offers the following:
The task itself is formulated as follows:
Task 3. Imagine that these are photos from your photo album. Choose one photo to present to your friend.
You will have to start speaking in 1.5 minutes and will speak for not more than 2 minutes (12–15 sentences). In your talk remember to speak about:
Where and when the photo was taken
what/who is in the photo
what is happening
why you keep the photo in your album
why you decided to show the picture to your friend
You have to talk continuously, starting with: “I’ve chosen photo number...”
According to legend, a friend comes to you and you show your photo album. You select one photo from the album and begin a story about it according to a certain plan.
We immediately orient you to the volume of the statement - 12-15 sentences. Those. approximately two sentences for each point of the plan and two sentences for the introduction and conclusion.
Let's see how your statement might turn out using the example of the first picture (Photo 1).
You begin your story with the phrase: I’ve chosen photo number 1. This phrase is not an introduction and does not count towards the volume of the statement.
Here is the introduction: To start with, I’d like to say that I have a friend. His name is Steve. He lives abroad and sometimes visits Russia with his family.
Next, you proceed to the points of the plan. The first point is where and when the photo was taken, i.e. where and when the photo was taken. You can say: I took this photo in my flat when Steve visited me last month. Frankly speaking, his visit was so unexpected. But I was over-excited to meet him at my place.
The second point is what/who is in the photo, i.e. who/what is in the photo. You continue the story: You can see Steve and his wife in the photo. Their daughters wanted to be photographed, too.
The third point is what is happening, i.e. what exactly is happening in the picture. You speak: The family are sitting on the sofa, smiling and showing love for each other. They are really happy.
The third point is why you keep the photo in your album, i.e. why do you keep this photo in your album. Your answer: I keep the photo in my album to have an opportunity to show this picture to all my guests. In addition to it, I often look at the photo to recall the nice moments when we were sitting here and talking about our life.
The fourth point is why you decided to show the picture to your friend, i.e. why did you decide to show this photo to your friend. You can give the following reason: I’m showing the picture to you because you have always wanted to see how Steve looks like.
And conclusion: Now you know how my friend looks like. Next time I will show more pictures to you.
This task is assessed on three aspects: a) solution communicative task(content), b) organization of the utterance and c) linguistic design of the utterance.
Our goal is to get the maximum score in all aspects. To get the maximum score for content (3 points), we need to cover all aspects and keep it within 12-15 sentences.
To get the maximum score for organization (2 points), we must have an introduction and conclusion, consistency in the disclosure of task points, and the correct means of logical connection.
To get the maximum score for language design (2 points), we must not make any serious mistakes. One gross mistake - forget about two points. You can also not count on two points if you made three minor lexico-grammatical or phonetic errors. You can make two mistakes, but going overboard can lead to a loss in your assessment.
Now we will talk about one very important nuance, failure to comply with which will completely ruin any even very good answer. You are not in the photo! When describing a photo, keep in mind that you are not in it, so it is not acceptable to say something like “In the photo I am with my wife and daughter.” You are the one who took the photo, not the one who was photographed. If you mention at least once that you are also present in the photo, then your entire answer will receive zero points - you did not understand the task.
1. Learn clichés that will help you organize your statements: To start with, I’d like to say that..., First of all, ..., And I’d like to add that... etc. All these clichés are the very means of logical connection that are welcomed and appreciated in the statement.
2. Don't forget about the introduction and conclusion. These parts of your statement must be present.
3. Write and memorize a few sentences in advance about why you keep this photo in your album and why you decided to show it to your friend. After all, the answers to these questions are universal and suitable for any photographs.
4. Remember – you are not in the photo!
Task 4. Comparing pictures.In the fourth task you need to compare two pictures, again following a certain plan. The 2016 demo contains the following pictures:
The task is formulated as follows:
Task 4. Study the two photographs. In 1.5 minutes be ready to compare and contrast the photographs:
Give a brief description of the photos (action, location)
say what the pictures have in common
say in what way the pictures are different
say which of the activities presented in the pictures you’d prefer
explain why
You will speak for not more than 2 minutes (12–15 sentences). You have to talk continuously.
You need to construct your statement according to the same principles as the previous one, since the fourth task is assessed on the same aspects and criteria as the third. Therefore, make sure that your story has an introduction and conclusion, a clear sequential disclosure of the points of the task, and a means of logical connection. And don’t forget about the volume – 12-15 sentences.
Let's start the answer. We start with an introduction, which could be, for example, like this: I have just found two pictures in my album.
Next, we move on to the disclosure of the first point – give a brief description of the photos (action, location), i.e. short description what kind of event is captured in the photo and where it takes place. In our case, you can do it like this: To start with, I’d like to say that you can see my sister Jane on both pictures. She is an active girl and likes doing different kinds of activities. In the first picture she is cooking dinner in the kitchen and in the second picture she is snowboarding outside.
Next, we expand on the second point – say what the pictures have in common, i.e. We talk about what the pictures have in common. Both pictures have much in common. Firstly, you can’t see anybody else around my sister. She is alone in both photos. Secondly, my sister is smiling in each case, which means that she is doing both actions – cooking and snowboarding – with pleasure.
Let's move on to the next point - say in what way the pictures are different, i.e. to the differences. Despite the fact that both pictures have much in common they have a number of differences. The first action takes place inside, but the second one takes place outside. In photo 1 my sister is wearing shorts and a T-shirt; in photo 2 she is dressed in warm clothes.
Next is point three – say which of the activities presented in the pictures you’d prefer, i.e. what type of activity would you prefer? As for me, I’d better go snowboarding. And then we explain why, i.e. Let’s expand on the last point: I’m fond of spending free time more actively. And frankly speaking, I’m not good at cooking.
And in conclusion: If you’d like to know more about my sister, I will show some more pictures to you next time.
As we said, the fourth task is scored the same as the third, so go back a little and read the information about what you need to do and how many mistakes you can make to get maximum points.
1. Regularly carry out an exercise to compare two pictures with each other according to the described scheme. The more pictures you compare, the better you hone your skill.
2. Do the comparison task in writing. This will prevent you from rushing, and your statement will come out more thoughtful.
3. Learn clichés - you can’t live without them.
So, in general terms, we told you about how you can prepare and successfully pass the oral part of the exam in English in 2016. We hope that our information was interesting to you. Good luck on the exam!