5vwo

Speaking

2022/2023
10% of School Exam
Introduction
This semester, you’ll be graded on your speaking skills. In a group of 4, you’ll be speaking about
one of the subjects in the article in this booklet (“little book”).
The school exam
Your conversation (ideally, a discussion) will be about 20 minutes long (5 minutes per
person). The first part of your exam will cover one of the six articles you choose yourself,
the second part will be one of the other five articles, chosen by your teacher during the
exam. All six articles will have to be prepared for the exam, but you will also have time for
that in class.

Your teacher will usually not participate in the discussion, unless the conversation falls
silent or she wants to hear a clarification of something that’s been said to see if one of you
can respond properly.

During your discussion, you will be allowed to use a word web/mind map on the articles,
but only with short phrases, not entire sentences. In general, that means that you have to
limit the number of words you use in a phrase. See below for a good example of a word
web.

Type of discussion
You’ll use the article of your choosing to create a discussion statement to have a debate
about. Keep in mind that it’s much easier to have a flowing conversation when you don’t all
agree with each other, so it’d be wise to divide your group in a group supporting and a
group opposing the statement.

How to use this booklet

Further on in this booklet, you’ll find 6 articles, each expressing an opinion on a current-affairs
topic.
In class, you’ll read and practice these articles. Eventually, you’ll choose one to do your actual
speaking exam on. When you do so, you’ll also have to find one non-text source on the topic for
your discussion. This can be a video (e.g. documentary) or audio (e.g. podcast) source. This will
be the topic with which you’ll start your exam.
On the next page, you’ll find some tips on how you’ll be graded and how to prepare as well as
possible.
Tips for grading
You’ll be graded on the following elements.

Grammar
Obviously; in this oral exam, you’ll have to access all the grammar that you’ve learned.
Make sure to brush up on your tenses if you’re never quite sure to use which one, so you
don’t confuse a present continuous with a present simple or a present perfect with a past
simple. If you want to impress, make adequate use of passive sentences (“I was shocked
to learn that …”), conditionals (“if this had happened to me, I would have …”), and create
complex sentences by using linking words (“even though that may be the case, it is also
true that …”).

Vocabulary
This is one of the things you can actually quite easily prepare for this oral exam. In the
articles further on in this reader, you’ll find a lot of words that are useful and relevant, so do
underline those words that you do not know but definitely need, especially those that are
used throughout the text. Every topic, whether it’s psychology or science or biology, has its
own “jargon” that you can use to effectively bring your point across.

Apart from specialist vocabulary, be aware of Dutch “false friends” (words that look the
same but have a different meaning, for example Dutch bank meaning English couch) and
Dutch expressions that you cannot translate literally (we will pretend that we do not know
what “make that the cat wise” means). Instead, try and use as many true English idioms as
you can; “as a matter of fact”, “beat around the bush”, “speak your mind”, et cetera. Avoid
slang where possible!

Avoid direct speech (“he said ‘you shouldn’t…’ “), but use reported speech instead (“he
warned me not to do it”).

Fluency
How easily do you communicate in English? Are you constantly looking for words or
does it come as easily as speaking Dutch? Is your speech completely prepared or can you
respond to questions and new arguments? Fluency is closely linked to vocabulary and
grammar, because the more confident you are in your English skills, the easier you’ll find it
to communicate. Don’t confuse fluency with speaking as fast as you can; you can be
perfectly fluent even if you do talk slowly. In fact, it’s easier to avoid making mistakes in
grammar and word choice if you do talk less quickly.

Pronunciation
Pronunciation has to do with how you pronounce individual words and phrases. How
understandable is your speech? Do people have to do their best to listen to what you’re
saying, or is your English crystal-clear? Are (difficult) words often
Mispronounced? Take note that you do not have to sound like a native British or American
speaker of English to score well on pronunciation. You should, however, try your best to
avoid a distinct Dutch pronunciation of certain English sounds though (for example /tink/
instead of /think/).

Content
How well do you know your subject? Are your arguments well-founded and based on the
article, or at least on actual facts? Do you use the correct vocabulary related to the subject,
or do you find it hard to get your point across?
Content is another aspect that you can really prepare for, so make sure you really know
your article inside-out. This will ultimately also influence fluency and vocabulary.

Participation
Make sure that everyone in your group roughly speaks for the same amount of time. We
cannot grade you properly if you do not speak enough, so you will have points deducted
from your final grade if you do not speak as much as the rest of the group. You will mostly
be warned by your teacher if this might be happening.

How to prepare your discussion

The easiest way to come as prepared as possible is to create word webs (see an example below)
for your article, in which you write down the most important words you need. Remember to look
up the pronunciation of each word that you’re not sure of – it may be pronounced differently
than you think!

You are allowed to write down the order of arguments and who gets to say what in your
discussion, but make sure that it doesn’t interfere with the fluency of your discussion – a
rehearsed conversation can come across as read out, influencing your grade in terms of fluency,
content and pronunciation. Make sure every member of your group has an equal amount of
speaking time.

On the next few pages, you’ll find useful phrases for your discussion. You are not allowed to
write these in your word web, but rather, you should internalize these in preparation for your
exam. Using them correctly may positively influence your points on grammar and vocabulary as
well as fluency.

Useful phrases for the discussion

Introducing a subject/explaining a subject
1. We are going to talk about…
2. Our article is about…
3. In short the text says that…
4. To summarize…
5. I would like to tell you about…
6. The article we chose deals with…
7. Our topic is…
8. I would like to give some background information first;
9. We were interested in this topic because…
10. The reason we chose…
11. The aim of our discussion is to provide you with information…

Expressing your opinion / agreeing and disagreeing

1. I am in favour of …
2. I am against…
3. I do not understand why …
4. I feel that he/she is right/wrong about…
5. I am sure that…
6. Everybody knows/understands/should know…
 7. I totally agree/disagree with …
8. You are quite right/absolutely right…
9. You may be right…
10. I don’t share your view/opinion.
11. I think it is…
12. I am of the opinion that…
13. In my view this…
14. Firstly, secondly, next…
15. First of all…
16. In the first place I would like to say that...
17. I’ll start with…
18. The main points are…

Asking questions
1. What do you feel/think/know about…
2. Could you repeat that please?
3. Can you explain what you mean with…?
4. Where did you hear/see /read this?
5. How do you know that…?
6. I am sorry, but …

Adding to/contrasting ideas

1. This leads me to the issue/problem/question of…
2. Another point/ aspect is…
3. As you probably know, …
4. It goes without saying that...
5. The truth is that…
6. As far as I am concerned, …
7. On the one hand… but on the other hand
8. In a way/in a sense…
9. So to speak…
10. I want to stress/emphasize/underline that…

Fillers, if you don’t know what to say

1. I have never thought about that before…

2. Let me think…
3. Can you repeat that please?
4. What is it exactly that you would like to know (about …)?
5. Oh I see, so you think/ feel/ say that…
6. Well perhaps…
7. Maybe I did not understand you but do you mean… 8. I did not see it that
way.
9. I wonder if that is true.
10. Can you rephrase that/put that in other words?
11. In other words, you’re saying…
Changing the topic

1. Now let’s move on.

2. Let’s talk about something different; …
3. Let’s turn to…
4. Let me go back to what you/she/I said earlier, …
5. The purpose/goal of … is ….

How to impress?
- Use conditionals (if-clauses) and comparatives (“more important”) and adverbs
(“usually”).
- Use the grammar you learned this year
- Think of appropriate examples for your argument – tell anecdotes
- Use reporting verbs (warn, inform, threaten, invite, etc.)
- Show variation in your word choice
- Use collocations and idioms – to turn a blind eye, to make a living, make an
impression etc. (Look up “English idioms” on a search engine)
- Use linking expressions – on the other hand, although, as well as, whereas etc. -
Use modifiers/intensifiers – a really amazing story, absolutely brilliant, terribly upset
etc.
- Avoid direct Speech! –X I said to them; “Oh no I don’t want to do that”. Use reported
speech instead: - I told them I didn’t want to do it
- Correct yourself if you hear yourself make a mistake.
Article 1
From: The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/08/patriotic-
millionaires-one-percenters-pay-higher-taxes

April 8, 2022
Article 2
From: The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/16/netherlands-
european-union-regulations-livestock

January 16, 2023

Article 3
From: The Economist. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/03/02/new-drugs-could-
spell-an-end-to-the-worlds-obesity-epidemic?itm_source=parsely-api

March 4, 2023
Article 4
From: The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/25/filming-
strangers-public-social-media

January 25, 2023

Article 5
From: The Economist. https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/02/09/yuval-noah-
harari-argues-that-whats-at-stake-in-ukraine-is-the-direction-of-human-history

February 9, 2022.

Note: This article was written shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Still, its
content is extremely relevant.
Article 6
From: The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2023/feb/15/eu-far-
right-migration-fortress-europe

February 15, 2023