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Home > Modern Greek > Beginners Course > How to approach the exam > The Oral Examination > Oral Examination

How to approach the exam: the Oral Examination

1. Examination specifications
2. Preparing for the examination
3. During the examination
4. Related Board of Studies Websites

Examination specifications

The new Modern Greek Beginners syllabus will be examined for the first time in 2008.

The oral examination will take approximately five minutes and is worth 20 marks.

The oral examination assesses your knowledge and skills in interacting in Modern Greek. It relates to Objective 1 – Interacting, and the following outcomes, where you:

The oral examination is held on a date in Term 3, earlier than the HSC written examinations. The Board of Studies publishes a Languages Oral Examinations Timetable each year at (http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/events/ ). You should be familiar with the practical advice supplied with the timetable. You will be advised of the examination date, time and venue at least three weeks prior to the examination. Make sure that your school and the Board of Studies have your correct contact details.

The examination will consist of a general conversation between you and an examiner. In the conversation, you and the examiner will discuss your personal world, as it relates to the prescribed topics in the syllabus.

You are not permitted to use dictionaries or refer to written notes during the oral examination.

Other useful and related documents provided by the Board of Studies are included at the end of this section.

Preparing for the examination

You should aim to establish effective communication and to maintain the flow of the conversation to create the best overall impression. You should demonstrate how well you can:

• exchange relevant information (i.e. give relevant answers to the questions asked)
• exchange opinions and make comments (e.g. say why you like something, why you don’t want to do something, etc.)
• use appropriate intonation and pronunciation
• demonstrate a variety of vocabulary and language structures.

This is an examination for which you can be well prepared. You may be asked about aspects of everyday life (see the topics listed below), from the perspective of your personal world. This is your opportunity to talk about yourself, your friends, your family, etc.
You are advised to:

• familiarise yourself with the topics prescribed in the syllabus. These are:
  • Family life, home and neighbourhood
  • People, places and communities
  • Education and work
  • Friends, recreation and pastimes
  • Holidays, travel and tourism
  • Future plans and aspirations
    
    
• learn as much useful vocabulary as you can. This will enable you to speak across the range of topics.
  
  
• practise your pronunciation. Available online recourses Να σου πω! and Τι λέει; could help you do this. Ask your teacher how you can use them. There are also online courses with a variety of audio material. Listen carefully and try to model your pronunciation on what you hear.
  
  
• practise responding to a wide range of sample questions.
  
  
• practise speaking with classmates, with different Modern Greek teachers, etc.
  
  
• record your answers and, if possible, ask your teacher for feedback. This will give you practice in recording your responses and will also help you to assess areas on which you may need to focus, e.g. pronunciation, intonation, variety of vocabulary, sentence structure, etc.
  
  
• practise speaking in full sentences and extending your responses where possible. This will enable you to show a greater facility with the language than if you consistently answer with simple phrases or single words. Practise making a number of relevant comments in your response.
  
  

  e.g.	Examiner:	Πόσα άτομα είστε στην οικογένειά σου;
  	Student:	Είμαστε τέσσερα άτομα. Ο μπαμπάς μου, η μαμά μου και η αδερφή μου.
  	Examiner:	Μπορείς να μου μιλήσεις για την αδερφή σου;
  	Student:	Την λένε Μαρίνα και είναι τρία χρόνια μικρότερη από μένα. Πηγαίνει στην Τρίτη Γυμνασίου. Της αρέσει να παίζει τένις και να διαβάζει βιβλία.
  	Examiner:	Τι δουλειά κάνουν οι γονείς σου;
  	Student:	Ο μπαμπάς μου είναι μηχανικός αυτοκινήτων. Έχει δικό του συνεργείο στο Κλέμτον Παρκ. Η μαμά μου είναι λογίστρια. Δουλεύει σε ένα μεγάλο λογιστικό γραφείο στο κέντρο της πόλης.

  
  
  
• practise giving a range of information in your answers. You may be asked a range of questions from the perspective of your own personal world and you should not limit yourself to extremely brief answers. Conversing well, across a range of topics, will create a good impression. It is up to you to maximise this opportunity during the five minutes of the examination. You should remain consistent throughout the conversation, e.g. it is inadvisable to say you have three brothers at the beginning of the examination and then claim to be an only child at the end.
  
  
• practise speaking in the past and future tense, e.g. Την Κυριακή πήγα για μπάνιο με τους φίλους μου. Περάσαμε πολύ ωραία! or Την επόμενη χρονιά θα πάω διακοπές στην Ελλάδα. Θα δω τον παππού και τη γιαγιά και θα κάνω πολλά μπάνια!

• practise using subordinate clauses, e.g. Όταν έχει καλό καιρό, μου αρέσει να κάνω ποδήλατο. Πάω σε ένα μεγάλο πάρκο που είναι δίπλα στο σπίτι μου.
  
  
• revise all noun case endings, as the noun is declined in Modern Greek. You are expected to use the appropriate declension including the article, e.g. Ο παππούς μου μένει στο Μάρικβιλ or Το σπίτι του παππού μου είναι στο Μάρικβιλ.
  
  
• concentrate on verbs and know how to use them correctly. You should be able to talk not only about yourself and what you do, etc, but also about other people – your family, friends, etc. To do this, you will need to use different verb endings and should practise this. e.g. Έχω ένα κόκκινο ποδήλατο. Η αδερφή μου έχει ένα μπλε ποδήλατο.
  
  
• ensure that you use the appropriate pronouns, e.g. Με λένε Κώστα και τον φίλο μου τον λένε Νίκο, or Mου αρέσει το μπάσκετ.

During the examination

You should:

• remain calm and speak confidently and clearly.
  
  
• avoid the temptation to rush into a response. If you need a moment to think about your answer, then take this – just as you might in a normal conversation. On the other hand, long pauses would not be natural, and should be avoided, especially as this examination only lasts for five minutes.
  
  
• listen carefully to the question. If you have not understood, or are uncertain, then ask the examiner (in Modern Greek) for clarification, or to repeat it, e.g. Συγγνώμη, δεν κατάλαβα την ερώτηση or Συγγνώμη, μου λέτε ξανά την ερώτηση;
  
  
• be aware that the questions asked may follow on from the answers you have already given. However, a number of different topics may be covered in the exam. So there may be a switch to other topics during the course of the conversation. You should be prepared for this to happen.
  
  
• be prepared to expand your answers. This does not mean giving a prepared monologue and attempting to dominate the conversation. However, you should attempt to expand your responses by making a number of relevant comments to demonstrate the range of vocabulary and language structures you have at your disposal. You may find that aiming for roughly three comments in an extended response will assist you in this.
  
  
• try to treat every question as a springboard to show what you know. Avoid the temptation to restrict your response to ναι or όχι, or to simply repeat the question. Consider the following examples. Which response do you think would make the better impression?
  
  

  Example 1	Examiner:	Πού μένεις;
  	Student:	Μένω στο Κόγκαρα.
  Example 2	Examiner:	Πού μένεις;
  	Student:	Μένω στο Κόγκαρα. Το σπίτι μου είναι δίπλα σε ένα πάρκο και πολύ κοντά στο σταθμό του τρένου.

  
  
  
• be aware that this is not a normal ‘conversation’, but rather a one-way conversation, with a series of questions provided for you to demonstrate your knowledge. It is therefore not appropriate for you to ask the examiner questions, e.g. whether he/she has seen a film, where he/she goes on holidays, etc.
  
  
• remember that there is a wide range of possible questions that you could be asked. It is impossible to accurately predict the questions in this type of examination. However, if you have practised, you can be confident you will be able to handle any line of questioning that develops.
  
  
• answer as best you can, but do not worry if there is a question you cannot answer. A range of questions may be asked across a range of topics.
  
  
• be aware that you should not ask the examiner for assistance, other than to repeat or clarify the question.
  
  
• note that if you are asked a question the pronoun εσύ (‘you’ singular) or εσείς (‘you’ plural) is often not used. So you need to listen for the verb ending to know whether to respond with εγώ or εμείς.
  
  

  e.g.	Examiner:	Πώς πηγαίνεις στο σχολείο;
  	Student:	Στο σχολείο πηγαίνω με το λεωφορείο…
  	Examiner:	Εσύ και οι φίλοι σου, τι κάνετε τα σαββατοκύριακα;
  	Student:	Πηγαίνουμε στο γήπεδο και παίζουμε μπάλα…

  
  
  
• be prepared to answer a question(s) in the past tense.
  
  
• avoid using English words if you don't know the correct word or expression in Modern Greek. You should have a range of appropriate vocabulary at your disposal and should keep to what you know to be correct. The examination is not a good time for experimentation.
  
  
• always remember that the examiner’s role is to facilitate the examination. The aim is to provide you with a positive experience, by giving you the opportunity to show your range of ability in spoken Modern Greek.

Related Board of Studies Websites

Syllabus
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/

2008 HSC Specimen Examination Package
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/modern-greek-beginners-spec-exam-pkg-2008.pdf

HSC (Year 12) Examination Timetable
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/events/

Equipment Checklist for Higher School Certificate Examinations and School Certificate Tests
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/manuals/equipment_list.html

Rules and Procedures for 2008 Higher School Certificate Candidates
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/hsc-rules-procedures-08.pdf

2008 HSC Important Dates for Practical Submissions/Marking
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/events/pdf_doc/hsc-important-dates-2008.pdf