Oral examination guidelines

Izabela Świerad CJ PŁ 2013

1

Part 1. Self-presentation – 2 min.

In this part, you are supposed to talk freely about yourself, including information about your course of study,
home and interests. The examiners may interrupt with questions. You will be marked on how freely you speak
and the language you use. There is no preparation for this part and you can’t use notes.

Self-presentation guiding points:

•

personal information (Where are you from? / Why did you decide to study at TUL?)

•

course of study (What is your specialization? / What subjects are you studying this semester?)

•

work experience (Do you have a job? / What do you do?)

•

plans for the future (What would you like to do in the future? / What is your dream job?)

•

hobbies / interests (Apart from studying, what do you like doing in your spare time?)

Do you know all the words connected with studying at this University? Give the English equivalents of
the following words:

1.

Wydział

2.

studia

3.

kierunek studiów

4.

dziekan

5.

studia dzienne

6.

studia wieczorowe

7.

studia zaoczne

8.

studia 3-letnie

9.

studia magisterskie

10.

studia inżynierskie

11.

studia I stopnia

12.

studia podyplomowe

13.

studia doktoranckie

14.

egzamin z zarządzania produkcją

15.

przystępować do egzaminu

16.

zdać/ nie zdać egzaminu

17.

zdawać egzamin poprawkowy

Oral examination guidelines

Izabela Świerad CJ PŁ 2013

2

18.

kolokwium

19.

sprawozdanie

20.

wykład

21.

laboratorium (zajęcia laboratoryjne)

22.

seminarium

23.

zajęcia

24.

przedmiot

25.

powtarzać materiał

26.

rejestracja na semestr III

27.

akademik

28.

stypendium

29.

praktyka zawodowa/staż

30.

praca magisterska

31.

praca doktorska

What is the name of your Faculty in English?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Complete the text below

A report on my studies

I am studying for a 1/………………………. in ……………………………………………………………………………………………….at the Faculty

2/………………………………………………………………, Lodz University of Technology. My 3/……………………….. lasts ……..years and I’m

4/……………. my first year now.

I’m studying 5/…………………………………….. , which means I have to come to university every day except the weekend. This

semester I’m attending several 6/…………………………………..……, where I need to listen and take notes, and a number of

7/………………………………., where I am supposed to do practical things. My favourite 8/………………….…………… is

9/…………………………..……………….. because I enjoy 10/…………………………………………………………………………………………

At the end of this semester I am going 11/………………………… exams in 12/……………………………..……………..…………………, which

makes me a little nervous. I’ll only have to 13/…………………….……….. a lot of material. I’m particularly worried about the

exam in 14/……………………………………………. because 15/…………………………………….……………………………………….. . However, I

do hope everything goes well and I 16/…………………….. all my exams and get my 17/………….……………………. for the next

semester easily.

Oral examination guidelines

Izabela Świerad CJ PŁ 2013

3

Useful language

LIKES

DISLIKES

PREFERENCES

I like
I love
I adore
I enjoy
I’m fond of
I’m keen on
I go for
I quite like
I don’t mind

mathematics

principles of
physics

I hate
I don’t fancy
I dislike
I don’t like
I’m not very keen on

sport
swimming

I prefer maths to
physics.

I’d prefer to do some
computations rather
than doing an
experiment

I’d rather write a report
than take an oral exam

Swimming
Sport

is not my cup
of tea

Part 2. Topic presentation – 3 min.

In this part you will present your opinions on the topic you have drawn on entering the examination room. You
will be marked on how freely you speak and the language you use. There is 5 min. preparation for this part and
you can use notes.

Exam tip: Using signposting phrases will help you organise your arguments and structure your presentation.

Useful language

Presenting

opinions

Enumeration

Addition

Result

Contrast

Concession

Summation

•

(Personally,)
I think ....

•

I suppose ....

•

I’d say ....

•

In my
opinion ....

•

As I see it,
....

•

As far as I’m
concerned
....

•

First,

•

To begin
with,

•

Next,

•

Then,

•

Furthermore,

•

Moreover,

•

Finally,

•

Above all,

•

Last but not
least,

•

Also

•

Moreover

•

What is
more

•

In addition

•

Besides

•

Above all

•

So

•

Therefore

•

As a result

•

Consequently

•

Thus

•

For this
reason

•

On the
contrary

•

(on the
one hand)
... on the
other
hand ...

•

(al)though

•

at the same
time

•

on the
other hand

•

all the
same

•

even if

•

even
though

•

In
conclusion

•

To
conclude

•

In brief

•

To
summarise

•

Therefore

Oral examination guidelines

Izabela Świerad CJ PŁ 2013

4

Part 3. Comments – 2 min.

In this part you will comment on the topic your partner has presented. You are supposed to react
spontaneously to what you have heard and (possibly) add arguments / agree or disagree with his/her opinions.
You will be marked on how freely you speak and the language you use. There is no preparation for this part.

Exam tip: It would be useful to take notes while your partner speaks, as this will help you complete the task.

Useful language

AGREEING

DISAGREEING

•

I agree.

•

I also think that….

•

I couldn’t agree more with what X said about…..

•

X said that …… That’s exactly what I think.

•

I think X is completely right in thinking that …..

•

I'm not sure about what X said …..

•

I don't share X's opinion that …..

•

Well, I wouldn’t say so.

•

X may be right, but ...

•

I’m afraid I don’t agree with …..

•

I’m sorry, but I really can’t agree with X.

ADDING A POINT

PRESENTING ARGUMENTS

•

I would also like to say that ….

•

I'd like to add one point…..

•

In addition, …..

•

Apart from what X said about ….., I'd like to
mention …….

•

I'd like to say that ……

•

It's worth mentioning that …..

•

I strongly believe that …..

•

To my mind, …..

Good luck with the exam!