Model Instructions

The passage is on page XX of the magazine we will give you.

Part I: Read it twice and then write a short paraphrase of your understanding (50 words). You will have 20 minutes in all for this part. You can also list some things to ask the helpers about. It is normal not to understand some words and expressions when we read.

Part II: Feel free to ask your interviewers questions about the passage or vocabulary that you do not understand. The goal is to come to a good understanding by the end of the interview. Knowing how to ask for help and to create understandings is very important. Your two interviewers will be asking you questions about the passage for about 10 minutes. In other words, even if you think you understand everything perfectly well enough, this test will reward those who demonstrate "incentive" by asking questions to the examiners. In fact, if you are test-wise you will probably want to prepare some generic questions in advance in order to impress the examiners.

Your score is based upon your

Fluency (25%) – How smoothly and quickly you respond with chunks and idiomatic English. Since folks who have a tendency to think carefully before speaking up will be penalized, test-wise examinees should prepare a few standard illocutionary remarks that will pass the conversation onto another person if they want more time to think before stating a given position on a topic.

Accuracy (25%) – How accurate your grammar and pronunciation is.

Strategic competence (25%) – How you ask questions and use your peers or helpers to learn more.

Interactive competence (25%)– How naturally you interact with the interviewers and respond to them and their questions appropriately.

It is important to acknowledge that this oral exam procedure, by itself, is not without bias. To some degree it can be "spoofed" by test savvy examinees. However, the oral examine procedure suggested here may offer some useful evidence about candidates' verbal performance which should be considered along with other criteria when making admission decisions.