The national exam in English is one of the options for a selective exam in a foreign language. Its structure, complexity and content are no different from German, French or Spanish, which you can also choose to play. It is worth noting the undoubted popularity of the English language - official statistics show that about 9% of graduates want to take it every year. A foreign language exam cannot be called simple. For example, we can cite the following fact: two years ago, approximately 70,000 students took the English language test, while only 11 students scored the maximum number of points (100)!
English remains the most popular elective language subject
Demo version of the Unified State Exam 2016
Unified State Examination dates in English
Early period
- April 8, 2016 (Fri) - Oral exam
- April 9, 2016 (Sat) - Written exam
- April 22, 2016 (Fri) - Written exam (reserve)
- April 23, 2016 (Sat) - Oral exam (reserve)
Main stage
- June 10, 2016 (Fri) - Oral exam
- June 11, 2016 (Sat) - Oral exam
- June 14, 2016 (Tue) - Written exam
- June 22, 2016 (Wed) - Written exam (reserve)
- June 23, 2016 (Thu) - Oral exam (reserve)
Changes to the exam
Let us remind you that since last year the foreign language exam has become much more difficult - in addition to the test part, which requires written answers, the Ministry of Education decided to introduce an additional oral part. The explanatory note from the Ministry says that the student is free to decide independently whether he will take the “speaking” test, but it is quite natural that without this component one cannot count on the maximum number of points. Written and oral tests in English are taken over two days.
The written part is allocated 80 points; for speaking you will get another 20 General information
The duration of the written examination in a foreign language is 180 minutes, during which the future applicant must have time to complete a significant number of tasks - 46. The examination ticket consists of four components:
- Listening, which contains 9 tasks (as practice shows, students should not be given more than 80-90 minutes of time for this part);
- Reading, within which the graduate is asked to complete 9 tasks. The first part, which includes 2 tasks, is quite simple - you need to be able to establish a correspondence. The second part (that is, 7 more tasks) involves choosing the correct answer. Students should not spend more than half an hour on this part of the ticket;
- The section on grammar and vocabulary includes the most large number tasks – 20. The first part consists of 13 tasks, providing a short answer. The remaining 7 tasks require choosing and writing down the correct answer. It is optimal to invest 40 minutes of time in completing this section;
- A letter that consists of 2 tasks representing a short written work. The first task is to write a personal letter (100-140 words). The second involves a short written discussion on a specific topic and should consist of 200-250 words. It is not recommended to spend more than 70-80 minutes on this work. You can first complete this type of work as a draft, but do not get carried away with a lengthy presentation of thoughts. If you do not have enough time to completely rewrite the assignments, your draft will not be graded.
The block called “speaking” consists of four components. Students will be asked to read a short passage of text, formulate interview questions, write a story based on the image, and make a comparative assessment of two events depicted in the photo.
How are points distributed?
When passing the written part of the exam, a student can score a maximum of 80 points. “Speaking” allows you to score up to 20 more maximum points. Let us also remind you that since 2015, the minimum score in this discipline has been increased and is 22 points.
On the Unified State Exam in English you will have to complete 46 tasks in 180 minutes How to prepare?
Take advantage of the opportunity we offer and download a demo version of the trial test in English (see the beginning of the article). This way you can get into the atmosphere of the exam, assess your current readiness and improve all your weak points in advance. Please note that some of the tasks are formulated in English, so translate them in advance so as not to fall into a stupor on the national exam.
Don’t forget about the importance of preparing for listening – perceiving information by ear is not as easy as it seems. Oral speech requires no less serious preparation, because you can write perfectly, but you will not speak well without carefully practicing your pronunciation. Download a few easy-to-understand TV series or movies in English.
First, you can look for the version with subtitles. Gradually make the task more difficult - start listening to audiobooks (or excerpts from them). Select pictures from the Internet on various topics and try to describe them. At first it will take you a long time to select words and look into the dictionary, but over time it will become easier for you to speak and understand foreign speech.
Unified State Examination in English 2016
Section I. Listening
Training and more training. This is the only way you will train your brain.
Section II. Reading
You are required to be attentive vocabulary and knowledge of several techniques.
Section III. Grammar and vocabulary (20 points)
One of the easiest sections. You just need to remember a few rules
Section IV. Letter.
Yes, it's sucks, but only templates will save you
Unified State Examination in English 2016 consists of 5 parts. The exam is held over two days. The first 4 parts (listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary, writing) are carried out on the first day and last 3 hours. The oral part of the Unified State Exam in English takes place on a separate day, lasting 15 minutes.
Oral part has been part of the Unified State Exam in English since last year, so preparation for the Unified State Exam in English 2016 should be more intensive than before. The oral part of the Unified State Exam in English (speaking) tests students' ability to compose monologues and dialogues on everyday topics. This part consists of 4 tasks: reading aloud, conditional dialogue (tests the ability to ask direct questions), monologue-story about a photograph, comparison of two photographs.
You should start preparing for the Unified State Exam in English with a tutor or courses in advance, already in the 9th or 10th grade. But if the Unified State Exam is already this year, don’t despair. Work hard.
A little more about the remaining parts of the Unified State Examination in English:
Reading part of the Unified State Exam is aimed at understanding the main content of popular science publications and excerpts from fiction. Consists of 3 texts. Reading tasks vary in difficulty.
- In the first task, students must understand the main content of seven texts.
- In the second task, students must insert the missing sentences into the text, that is, their understanding of the structural and semantic connections in the English text is checked.
- For the third text, students answer 7 questions. This requires a complete understanding of the text.
Written part of the Unified State Exam in English consists of two tasks: writing a personal letter and an essay. A personal letter is written in response to a letter from a pen pal; in it you need to observe the etiquette of friendly correspondence, give detailed answers to questions and ask three of your own questions.
An essay is written on a given topic. It must be written in a formal style, the student must show the ability to reason and express his opinion, supporting it with arguments.
This article provides sample examples of completing tasks. oral part (Speaking Part) of the Unified State Exam 2016 in English. The article was written taking into account the changes that occurred in the wording of task 3 (point 1 and point 4). I hope this material will help you in preparing for the exam.
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 this text silently, then be ready to read it out aloud. You will not have more than 1.5 minutes to read it.
Burney Crouss went to school to study the sounds of nature. For 20 years he has recorded the sounds animals make. He has recordings of animal sounds from all over the world.
Burney has made a record of animal songs. It all began when he took some of the sounds and put them together. Last year, he put together a song he called “Jungle Shoes.” It turned out great.
Burney makes the music by taking part of his animal noises and saving them on a computer. He makes each sound play when a key is pressed. Then he asks other musicians to play the keys into songs. Burney believes in working to save nature. He thinks that more people need to take care of our world. The sounds of nature are quickly disappearing.
When he recorded whales in Alaska, he could hear the sound of oil well drilling from fifteen to twenty miles away. It was very loud. He says his goal is to save nature sounds so his children will be able to hear them.
Listen to this audiofile
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.
Mind your pronunciation!
Cr ou ss, s ou nd, l ou d –
B ur ney, t ur n,w or ld – [ɜ:]
to th ink – [θ]
toge th er – [ð]
Vocabulary
nature [´neitʃə] – nature
musician – musician, composer
key – key (of a piano, organ, computer keyboard)
to record – record, register
record [´rekɔ:d] – record
to disappear [ˏdisə´piə] – to disappear
goal [ɡəul] – goal, task
whale - whale
— Listen to the audio file attached to the text several times, paying attention to the intonation and phonetic design of the text by a native speaker.
- Read the text, copying the intonation and pronunciation of words in English. Special attention give lower intonation at the end of a sentence. From teaching experience, I know that many students do not indicate the end of a phrase with a descending tone, but, on the contrary, raise it, which greatly complicates the perception of the content.
— Don’t forget that prepositions and articles must be read together with verbs and nouns.
— Do not deafen voiced consonants at the end of a word, as this may change the lexical meaning of the word.
— In the process of preparing for the Unified State Exam, learn new words (spelling + lexical meaning).
Task 2
Study the advertisement.
You are considering booking a river trip and now you are calling to find out more information. In 1.5 minutes you are to ask five direct questions to find out about the following:
- Booking of the trip (order a walk along the river)
- Boarding time (time of boarding the ship)
- Kinds of amenities (types of amenities on the ship)
- Reductions for senior citizens (discounts for pensioners)
- If food and drinks available on board the yacht (possibility of ordering food and drinks on board the yacht)
You have 20 seconds to ask each question.
Sample answer
- How can I book the trip? / Can I book the trip on the phone? / I can book the trip on the phone, can't I? /Should I book the trip in advance? / Is there any possibility to book the trip online?
- What is the boarding time? / When does the boarding start (begin)?
- What amenities are there on board the yacht (the boat, the ship)?
- Are there any reductions (discounts) for senior citizens?
- Can we order (buy) any food and drinks on board the yacht?
amenities [ə´minətiz] – amenities
оn board the ship (on board the plane) – on board the ship (plane)
Since you need to ask 5 direct questions, you should know that interrogative structures in English use reverse word order. Not Maybe pose a question only by changing the intonation of the sentence, as we do in Russian.
For example:
In Russian
I can order food and drinks on board the yacht. (statement, falling intonation)
I can order food and drinks on board the yacht? (question, rising intonation)
In English
I can order some food and drinks on board the yacht. (statement, descending intonation, direct word order: subject + predicate)
General questions
Can I order any food and drinks on board the yacht? (question, rising intonation, reverse word order: auxiliary or modal verb + subject)
Special questions
How can I book the trip? (question, descending intonation, word order: question word + auxiliary verb + subject)
In this task you cannot ask indirect questions like Do you thinkI can book the trip on the phone or I wonder if I can book the trip on the phone.
Task 3
Imagine that these are photos from your photo album.
Choose one photo to present to your friend.
Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3
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 did you decide to show the picture to your friend
You have to talk continuously, starting with:
“I"ve chosen photo number...”
Sample answer
I"ve chosen photo number 2. (Be sure to start your answer with this phrase, after selecting the photo number).
You know, every summer we go to the seaside to have a good rest. So, I took this photo two years ago when our family went to Egypt on summer holidays. It was our first trip abroad.
In the foreground of the photo you can see my little brother Dmitry. He is riding a camel on a sandy beach. He looks very happy because he has never done it before. The camel is covered with bright colorful blanket made of wool. It also has some funny pompons (decorations) on its head . The day is quite hot and sunny and there are no clouds in the sky. So, not to get sunburnt Dima is wearing a T-shirt.
The sea is very calm. You can notice several snow-white yachts (ships) against the skyline. Every day they take people for offshore excursions where one can watch dolphins and exotic species of fish.
As a rule, I always take a lot of pictures while traveling. I often show them to my friends and relatives to share the best and the most thrilling moments of our journeys. That's why I keep them in my album.
I was really astonished (impressed, struck) by a funny look of the camel. It seems to me that the animal has got a smiling face. I decided to show this picture to you because I think it might improve your mood. I hope you find it amazing, too.
That is all I wanted to say. (a mandatory phrase for the examiner indicating the completion of communication)
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
Now I am going to compare and contrast these two photos.
To start with I should admit that holidays are an integral part of our life no matter where we live. And these two photos are the evidence of what I have said.
Both pictures show people celebrating Christmas.
The first photo depicts a company of six young people who are enjoying a holiday season on a sandy beach. They are wearing swimming suits, sunglasses and Santa’s hats . I’m not sure but it seems to me that it is a team of life-guards. In the background of the picture you can see a decorated Christmas tree, a large inflatable snowman and Santa Claus.
As for the second picture it shows a young man and a young woman singing carols in the street which is beautifully decorated with lights. The weather is snowy and I suppose it’s pretty cold outside because they are wearing warm clothes, gloves and scarves. Even their dog has got a warm jacket and a scarf and that makes me think(I've got a feeling) that these people are very caring and love their pet very much.
As I have mentioned before the main similarity(the most obvious similarity) between these pictures is a festive atmosphere of Christmas. Also I get the impression that people in picture 1 and picture 2 are of the same age and look very joyful. Moreover, both pictures were taken outdoors (out-of-doors / in the open air).
Comparing these two pictures, I’d like to stress out that the most apparent (striking) difference between them is the season of the year. In the first photo the event might be taking place somewhere in Australia because Christmas Day usually falls in the middle of the summer in this country. In contrast, in the second picture you can see people in winter. I can only guess that they are probably British. Besides, picture No. 1 was taken during the daytime, while picture No. 2 was taken at night.
Specification
control measuring materials
to be held in 2016
unified state exam
in FOREIGN LANGUAGES
1. Purpose of the examination paper
Control measurement 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 of 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 the skills of their recognition/recognition. 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 include, along with tasks of the basic level, tasks of higher levels of complexity.
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 foreign language work includes 28 tasks with a choice of answers from three or four proposed ones, 16 open-type tasks 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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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 different. 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 may read not [grow...], but [grau...] 2. sometime: the examinee may, 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): 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 wasting your time to prepare for the first task at all, because it gives only one point, and the probability of getting this same 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 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 to him. 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 say: 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 of a 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 tell you 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. a brief description of what 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!
