OIETC Online Assessment

Spoken Task
The spoken assessment will be done synchronously and will consist of the following stages:

Stage Task Time

1 Introduction, ID check, a couple of personal questions to warm up 3 minutes
2 Presentation (student led) 3 – 5 minutes
3 Question time on submitted written task (examiner led) 3 – 5 minutes

Stage 1
You will be asked to show your ID to check your identity. The examiner will open up with a few personal
questions.

Stage 2
Consider the challenge listed below and prepare a short presentation on the topic:
Communication and information flow have changed dramatically since the middle of the 20th Century.
Challenges presented by modern communication channels and media have influenced our lives in many ways.
What are the advantages and disadvantages for online shoppers? What is best practice?

SPA 017

Your presentation must:

• Include an argument in favour and an argument against
• Include a personal reflection
• Be between 3 – 5 minutes long.

The examiner might ask you to briefly introduce the topic of your presentation and give them the code of
the task, but after that they will not assist or interrupt you in any way. You must start your presentation
by stating: “I will now begin my presentation” which will be the signal to start the timer; and end with
“thank you for your attention”, which will be a signal to turn the timer off.
Note that while you are allowed to use notes and / or cue cards, we strongly advise against reading and /
or memorising presentations.
Please see the assessment criteria below to inform your decisions
Stage 3

Stage three will be devoted to question time concerning the written essay. The aim of this stage is two-
fold, firstly, to evaluate your spontaneous use of language, and secondly, to serve as deterrent to have
your essay written by someone else.
The examiner will focus their questions primarily on the following areas:
• Clarification of facts and / or opinions presented in the essay
• Reflection on the writing process
• Personal experience

The examiner will be given a list potential questions to link to the essay and ask. These may include but
are not limited to:

• Can you tell me a bit more about the source / sources you have used for this essay?
• Can you tell about the aspects you were mostly impressed by?
• The word count for the essay is limited, is there anything else you would have liked to include in
your essay but had to leave out?
• What were some of the most surprising facts you have encountered while planning the essay?
 Assessment Criteria for Speaking
6
1 2 3 4 5
(IELTS 6.5) and
(IELTS 4) (IELTS 4.5) (IELTS 5) (IELTS 5.5) (IELTS 6)
above
The response did not relate to
The response partially met the task.
the assigned topic. The response fully met the task.
One of the parts of the task
Alternatively, it did but not all All parts of the task were fully
Task Achievement was missing or was not fully
parts of the task were covered covered. All content given was
covered. Some
and as a result content was relevant and informative.
content given was irrelevant.
largely irrelevant

The lexis and grammar selected The lexis and grammar selected
The lexis and grammar used
were suitable but did not show a were suitable for the subject
were basic and inappropriate
Accuracy and great range or complexity. The matter. The language was largely
for the task. Errors were
appropriacy of language language used was usually correct, accurate; errors were infrequent
frequent and impeded
errors did not impede and did not obscure
communication.
understanding. understanding.

Ideas were effectively linked using

Linking devices were used
sporadically. Hesitations and
Fluency and discourse
repetition were frequent.
management
Content was over-rehearsed
and /or possibly read.
Ideas were linked using simple
a range of discourse markers. The
linking devices. The students
students spoke clearly, without
showed some signs of hesitation
hesitations and repetition. The
and / or repetition but without
delivery was natural and not over-
impeding the communication.
rehearsed.

Delivery is largely Delivery is natural, pronunciation

unintelligible, and there
Pronunciation
appears to be little control
over phonological features at
word or sentence level.
Delivery poses a great strain
Delivery is not completely natural.
is clear and intonation is coherent
Pronunciation and / or intonation
with the key message.
sometimes pose strain on
Pronunciation does not cause
the listener but the overall
comprehension problems in an
message remains clear.
international context.