Speaking

Speaking can be quite nerve-wracking, because everything you say is being

recorded and marked, and for some reason human beings find speech more
vulnerable and personal than text. I mean, ‘texting’ people is so much more
easier than talking to them over the phone, right?

For paper 5 of the IGCSE English as a second language, you will be given a
topic card based on which you and the examiner will have a conversation.

 The examiner will start with a informal chat just to get you settled down and
comfortable.This warm-up session will not be marked, so you should make
use of it to calm yourself down and get ready. Be free and open with the
examiner. Know that you’re just having a conversation.
 You will then be given a topic card by the examiner. (During my speaking
test, the examiner understood from the warm-up that I loved reading, so she
gave me a topic that related to fact & fiction. You could do this in the warm-
up- give a hint of your interests or a topic you’re very comfortable talking
about).
You will get a few minutes to read the topic and prompts and to come up
with your points. You can add your own points that are not prompted in the
card, to get higher marks!
 These topics tend to be ones you can easily develop a conversation around,
so don’t worry about them! The speaking test is not about how well you
know the topic, but how well you can have a conversation about it –
your vocabulary, fluency, structure. As such, don’t
blabber.
 This was the topic card I was given in my w15 IGCSE exam!

 Have a stress-free genuine conversation. Don’t make it a speech, just simply

have a chat with your examiner. Answer her questions. All those talk shows
you watch and wanted to be a part of? Well, this is the time! Don’t get
worried about how good you sound in the recording. There are going to be
thousands of such recordings coming in for examination and every one of
them is going to sound different from the rest. Different accents,
pronunciations, styles, speeds. There’s nothing you have to worry
about. Just chat.
 Do avoid ‘umm’ ‘ehh’ ‘err-‘ and all that. Instead, pause.
 If you feel like you’ve had a good conversation keeping to the topic given,
then it is likely that you’ve done a good job!

The speaking tests are one of the first exams in the IGCSE exam sessions. It
is perfectly normal that you will be a bit nervous about it since it’s your first
ever board-examination. But once you’re done, I assure, you will feel silly that
you worried about nothing. What’s more, it helps set the mood for the rest of
the exam session. So, calm down- that’s the key to nailing this test.