Exam oral part. In English. How are points distributed?
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 maximum quantity Only 11 students scored 100 points!
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 largest number of 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.
control measuring materials of a single state exam
in ENGLISH LANGUAGE 2016
English language. 11th grade Demo version 2016
Explanations to the demo version of the oral part
control measuring materialsunified stateexam 2016
in ENGLISH
When familiarizing yourself with the demonstration version of the oral part of the 2016 Unified State Exam test materials in English, you should keep in mind that the tasks included in it do not reflect all the content issues that will be tested using the CMM options. Full list questions that can be controlled at the Unified State Exam are given in the codifier of content elements and requirements for the level of training of graduates of educational organizations for the 2016 Unified State Exam in English.
The purpose of the demonstration version is to enable any USE participant and the general public to get an idea of the structure of future CMMs, the number of tasks, their form and level of complexity. The given criteria for assessing the completion of tasks with a detailed answer, included in this option, give an idea of the requirements for the completeness and correctness of a detailed answer in oral form. This information will allow graduates to develop a strategy for preparing for the Unified State Exam.
English language. 11th grade Demo version 2016
© 2016 Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Instructions for completing tasks
The oral part of the KIM Unified State Examination in English includes 4 tasks.
Task 1– reading aloud a short text of a popular science nature.
IN task 2 You are asked to review the advertisement and ask five questions based on keywords.
Preparation time: 1.5 minutes.
IN task 3 You are asked to choose one of three photographs and describe it based on the plan.
Preparation time: 1.5 minutes.
IN task 4 The task is to compare two photographs based on the proposed plan.
Preparation time: 1.5 minutes.
Total response time one examinee (including preparation time) – 15 minutes.
Each subsequent task is issued after the completion of the previous task. The entire response time is audio and video recorded.
Try to fully complete the assigned tasks, try to speak clearly and clearly, stay on topic and follow the proposed answer plan. This way you can score the most points.
Task 1. Imagine that you are preparing a project with your friend. You havefound some interesting material for the presentation and you want to read thistext to your friend. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, then beready to read it out loud. You will not have more than 1.5 minutes to read it.
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.
Listen to this audiofile
Audio recording: 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! – Watch your pronunciation!
–tr ee, t ee ns, k ee p, s ee ds, r ea ch, l ea ves, br ea the
[ɜː] –b ir ds, c ir culation, c er tain
[θ] – grow th for th, th ousand, th rough [θruː]
[ð] – th eir,o th ers, th emselves, brea th e,ga th er, wi th in
Vocabulary
to grow (grew, grown) – grow
growth - growth
insect - insect
to reproduce – reproduce, multiply
to manufacture - produce
intricate [´intrikət] – complex, intricate
to breathe - to breathe (Do not confuse with breath - breathing)
to extend – extend, extend, lengthen, expand
leaf (sing.) – leaves (pl.) leaf – leaves
roots - roots
trunk – 1) trunk 2) chest 3) trunk 4) trunk
seeds - seeds
cone – 1) cone 2) cone (in coniferous trees) 3) ice cream cone
Task 2. Study the advertisement.
Welcome to our school of breakdance!
You are considering starting breakdance lessons and now you’d like to getmore information. In 1.5 minutes you are to ask five direct questions to findout about the following:
2) course location
3) duration of the course
4) special clothes
5) evening classes
You have 20 seconds to ask each question.
Sample answer
- What is the tuition fee? / How much are the breakdance lessons? / How much do the classes cost?
- Where is your school located?
- What is the length of the course? / What is the duration of the course? / How long is the course?
- Do I need any special clothes? / I need to have some special clothes, don't I?
- Are evening classes available? / Are there evening classes at your school? / Do do you offer evening classes? / Can I attend evening classes?
Task 3. Imagine that these are photos from your photo album.
Choose onephoto 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 morethan 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
Important!
Please note the changes that have occurred in the wording of task 3:
- point 1 Where and when the photo was taken When you took the photo) - this means that when completing this task, it now does not matter who took the photo (you, your friends or relatives), that is, according to Verbitskaya M.V. “Anyone could have taken this photo” (watch the webinar Verbitskaya M.V. “Technologies of preparation for the OGE and the Unified State Exam”)
- point 4 Why do you keep this photo in your album(was Why did you take this photo)
You have to talk continuously, starting with:
"I've chosen photo number… "
Sample answer
I"ve chosen photo number 1.
I should say that my family means a lot to me because they are people I can always rely on.
I took this photo two months ago when my parents and I went to Voronezh to visit my elder brother’s family. Recently they have moved into a new flat and invited us to a house-warming party. I always enjoy our trips to Voronezh and think it is a very nice place to live in.
You can see my brother Max, his wife Julia and their daughter Stacy. They are sitting on a comfortable white sofa in the living room. Stacy is sitting on her mother’s lap. They are smiling and seem to be very happy because at last their dream came true. I should say that Max loves his daughter and wife very much and always takes care of them.
There is a white bookcase with open shelves. I like their decision to furnish the room in white color because it makes the room look wider. As my brother works as a journalist for a local newspaper you can see a lot of books and magazines on the shelves.
My brother lives quite far from our hometown and we can’t see each other very often. So, I always take pictures of him and his family to recollect the moments we spent together. Moreover, I used this photo for my school project called “My Family Tree”. That's why I keep this photo in my album.
I decided to show this photo to you because you have never seen my niece Stacy who is a very cute and bright girl before.
That's all I wanted to say.
Sample answer
I"ve chosen photo number 3 . (Be sure to start your answer with this phrase, after selecting the photo number).
You know, I’ve got a lot of pictures connected with New Year and Christmas celebrations in my album, but this one is special because our friends from Germany, Hilda and Otto, sent it for us.
It was taken on the 25 th of December in their home in Dresden.
Of course, you can’t see Hilda because she was trying to capture this wonderful moment and I think she did her best.
In the foreground of the picture you can see her husband Otto and her daughter Greta. They are both in a festive mood, smiling at each other. Greta is wearing a lovely red dress which is a traditional color of Christmas. Her hair is nicely done in curls. She is carrying a Christmas present which, she believes, was brought by Santa Claus. The father and the daughter look very happy.
In the background of the picture there is a decorated Christmas tree.
Hilda’s hobby is photography and she used some special effects such as falling snow in the picture that’s why it looks so magic.
I keep this photo in my album because it’s a kind of “Hello” and a Christmas greeting from our friends from abroad. (I keep this photo in my album because it reminds me of the joy of holiday seasons.)
I decided to show this picture to you because you are interested in photography too and you might also want to use these effects in your photos. So, I hope you enjoyed watching it.
That's all I wanted to say.(End your answer with this phrase)
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 will compare and contrast these two photos.
I would like to point out right from the beginning that hobbies make our life more exciting. And these two photos prove that.
I think that the theme which relates these photos are the way people spend them free time.
Let me start with the first picture which shows a young girl who is in the kitchen at the moment. It looks like she is going to cook a vegetarian dish because on the left side of the picture you can see a lot of fresh vegetables . I get the impression that the girl leads a healthy life style as she looks very slim and sporty. Although she is wearing shorts and a top, it is not clear from the picture what season of the year it is.
As for the second picture it also shows a young girl who is enjoying snowboarding in her free time. She is wearing goggles, mittens, and special sports clothing that may protect her from the strong wind when she slides down the hill . Unfortunately, I can’t see her wearing a helmet which might be dangerous. It seems to me she feels excited and looks very confident balancing her snowboard.
As I've already mentioned both photos depict people’s hobbies. The main similarity between photo 1 and photo 2 is that they show young girls who are practically of the same age. Both girls keep fit and seem to be in a good mood enjoying their leisure time.
The most obvious difference between these pictures is kinds of hobbies which are cooking and snowboarding. Moreover, the girl in photo 1 is wearing summer clothes and is depicted indoors, while the girl in photo 2 is wearing warm clothes and is shown outdoors. To my mind she is taking a risk going snowboarding.
The oral part is carried out on a separate day in a computerized form, without the participation of an interlocutor, based on a special software. The tasks are presented to the examinee on the computer display, computer program Precise timing of preparation and response time is laid down. Audio recordings of examinees' answers are provided for evaluation by experts who have undergone special training.
| exercise | content | level complexity |
Max. |
time for preparation |
time answer |
| 1 | Read aloud an excerpt from an informational or popular science text that is stylistically neutral | base | 1 | 1.5 min | 1.5 min |
| 2 | Ask 5 questions on a specific topic (travel, shopping, food, transport, sports, etc.). The examinee is given a visual stimulus and key words (what to ask). | base | 5 | 1.5 min | 1.5 min |
| 3 |
Tell a friend about the photo you took, why you took it and why you want to show it to your friend (one photo of the examinee’s choice out of three) | base | 7 | 1.5 min | 2 min |
| 4 |
Compare 2 proposed photos (for example, beach holiday and hiking), identify similarities, differences and talk about your preferences. | high | 7 | 1.5 min | 2 min |
Strategies for completing tasks
Evaluation criteria
Interactive real-time simulators
- Simulator 1 (Demo 2015)
- Trainer 2 (open bank tasks)
- Trainer 3 (open bank tasks)
- Trainer 4
- Trainer 5
- Trainer 6
- Trainer 7(test exam assignments 02/26/2015)
- Simulator 8 (Demo 2016)
- Simulator 9 (tasks of the early Unified State Exam 2016)
- Simulator 10 (Demo 2017)
- Simulator 11 (Demo 2018)
-
Simulator 12 (Demo 2019)
In 2017, changes were made to the wording of task 3. Please note this when using trainers 1-9, as they were created earlier and remain the same! Now the speaker is not necessarily the author of the photo; he can even say that he himself is depicted in the photo. Now the first point of the plan suggests that the student must say not only WHEN, but also WHERE the picture was taken. Word present changed to describe and the word disappeared imagine.
Compare
| 2015 | 2017 |
|
Task 3. Imagine that these are photos from your album. Choose one photo to present to your friend.
|
Task 3. These are photos from your photo album. Choose one photo to describe to your friend. |
This article provides additional sample assignments. Oral part of the Unified State Exam in English. As you already know, in task 3 You have to choose one of three photographs and describe it using the proposed plan.
Time to prepare - 1.5 minutes.
Response duration - 2 minutes.
Task 3. Imagine that while traveling during your holidays you took some photos. 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 not more than 2 minutes.
In your talk remember to speak about:
Formulation of the task in 2015.
- when you took the photo (when YOU took a photo)
- what/who
- what
- why you took photo (why did you take this photo)
Please note the changes that occurred in the wording of task No. 3 in the oral part of the Unified State Examination in English in 2016.
- when and where the photo was taken (when and where the photo was taken, that is ANY person could have taken this photo: you, your friends or relatives)
- what/who is in the photo (who/what is in the photo)
- what is happening (what is happening in the photo)
- why you keep the photo in your album (why do you keep this photo in your album)
- why you decided to show the picture to your friend (why did you decide to show this photo to your friend)
You have to talk continuously, starting with:
I"ve chosen photo number...
Sample answer (photo No. 1)
I"ve chosen photo number 1.
- I took this photo in one of the beautiful parks in Edinburgh when I was on my trip to Scotland two years ago. It is quite amazing, isn't it?
- In the foreground of the photo you can see two girlfriends spending their free time hanging around. They might study or work together. They seem to be in a good mood. They both are wearing all Scottish style suits. Moreover, the girl on the left has got an incredible hat which perfectly matches the rest of her clothing. The most stunning thing that caught my eye was her hair done in dreadlocks. In her right hand she is carrying a black handbag made of leather.
- In the background of the picture there are a lot of green trees with bushy (thick) crown. It was early September and it happened to be a very warm and sunny day. But nevertheless some people put on their jackets because the weather is very changeable and unpredictable on the British Isles. The man on the right who is wearing a checked shirt might be a tourist because he has got a blue backpack. As you can see at this particular moment the place is not overcrowded, so I think, it is great to enjoy your leisure time with your nearest and dearest in such a place.
- I keep this picture in my album to recollect the pleasant moments of my journey to Scotland
- I asked the girls a permission to take their picture because I liked the style they were dressed up and I decided to show it to you because you are also keen on wearing unusual and freakish hats and maybe, the picture will give you some new ideas.
- That is all I wanted to say . (a mandatory phrase for the examiner indicating the completion of communication)
Useful Vocabulary
to hang around - hang around idle
to match - match (by color)
to catch one's eye - to attract attention
stunning = incredible - stunning, stunning, incredible
dreadlocks - dreadlocks
bushy crown - dense crown of trees
freakish = strange = weird - freaky, strange
to wear - to wear clothes
to carry - hold (carry) things in your hands
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Sample answer (photo no. 2):
I"ve chosen photo number 2.
(Be sure to start your answer with this phrase, after selecting the photo number).
- I took this photo during my winter holidays when we went to the ski resort in the Caucasus. After the Winter Olympic Games 2014, Sochi attracts lots of tourists both from Russia and from around the world.
- you can see two children: a boy and a girl. They came here from Novosibirsk. They told me that they had started to ski when they were only three years old, that"s why they look very confident on the snowy mountain slopes. The children are wearing bright ski suits made of special fabrics that protect them from cold and at the same time are very light that helps them move quickly. They also have all the necessary skiing equipment for this kind of sport such as alpine skis, plastic boots with special bindings, helmets, ski poles and goggle mounts.
- you can see mountain peaks covered with snow and some kind of pines. You can"t see the mountains quite well from behind the clouds but I should say it is a common phenomenon in this area.
- At the very particular moment the children are learning a new downhill technique. And now they stopped for a while to take breath. Sometimes I saw them landing in a fall but they went to square one again and again. They didn't give up, so I should admit that they have got strong willpower. As you can see they look very healthy and happy. I believe that it"s very useful to take up to sport from childhood. This will teach you to overcome difficulties in life, will teach you to win or to lose.
- I keep this photo in my album because we made friends with the family from Novosibirsk and their cute kids and I want to remember the beautiful moments of my vacation.
- I decided to show you this photo because I want you to appreciate these two young sportsmen and the beauty of the Caucasus Mountains (nature).
- That is all I wanted to say . (a mandatory phrase for the examiner indicating the completion of communication)
Useful Vocabulary
mountain slope - mountain slope
skiing equipment - ski equipment
alpine skis - mountain skiing
bindings - ski bindings
helmet - helmet
ski pole - ski pole
goggles - safety glasses
common phenomenon - common (widespread) phenomenon
downhill technique - descent technique
to take breath - take a breath (catch your breath)
Landing in a fall - land in the fall
to go to square one (idiom) — start from scratch
to give up (idiom)- give up, refuse
willpower - willpower
Sample answer (photo no. 3)
I " ve chosen photo number 3.
(Be sure to start your answer with this phrase, after selecting the photo number).
- I took this photo in London Zoo when I was on my trip to the UK a year ago. To tell the truth, I’m not very good at photography but this picture turned out to be a beautiful one.
- In the foreground of the picture you can see a colony of pelicans. You can't but agree with me that pelicans are large birds with very long beaks. They have a long neck and short stout legs with webbed feet. The tail is short and square. They have pale plumage with some gray feathers on the wings.
- On the left of the picture there is a pond where the birds can swim. The zoo keeper told us a lot of interesting things about pelicans. She explained to us that some species could make their nests in the trees while the others nest on the ground. It was interesting to know that they can fly but cannot dive because of their light skeleton. I also learned that pelicans live up to 25 years in the wild and up to 40 years in captivity. But the most amazing fact is that pelicans never store their food in their throat pouch contrary to popular folklore. They use it for catching fish.
- In the background of the picture you can see a girl taking photos. At this particular moment the birds are cleaning their feathers after being fed. Guess what! We were allowed to give them some fish and it was really exciting! All in all the weather was warmish and I had a great time there.
- I took this photo because I had never seen those birds before in real life and wanted to remember all places I had visited in London. That's why I keep it in my album.
- I decided to show you this photo because you are interested in photography and have got a big collection of snapshots of birds. I think, it would be great if you could add my picture to it.
- That's all I wanted to say. (a mandatory phrase for the examiner indicating the completion of communication)
Useful Vocabulary