HOW THE DELE EXAM ORAL IS
SCORED
How are the DELE exam oral tasks scored? What criteria do
examiners use? What does a failed effort actually sound like,
compared to a candidate who passed?
We’ll give you the answers to these questions, and more.
You already know that there are six levels of the DELE diploma
exams,
from A1 and A2 through B1 and B2 to C1 and C2.
Discussing each level’s particular criteria would be just too
much for one blogpost. Therefore I’ve chosen to focus here on
level B1, because it’s midway in the range. The different
levels of the examen DELE are all marked in basically the same
manner, with just increased grades of difficulty between them.
Whether you are doing A1 or C2, you will see the same
structure and principles as those that we will be explaining
here for B2. If you need more detail about your particular
course level, we’ll happily send you some of our DELEhelp
course material as free sample – just send us your e-mail
address with the convenient contact form on this page.
HOW IS THE ORAL EXAM STRUCTURED?
The B1 oral exam, which counts for 50% of the total exam,
consists of four tasks. A candidate is allowed 15 minutes
prior preparation time for tasks 1 and 2, during which you may
take notes and draw an outline which you may consult during
the test. There are two examiners, who will mark your effort
in real time, there at the exam center. At the beginning of
the test, the examiner who acts as interviewer will ask some
“icebreaker” questions to put you at ease (these don’t count).
This examiner does the “holistic” scoring assessment, which
simply means that he or she will form an overall opinion based
on the rigorous training that all DELE examiners must
complete. The second examiner, who normally sits behind you,
does the more detailed “analytical” assessment, which we will
come to.
After the icebreaking, you will be asked to do your formal
presentation – a short monologue of two to three minutes.
That’s followed by task two, which is a short conversation
about the theme you just presented – some three to four
minutes. In Tarea 3 you will be shown a photo, which you must
describe and comment upon, in another two to three minute
conversation. The last task is a dialogue with the
interviewer, simulating an everyday situation. This also lasts
three to four minutes.
WHAT ARE THE SCORING CRITERIA FOR THE ORAL?
The examiners use two scales for assessing (scoring) the oral
part of the exam. One is the holistic scale already mentioned.
The analytical scale has four criteria. These are coherence,
fluency, correctness and linguistic scope. Both the holistic
and the analytical scales are scored in terms of four ordinal
bands, with a top value of 3, and zero being the lowest mark.
For both scales, achieving a value of 2 is a pass. Obtaining
a value of 3 represents ample achievement. Scoring 1 or 0
means you’ve failed the particular task.
I will now present you with the official scoring criteria
guidelines of the Instituto Cervantes for the DELE exam oral,
which I’ve translated for you from the original “high academic
Spanish”. Because of its importance I am going to quote it in
full.
THE HOLISTIC SCALE
Value 3: Candidate can add required explanations, arguments
and relevant examples to the information under discussion. Has
a sufficiently ample linguistic repertoire to function without
difficulty in the situations postulated, even though commits
some errors. Maintains conversations and exchanges information
properly, his/her interventions confirm an understanding of
detailed information. Collaborates with the interviewer.
Value 2: Provides the information required to meet the
objectives of the communicative tasks. Has a basic linguistic
repertoire that allows him/her to tackle the postulated
situations, with errors, but which do not interfere with the
transmission of ideas. Maintains conversations and exchanges
information, although he/she may require clarification as well
as for part of what the interviewer said to be repeated, in
order to confirm mutual understanding.
Value 1: Although candidate can manage simple descriptions and
presentations, does not convey enough information to meet the
communicative purpose of the tasks. Although a limited
linguistic repertoire does allow for the transmission of
information on personal matters, on his/her immediate
environment and on simple, everyday situations, the candidate
has to adapt the message and search for words and repeatedly
makes basic mistakes. Participates in discussions and
exchanges information, provided that the interlocutor helps.
Value 0: Barely transmits information, and therefore does not
meet the communicative objectives of the tasks. The language
barriers create difficulties in formulating what he/she means.
Requires the interviewer to repeat what has been said, or to
rephrase and speak slowly, as well as to assist him/her with
formulating what he/she tries to say.
THE ANALYTICAL SCALE
Coherence
Value 3: Produces a clear, coherent discourse, with proper use
(albeit limited) of cohesive devices such as link phrases. May
show some loss of control over speech, in case of extended
exchanges. Maintains a proper conversation, collaborating with
the interviewer.
Value 2: Develops linear sequences of related ideas in the
form of short simple sentences linked by standard connectors
(eg.: «es que», «por eso», «además»). Maintains simple
conversations on everyday topics, but sometimes needs
clarification or repetition of part of what the interviewer
said, to confirm understanding.
Value 1: Speech is limited, made up of groups of words and
simple connectors (eg.: «y»; «pero», «porque»). Requires the
help of the interviewer to confirm whether is correctly
understanding. Is only able to respond to simple questions and
statements.
Value 0: Presents confusing speech, composed of isolated
statements with few binding/linking elements. Requires that
the interviewer often repeat or rephrase his/her statements.
Answers do not always conform to the questions asked.
Fluency
Value 3: Expresses self with relative ease. Despite some
problems in making a speech, resulting in occasional pauses
and “dead ends”, the candidate is able to move forward
effectively. Pronunciation is clearly intelligible, even
though a foreign accent may be obvious and there are
occasional mistakes in pronunciation.
Value 2: Talks with continuity and is understandable, although
there are obvious pauses to plan the speech and to think about
grammar and appropriate vocabulary. Pronunciation is clearly
intelligible, although a foreign accent may be obvious and
mistakes occur sporadically.
Value 1: Makes him/herself understood by means of very brief
expressions.
Evidences pauses, initial doubts and
reformulations. Pronunciation and articulation are generally
quite clear and understandable, although accent and occasional
errors may result in understanding requiring some effort.
Value 0: Only manages very brief expressions, disconnected and
prepared in advance, requiring many pauses to search for
expressions, to articulate less familiar words and to correct
the communication. Pronunciation and articulation are only
correct for memorized words and phrases. Understanding him/her
is difficult.
Correctness
Value 3: Shows a relatively high grammatical control. Makes
mistakes that do not cause misunderstanding and which he/she
sometimes self-correct.
Value 2: Shows reasonable control of a repertoire of simple
structures (eg.: tiempos de indicativo, posesivos, verbo
«gustar», perífrasis básicas). Makes mistakes that do not
cause misunderstanding.
Value 1: Uses some simple grammatical constructs correctly,
but systematically makes basic mistakes, such as confusion of
tenses and inconsistencies in gender agreement.
Value 0: Shows insufficient control of even simple structures
and of patterns of short, basic sentences: for example, errors
in the use of the present tense and in the concordance of
subject or verb; uses verbs in the infinitive rather than
conjugations.
difficult.
Numerous
errors
make
communication
very
Linguistic Scope
Value 3: The candidate’s linguistic repertoire allows him/her
to describe situations, explain the main points of an idea or
problem with reasonable precision and express thoughts on
general subjects, be they abstract or cultural by nature, such
as music and movies.
Value 2: The candidates’ linguistic repertoire is broad enough
to function in everyday situations, allowing them to express
themselves (even though somewhat doubtfully and with
circumlocutions) on topics such as family, hobbies and
interests, work, travel and current events. Commit lexical
mistakes and inaccuracies when taking risks.
Value 1: Their limited linguistic repertoire allows them to
transmit information on personal matters, on their immediate
environment and in relation to simple, everyday situations
(basic needs, common transactions), but they have to adapt the
message and search for words. Commit lexical mistakes and
inaccuracies.
Value 0: Their linguistic repertoire is limited to a small
number of memorized words or exponents. Commit mistakes and
lexical inaccuracies or there’s interference from other
languages, hindering understanding.
REAL AUDIO OF A STUDENT WHO PASSED B1
I’m sure you want to hear what a passing effort in the DELE
exam oral sounds like. Please click on the image below, to
hear the recording. Afterwards I will give you my translation
of the actual comments of the examiners. (NOTE: 23nov16 –
unfortunately these audio clips are temporarily unavailable,
due to site updates by Instituto Cervantes).
Examiners’ comments
Analytical Scale – Coherence: The candidate achieves value
level 2, because she elaborates lineal sequences of related
ideas in form of brief, simple statements interconnected with
habitual connectors («porque creo que con el Internet podemos
hacer más cosas…»; «creo también que por nuestra generación
podemos, por ejemplo, ver películas…»; «y en esto caso…»; «un
intercambio, por ejemplo, con Facebook»; «pero creo que es…»;
«pero también buscar información de la ciudad…»; .«es un poco
lo mismo porque creo…»; «no sé de… por ejemplo, de una
organización…»; «el problema es que por cada desayuno…»). She
exceeds the limited speech typical of value band 1. In Tasks
2, 3 and 4, she could maintain basic conversations on everyday
topics. («—[E.] ¿Te parece entonces una zona comercial? —Sí,
sí, creo que sí. Es una zona de compras.»; «—[E.] ¿Tú has
hecho alguna vez algún viaje organizado? —Sí, pero no con… no
en el autobús, en el bicicleta. —[E.] Ah, ¿en bicicleta?
—Sí.»; «—[E.] Y, ¿el desayuno? […] ¿tampoco le ha gustado?
—No, el problema es que por cada desayuno…»; «—[E.] Pero, es
muy extraño porque nosotros normalmente organizamos estos
viajes y no tenemos ningún problema. —Ah, ¿sí? ¿En los mismos
hoteles?»). The candidate achieves a score of value level 2,
because her discourse isn’t limited and because she didn’t
require the collaboration of the interviewer in order to
answer (as would have been the case in scoring level 1).
Analytical Scale – Fluency: The candidate speaks with
continuity and clarity, even though pauses for planning her
discourse and thinking about grammar and appropriate lexicon
were evident. («… es muy mmmm divertido…»; «… por los mayores
aaaaaaa es un poco diferente…»; «… he visto un persona con
unaaa… con una cámara.»; «pero no con… no en el autobús»; «Es
como un… para mí, es como unaaa… como un grupo de turistas»;
«podría ser que es una grupo deee… no sé deee… por ejemplo, de
unaaa… de un… de una organización»). Her pronunciation is
clearly intelligible, despite her evident foreign accent and
her sporadic errors («la televición», «per ejemplo»,
«dificil»; «dependia», «sofa», «par día»).
Analytical Scale – Correctness: The candidate demonstrates
reasonable control of a repertoire of basic constructs («creo
que el Internet es más importante…»; «… nuestra generación»;
«… mi generación…»; «… hay mucha gente que habla con…»; «…
puede ser peligroso…»; «… las turistas pueden comprar cosas…»;
«… he visto una persona con una cámara…»; «… la mayoría de las
casas son tiendas…»; «quiero viajar solo o con amigos…»; «a mí
no me gustan mucho»). The mistakes she made didn’t cause
misunderstandings. («*este situación»; «es importante *de
compartir»; «hay mucha gente que *viaje mucho»; «que *son una
escuela de lengua»; «la gente *mayores»; «muchos *turistos»;
«cerca de aquí *es un autobús»; «para que toque *por la
gente»; «tienen un poco *el mismo edad»; «*estamos quince
personas»; «todo *estuve organizado»; «los hoteles no estaban
*limpia»; «*estaban no muy amables»; «no están *limpiada»;
«hace [hacía] mucho calor»). She exceeds scoring level 1 in
that she did use some basic constructs, but did not achieve a
score of 3 because she didn’t demonstrate a relatively high
command of grammar.
Analytical Scale – Linguistic Scope: The candidate’s
linguistic repertoire is broad enough to function in everyday
situations and for her to express herself, though somewhat
doubtfully and with circumlocutions, on topics such as family,
hobbies, personal interests, work and travel («quince
personas, todos en bicicleta…»; «todo organizado, los hoteles,
la comida…»; «es un país muy diferente»; «no es como
Francia…»; «la cultura es muy diferente»; «estaba muy
interesante a ver la cultura… ver la naturaleza…») and even
though she did make mistakes («*so por mi generación…»; «es
también un *entertainment»; «en este *senza…»).
Holistic Scale: The candidate provides the information
required in order to meet the communicative goals of the set
tasks. In tasks 1 and 2 she ordered and related her ideas, and
justified her opinions to explain the differences between the
Internet and television, and the Internet as a rival for
television. She spoke from personal experience (regarding to
for what purpose she uses the Internet and how often, as well
as for what she uses social networks). In task 3 and 4 she was
able to provide a description of the photo she selected and to
maintain a conversation making a complaint. The candidate
a basic linguistic repertoire that allowed her to tackle
postulated situations, without her errors interfering with
transmission of ideas («*por mi generación…»; «creo que
hora»; «en *el bicicleta»).
has
the
the
*un
REAL AUDIO OF A STUDENT WHO FAILED B1 (please click on image)
Analytical Scale – Coherence: In the monologue presentation
task, the candidate’s speech corresponds to the descriptor of
the value band 1: it is limited and consists of groups of
words and simple connectors like “y”, “pero” («No me gusta
nada música fuerte como rock, eh… rápido, no me gusta y cuando
escucho ruido no puedo pensar en nada sí. En Madrid sueleo
escuchar las canciones en español pero no me acuerdo cómo se
llama y de qué cantante y tampoco todavía no… no entiendo toda
la canción que significa»; «Ellos *está en un restaurante, sí…
están comiendo pero antes de *comel, *comel, necesitan charlar
un rato para no cumplir, no sé… puede ser y… *pensó que son
novios y son una chica y un chico bastante joven…»). In the
oral interaction tasks he required the collaboration of the
interviewer in order to confirm his understanding and could
only respond to simple questions and affirmations («—¿Y qué
tipo de música era la que fuiste a escuchar? —No sé como se
dice es con muchas cosas juntos. Como… ¡Ay! ¿Cómo se llama?
—¿Orquesta? — Más o menos hay un*directo, no, no es un
director, dirigir»; «—¿Quedamos en el reloj de la Puerta del
Sol? —¿Reloj? Voy a pensar. Ah, sí reloj. —Bueno pues nos
vemos esta noche. — Bueno, trato hecho» ; «—Sí, sí, sí, o
canción de invierno. Siempre escucho en la calle… hay un
peinado… no, no es peinado… tocar. —¿Un músico? —Sí, sí muy
bien, para escuchar»).
Analytical Scale – Fluency: As stated in the description for
value band 1, the candidate makes himself understood with very
brief expressions; pauses are evident, as well as initial
doubts and reformulation («Sí, desde… desde llevo, no, no, no,
vengo a España…, todavía no he ido alguna vez»; «Voy a pensar,
eh… dos. Solo dos. Es que… El prima, el prima vez, es mi
profesora llevarnos a restaurante. Me presenta… me presenta
que es restaurente es típica, prado ah… y la mesa sencilla más
o menos»); «Ellos *está en un restaurante, sí… están comiendo,
pero antes de *comel. *comel, necesitan charlar un rato para
cumplir, no sé… puede ser»). With regard to pronunciation, his
articulation and his occasional errors causes comprehending
him to require a certain effort – above all he has problems
with pronouncing the /r/ («… no sé cómo se llama, pero el
*prado, *la prato, el prato es prado de Galicia»); («*mejol,
con mi amigo *mejol»); («están comiendo pero antes de *comel,
*comel…»).
Analytical Scale – Correctness: The candidate uses some simple
constructs correctly («Yo prefiero la música tranquila…»; «…
es que cuando era pequeña, pequeño mi padre ponía la música
suave en casa casi todas las noches, pienso que es un hábito
desde niño…»; «¿A qué hora quedamos?»; «Sí, pero si no te
gusta podemos cambiar»; «No me gusta nada música fuerte, como
rock»; «están comiendo pero antes de *comel, *comel, necesitan
charlar un rato…») but he systematically commits basic errors,
for example demonstrating confusion regarding tenses («Quería
*il a un concierto que no haya mucha gente»; «Desde llevo… no,
no, no. Vengo a España, todavía no he ido alguna vez»; «…
cuando dentro de varios años separan y después encuentran más
o menos»; «… después de *comel podemos pedir chupitos para
la…») and commits errors regarding the agreement of gender and
number («… suelo escuchar las canciones en español pero no me
acuerdo como se *llama»; «… mi familia les gustan escuchar el
música suave y tranquila, mejor»; «Ellos *está en un
restaurante, sí…»; «… *esta restaurante es *típica»).
Analytical Scale – Linguistic Scope: In this as well, he is
situated in value band 1; his limited linguistic repertoire
only permits him to convey information regarding personal
matters, his immediate environment and simple everyday
situations such as basic needs and common transactions («*Ayel
fui a un restaurante muy cerca de la Puerta del Sol, no sé
cómo se llama…»; «Picante, pienso que no le gusta.»; «Yo
prefiero la música tranquila, eh… por ejemplo, jazz, etc.»; «…
cuando era más pequeña, pequeño, mi padre ponía la música
suave en casa casi todas las noches, pienso que es un hábito
desde niño…») However, he needs to adapt the message and
search for words («No sé cómo se dice… es con muchas cosas
juntos… como. ¡Ay! ¿Cómo se llama?»; «más o menos hay un
directo, no, no es un director, dirigir»; «Sí, como, no sé
como traducir en español. El verano, canción de verano (…) o
canción de invierno»; «Sí, especial, no sé cómo… lan…
lan…langosta»). Commits lexical inaccuracies and errors
(«Siempre escucho en la calle… hay un *peinado… no, no es
*peinado, tocar»; «… el piano… una vez *peina mal *tocal muy
mal, es que no estudio como los *peinados»; «es que *mi
familia les gustan escuchar el música más suave y tranquila…»;
«… necesitan charlar un rato para cumplir, no sé…»; «El prima,
el prima vez…»; «pienso que quedemos a las 8 o 8 y media»).
Holistic Scale: With regard to communicative efficiency, the
candidate did offer simple descriptions and presentations («No
me gusta nada música fuerte como rock, eh… rápido, no me gusta
y cuando escucho ruido no puedo pensar nada, sí. En Madrid
suelo escuchar las canciones en español pero no me acuerdo
como se llama y de que cantante y tampoco todavía no… no
entiendo toda la canción que significa») but did not provide
sufficient information to meet the communicative objectives of
the set tasks, as evidenced for example in Task #1 («Yo
prefiero la música tranquila, eh… por ejemplo jazz, etc.
Quería *il a un concierto que no haya mucha gente») and in
Task #3 («Ellos *está en un restaurante, sí… están comiendo
pero antes de *comel, *comel, necesitan charlar un rato para
cumplir no sé… puede ser… y *pensó que son novios y son una
chica y un chico bastante *joven y ya está»). With regard to
linguistic efficiency, even though his limited linguistic
repertoire did permit him to convey information on personal
issues, on his immediate environment and in relation to simple
everyday situations («*Ayel fui un restaurante está muy cerca
de la Puerta el Sol…»; «Eh… es que cuando era más pequeña,
pequeño mi padre ponía la música suave en casa casi todas las
noches, pienso que es un hábito desde niño, no sé, está bien»)
he had to adapt the message and search for words, whilst
repeatedly committing basic errors («… no sé cómo se llama,
pero el *prado, *la prato, el prato es prado de Galicia,
después de comer podemos pedir chupitos para la… digestión»).
The candidate did participate in the conversation with the
interviewer and did exchange information, although he needed
her assistance to do so – for example, when in Task #2, the
interviewer asked him whether he likes to play a musical
instrument («—¿Y te gustaría tocar alguno? —No, no… ¿Para
*escuchal? — Para tocar tú. —No, no… el *peinado (piano???»),
in Task #4, when he was asked whether he knows any Italian
restaurants («—A mí la comida picante por la noche me resulta
un poco fuerte. No sé… no sé si te gusta un italiano. —Sí, sí,
me gusta. —¿Y tú conoces alguno? —Pasta solo pasta») or in
Task #3, when he was asked about the frequency with which the
persons in the photo go to that place («— ¿Y tú crees que
estás personas van frecuentemente a este lugar? —¿Perdón?
—¿Estas personas van normalmente a este lugar? — Creo que
no»).
So, where are you in your preparation for the DELE exam oral,
compared to the examples above? (Most candidates who fail
DELE, fail because of the oral exam). Apart from knowing the
scoring criteria, do you know how to prepare well? For top
tips to help you to ace the oral exam, look at our March 2016
blogpost: Twenty Top Tips for Acing the DELE oral expression
exam.
We offer a FREE 96-page in-house DELEhelp workbook, (WB #9.2:
DELE Exam Orientation and Acing Tips) as an e-book. To ask for
it, simply click on the image ->
and use the convenient contact
infformation form. This unique
DELE exam preparation book
covers
the
DELE
system’s
objectives, the curriculum, exam
format, scoring criteria and our
top tips for acing it.
Good luck with your exam preparation!
Willem
Watch 2 minute
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introducing
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Twenty Top Tips for Acing the
DELE exam oral
DELE exam oral
About one-third of candidates fail the DELE exams. Of these,
70% failed because of failing the DELE exam oral expression
section. What do you need to know, and how do you need to
prepare, so that you can do well in the DELE exam oral
expression test? Here are our top tips:
Know what the goals are of the DELE exam oral. It is an
examination of your ability to communicate in everyday
situations. There’s no more common, nor more essential
way of communicating, than by means of speaking. This
makes the oral expression task obviously crucial in
assessing your communication competency. To know the
level of communicative ability that the DELE examiners
desire at each of the different levels (A1 to C2), you
have to study the policy statements of both the
Cervantes Institute and the Common European Language
Learning Framework, of which DELE is the Spanish
iteration. If you cannot find these documents, or cannot
understand the academic Spanish in which they are
written, please contact us: we at DELEhelp would be
pleased to gift you one of our in-house workbooks (in
English) on this specific topic – please use the
“contact us” page of this blog, for getting in touch
with us.
Know what the official DELE oral exam scoring criteria
are. You need to be familiar with the system and
criteria that the examiners at the exam centre will be
using to assess your oral expression performance. If you
don’t know this, you won’t know how best to make your
presentations or how to most effectively converse with
your interviewer. Our DELEhelp study material include
actual audio clips of oral expression exam candidates
who passed and who failed, together with the examiners’
comments. We also have included the full official
criteria, translated into English, of the two scoring
scales used, namely the holistic scale and the
analytical scale. Contact us if you want a free copy of
our 95-page DELEhelp Workbook #9.2 : Exam Orientation
and Acing Tips (in download .pdf form).
Read out loud whenever you are reading Spanish books,
blogs or newsmedia during your self-study and relaxation
hours.
As preparation and practice of your
pronunciation, do as much of your Spanish reading en voz
alta, so that you can get accustomed to actually saying
words, not just seeing or thinking them.
Record your practice sessions on tape or preferably on
video, when you do simulations of oral presentations.
That way you can hear and see yourself in action, and
can take note of improvements you need to make.
Try and do the oral task before the written exam tasks,
if you are given the option by the exam administrators
to elect when you want to do the oral exam. Try to do it
when you are still at your freshest, and try to be the
first candidate to be examined on the day, so that the
examiners also can be at their freshest, without yet
having established a very high bar due to some genius
who had gone before you (remember, this part of the exam
is scored in real time, there at the exam centre).
Read (and re-read) the instructions with great care. At
the start of the oral exam you will be given the exam
paper and time to prepare.
Carefully study the
guidelines – they contain clear guidance about what is
expected of you, which topics you need to address in
your oral presentation, what the contextual setting is
of, forvexample, the photo you have to discuss, etc.
Take time to plan your presentation, giving it a clear
structure with particular attention to the introduction
and especially the conclusion. The guidelines for
examiners oblige them to score each task immediately
after delivery. Accordingly, your concluding statement
will form their last impression and should therefore be
as good as you can make it – neatly tying together your
main points and the conclusions you have reached.
Sit correctly: Before the oral interaction tasks you
will be introduced to your two examiners. You will be
seated at a small table, opposite the examiner acting as
your interlocutor (who does the holistic assessment);
the other examiner (doing the analytical assessment)
will be seated behind you. When sitting down, don’t
slouch (i.e., don’t sit with your head and upper torso
leaning back in relation to your backside). Not only
does this posture constrict your breathing, it looks bad
and it sends the signal that you don’t relish engaging
with your interlocutor. Sitting correctly means getting
your lower backside as far into and pressed up against
the chair’s backrest as possible. This will help with
your breathing and articulation. It will also force your
upper body forward, thus into a natural posture of
engaging positively with your interlocutor.
(The
initial minute or two, before you are invited to launch
into your oral presentation, will be dedicated to a
brief icebreaker conversation, usually in the form of
the interlocutor asking you about your origins).
NB: NB: Engage with your interviewer, make and maintain
eye contact,
COMMUNICATE.
smile,
be
relaxed
and
friendly,
Fluency is an important scoring criteria; this is
achieved through correct pronunciation and particularly
by means of using link phrases (connectors), for which
the examiners will be actively looking in your discourse
– it is therefore important to know and practice a list
of such phrases which you can employ naturally. In
general, it is critical not to get hung up on searching
desperately for specific words that may have momentarily
abandoned you; use whatever others that come most
readily to your tongue at that moment, even if you also
have to use hands, face and additional description to
communicate your point.
Coherence is another key scoring criteria – in the time
given to you to read the exam paper and prepare your
presentation, decide on an appropriate structure and
note it down bullet-style (you may consult your notes,
but not read entire phrases verbatim from it). Be sure
that you have understood the task given to you – read
the instructions and questions very, very carefully,
otherwise you will miss the point and appear incoherent.
The key elements of structure will be your introduction
and conclusion – give particular attention to these. It
is, furthermore, essential to keep in mind that the true
objective of any oral presentation is to leave your
audience better informed and more enlightened about the
subject matter (it is easy to lose sight of this in the
exam setting, where you may get caught up in the notion
that the oral presentation serves only as a means of
obliging you to speak in Spanish for some minutes, so
that all your weaknesses may be revealed); this task is
intended to be a REAL presentation, conveying
information and conclusions, and needs to be structured
and delivered as such – remember that coherence and
fluency count as much as correctness and linguistic
scope.
Linguistic scope is the third of the four important
scoring criteria, as you would have seen if you’ve had
the opportunity to study beforehand the analytical
assessment scale. What linguistic scope means, is your
repertoire – the breadth and command of vocabulary and
grammar; it always impresses to bring the subjunctive
into your discourse, which you can usually do with ease
by developing and learning a stock phrase or two which
you can drop into the initial “icebreaker” conversation
or your introduction, or in the conclusion (something
like: “Ojala pueda mantener esta pretensión de estar
relajado por los próximos 15 minutos!”)
Correctness of language is the last major scoring
factor. This relates your correct use of fixed idiomatic
expressions and grammar, such as agreement of gender and
number. Slow down! It’s fine to pause briefly and
naturally to gather your thoughts (a good fallback with
which to fill these moments is using connectors or link
words, such as entonces, which will give you breathing
space and contribute to naturalness and fluency). When
you start talking, talk at a slower/measured pace (but
clearly conversational) so that you can allow yourself
time to formulate thoughts and speak accurately. If you
make a mistake, correct yourself in a natural manner,
don’t try and ignore it as if it didn’t happen – you
will actually be positively assessed for having
corrected yourself.
Confirm questions: It’s certainly normal to get nervous
in an exam situation, and equally normal even in real
everyday conversations to require clarifications from
your interlocutor. Rather ask, than answer a question
that you’ve misunderstood. So make sure to clarify the
question if in any doubt, with a phrase like “Puede
usted explicarme su pregunta, por favor…”
Personalize and engage with the content, by reflecting
your own perceptions and opinions about the subject
matter and quoting relevant personal experiences; don’t
just recite in a purely descriptive manner the elements
of the content you have been provided with.
Cover all the issues that were set in the task
description: often the exam paper will indicate what is
expected of you; make sure that you include these points
in the scheme of structure you jotted down, and that you
address each of them.
Watch the clock: The most important time-related risk in
the oral, is that of not speaking for the totality of
the required amount of time. So see to it that you
converse until the interviewer tells you to stop. On the
other hand, in the initial prepared presentation it is
of course possible to go seriously over time, due to
miscalculating your structuring and dwelling on your
first points for so long that you don’t get to cover the
other main points nor conclude in a satisfactory
manner. Therefore, plan the structure of your message
well and have a watch sitting next to your notes in
front of you, so you can pace yourself (remember to
bring an old-fashioned watch with you, because you
cannot have your phone in front of you in the exam hall,
should the latter happen to be your normal “timepiece”).
Don’t be too worried about going over time in the
conversational section – your interlocutor will stop you
once enough is enough.
Learn to consult your notes in a natural manner. Don’t
try and hide them, and neither should you set them so
far off to your side that it would require you to
disengage with your interlocutor in order to look at
them. The best is to keep them in front of you, in
direct line of sight with your interlocutor, thus
allowing you to maintain maximum eye contact. Don’t feel
shy about using them or try and hide that you are
consulting your notes; you can be quite open about
consulting them, if done naturally and briefly. Make
them part and parcel of the conversation – it enhances
your confidence to know that you have them, and thus
your authoritativeness. However, the one big no-no is
slavishly reading whole sentences that you had prepared
(it’s actually good to have your notes quite open, so
that the examiner will see that they consist of no more
than a bullet-point scheme).
The key to success is
practicing to consult your notes in such a natural, nondisruptive way that doing so actually enhances the flow
of well-structured conversation, rather than detract
from it.
Pay attention as well to your delivery, i.e. to the art
of oratory: vary your tone and emphasis to underscore
key points. Don’t be so hung up on ensuring correctness
of your grammar that you lose the natural flow, rhythm
and thrust of conversation as interactive, interpersonal
engagement.
SMILE. Remember that the examiners are
taught to, in a friendly manner, draw you out of your
shell and never to correct or criticize you – therefore,
relax: they are not your enemies, nor your inquisitors.
Confidence is truly the key to fluent, engaged
communication. When you listen to the earlier-mentioned
audio clips of actual oral exams, passed and failed, you
will notice that the failed candidates often didn’t
possess significantly weaker linguistic skills than
those who passed; the big difference is that they
allowed their evident lack of self-confidence to rob
them of the skill of natural communication.
Never
forget that the DELE oral exam tests your capacity to
communicate effectively – to receive and transmit
meaning. You would have noticed in the assessment scales
that these are actually quite lenient on “mistakes” of
grammar and pronunciation, on condition that these did
not detract from the candidate’s ability to clearly
convey meaning. And the best booster of confidence, is
the knowledge that you have practiced and practiced and
practiced doing these oral interactions to perfection,
doing as many guided simulations as possible in the
weeks and months leading up to the exam.
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