Oral Tips - Final Words

1) Use the given five minutes wisely. Read aloud softly. If you do not know how to pronounce any word, please break the word into its syllables during this preparation time.
Next, look at the picture and prepare your speech. Remember DIEO.

2) Enter the room confidently. Approach the examiners with a smile and greet the examiners cheerfully upon reaching them.

Say, "Good morning, teachers. My name is __________. My index number is __________. May I be seated please?"

3) Examiners will tell you when to start reading.
Remember to read expressively and pronounce each word clearly and carefully.
Remember the end consonants.

4) Picture Discussion (E.g. Parents' Copy Picture 4)

Introduction
E.g. This picture shows a scene at a park. The sun is peeking out from the clouds. It is a great day for outdoor activities.

Body
A) A family has laid out a mat on the grass patch. The members are enjoying a scrumptious feast. From the smiles on their faces, they are delighted with their sandwiches and seem totally oblivious to their surrounding.

B) Next to them, a little girl is pointing at a kite that has been trapped in a tree. She is also shouting desperately for help. She is probably the daughter of the two adults in the family. She seems to be upset as her pleas for help have been ignored. If I were her, I would approach the adult man on the mat, who is presumably her father, and get his attention. The kite is too high for her to reach and it is wise for her to ask someone to help her.

C) On a path next to the grass patch, a boy has fallen off his bicycle. Perhaps he has been cycling too quickly. He is injured rather seriously and blood is trickling down from his knee. From his facial expression, I deduce he is feeling miserable and has difficulty standing up.

D) A man is cycling towards him at a seemingly rapid pace. The man seems to be very anxious as he is perspiring heavily and has a worried expression on his face. He could be the father of the injured boy and is hurrying over to the boy to render help. Alternatively, he could be a passer-by who is cycling too quickly to stop. He could be afraid of colliding into the boy on the ground.

E) I hope the family could be more aware of their surrounding instead of being engrossed in their food. There are many opportunities for them to show their concern and help.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the park is a suitable place for various activities. However, we should always consider the safety and well-being of other park users in our actions and ensure that the park is conducive for relaxation.

You are awarded marks for language, so do use appropriate vocabulary and ensure accurate grammatical structures. Speak consistently in the present tense.

5) The examiner will prompt you that the conversation is about to begin.
Be interactive and introduce connected points on your own.
Smile and have eye contact.
Be enthusiastic so that the examiners will not be bored.
You may want to inject humour if possible.

E.g. Parents' Copy Practice 4 again

Q: Do you go out on family outings?

A: Yes, I do. My family loves the outdoors so we usually go to the park. The park we frequent most is the Botanic Gardens. When we are there, we sometimes play soccer or simply lie on a mat to relax. As my little brother is only three years old, he loves playing with bubbles. Occasionally, we bring a bubble machine and we will have a competition to see who can poke the most bubbles.

We also go to the Jacob Ballas' Children's Garden on the grounds of the Botanic Gardens. There, we learn interesting facts about plants, like what they need to photosynthesise. My parents will patiently read the signages with us and at home, they conduct a quiz to ensure that we have assimilated the information. At the Children's Garden, there is also a water play area. Again, my little brother loves playing here. Once, he ran right into a fountain of water fully clothed. He was all drenched but he did not seem fazed at all. Instead, he ran right into another fountain and giggled in merriment as he got wetter. In the end, the whole family decided to join in the fun and soon, we were all soaked in water. It was truly a memorable outing.

Q: Do you think it is important to spend time with the family?

A: Yes, I think it is important to spend time with the family. Spending time together will strengthen our bond. It helps us know each other better. We can also encourage each other to excel in each other's area of interest or talent. If we are weak in a particular area, our family members can be there to fill in the gap. I think we can count on our family members more than we can count on our friends. There is somehow a tie that exists in the family that is hard to explain.

Unfortunately, some people do not think it is necessary to spend time with the family. I know of parents who work very hard, seemingly to provide for the family. As a result, they do not spend enough time with their children. This is deplorable as many social problems are results of the lack of parental guidance or discipline. Perhaps that is also why more children are labelled as Beyond Parental Control.

Recently, in the news, there was a feature about a girl who was abandoned by her mother. Her mother had her out of wedlock and had been leaving her with various family members while she worked. Currently, the girl is left with her step-aunt who is only 18 years old. The girl had never met her father. I felt very sad when I read about this case.

To conclude, I will reiterate that spending time together with the family is very important for the reasons I have already mentioned and I am very glad that I have a closely-knitted family who treasures time with each other.

I pray that you will all have good results. Do practise, practise and practise! Do all the 15 practices in the Parents' Package. That will give you the confidence you need. God bless you with good results.

(I will be in another school on Thu and Fri as oral examiner so I can't be in Fairfield to give you support, although I would very much like to. However, I will be praying for all of you. I would have liked to go through PP8 and the mock exam with you before Mon but I have meetings on the afternoons of Thu and Fri. So, please refer to the answer keys that I will be dishing out tomorrow. Revise all the past PPs and school papers and complete your mind map.)