Advanced Higher Modern Languages: the visiting examiner

You will be expected to talk in the language you are studying with someone you have not met before, for about 20 minutes in total. You should have a clear idea of what you will be talking about

This is worth 50 marks, of 200 in total talking at AH the visiting examiner This is worth 50 marks, of 200 in total The examiner will come to your school They will not be someone you know, normally They are not there to catch you out! They are there to support you to do your best The test is a conversation, which means two participants: it is not an interview The test uses formal language It lasts about 20 minutes

Practise using vous/Sie/usted with your teacher and classmates talking at AH the visiting examiner You will be asked to submit in advance a list of the topics and texts you have been studying: choose the ones you think you can talk about best Practise using vous/Sie/usted with your teacher and classmates If you are the only candidate in the school, be the person who escorts the examiner from the school office, and use your language! If there are several candidates, one of you do the fetching: the order in which you carry out the test is up to you!

The conversation will have three main parts. talking at AH the visiting examiner The conversation will have three main parts. The first part is more informal, to put you at your ease! Questions about you, your plans and your school for instance The examiner will then move on to discussing your specialist study/portfolio When that has been covered, they will move on to one of the topics in the list you submitted in advance: if necessary, or if you want to, you might discuss another of the topics submitted Remember, you are in command!

talking at AH the visiting examiner Normally, the conversation will start off generally: you might be asked how you have found your school, being in S6, what experience you have of countries where your language is spoken, your future plans and if they include using or further study of the language: be ready for these areas! You will find ideas throughout the AH French and German SCHOLAR activities. You are entitled to lead off as well: you might ask how the examiner is, how they got to your school, what their impressions are of your school, or even where they work! Remember, it is a conversation. The tone you set at the start is important, so get the body language right, be confident (or appear to be!)

talking at AH the visiting examiner You should feel empowered in this conversation. Take the initiative at times, if you are discussing a text or a topic, ask the examiner for their opinion. If you have put down two or three topics in your list, but find for whatever reason that now you are happier discussing a particular one, say this! (in the language of course) When you think you have run out of things to say on a topic, take the lead yourself, and move to another topic.

talking at AH the specialist study When the Specialist Study becomes the topic of conversation, there are some things to think about You are supposed to have had a say in what you chose to study, so be prepared to discuss this You should be able to talk about the processes you went through, you can find a document on the SCHOLAR website which will help you with this Obviously you will also talk about the texts you have studied and what you thought of them: some guidance for this is in a later slide

talking at AH the specialist study If you have written the assessment for the Specialist Study Unit in the language, study it well: it is a great resource If you have written it in English, produce a version of it in the target language, and show it to your teacher to check for accuracy If you did or are doing a presentation to your teacher for the Specialist Study Unit, try to do this before the Visiting Examiner comes, as this gives you a chance to practise it in advance If you have already written at least a draft of your portfolio piece, then be ready to talk about how you found it, and what your title and conclusion were

talking at AH the specialist study If you have studied literature texts, put together a list of very short paragraphs which cover the main points: something about the author, the main characters, the scene where it is set, what the author was trying to do, the language, what you thought of it and why If you have studied a film or media texts, same idea: something about the director, the main characters, the kind of film it was, the author or the sources where you found the texts, etc It is important to give your views on the texts chosen, but try to say interesting things, comparing the work to other things you have read or seen, rather than saying it was ‘great’ or ‘boring

talking at AH the topics For each of the topics you put in your list, put together a list of short paragraphs with opinions and justifications (on the 1-2-3 basis) Remember it is a conversation, and be ready to use the formal ways of asking for clarification, repetition, etc: get some good sentences ready for this Remember to finish off formally as well! Look at the SCHOLAR website for ideas on talking about the Specialist Study, and on preparing for the Visiting Examiner

Thank you Good luck to those who are sitting prelims or about to do so! Next session will be on March 7th at 6pm, and will look at how to deal with Discursive Writing