1. Oral vivas in final year assessment Trevor Simper Senior Lecturer SBS ext: 3978 t.simper@shu.ac.uk

2. Why?  30 minutes speaking = 3 hours writing?  students positive comments about the 'reality and relevancy'  employability/interview/presentation skills

3. Comparison of oral viva with written exam  http://www.academicjournals.org/err/abs tracts/abstract2010/Aug/Simper.htm http://www.academicjournals.org/err/abs tracts/abstract2010/Aug/Simper.htm

4. How we train the students for the viva  regular practice sessions with feedback on performance  on a scale from 1 to 10...  use observer/client/professional scenarios

5. What's good?  impact on students  potential for employability  how they see the relevancy of this assessment

6. Challenges  takes two days (and two tutors) to run the assessment  i.e. to run the vivas and then make a review of recordings for second marking  more anxiety provoking?

7. Comments from the students, comparing written to oral assessments  'you are not going to meet an employer and say: here's an essay!'  'It's a much more life-like situation'  'There is someone to talk back at you- in a written paper if you don't know it- you just sit there, but here you prompt me that's a lot better'