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Oral Tests Critique Sheet
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Sign in Sheet(Directed Dialogue, Sight Reading)
Directed Dialogue
Entry Limit: Two contestants per level, per school: Level 1 & Level 2 only The judges will ask the contestant questions on his/her level of understanding (things generally covered in first-year and second-year textbooks). Questions will be selected by a combination of students drawing 3 questions and judges asking the same 2 standard questions to all contestants. Judges will grade on pronunciation, degree of complexity and fluency, knowledge of topic, and grammatical correctness.
Extemporaneous Speaking
Speech Time Limits: Level 3: 1-3 minutes Level 4: 2-4 minutes Level Adv: 3-5 minutes
The contestant will draw a topic at the beginning of his/her time slot.* The topics will not be technical and will pertain to daily life. Different contestants will receive different topics, but the topics will be of approximately equal difficulty. After drawing a topic, the contestant will have a maximum of 10 minutes to prepare. He/she may write during this time, but no books or dictionaries may be used in preparation, and NO notes, even those made during the preparation period, may be used in the speech. *At Regionals only, students may draw 2 topics and choose one of the two to prepare.
Pair Discussion
Entry Limit: 2 entries (pairs) per school (Level 3 only)
Discussion time: 3 minutes (not including a 30-second reflection time)
A pair of contestants draws a topic instructing them to plan something (trip, purchase, celebration, etc.). Both are expected to make suggestions and voice opinions, to agree or disagree, and to make alternative suggestions. At the end of the discussion, they must come to an agreement. The topics will pertain to the daily life of teenagers. No contestant pairs will have the same topic. From the time the topic is drawn, the contestants may take up to 30 seconds to read the topic and gather their thoughts, but they may not speak to each other during this time. At the end of the 30 seconds, the contestants have 3 minutes to role-play the situation. Contestants will be judged independently of one another. Both scores will be added together for their team score.
Sight Reading
Entry Limit: Two contestants per level, per school: Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4
Time Limits: up to 1 minute preparation time plus 2 minutes to read the piece to judges
The contestant will receive a copy of a prose piece that he/she has never seen before. The contestant may look at the prose for up to 1 minute before reading it for the judges. Contestants then have 2 minutes to read aloud the prose selection . The judges will stop the contestant after 2 minutes, regardless of how far he/she has read into the selection.
Study Tips:
1. The piece may be an actual piece of literature, prose or poetry, or it may come from authentic cultural sources.
2. Students will use a copy that will be in a sheet protector. (Students cannot mark up the piece.)
3. Students WILL receive the piece back from the judges along with their critique sheets
Possible elements found within the selections (selections may include, but are not limited to):
Level 1: ordinals, numbers, umlauts, level 1 vocabulary
Level 2: Level 1 + dates, complex dates, more unfamiliar words
Level 3/4: Levels 1 & 2 + abbreviations, length, difficulty, dialogue