Section outline

◄Topic 3
►Topic 5
    • Middle level response

      • Whole test - click to listen

      show/hide  Transcript and commentary

      Example candidate response transcript – middle

      Role play 8 transcript

      Teacher/examiner:  Wie findest du unsere Schule?

      Candidate: Ich finde es sehr gut. [This is already sufficient for full marks.] Ich denke, der Austauschschule ist sehr interessant. Meine Elternschule / älteren Schule [Unclear and confusing] sie sind sehr langweilig, ich habe keine Freunden. Aber in der Austauschschule habe ich [Good inversion.] viel Freunden.

      Teacher/examiner: Super! [Good encouragement.] Und ..die erste Stunde ist Mathe, mein [emphasised to assist candidate.] Lieblingsfach. Was ist dein [Emphasised.] Lieblingsfach?

      Candidate: Mein Lieblingsfach sind Physik. Es ist ein sehr interessant Fach. Ich habe… mein Vater sind..ist ein Forscher. [Detail interesting, but not needed.]

      Teacher/examiner: Ah,toll! Interessant! [Good interaction.] Und, weißt du [Friendly addition.], Ich lerne auch gern Fremdsprachen. Wie findest du Fremdsprachen?

      Candidate: Ich finde Fremdsprachen sehr langweilig. Es ist…….

      Teacher/examiner: Warum? [Teacher/examiner interrupted at this point, as it seemed an appropriate opportunity to ask the specified follow-up warum? question.]

      Candidate: Weil sehr kompliziert es ist.

      Teacher/examiner: Ok, und was hast du eigentlich gestern in der Mittagspause gemacht?

      Candidate: Gestern in der Mittagspause spiele ich mit meinen Freunde, auf meinem Handy.  [Reference to a past tense time-frame but incorrect verb.]

      Teacher/examiner: Und ..morgen haben wir ja schulfrei. Was sollen wir dann machen?

      Candidate: Wie bitte? [One repetition of question may be requested.]

      Teacher/examiner: Und ..morgen haben wir ja schulfrei. Was sollen wir dann machen? [Repeats question verbatim as specified.]

      Candidate: Ah…ich mache Sport, mit meine Freunde. Es ist sehr cool, weil ich habe viel Spaß. [Uses present tense to convey future meaning – this is slightly ambiguous but the information is sufficiently well conveyed.]

      Teacher/examiner: Aha, wunderbar! Danke schön ... so weit. Dann kommen wir zu unserem ersten Gespräch. [Clear indication that role play has finished and the first topic conversation can begin.]

       

      Topic conversation 2 transcript

      Teacher/examiner: Das erste Gespräch hat das Thema: Selbst, Familie und Freunde. Ok? Meine erste Frage: Wie sieht dein bester Freund oder deine erste Freundin aus?

      Candidate: Bitte?

      Teacher/examiner: Wie sieht dein bester Freund oder deine erste Freundin aus? [Repeats.]

      Candidate: Mein bester Freundin hat blaue Augen und er …ich habe blaue Jeans und ein schwarzer Pullover.

      Teacher/examiner: Ok. Seit wann kennst du ihn..deinen besten Freund? [Re-phrasing of scripted question, which is not permissible. A possible difficulty for the candidate over the meaning of ihn has been avoided.]  Seit wann kennst du ihn..deinen besten Freund? [Teacher/examiner then repeats the re-phrased question.]

      Candidate: Wie bitte?

      Teacher/examiner: Seit wann kennst du ihn..deinen besten Freund? [Second repeat, which is not permissible for questions one and two.]

      Teacher/examiner: Wann hast du ihn zum ersten Mal gesehen? [Further re-phrasing, which is not permissible at all.]

      Candidate: Ich habe.. ich sehe er in Mathematik und Physik.

      Teacher/examiner: Ok. Und .. denkst du, dass es wichtig ist, Freunde regelmäßig zu sehen?

      Candidate: Ja, es ist sehr wichtig?

      Teacher/examiner: Warum?

      Candidate: Weil, mein Freunde sind.. Freunde ist.. Freunde sehr wichtig ist, [Achieves correct word order.] weil…

      Teacher/examiner: Freunde sind wichtig, und warum sind Freunde so wichtig? [Legitimate repeat of second part of question three, despite slight re-phrasing.]

      Candidate: Weil meine Freunde freundlich kann sind.

      Teacher/examiner: Genau. [Encourages candidate by agreeing.] Möchtest du deinen Urlaub nächstes Jahr lieber mit Freunden oder mit Familie verbringen?

      Candidate: Mit Familie verbringen, weil…

      Teacher/examiner: Warum? [Candidate pausing allows teacher/examiner a good opportunity to ask the second part of question 4]

      Candidate: Weil meine Freunde sehr wichtig sind aus .. auch sind. Mein Eltern habe … meine Familie sind mehr wichtiger als meine Freunde, weil es sind sehr freundlich aus, aber ich habe..

      Teacher/examiner: Aha. Deine Familie ist wichtig fϋr dich, ja?

      Candidate: Sehr wichtig. [Natural response.]

      Teacher/examiner: Erzähl mir von einem Problem, das du mit einem Freund oder mit deiner Familie gehabt hast.

      Candidate: Ich habe hat viele Probleme mit meiner Familie, weil wir…aber es sind sehr freundlich.

      Teacher/examiner: Erzähl mir von einem Problem, das du mit einem Freund oder mit deiner Familie gehabt hast. [Repeats the question.]

      Candidate: Meine Schwester sind sehr.. meine Schwester ist sehr..

      Teacher/examiner: Ist sie freundlich oder unfreundlich? [The alternative question provided should have been used instead, in order to elicit an acceptable response. It is not acceptable to offer candidates vocabulary items.]

      Candidate: Unfreundlich! [No credit for response given by the teacher/examiner.]

      Teacher/examiner: Sie ist unfreundlich gewesen einmal. Das ist nicht nett, nein. Ich danke dir so weit, fϋr dieses Gespräch.

      [Good conclusion, responding to candidate and bringing first conversation to a neat end.]

       

      Topic conversation 7 transcript

      Teacher/examiner: Dann kommen wir jetzt zu unserem zweiten Gespräch, und das Thema ist Kommunikation und Technik. Ok? Und die erste Frage ist: Wie viel Zeit verbringst du online?

      Candidate: Ich verbringst viel Zeit online, sechs oder zwei…

      Teacher/examiner: Viele Stunden? Wie viele Stunden?

      Candidate: .....sechs oder zwei Stunden auf mein Handy. [Repeats teacher/examiner’s prompt, with no credit for given response.] Ich mache meine Schularbeite auf mein Handy und also auf mein Computer.

      Teacher/examiner: Und meine zweite Frage ist: Welche sozialen Netzwerke benutzt du?

      Candidate: Ich benutze Instagram sehr viel, weil ich kann.. mit meinen Freunden texten.

      Teacher/examiner: Ok, und erzähl mir was du gestern im Internet gemacht hast.

      Candidate: Wie bitte?

      Teacher/examiner: Erzähl mir was du gestern, gestern ja, im Internet gemacht hast. [Repeats question to legitimately emphasise "gestern", but repetition of "gestern" should have been avoided.]

      Candidate: Ich mache meine Schularbeite, ich mache Videospielen mit meine Freunde. Es ist sehr Spaß. [No indication of the required past tense, nor of a past time-frame.]

      Teacher/examiner: Ok, und was denkst du, wie werden die Menschen in 20 Jahren miteinander kommunizieren?

      Candidate: In zwanzig Jahren? Die kommunizieren werden…will sehr let [leicht?] ist..sind. Die Technologie sehr gut will.

      Teacher/examiner: Was glaubst du, wie, wie, wie werden wir in der Zukunft kommunizieren? [Re-phrases slightly.] 

      Candidate: Ah! Auf dem Handy und ein Computer.

      Teacher/examiner: Und was hält deine Familie von Kommunikationstechnologie?

      Candidate: Mein Vater denkt, es ist sehr wichtig, aber meine Mutter macht [mag?] es nicht.

      Teacher/examiner: Und warum? Oder warum nicht?

      Candidate: Weil ich gestern viel Stunden auf mein Handy und Computer. [Justification.]

      Teacher/examiner: Und dein Vater denkt, das ist positiv, oder? [Good, original extension question. The equivalent of the more general Erzähl mir bitte etwas mehr. provided in the Instructions for Teachers/Examiners.]

      Candidate: Meine Mutter denkt es ist negativ.

      Teacher/examiner: Und warum denken die das? [Another extension question.]

      Candidate: Weil ich spiele auf meine Computer und Handy viele Stunde. Sie denkt, es ist nicht so gut. [Justification, and gives parental reaction.]

      Teacher/examiner: Und dein Vater?

      Candidate: Und mein Vater denkt das ist Ok. Ich denke, das ist wichtig fϋr mich, dass ich spiele mit meine Freunde. [Opinion.]

      Teacher/examiner: Gut! Danke fϋr das Gespräch.



    • Moderator comments - Role play

      Role play card 8 

      Conduct of the test

      The role play is conducted in an appropriate and efficient manner and is completed in approximately two and a half minutes, illustrating the optimum timing for a natural role play performance. The teacher/examiner makes some brief comments, reacting to the candidate’s responses as required. Question 3 is in two parts, with Pause indicating that they are to be treated separately. It is important that teacher/examiners follow this instruction, as happens here, and do not forget to ask the question Warum? thus denying the candidate one of the two available marks. When requested to repeat question 5 after Wie bitte?, she does so, without altering the scripted question in any way, as prescribed.


      Candidate response

      The candidate adds unnecessarily long detail to his responses to the first two questions. The danger here is that the main point of the answers may be obscured, and marks therefore lost, especially if any mistakes are made in the superfluous material. Fortunately, both main points are clear on this occasion and so two marks can be awarded each time. Both parts of question 3 are successfully dealt with, as mentioned above. For the fourth response the candidate is awarded one mark only, as a result of an incorrect verb tense. The response to question 5 may be awarded two marks, as the required information is reasonably clearly conveyed.

      Mark awarded for task 1 = 2 out of 2 

      Mark awarded for task 2 = 2 out of 2

      Mark awarded for task 3 = 2 out of 2  

      Mark awarded for task 4 = 1 out of 2 

      Mark awarded for task 5 = 2 out of 2 

      Total mark awarded = 9 out of 10


      Moderator comments - Topic conversations

      Topic 2: Selbst, Familie und Freunde

      Topic 7: Kommunikation und Technik 


      Conduct of the test

      In questions 1 and 2 of each topic conversation only one repetition of a question is allowed. The teacher/examiner must move on to the next question if the candidate cannot answer the repeated question. No re-phrasing is allowed, but unfortunately in the conversation on Topic 2 the teacher/examiner not only repeats question 2 more than once, but also re-phrases it. This is clearly not permissible. It is also not acceptable to feed vocabulary items or ideas to a candidate, as happens here in question 5 with the teacher/examiner’s suggestion of freundlich oder unfreundlich? In questions 3 to 5 an alternative question is provided for use when the repeated original question still cannot produce an answer. The teacher/examiner might profitably have used the alternative question 5 here, instead of attempting to prompt the candidate in the way indicated. In Topic conversation 7 the teacher/examiner again offers the candidate a vocabulary item: Stunden. This is not acceptable practice in this examination setting. There is however successful use of the alternative question 2, when the candidate fails to understand the original question, and of extension questions to draw out more from the candidate in his response to question 5. It is perfectly acceptable to create extension questions from information offered by the candidate, such as when the teacher/examiner prompts him here with Und dein Vater? Acceptable extension questions are not confined to the example questions provided for examiners in the booklet.


      Candidate response

      The candidate responds rather better in the second conversation about technology than in the first on the superficially easier topic of Familie. Overall, his mark for Communication was correctly perceived to be from the 'Satisfactory' level on the mark scheme. He responds satisfactorily to nearly all the questions, although some assistance and repetition is required from time to time. He has the tendency to give irrelevant extra detail, as in the role play, and the opinions he expresses are rather straightforward and undeveloped. As he was considered to be rather nearer to 'Weak' than 'Good', his mark was placed at the bottom of the range 7–9 in the 'Satisfactory' level.

      Mark awarded for Communication = 7 out of 15

      There is particularly poor use of tenses, although it should be noted that in the mark scheme there is no requirement to use various tenses correctly to obtain a certain mark. Many of the structures are incomplete or incorrect. There are gaps in his vocabulary range, but his pronunciation is mostly acceptable, and his intonation is really quite good. If the first conversation had been as good as the second, the candidate would undoubtedly have had a 'Satisfactory' mark, as was the case for Communication. His Quality of Language was however considered to be 'Weak', though it was at the top of the 4–6 range, as he could certainly not be marked as 'Poor' overall.

      Mark awarded for Quality of Language = 6 out of 15

       

      Total mark awarded = 22 out of 40


      Moderator comments (Whole test)

      How the teacher/examiner performance could improve

      With the exception of the errors in conducting the topic conversations mentioned above, the teacher/examiner conducted the whole test very efficiently and in a positive and friendly manner. The areas for improvement would therefore be to adhere more closely in future to the instructions regarding the repeating of questions and perhaps the use of the alternative questions provided.


      How the candidate performance could improve

      This was a perfectly satisfactory candidate performance, with plenty of successful communication, but which could nevertheless be improved upon with work on building up his vocabulary and knowledge of grammar. He could also profitably take note that in role plays successful communication can often be achieved through relatively short responses, especially to the first two questions. Giving information that is superfluous to the required response might be counter-productive if there are errors of vocabulary or structure perhaps obscuring the main point to be made.
    • Common mistakes and misconceptions

      • Role play 8 appeared to offer few difficulties for candidates, though not all are comfortable with using sollen to respond in a future time frame. Wir können, or perhaps wir werden, might have been alternatives here. Of course an infinitive phrase without an auxiliary verb at all would have been perfectly acceptable as a response to question 5, for example: Vielleicht in die Stadt gehen?
      • In Topic conversation 2, Wie sieht er/sie aus? was not always understood to refer to appearance, as the friend’s character was often mentioned instead.
      • In Topic conversation 7, there were no real misconceptions, as most candidates seemed very happy to discuss technological developments. Many were happier with the alternative question 4 though, as in der Zukunft was perhaps less confusing than in 20 Jahren, as in the original question.


      For further details about how candidates performed in this particular examination series please refer to the Principal Examiner Report for Teachers.

◄Topic 3
►Topic 5