Skip to main content

Study Guide

Field 121: French CST
Presentational Speaking

Recommendation for individuals using a screenreader: please set your punctuation settings to "most."

Review the speaking assignment tutorial video opens in a new window.

Directions for Presentational Speaking Assignment

For the Presentational Speaking section of the test, you will record a spoken response to an assignment presented on-screen.  start bold You must respond to the assignment in the target language. end bold 

The assignment will be displayed on the next screen and the screen timer will count down the allotted preparation time (refer to the upper right corner of the screen to monitor the preparation time remaining).   start bold You may take up to 12 minutes to review the assignment and prepare your response. end bold   Please note that you are not required to take the entire 12 minutes; however,  start bold if you choose to advance to the next screen to start your response before the preparation time is over, you will not be able to go back. end bold 

When the preparation time is complete, the screen will automatically advance, and you will record your response to the assignment.  Do NOT begin speaking until the screen advances and you see the recorder presented on-screen.  A tone will indicate when to begin speaking and the status on the recorder will show “Recording.”   start bold You may take up to 3 minutes to record your response. end bold   A sample of the recorder appears below.

recorder

 start bold You will have three minutes to record your response. end bold   Monitor your time by referring to the timer, which will count up from 00:01 to 03:00.  Bars will appear with the sound of your voice to indicate that recording is in progress.

When your recording time is over, the status will change to "Complete," indicating the conclusion of the assignment.

recorder showing the recording is complete

You will automatically be advanced to the next screen.  DO NOT click the  start bold Next end bold  button unless you have finished recording your response with time remaining and wish to move to the next screen.   start bold If you advance to the next screen with recording time remaining, you will not be able to go back. end bold 

Your response will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Your response will be evaluated on the criteria above, not on the position you take. In your response, you must use your own words. With the exception of appropriately identified quotations and paraphrases from the passage, the response must be your own.

You may use the erasable notebooklet provided to take notes; however, start bold you will be scored only on the response that is recorded in the exam. end bold You will have only  start bold ONE end bold opportunity to record your response. Be sure that your microphone is in a downward position near your mouth before you begin speaking.

Select the  start bold Next end bold  button to continue.

Sample Presentational Speaking Assignment

Competency 0004 
Presentational Speaking

start italics [The examinee will see on screen and hear the following directions:] end italics

 start bold You may take up to 12 minutes to review the assignment and the passage provided and to prepare your response. Then, the screen will automatically advance and recording will begin. The assignment and the passage will remain on the screen during recording. You may take up to 3 minutes to respond to the assignment. You will be told when the preparation time is over and the recording is about to begin. Begin reviewing the assignment and preparing your response now. end bold 

 start italics [The examinee will see on screen ONLY:]  end italics 

start bold Selon vous, est-ce que les écoles devraient imposer l'uniforme scolaire pour les élèves ? end bold

end bold

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educated adults. Speaking in French, respond to the question above. In your response, you must:

In your response, you must use your own words. With the exception of appropriately identified quotations and paraphrases from the passage, the response must be your own.

start italics [The examinee will see on screen ONLY:] end italics
 start bold Passage from an article published in the newspaper start italics Le Quotidien end italics: end bold

Les élèves de l'École secondaire Charles-Gravel pourraient fort bien revêtir l'uniforme scolaire l'an prochain.  Président du conseil d'établissement de la polyvalente située à Chicoutimi-Nord, Gilles Déry confirme qu'un exercice de consultation est présentement en cours afin de mesurer le degré d'intérêt des étudiants.  Une lettre a été acheminée aux parents des jeunes de secondaire I à IV seulement, puisque ceux de cinquième secondaire ne seront pas de retour l'an prochain.

« Dans la lettre, nous expliquons le projet aux parents et nous leur demandons de choisir entre trois options : le statu quo, le demi-uniforme ou la tenue complète.  Nous leur demandons une réponse avant le 28 février et nous allons compiler les résultats pendant la semaine de relâche.  Tout dépendant de la décision, nous allons tenir une assemblée du conseil d'établissement le 14 mars pour l'entériner », explique Gilles Déry.

Si le projet est adopté, l'École secondaire Charles-Gravel deviendrait le deuxième établissement de la Commission scolaire des Rives-du-Saguenay à adopter l'uniforme après la polyvalente des Grandes-Marées de La Baie.  Gilles Déry rappelle que le ministère de l'Éducation recommande l'entrée en vigueur d'une tenue uniformisée dans les écoles du Québec afin de renforcer le sentiment d'appartenance.  Cette initiative se veut également un moyen de contrer l'hypersexualisation chez les jeunes et d'atténuer les différences économiques visibles entre les familles. [. . .]

Quant aux coûts liés à l'achat d'uniformes scolaires, ils seront nécessairement assumés par les parents.  Cela dit, Gilles Déry pointe que certaines économies pourraient être réalisées, si les ados revêtent la tenue proposée.  Le président du conseil d'établissement parle d'une centaine de dollars pour le demi-uniforme de trois morceaux.  Des échantillons de polos, blouses, chemises et jupes ont été présentés aux élèves entre les murs de l'école.

283 word excerpt from Gagnon, Mélyssa. "Le Retour Des Uniformes?" La Presse. Le Quotidien, 13 Feb. 2011. Reprinted with permission of CEDROM – SNi.

start italics [After 12 minutes of silence, the examinee will hear:
"Your preparation time is now over. At the conclusion of these directions, the screen will automatically advance and recording will begin. Begin speaking when you see the recorder presented on the next screen. Prepare to begin speaking now."] end italics

start italics [If examinee clicks "Next" before the preparation time is over, the following warning appears in a pop-up:
"You have chosen to begin speaking before your 12 minutes of preparation time has ended. If you click "Yes" below, the screen will advance and recording will automatically begin. Are you sure you want to begin speaking now?"] end italics

recorder

 start bold  start uppercase DO NOT end uppercase  click the Next button unless you have finished recording your response. end bold 

start italics [After 3 minutes of recording, the status on the recorder will change to "Complete" and the examinee is automatically advanced to the next screen.] end italics

Sample Strong Response to Presentational Speaking Assignment

Having trouble with the audio player? Right-click and download the .mp3.

Enter to expand or collapse transcript. Transcript expanded

[Note: In the transcript below, there are two-dot and/or three-dot ellipses. Two dots indicate that the speaker paused. Three dots indicate that the speaker omitted text when quoting from the article.]

À mon avis, la practicalité de l'uniforme scolaire est sa plus grande attraction. Ce serait beaucoup plus simple pour les parents d'acheter pour.. la rentrée quelques vêtements sélectionnés par l'école plutôt que de chercher des vêtements que les parents et les enfants trouvent tous les deux acceptables – et le départ pour l'école le matin cesserait d'être un drame quotidien. Quand les - quand les élèves arriveront à l'école en uniforme, il y aurait moins de temps perdu à se disputer avec des élèves. Et, en même temps, si tous les élèves portaient l'uniforme, la compé....la - la concurrence des étiquettes ne passerait pas non plus par la porte de l'école. Selon M. Déry dans le passage, l'uniforme semble renforcer la notion de l'uniformité des chances en supprimant les indications du niveau socio-socioéconomique des élèves.

Je trouve qu'il est dommage de s'attaquer au problème de l'hypersexualisation chez les jeunes uniquement en imposant l'uniforme. Il me semble que cela met de côté l'examen des attitudes sociales que la mode reflète. En termes plus généraux, la construction de son identité est un travail fondamental pour l'adolescent. Le choix de ses vêtements, de l'image que l'on veut présenter aux autres, fait partie de ce travail. Le créa... la créativité que certains élèves emploient pour modifier leur uniforme montre que l'imposition de l'uniforme ne garantit pas l'uniformité. Elle peut aussi créer un sentiment de..d'aliénation, de révolte. Pour cette raison, je crois qu'il est essentiel de demander l'avis des élèves avant de leur imposer l'uniforme, surtout au niveau secondaire.

J'ai lu des sondages qui montrent que les uniformes scolaires sont très populaires avec euh..les élèves et les parents. J'ai parlé aussi avec des élèves du secondaire qui regrettaient un peu la simplicité des années où ils portaient l'uniforme à l'école primaire. C'est vrai que nous souffrons un peu de l'embarras du choix dans ce monde de consommation. Alors, dans cette question de l'uniforme scolaire, il est essentiel que la volonté des élèves et des familles soit prise en considération.

 start bold Note: end bold The sample strong response for the presentational speaking assignment is an example of a response that a candidate might record. While the sample response demonstrates effective presentational speaking skills, it could contain typical errors that candidates may produce when speaking in the target language. Please see the rationale below for more details.

Rationale for Sample Strong Response to Presentational Speaking Assignment

The response effectively communicates clear and logically sequenced ideas, delivered with a consistent flow of speech, few pauses, intelligible pronunciation, and appropriate intonation. The candidate establishes a clear position on the issue presented in the question and effectively supports the established position with relevant information from the passage, as well as his or her own relevant ideas and examples. Overall, the response demonstrates a strong engagement with the passage.

The response uses the candidate's own words and effectively uses a range of vocabulary and idiomatic language, as well as a style and sociolinguistic conventions that are appropriate for the assignment. The candidate effectively uses a range of appropriate grammatical constructions, time frames, and sentence structures. Errors are minor and do not interfere with comprehensibility. Examples of such errors include the use of the indicative future instead of conditional present ("Quand les élèves arriveront à l'école en uniforme, il y aurait moins de temps perdu" instead of "quand les élèves arriveraient à l'école en uniforme, il y aurait moins de temps perdu"), anglicization ("la practicalité" and "la compé...la concurrence" —self-corrected), hesitation over noun gender ("Le créa... la créativité" —self-corrected), and some awkwardness in pronunciation ("niveau si...socio-économique").

Performance Characteristics for Presentational Speaking Assignment

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the Presentational Speaking assignment.

APPROPRIATENESS The extent to which the response uses the candidate's own words, demonstrates engagement with the provided passage, establishes a position on the issue presented in the question, and uses language, style, and sociolinguistic conventions appropriate for the assignment (task, context, and specified audience)
SUPPORT The extent to which the response supports the established position with information (appropriately cited details, quotations, and paraphrases) from the provided passage and the candidate's own ideas or examples
FLUENCY The extent to which the response communicates clear and logically sequenced ideas delivered with a consistent flow of speech, intelligible pronunciation, and appropriate intonation
GRAMMAR The extent to which the response uses a range of appropriate grammatical constructions, time frames, and sentence structures
VOCABULARY The extent to which the response uses a range of appropriate vocabulary and idiomatic language

Score Scale for Presentational Speaking Assignment

A score will be assigned to each response to the Presentational Speaking assignment according to the following score scale.

Score Point Score Point Description
4  start bold The "4" response demonstrates effective presentational speaking skills. end bold 
3  start bold The "3" response demonstrates generally effective presentational speaking skills. end bold 
2  start bold The "2" response demonstrates partially effective presentational speaking skills. end bold 
1  start bold The "1" response demonstrates ineffective presentational speaking skills. end bold 
U The response is unscorable because it is inaudible or unintelligible, merely a repetition of the assignment, not related to the assignment, not primarily in the target language, or not of sufficient length to score.
B There is no response to the assignment.