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Study Guide

Field 125: Italian CST
Presentational Speaking

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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 Secondo Lei, è didatticamente valido l'uso delle piattaforme digitali in classe? end bold

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educated adults. Speaking in Italian, 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 Corriere della Sera: end bold 

Portare Facebook e Twitter a scuola significa avere una classe di ragazzi e ragazze distratti dai propri smartphone?  Niente affatto, perché social network non va confuso con socializzazione, e esistono almeno dodici modi giusti che i docenti possono adottare per usare in maniera proficua le piattaforme digitali in classe.  È questa la tesi sostenuta su Edutopia, un sito USA dedicato all'educazione, da Vicky Davis, un'insegnante americana esperta di nuove tecnologie.

Il decalogo della Davis, tra il serio e il faceto, stimola i docenti a «ricordare che siamo nel 21° secolo» e che è inutile continuare a predicare che è necessario aiutare i bambini a superare il gap digitale, se poi gli insegnanti non sono i primi ad essere disposti a comunicare online.  «I social media sono qui, sono solo un'altra risorsa e non una distrazione dalle materie di insegnamento», spiega la curatrice dell'articolo, snocciolando consigli.  Qualche esempio?  «Twitta o posta degli interventi a nome della classe», oppure «Usa i social network per connetterti alle altre classi», o ancora «Crea un account Twitter per un progetto speciale», o «Usa Youtube per pubblicare una presentazione o un'esibizione dei tuoi studenti».  Tutti esempi validi per la scuola statunitense, che è all'avanguardia nell'uso del digitale.  Ma in Italia, a che punto siamo?  Secondo il decimo rapporto Censis/Ucsi sulla comunicazione, il 90,3% dei giovani a partire dai 14 anni utilizza Facebook e il 54,8% possiede uno smartphone.

di Valentina Santarpia, Corriere della Sera, 16 aprile 2014

 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

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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.]

Secondo me, e soprattutto a causa dell'uso del digitale nelle vita di ogni giorno, bisogna profittare del tempo nelle aule a coltivare altri modi di comportarsi e di communicare nel mondo. Temo che .. noi esseri umani stiamo in via di perdere la nostra umanità!

Alcuni compagni miei .. all'università si erano iscritti ai corsi di lingua "online"; altri hanno compiuto dei corsi più tradizionali, cioè, con l'enfasi sulle quattro principali competenze con lo scopo di communicare con altre persone.

Mentre in .. teoria, si può arrivare agli stessi risultati usando le piattaforme digitali, infatti, lo .. stare seduti davanti ad un computer o con lo "smartphone" in mano, limita l'esperienza sensoriale.

È chiaro che le soluzione proposte dalla Davis (produzione di presentazioni "Youtube" o "twittare a nome della classe") possono servire come progetti cooperative che contribu...contribuiscono alla formazione sociale e scolastica.

È anche vero, però, che .. altre attività richiedono e sviluppano altre competenze, per esempio, il movimento, la crescita e lo sviluppo della memoria, che non vanno trascurate. Gli studenti devono uscire dalle scuole non solo con una capacità di transmettere idee, ma di raccoglierle, formularele, e analizzarle, partendo da una base storica,—una capacità che gli permetta di valutarne gli aspetti positivi e no.

In conclusione, la patina tecnologica e la risposta pronta non dovrebbero sostituire alla sostanza e alla profondità di comprensione.

Note: 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 an incorrect formation of the plural ("soluzione" instead of "soluzioni"); an incorrect gender/number agreement ("cooperative" instead of "cooperativi"); the anglicization of a word ("transmettere" instead of "trasmettere"); an incorrect articulation of a verb with object pronoun ("formularele" instead of "formularle"); and an incorrect syllabic emphasis ("pa 'tina" instead of "'patina").

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 The "4" response demonstrates effective presentational speaking skills.
3 The "3" response demonstrates generally effective presentational speaking skills.
2 The "2" response demonstrates partially effective presentational speaking skills.
1 The "1" response demonstrates ineffective presentational speaking skills.
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.