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Study Guide

Field 129: Spanish 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 ¿Es la costumbre de hacerse autorretratos fotográficos a diario evidencia de una preocupación excesiva con las apariencias físicas? end bold

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educated adults. Speaking in Spanish, 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 from the international news agency EFE: end bold

El mundo de la cirugía estética ha vivido un período de adormecimiento por la crisis, pero gracias a la moda de los autorretratos fotográficos ha aumentado la demanda de pequeños retoques faciales, según el presidente de la Sociedad Española de Medicina Antienvejecimiento y Longevidad (Semal), José Serres.

El cirujano ha afirmado en Sevilla que desde hace unos seis meses en Estados Unidos, y apenas unos tres meses en España, la moda de la autofoto implantada entre los jóvenes (y no tan jóvenes) está ayudando a resurgir poco a poco al mundo de la cirugía estética.

Serres ha reconocido ante los periodistas el nacimiento de esta nueva demanda de clientes a los que les ha surgido la necesidad de acudir a la cirugía estética desde hace pocos meses debido a esta moda y su reiterada presencia gráfica en las redes sociales.

"Antes te hacías fotos de tanto en tanto, pero es que ahora es a diario, todo el mundo haciéndose autofotos, a raíz de eso la gente no para de verse defectos continuamente, y de ahí nace que no te guste tanto tu imagen y te plantees e incluso algunos se obsesionen con corregir esos pequeños detalles", ha asegurado Serres, que ha destacado que en su clínica cada vez recibe más clientes con la misma nueva inquietud estilística.

231 word excerpt from EFE Agency's "La moda del selfie ayuda al resurgir de la cirugía y los retoques faciales" as seen in 20 Minutos, 10 de diciembre de 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, two dots indicate that the speaker paused. The three-dot ellipsis indicates that the speaker omitted text when quoting from the article. Errors in emphasis are indicated in brackets.]

La autoestima y la confidan . . confianza en sí mismo reflejan la evaluación emocional general de una persona de su propio valor. La percepción que uno tiene de sí mismo puede cambiar según nuestras circunstancias. Por ejemplo, un estudiante que sufre de . . dificultades académicas, que es también un atleta fenomenal, tal vez posea poca confianza en el aula de clase, pero mucha autoestima en el campo de juego.

Um . . Los "amigos" que eligen "me gusta" o "no me gusta," evalúan no sólo los autorretratos fotográficos, sino también nuestro valor como personas. Invitamos tanto los elogios [elo-GI-os] como las críticas [cri-TI-cas] cada vez que aparecen un autorretrato nuestro. Nos miramos de manera más crítica y um . . tratamos de corregir nuestros defectos. José Serres afirma que "la gente no para de verse defectos continuamente, y da . . de ahí nace que … algunos se obsesionen con corregir esos pequeños detalles."

Um . . ¿Quiere decir que . . la costumbre de hacerse autorretratos a diario es evidencia de una preocopación excesiva con lo físico? Puede ser que sí. Um . . Sin embargo, cuando una persona se arriesga y publica un autorretrato, sabiendo que se abre a las críticas [cri-TI-cas], tal vez sea que espera el apoyo positivo, busca aumentar su sentido de valor, busca la con . . confianza de los "amigos" de la red. El publicar autorretratos es quizá más bien una obsesión con la búsqueda de la aprobación y la aceptación de la gente. La clave para que los comentarios de otros sobre nuestros autorretratos no afecta nuestra autoestima es aprender a aceptar a todos y cada uno por lo que somos y no por lo que parecemos.

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 subject/verb agreement ("aparecen" instead of "aparece"), the anglicization of a word ("confidan...confianza" with self-correction), the use of the indicative mood instead of the subjunctive mood ("afecta" instead of "afecte"), and incorrect syllabic emphases ("cri 'ticas" instead of " 'criticas" and "elo 'gios" instead of "e 'logios").

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.