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Study Guide

Field 178: Bilingual Education Assessment—Italian
Presentational Speaking: Italian Sample Assignments

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

This study guide includes three sections for the Presentational Speaking section of the test:

In this study guide, two sample assignments are provided to assist an examinee in preparing for the actual test. On the actual test, there will be one Presentational Speaking: Italian assignment to which the examinee will have to provide a response.

Competency 0008  
Presentational Speaking: Italian

Presentational Speaking: Italian
Sample Assignment 1

[Note: All text will be presented in English; only the candidate response is in Italian.]

[The examinee will see on screen the following directions:]

You may take up to 5 minutes to review the assignment below and to prepare your response. Then, the screen will automatically advance and recording will automatically begin. The assignment will remain on the screen during recording. You may take up to 3 minutes to respond to the assignment. Begin reviewing the assignment and preparing your response now.

[The prompt will be presented on screen ONLY, such as the sample prompt below:]

In your opinion, should students be required to go to school during the summer?

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educators, parents, and caregivers. Speaking in Italian, respond to the question above. In your response, you must:

Your response must be in your own words.

DO NOT click the Next button unless you are ready to record your response.

[If the examinee clicks "Next" before the preparation time has ended, the following warning appears in a pop-up: "You have chosen to begin speaking before your 5 minutes of preparation time has ended. If you click "Yes" below, the screen will automatically advance, and recording will automatically begin. Are you sure you want to begin speaking now?"]

[The prompt will be presented on screen ONLY, such as the sample prompt below:]

Begin to respond in Italian at the sound of the tone. You may take up to 3 minutes to complete your response.

In your opinion, should students be required to go to school during the summer?

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educators, parents, and caregivers. Speaking in Italian, respond to the question above. In your response, you must:

Your response must be in your own words.

A sample of the recorder box shows a record button that indicates recording is in progress. The progress bar shows that the recording is at the 5 second mark and a total of 3 minutes of recording is allowed.

DO NOT click the Next button unless you have finished recording your response.

[After 3 minutes of recording, the recorder box will change to "Complete," and the examinee is automatically advanced to the next screen.]

Presentational Speaking: Italian
Sample Strong Response to Sample Assignment 1

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, 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.]

Non credo che nessuno dovrebbe andare a scuola durante l'estate. Questa è una stagione in cui gli studenti possono sperimentare la vita senza i requisiti scolastici e le loro responsabilità nei compiti. Gli studenti si sentono più padroni del loro tempo e delle loro decisioni in estate e possono scoprire nuove possibilità.

Ricordo le emozioni dell'estate! Non vedevo l'ora di avere la libertà di stare a casa e con i miei amici per periodi di tempo più lunghi. È stato bello svegliarsi più tardi la mattina e pensare come passare la giornata. Non riesco a immaginare la vita noiosa senza le vacanze estive lontano dalla scuola! È ben noto che le vacanze estive sono un tempo eccelente per legami con le persone che ami come fratelli, genitori, e altri parenti. Le famiglie hanno la possibilità di condividere del tempo facendo cose insieme o giocando insieme senza preoccuparsi delle responsabilità scolastiche. Con il rafforzamento di queste relazioni, i bambini creano ricordi che ricordano per tutta la vita!

Oltre a costruire relazioni con la famiglia e gli amici, le vacanze estive lontano dai libri di testo, dai progetti scolastici e dagli esami permettano agli studenti di fare attività diverse da quelle che farebbero normalmente durante l'anno scolastico. L'opportunità di scegliere cosa fare dipendenti ai propri interessi li aiuta a esplorare se stessi il quale è una parte importante della crescita. Sono un difensore delle vacanze estive per i giovani!

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 Italian. Please see the rationale below for more details.

Presentational Speaking: Italian
Rationale for Sample Strong Response to Sample Assignment 1

The response effectively communicates clear and logically sequenced ideas delivered with a consistent flow of speech, few pauses, intelligible pronunciation and appropriate intonation. Minor errors and pauses do not interfere with comprehensibility. Examples of such errors include some inconsistency in the flow of speech and a few pauses.

The candidate establishes a clear position on the issue presented in the question and effectively supports the established position with two of the candidate’s own relevant ideas and examples based on the benefits of summer vacations on the life of the students. For example, during the summer children bond with their relatives and friends and enjoy activities other than those related to school projects and tests.

The response effectively uses language, style and sociolinguistic conventions appropriate for the intended audience. The candidate effectively uses a range of appropriate grammatical constructions, time frames and sentence structures. Minor errors do not interfere with comprehensibility.

Presentational Speaking: Italian
Sample Assignment 2

[Note: All text will be presented in English; only the candidate response is in Italian.]

[The examinee will see on screen the following directions:]

You may take up to 5 minutes to review the assignment below and to prepare your response. Then, the screen will automatically advance and recording will automatically begin. The assignment will remain on the screen during recording. You may take up to 3 minutes to respond to the assignment. Begin reviewing the assignment and preparing your response now.

[The prompt will be presented on screen ONLY, such as the sample prompt below:]

In your opinion, can using contests in class promote student learning?

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educators, parents, and caregivers. Speaking in Italian, respond to the question above. In your response, you must:

Your response must be in your own words.

DO NOT click the Next button unless you are ready to record your response.

[If the examinee clicks "Next" before the preparation time has ended, the following warning appears in a pop-up: "You have chosen to begin speaking before your 5 minutes of preparation time has ended. If you click "Yes" below, the screen will automatically advance, and recording will automatically begin. Are you sure you want to begin speaking now?"]

[The prompt will be presented on screen ONLY, such as the sample prompt below:]

Begin to respond in Italian at the sound of the tone. You may take up to 3 minutes to complete your response.

In your opinion, can using contests in class promote student learning?

Imagine that you are addressing an audience of educators, parents, and caregivers. Speaking in Italian, respond to the question above. In your response, you must:

Your response must be in your own words.

A sample of the recorder box shows a record button that indicates recording is in progress. The progress bar shows that the recording is at the 5 second mark and a total of 3 minutes of recording is allowed.

DO NOT click the Next button unless you have finished recording your response.

[After 3 minutes of recording, the recorder box will change to "Complete," and the examinee is automatically advanced to the next screen.]

Presentational Speaking: Italian
Sample Strong Response to Sample Assignment 2

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, 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.]

Secondo me i concorsi non dovrebbero essere utilizzati per promuovere l'apprendimento degli studenti. Le aule dovrebbero creare appartenenza e accettazione dove ogni studente si senta comodo nel fare del suo meglio. Uno dei motivi per cui i concorsi non dovrebbero essere utilizzati è perché crea reazioni diverse negli studenti. Alcuni si sentiranno in cima al mondo quando l'insegnante annuncia un concorso perché potrebbero amare vincere e battere altre persone nelle competizioni. Ma ci saranno altri studenti che torneranno a casa sentendosi male sapendo che potranno perdere in questi concorsi. Questa non sembra una buona strategia di apprendimento per tutti gli studenti. Inoltre spesso vincono gli stessi studenti! Lontano dal promuovere l'apprendimento e la cooperazione tra gli studenti questa negatività potrebbe danneggiare le loro relazioni come compagni di classe.

Un altro motivo per non usare i concorsi in classe è che alcuni studenti si sentono nervosi e ansiosi quando partecipano ai concorsi. Questi studenti non vogliono deludere la loro squadra perché potrebbero pensare di non sapere tanto quanto le altre persone. Ma in realtà potrebbe essere che a questi studenti non piaccia esibirsi di fronte agli altri o essere di fronte a tutti in classe. L'ansia elevata non aiuta l'apprendimento degli studenti!

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 Italian. Please see the rationale below for more details.

Presentational Speaking: Italian
Rationale for Sample Strong Response to Sample Assignment 2

The response effectively communicates clear and logically sequenced ideas delivered with a consistent flow of speech, few pauses, intelligible pronunciation and appropriate intonation. Minor errors and pauses do not interfere with comprehensibility. Examples of such errors include some inconsistency in the flow of speech and a few pauses.

The candidate establishes a clear position on the issue presented in the question and effectively supports the established position with two of the candidate’s own relevant ideas and examples. The response effectively considers the reasons why contests should not be used in class as they are not a good learning strategy for all students.

The response effectively uses language, style and sociolinguistic conventions appropriate for the intended audience. The candidate effectively uses a range of appropriate grammatical constructions, time frames and sentence structures. Minor errors do not interfere with comprehensibility.