Here is a pairwork speaking activity titled: ‘We’re the interviewer and interviewee’. It provides oral practice on question formation and proper preparation for Exam Interviews.
PREPARATION OF MATERIALS:
1. First, prepare one set of Question Cards with question beginnings like the ones pictured below:
Are...? Who ...? What...?
Do...? Where...? How...?
When...? Is...? Does...?
Why...? Whose...? Which...?
What kind of...? Would you...? How many ...?
How much...? How often...? How well...?
Note: As you will need at least THREE Question cards per learner, you may have to duplicate some of the Cards with any of the question beginnings above.
2. Then, prepare one set of TOPIC CARDS and place them in a
‘Topic Box’. You can select the topics from any Standardized Exam Handbook, e.g. EDUCATION, TRAVEL AND TOURISM, THE ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT, CRIME. . .
Note: Each pair will need one topic card. It is advisable to prepare some extra Topic Cards in case some pairs of learners work faster than others and wish to prepare a second interview.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Learners work in pairs.
2. Each pair chooses one Topic Card, which determines the focus
of their ‘Staged Interview’ and five Question Cards, which
serve as the beginnings of the interviewer’s questions.
3. Working together, the two members of each pair formulate five
interview questions on the topic they have chosen and write
them down.
Provide examples. “Let’s say, a pair of learners picks the Question Cards: Who...?, Would you...?, Is...?, What kind of...? and When...? and the Topic Card: Fashion. Their questions could be: ‘Who is your favorite fashion designer?’, ‘Would you like a career as a top model?’, ‘Is wearing fashionable clothes important to you?’, ‘What kind of clothes suit you best?’ and ‘When do designers show their collections for fall?’.”
Set a four-minute time limit for all pairs.
4. During this time, the learners also consider and discuss
possible answers to the questions they have written down.
Circulate among your learners, while they are working, to make
yourself available to them if they need to ask for your help.
5. Report back: Once the time is up, each pair of learners comes up to perform their interviews in front of their classmates.
Set a listening task, during report back: as classmates observe and listen to each pair’s staged interview, ask them to jot down any word or expression used which they associate directly with the topic of the ‘staged interview’.
6. After each pair performs, call on the listeners to say which words and expressions they jotted down.
RATIONALE: Wherever possible, provide learners with extra practice on formulating questions, as question formation in English is one of the hurdles that learners have to get over. Also, familiarize your learners with the topics for exam interviews as soon as is appropriate and offer them the opportunity to ‘play the role’ of the interviewer and the interviewee, so as to build their self-confidence in test situations.
