What’s In The O Level English Oral Exam: Format And Rubrics

Are you throwing away your chance at an A grade by neglecting this O Level paper? Yes, we are talking about the oral exams, which can take up 20 to 25% of your language subject scores!

The O Level Oral exams take place around mid-July each year, making it one of the earliest papers of the O Levels for the year (and even earlier than the PSLE oral exam in August). As you prepare for the oral exam, it is essential to understand the exam format and what to expect on the day itself.

The English Oral exam, in particular, is graded out of 30 marks in total and makes up 20% of the entire subject’s grade. Each student will be allocated a 20-minute time slot on the day of the exam. Let’s take a look in detail at what happens during the exam and how students are graded!

Preparation (10 minutes)

The first 10 minutes are for the student to prepare for the first part of the exam. The student will be able to watch the video stimulus and read the given prompt for Part 1 of the exam. Usually, there is paper provided and the test-taker is free to make notes on it. These notes will not be marked.

Part 1: Planned Response

Part 1 of the exam is a Planned Response to the video stimulus. This replaces the Read Aloud section that was part of the exam until year 2022. The student will be asked to present their response to the question prompt, with a 2-minute time limit. If the student finishes before the time is up, the examiner will let the student know that they still have time, and ask if they have anything to add. If the student is still speaking, the examiner will let the candidate know when the time limit is reached. The student should conclude their response immediately. Any response that persists at length after the time limit will not be considered for the grade.

This section is graded out of 15 marks, with 10 marks for content and 5 marks for delivery. For content, students will be graded on how well-developed and organised their response is. Their delivery will be judged based on the range and suitability of vocabulary and structures used.

Part 2: Spoken Interaction

In Part 2, the examiner will ask 2 more questions. One will be more closely linked to the video, while the last prompt will be a broader question that is thematically linked. These questions will not test students on the specific content shown in the video (e.g. how many people in the video, or quote what somebody said). Instead, the questions will usually prompt the student to consider wider perspectives (e.g. different social groups, or institutions) in their answers.

This section is graded out of 15 marks, with examiners looking for well-considered and coherent perspectives, a suitable and wide range of vocabulary, good pronunciation, and a good quality of discussion that can add value to (sometimes going beyond) the prompt.

To understand what the oral topics might look like, these two example questions from recent years’ O Level English oral exams might help! One important thing to remember – the exam format changed in 2023, so any papers before that will not have the Planned Response section.

Preparing for the O Level English Oral

Compared to the written sections, most schools and secondary school tuition in Singapore don’t emphasise a lot on preparing students for oral. Yet, it is worth one fifth of the total score! That alone is worth your effort in practising and ensuring that you can do well in it. Besides, the oral skills that you hone now will continue to be useful as you progress in school and have to do more presentations (e.g. in Project Work).

In Future Academy’s O Level English tuition classes, we are supporting students in their preparation for the oral exams through an all-rounded approach. We discuss topics each week to build up their repertoire of issues, perspectives, and vocabulary. We also encourage students to share their thoughts in class, allowing them to practice speaking and structuring their ideas in front of an audience.

If the English subject is your weakness, we invite you to join us on a learning journey to transform your grades! Through engaging and skills-focused activities, we are most excited to help you gain confidence and excel in your upcoming O Level exams!