The Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures

The Study Guide for the 102.66 Oral Exam

Sign up for a 20 minute testing slot. Be sure to write down the time, because no shows receive an automatic zero. Testing will be done in Hagerty Hall 486 (my office). Please wait outside in the hall until I come to find you for your exam.

The test will consist of four parts:

Part I. Introduction or warm-up (which is not evaluated) - consists of some general and easy questions to help put you at ease and get you started. Try to relax as much as possible.

Part II. Oral reading You will be asked to read a paragraph (see below) out loud. I will assess your pronunciation, intonation and your oral reading fluency.

Für heute Abend habe ich mir französischen Käse und Rotwein gekauft. Das konnte ich mir früher nicht leisten—heute bin ich bei kleinen Sachen etwas großzügiger. Wenn ich auf dem Heimweg von der Arbeit einen schönen Pullover für meinen Sohn sehe, dann bringe ich den für Ben mit. Er mag schöne Pullis und ich mag gutes Essen.

Tip: You can sharpen your listening (sound and symbol correspondence) by listening to the sound file on our web page as you read along silently. Go to: http://germanic.osu.edu/courses/german/g10201/guides/orals102.cfm and scroll down to find the file. Your fluency and intonation will improve measurably if you know the meaning of what you are reading. Of course, your performance in reading aloud will improve if you practice reading aloud alone, with a partner or with your instructor in office hours.

Part III. Interview. I will pose approximately four questions, based on the topics listed below. You will pick three topics from an envelope. You will then choose two of these three topics. You will be graded according to the global speaking scale that was handed out with the course syllabus.

Topics are:

1. meine Familie
2. Freizeit
3. über mich
4. letztes Wochenende

Part IV. Situation/role play. A role-play in which you will have to engage me in conversation based on a given situation; I play the other role and responds to your lead. After the role-play is over, you will be asked to summarize in English what both you and I have said.

You will pick two situations from an envelope, from which you will choose the situation you prefer. The situations are listed below. You should already be familiar with these themes from your experience with classroom role-plays.

STUDY TIP: It is a good idea to anticipate the kinds of sentences, grammar and vocabulary you will need for the situations. It is NOT a good idea, however, to plan the situation as a rigid dialogue, since you will not be able to predict exactly how I will respond. The best strategy is to be flexible and have a variety of responses and questions ready.

Be prepared to role-play the following situations. Be prepared to take the lead in the role-play and to respond flexibly.

1. You are shopping for your friend's birthday and have decided to get him/her some clothes. You go to a boutique and you:
explain your situation
ask the salesperson to show you some things
inquire about size, colors, availability in a larger/smaller size
ask the salesclerk's opinion about whether certain items go together
Finally, you agree to buy something and ask about the price.

2. A new German restaurant has opened in Columbus and you have decided to go check it out . You ask the server
about restaurant specialties
about side dishes
about the beverage selection
about desserts.
A friend of yours is a vegetarian so find out if there are any dishes without meat and if the vegetables/salads are fresh. Based on what s/he has told you, you order a drink, dinner, and dessert.

3. You are at an international convention where you meet a number of different people in interesting professions.
Introduce yourself and find out from one of your new acquaintances:
where he/she comes from
what his/her profession is
what this person's hobbies are
who is in his/her family
At the end of the conversation, quickly say goodbye.

4. You have just moved into a new apartment and you need furniture. You go to the furniture store Ikea and you greet and engage in a conversation with the salesperson. Tell the salesperson what you need and what you don't need. Ask about two or more different kinds of furniture:
do they sell the particular furniture?
how much is it?
tell what you think of it
and decide whether or not to take each of them.
At the end of the conversation be sure to thank the salesperson and say goodbye.