Interview Feedback
08/01/12
1.) Ali Dehghan (Level 4)
Ali’s pronunciation is good and he included a number of examples of the correctly-used present simple and past simple tense as well as some good expressions of frequency. He also presented some fairly high level vocabulary including the phrasal verb ‘acquainted with’. Generally, Ali’s listening was accurate although he did provide information on his hobbies when I asked who in his family he had the most similar personality to. This may have been the result of nerves rather than a need for more listening practise. He also needs to remember to use the verb ‘to go’ in the present rather than the past when discussing regular activities/hobbies.
2.) Nima Akrami (Level 4)
Nima appeared a little nervous throughout the interview and as a result, rushed to answer questions before taking the time to ensure he understood exactly what was being asked. The consequence of this was that he did misunderstand and subsequently, mis-answer my questions on a number of occasions. His pronunciation is fine but he would benefit from spending some time on listening practise and he must remember the verb ‘to be’, although a commonly used verb, is not always necessary, for example, ‘I’m live in Shiraz...’.
3.) Mahsa Foladi (Level 4)
Mahsa showed some good grammatical knowledge during the interview including a generally very accurate use of prepositions, which is a difficult area of English to learn. She also self-corrected which shows a pleasing level of attention to detail. Although Mahsa clearly understood my questions well, her answers were short and prevented her from showing more of what she knows of English. Going forward she should try to push herself to answer questions more fully and provide extra information, where possible.
4.) Hamid Reza Bagherinia (Level 4)
Hamid spoke well throughout the interview and provided me with lots of information in response to my questions, which were supported by a nice mixture of expressions of frequency such as ‘usually’ and ‘sometimes’. His understanding of my questions was generally ok although he did mis-answer a couple through a lack understanding. Hamid needs to remember to use the present simple rather than the simple past when talking about regular activities/hobbies and must not forget the necessity of articles.
5.) Parvin Mirzaei (Level 4)
Parvin’s pronunciation was good and she thought about my questions carefully and answered in a very natural and relaxed manner. Her subject verb agreements were accurate which helped the fluency of her speech. She also took the opportunity to show some nice grammatical forms including the ‘going to’ form for future plans and some comparative functions, for example, ‘I prefer...than...’. Parvin appears to have a good understanding of English at this level but in order to progress further she should consider introducing some more complex vocabulary into her language and keep practicing her speaking at every opportunity.
6.) Siyavash Mohamadi (Level 4)
Siyavash’s pronunciation is fine and he tried hard to provide detailed answers but, although his vocabulary range is fine, he was held back by his knowledge of grammar. Siyavash would benefit from spending some time focusing on sentence structure and the correct use of prepositions which would make his speech flow much smoother and would allow him to feel more comfortable in expanding his answers. He seemed a little nervous when listening to my questions so some more listening practise would also help him advance.
7.) Elahe Firozkoh (Level 4)
Elahe’s pronunciation is good and her listening skills excellent. She included some fairly advanced vocabulary during the interview and accurately used prepositions and subject verb agreements throughout. She also successfully used a conditional structure which is wonderful to see at this level. An area of confusion for Elahe was differentiating between the use of –ed/-ing adjectives which does not take a long time and is not too difficult to remedy but would make a big difference to the fluency of her speech.
8.) Maral Jabari (Level 4)
Maral’s pronunciation is good and she understood my questions well without requiring any rephrasing. Her use of prepositions was excellent and she included some good linking words in order to both answer my questions in full and add additional information, where possible. She is clearly very comfortable with the use of irregular verbs in the simple past and self-corrected her mistake with a plural. In order to progress further, Maral should consider introducing some more complex vocabulary and try to include some more advanced grammatical forms other than just the simple present and simple past.
9.) Fatemeh Taheri (Level 4)
Fatemah showed the beginnings of a good understanding of English and provided some good forms including a modal verb for advice. Her biggest problem appears to be with her subject verb agreements which she struggled with throughout the interview. This is something that needs urgent attention before she looks to move onto more complicated language as it affects the accuracy of her speech dramatically. Although her answers became more detailed as she became more relaxed in the interview, they were very short to begin with and it did not seem as if she was trying to expand them. If Fatemah spends some time trying to expand her vocabulary bank she will find it much easier to develop her answers in the future.
10.) Masomeh Alinejad (Level 4)
Masomeh tried hard throughout the interview and clarified a number of my questions before answering in order to ensure she gave the correct response. This is an excellent thing to do at this level as students show that they care about answering properly but also that they have the ability to rephrase a question in English. She also self-corrected a past simple verb which also shows her attention to detail. Masomeh should look to practice her listening skills going forward and must not forget the inclusion of articles, when necessary.
11.) Raziyeh Sharifi (Level 4)
Raziyeh spoke clearly and concisely throughout the interview and answered questions well when she understood what was being asked. It was necessary to rephrase most of my questions at least once, which suggests she should look to work on her listening skills going forward. Rather than rushing to answer a question based on keywords only, Raziyeh would benefit from trying to work through the question step-by-step in her head and clarifying meaning with the speaker if necessary before trying to answer. Obtaining a little more vocabulary would also make speaking a bit easier for her.
12.) Yasaman Farmanieh (Level 4)
Yasaman’s pronunciation is fine but he struggled to understand a number of my questions which made it difficult for him to provide complete answers. He would benefit firstly from spending some time outside of class practicing his listening skills. He must also pay more attention to his grammar which included some basic mistakes such as not including the verb ‘to be’ in sentences such as ‘I was born in Shiraz’ and ‘My sister is older than me’.
13.) Ghazal Farmanieh (Level 4)
Ghazal tried hard in her interview but needed to be pushed into providing more detailed answers to my questions and should try not to repeat the question when answering, although this clearly helps her at this stage. If she makes the effort to obtain more vocabulary over the next few months she will find speaking at longer length much simpler. Grammatically, she included some good examples of the simple present and even provided a modal verb when giving me advice on what to do in Shiraz.
14.) Mohamad Alizadeh (Level 4)
Mohamad was struggling to concentrate during the interview which resulted in him mis-answering a number of questions and making some basic mistakes in his speaking including answering for himself when I asked about another member of his family. These are simple errors which I’m sure he would not normally have made if he had been a little more focused. Grammatically, Mohamad did well, self-correcting his mistake with the past simple and including a ‘going to’ future form when discussing future plans. Going forward, Yasaman should look to practice his speaking at every opportunity and try to expand his answers whenever possible. Making the effort to obtain more useful vocabulary would help him with this.
15.) Nazinin Kazemi (Level 4)
Nazinin’s pronunciation is good and she tried hard with both her listening and speaking throughout the interview. Although she struggled to understand some of my questions and subsequently provided short answers, on the occasions when she fully understood what was being asked she answered in detail, with a decent range of vocabulary. There was a little confusion over my question of where she spent her last holiday in which she appeared to answer about where she would like to go on her next holiday. For this reason, I would recommend Nazinin focus some extra time each week on practicing her listening skills. This will give her more confidence in interview situations in the future.
16.) Reza Mohamad Zadeh (Level 4)
Reza tried very hard in the interview and listened very carefully to my questions to ensure he understood. Although he failed to understand some of my questions initially, when I repeated the same thing slightly slower he soon got the meaning. He self-corrected on more than one occasion which shows a nice attention to detail but must remember to include plurals and to use the present simple rather than the simple past when discussing regular activities/hobbies. He could also try to focus on his pronunciation.
17.) Zahra Ramjerdi (Level 8)
Zahra spoke very confidently from the beginning of the interview, providing me with a very detailed introduction of herself. Her pronunciation is good and her use of the simple present accurate, as was her differentiation between the use of ‘since’ and ‘ago’. She worked hard to expand her answers and provided me with as much information as possible. Zahra made a couple of mistakes with missing articles and used the verb ‘to be’ instead of the verb ‘to have’ on a couple of occasions. She should also beware of making her introduction too rehearsed; at this level she should be working more towards and naturally-flowing conversation.
18.) Sorosh Ebrahimi (Level 9) ABSENT
19.) Peyman Asghar Mozafar (Level 4)
Peyman was very nervous throughout the interview and struggled to understand, and subsequently answer the majority of my questions. He needed a lot of prompting through yes/no questions and found it difficult to express his responses because of a lack of vocabulary. Increasing his amount of useful vocabulary should be Peyman’s first step to improvement. From there he needs to practice his listening skills which could be done by watching English speaking TV programmes or films in his spare time.