Interview Feedback
Level 6 Group 2
Tuesday 5th June, 1:30pm GMT
Students have been assessed on four separate criteria: grammar, fluency, pronunciation and vocabulary.
1. Saeed Pazira
Saeed answered questions fluently and succinctly. He answered Question 3 very well, suggesting that developments in technology and transport, as well as changes in eating habits, have affected people’s lifestyles. He used some good adjectives in Question 6, offering good reasons for why he considers himself extroverted. Saeed will achieve a higher score if he thinks more carefully about grammar – particularly tenses.
2. Sajad Hayan – ABSENT
3. Negin Azizi
Negin’s vocabulary in particular was excellent. Her use of words such as saturated fat, cholesterol, etc. made her answers sound intelligent and well-informed. She used good comparative sentence structures, such as “In the past… but now…” and “…is more important than…” Negin’s answer to Question 9 was particularly impressive. She began her response with “I consider myself…” and went onto suggest excellent reasons for why she considers herself to be either introverted or extroverted. If she performs like this in her exam, she will do very well.
4. Elham Gholami
5. Elham performed very well over all. I was particularly impressed by her extensive vocabulary, using words such as cholesterol, hypertension, stroke and rising blood pressure, when discussing the dangers of eating too much fast food. I also liked her use of the phrase to grab something, as use of such colloquialisms makes her language sound very natural. She should take a little more care with her tenses, however, as sentences such as Last year I’m avoiding… and I’m exercising in gym are grammatically incorrect.
6. Raziyeh Farmani
Raziyeh performed very well over all. Her vocabulary and pronunciation in particular were great. Her answers to Questions 3 and 6 were particularly good. She occasionally got tenses and verb endings confused, but otherwise she did very well. Her answer to Question 9 was well reasoned, and the way she began her answer to Question 10 (“It depends on my friends…”) was very fluent and natural.
7. Jila Manochehri
8. Jila answered Question 1 well (I was on a diet in the past), and also elaborated well in her answer to Question 11. She talked at length about art and volunteered information about her favourite artist, thereby answering Question 14 as well. She did not understand Question 5 (possibly due to the poor sound quality?), but calmly requested for an alternative question. Jila needs to work on her fluency as she often hesitated, and also needs to take care with her grammar in sentences such as “they don’t have enough time to cooking”.
9. Mandana Rasekh
10. Mandana did brilliantly. She was a confident and fluent speaker and answered all questions intelligently and eloquently. She answered Question 1 succinctly and clearly, demonstrating a good knowledge of vocabulary (“No, I always eat in moderation”). Her comparative language was good (“People used to eat… but nowadays…”), and she demonstrated particularly natural fluency in her answer to Question 8 (“Both are important, but…. environment and society can affect behaviour and values”). Excellent.
11. Shima Beyg Mohamad Zadeh
Shima’s pronunciation was such that she almost sounded American at times! She showed incredible confidence and spoke with natural ease. Her use of sentence openings such as Well, actually… and I’m crazy about… made her answers sound very personal and conversational. She was able to voice her preferences and opinions clearly and demonstrated a good knowledge of vocabulary, particularly when discussing Questions 2, 9, 10 and 13. Well done!
12. Zahra Famori
A really good conversation. Zahra scored very highly on all four marking criteria. She spoke very confidently and fluently, delivering clear, strong answers with a good amount of detail. Her answer to Question 1 – “I’m in shape. I go to the gym… a week” – demonstrated a good knowledge of both idioms and language of frequency. She also used good comparative language in Question 3 (“People used to eat a lot of wholegrain foods, but nowadays they eat a lot less”), and made excellent use of colloquialisms such as I’m a big coffee drinker, I’m crazy about… and I’m totally captivated by… which made her responses sound very conversational.
13. Dariosh Saadat
Sound quality was perhaps a little poor for Dariosh, as I had to repeat questions several times before he could answer. He offered some great answers to Question 6 (“I’m very sensitive to cleanliness”) and Question 9 (“My personality is a mixture…”), and I was particularly impressed by his fluency and vocabulary in Question 11, when he told me that he is captivated by art and that he can’t imagine life without [music]. Dariosh needs to take more care with his grammar, as this is what brought his marks down a little. Perhaps he was a little nervous for Question 1, but “I try to don’t eat… More try to eat…” sounded a little confused and didn’t reflect the rest of his performance.
14. Ali Kianizadeh
Ali spoke quite naturally and confidently, demonstrating a good knowledge of vocabulary and generally pronouncing words well. However, he slipped up with his grammar from time to time, saying things like “they don’t much have time for cook” and “music makes me happy and relaxing”. Perhaps Ali would benefit from slowing down a little and taking time to think before forming his answers. Also take note that Question 9 (introvert or extrovert?) and Question 15 (describe your personality) are not the same!
15. Sona Basiri
Sona spoke very confidently and fluently and answered all questions directly and with ease. Her answer to Question 3 (“Eating habits have changed in Iran, like in other countries”) was good, although it focussed only on eating habits and mentioned no other lifestyle changes, such as the way technology has changed the way people live. She elaborated well in Question 5, going onto tell me foods she doesn’t like as well as the ones she does, which made her answer more interesting. Sona was very good over all. Just one thing – not every examiner will like her chewing gum during the interview!
16. Ghasem Zare
Ghasem answered questions very fluently. He seemed calm and quietly confident throughout. His answers had a personal touch and he gave a good amount of additional detail, such as “I’m a sportsman and I’m always active” (Question 1), “I’m a pizza-addict” (Question 5), “I never put on dark clothes” (Question 7), “I’m not much into art, but….” (Questions 11 and 13). These extra details that went beyond the immediate answer were what made his responses interesting to listen to. He had a good range of vocabulary and had some particularly good adjectives when answering Question 9.
17. Zeynab Jorof Zadeh
Zeynab performed well generally, and her pronunciation in particular scored highly. She generally spoke fluently, but at times her answers were so direct and short with little elaboration, that they didn’t have a chance to flow. Her answer to Question 1, for example, was a one word ‘no’. It would be better if she added some extra information, such as “I don’t need to diet because….” to enhance her answer.
18. Shahrokh Shojaei
Shahrokh was quite a confident speaker and demonstrated good knowledge of vocabulary. His answers to Questions 2 and 10 were particularly strong. He needed prompting to give a reason for his favourite colour, but answered the question well when pressed for information. However, he did not take the initiative to volunteer a reason for Question 8, which meant he only provided a one word answer. Shahrokh would do better if he elaborated a little more on some of his answers to give some depth.
19. Neda Bazargan
Neda was occasionally able to self-correct when she got her grammar or her vocabulary wrong. However, she did make grammatical errors on a number of occasions, such as “I try tell jokes”, “they don’t enough time cook” and “I going out”. Take a moment to think through your sentence before you say it! Otherwise, Neda did well and scored highly on her pronunciation.
20. Mahbobeh Keshayarzi
Mahbobeh would do better if she listened more carefully to the questions asked and took a moment to think through her answers before saying them out loud. For instance, she talked about painting in answer to Question 5, even though the question was about food, and for Question 7, she repeated the answer she had given for Question 6, telling me about her favourite colour twice, despite my emphasis on the word least. She answered other questions well, but just be a little more careful in future!
21. Mahsa Bayat
Mahsa answered questions fluently and accurately. Her answers to Questions 1 and 2 were particularly strong, when she told me that she doesn’t need to diet because she is in shape, eats healthily and exercises regularly, and that people eat fast food because it is more easy than cooking (be careful here – it should be easier). She would do better to volunteer more information, however. In Question 8, she defined nature and nurture, but did not actually give an answer, and in Question 9, she did not give a reason for her answer until I asked specifically.
22. Reza Basirat
Reza answered Question 1 very eloquently, and took some time to mention technology as well as eating habits in Question 2. Whilst he did very well, he would benefit from listening a little more carefully. For example, Question 8 refers to people’s personalities in general, but he answered the question as though I was asking him whether nature or nurture had had a bigger impact on his individual personality.
23. Maryam Zarei
Maryam was confident and well-spoken throughout. Her speech was natural and conversational. Her fluency and pronunciation were excellent throughout, and she was able to provide good detail, especially in Question 13. One small detail – when you say I used to be on a diet, there is no need to specify a time. If you do want to specify a time, don’t use used to, just say I was on a diet last year.
24. Pezhman Ghani
Pezhman scored highly on all four criteria. However, he needs to make sure he listens to the question properly and provide a proper answer. For example, he told me why fast food is bad for you, but did not explain why people eat it (Question 2), and he simply defined nature and nurture without giving an answer to the question (Question 8). Perhaps the sound quality was poor, because he also asked me to repeat some questions several times.
25. Maryam Safei
Maryam was a confident speaker with a good range of vocabulary, particularly in relation to medical conditions (Question 4). She spoke fluently and naturally, giving good answers to Questions 10 and 14 in particular. Question 8 was answered intelligently, as she argued the importance of both nature and nurture very well. One useful phrase to remember: blue makes me feel calm, instead of I like blue. I feel calm by this colour (Question 6).