Feedback – Level 8 Group 2
Nazanin Mohamadi
Nazanin made good use of the word should when suggesting supplies people might need to prepare for a natural disaster (i.e. you should have equipment, such as…). She suggested some excellent examples of what people might need to prepare for an earthquake, demonstrating her knowledge of relevant vocabulary. Nazanin also used some great phrases (i.e. to curl up with a book, animals were used to turn soil), making her sentences flow naturally. She also mentioned both positive and negative technological inventions, demonstrating the ability to present a balanced argument. Remember the useful phrase “suggested TO me” when talking about recommendations.
Rasoul Rezaei
Rasoul was particularly good at giving opinions, using phrases such as to tell you the truth to share his views. He also demonstrated a good knowledge of relevant vocabulary – especially during Question 2, when he suggested people should prepare items including non-perishable foods, for example. Remember to listen carefully to every question. Do you PREFER is asking for a preference rather than what you do/don’t read (Question 8), and be careful with the sentence comics help kids to read more NOT comics helps kids to reading more.
Fatemeh Zare
Fatemeh demonstrated some good knowledge of vocabulary when answering Question 2, and made good use of time phrases to add extra detail to answers (e.g. I read it around one year ago). She made a good attempt at using narrative language to summarise a story she had read – a lovely idea, but her tenses became confused, which is a shame. To improve next time, practice getting the correct tenses when summarising something. There was also some confusion with verbs/nouns (i.e. we can transportation, we can communication), but I’m sure this will be easy to correct next time. Remember the phrase had to when talking about something that needed to be done in the past (i.e. before cars were invented we had to travel by… NOT before cars were invented we should travel by…).
Alham Karampoor
Alham seemed to struggle with a few questions, spending a lot of time saying um and err, and in one case not answering the question at all. If you cannot answer the question, it’s ok to ask for a different question. It’s better to move onto another question you CAN answer rather than spend too much time in silence. She made a good effort, however, and showed demonstrable strength in both vocabulary and grammar – she just has to improve on fluency!
Davood Fasli
Davood was able to answer questions directly and succinctly, offering just enough information to answer the questions well but without elaborating too much. Perhaps a little more detail could make his answers a little more personal and interesting. He used some good phrases, including you should and I prefer, which made his responses flow well. Next time, however, try not to begin a sentence with For example.
Mehrnosh Arjpoor
Mehrnosh performed very well over all, demonstrating a good knowledge of vocabulary and often using correct grammar. However, she would do well to think of some alternative words to ‘not real’ when describing fictional events – imaginative, creative, fantastical, for example. She also needs to take extra care to listen to all questions. Question 13 was asking for an opinion, not a preference for inventions.
Aida Sholeh
Aida was consistently good in all four areas of assessment. She was able to voice her opinions and preferences fluently, using appropriate vocabulary and grammar. She showed good initiative and answered questions with a natural fluency. I was particularly impressed when she was talking about technology, because she seemed to cover all topics without any need for me to prompt her. One thing to note – there is no need to define terms such as ‘natural disaster’ and ‘comics’ – I know what they mean! – all you had to do was to name a few examples of natural disasters and give me your opinion about comics.
Negar Saeedi
Negar really seemed to struggle with understanding some questions. If you don’t understand a question, it’s ok to ask for a different one or to ask the examiner to repeat or rephrase it. Don’t make up answers! Negar would benefit from working on her word order. There were a couple of sentences that particularly stood out: an earthquake in historical city occurred and canned food for eating people. Make sure you correct the word order here! Another small thing to note: it’s better to say If we didn’t have cars than If we hadn’t cars.
Fatemeh Hoseini
Fatemeh performed very well over all. I was particularly impressed by her use of narrative language in Question 6 when she was able to summarise a story succinctly and effectively, using the correct tense throughout. She also elaborated well in answer to Question 12, discussing how technology had changed the world, including the importance of transport and the impact it has had on farming. One thing to note: take care not to define terms such as ‘natural disasters’ – Question 1 seemed to be just a definition rather than an answer.
Esmail Akbari
The only student to answer Question 1 properly! Whilst other students tended to talk about very specific occurrences of disasters in their own country, Esmail correctly gave a number of examples of natural disasters before going on to give his opinion on which he thinks is the most destructive example. He spoke fluently and gave his opinion calmly and confidently, using phrases such as In my opinion and I think we should. He demonstrated a good knowledge of vocabulary, particularly in Question 6, using words such as cliff hanger and page turner to describe his favourite book, and telling me he couldn’t put it down. Esmail listened well to questions and offered a good amount of detail in his answers. There was just one sentence you could correct: you can shopping without any move or go out – take a look at this sentence and correct it for next time.
Mohamad Pashapor
Mohamad generally did very well, and suggested some excellent examples in answer to Question 13. He also voiced his opinions well, using phrases such as To tell you the truth. Take care to listen carefully to questions, however, as he confused how and why in Question 12. His answer to Question 6 was very good, but be careful with the word written – it’s not wroten!
Mahmod Torabi – ABSENT
Fatemeh Kamalinia
Fatemeh demonstrated a good grasp of vocabulary and spoke very fluently. She used some excellent words to describe her favourite book, including cliff hanger, page turner and best seller, among others. She answered Question 9 very well too, saying that she believes comics help children to think creatively. Her response became a little confused in Question 3 because she tried to begin her sentence with If I can help them… and she struggled to finish her sentence properly. Perhaps the confusion lay in the use of the word you in the question? In this case, the word you does not refer to you as an individual, but to people more generally.
Maryam Sharafi
Maryam showed a good knowledge of vocabulary and used them effectively. I was particularly impressed by her use of the word skim when talking about reading and the word device when talking about technology. She also used the phrase As I remember… to start a sentence, which made her response sound both natural and conversational. Take care with superlatives – most deadliest is not grammatically correct! Maryam would do well to improve on her fluency by practicing questions and answers with friends, as her hesitant responses let her down somewhat.
Sepideh Sameti
Sepideh was very calm and confident throughout and answered all questions fluently and accurately. Her answers were succinct and to the point, but with enough detail to sound like a conversation rather than like an interview. She elaborated well in Question 12, offering a good amount of relevant and interesting information. Take care to listen a little more carefully though – in Question 1, Sepideh launched straight into telling me about the earthquake in Bam without giving me any other examples of natural disasters.
Ehsan Salehi – ABSENT
Level 3 students
Vahid Karami
Vahid answered most questions succinctly and well. His pronunciation was good, although he could improve on his fluency more. He had a good selection of vocabulary, particularly adjectives in Questions 10 and 11. He did not seem to understand the question How often…? so should work on how to answer such questions effectively.
Mohamad Rasoul Abad
Mohamad answered questions very directly and fluently. He performed well over all, displaying a good grasp of grammar, but could do with building on his vocabulary a little more. He answered Question 7 very well (a question many others of this level have struggled with), saying I usually exercise every day – well done!
Meysam Ghasem Poor
Meysam was a very confident speaker and answered questions fluently and with good pronunciation, making his responses sound very natural. He understood all questions and gave suitable answers. However, it would be better if he volunteered more information and gave longer answers to make his responses more personal and interesting. He was let down by his grammar a little, so he needs to work on his tenses and verb endings more.
Hamid Reza Arshi
Hamid was excellent at providing good detail and relevant information in his answers, elaborating on topics rather than simply offering the shortest, most direct answers. This made his responses sound conversational and natural rather than like an interview. I was particularly impressed with his answers to Questions 1, 3, 12 and 13, which were particularly eloquent and detailed. He struggled with Questions 10 and 11, however. He told me what his father is like in terms of personality and also told me about the things he enjoys, suggesting he misunderstood the question. When it came to describing his mother, he seemed to find it difficult to find the right adjectives. If he works on these two questions, his score should improve dramatically.
Omid Pirozmand
Omid answered his questions quite fluently and with good pronunciation. His vocabulary was also fairly strong, particularly the adjectives when describing his parents. However, he was a little let down by his grammar. In answer to Question 6, he said I’m going to go fishing, incorrectly using the future tense to talk about a habitual action. He could also improve on his word order: I usually exercise in the morning NOT I usually the morning exercise.
Level 6 student
Ahmad Heydari
Ahmad answered most questions very well. He gave good examples in Question 2, offering a variety of suggestions as to why people eat so much fast food (i.e. Some people eat it because… Some people… because… etc.). He also answered Questions 6 and 7 well, giving good reasons for his choices. He used some good descriptive words in Question 9, including talkative, to support his answer. He answered Question 10 very well, beginning his response with When my friend is down, I suggest… He did not seem to understand Question 3, however, and his grammar and fluency let him down somewhat. Otherwise, he did very well.