Speaking: Role-plays and Conversation

Speaking Irish with confidence

Many learners fear the speaking test most, yet it rewards preparation more than any other paper. Know what is coming and practise it, and it becomes far less daunting. The test has two parts: - The role-play: a set situation where you play a part, known to you in advance.\n- The conversation: a freer talk where you answer questions on familiar topics.\n- Developing answers: giving opinions, adding reasons, and using different tenses.\n- Keeping talking: strategies that stop you drying up. The Irish you need is often simple. What lifts your mark is using it well, developing your answers and never letting the conversation stop.

Words for the speaking test

Five terms you need before you use them. Learn what each one means.

Match each Irish phrase to its meaning

A role-play against a conversation

The two speaking tasks reward slightly different preparation. Knowing which you are in helps you play to its strengths.

How do you lift a short answer?

In the conversation the examiner asks whether you like your school. How do you turn a weak answer into a strong one?

• Give an opinion and add a reason, joined with a connective such as mar
• Answer with a single word and then stop
• Change the subject to avoid the question
• Stay silent until the examiner moves on

Tap the two good speaking strategies

Tap the TWO strategies that help you do well in the speaking test.

• Extending an answer with a reason and an example
• Using a short filler phrase to keep talking while you think
• Answering every question with only yes or no
• Giving up the moment you forget a single word

Keeping the conversation going

The learners who do best are rarely those with the most words. They are the ones who keep the talk flowing and never let it stall. Whenever you can, extend your answer: give what you think, add a reason with a connective such as agus, ach or mar, and offer an example. If you need a moment, use a short filler phrase rather than falling silent. And if a word escapes you, do not freeze. Say it another way with words you do know, or ask a question back to the examiner. The aim is a flowing exchange, not a perfect one, so keep it moving and keep it going.

Pick the true facts about the speaking test

Select the TWO statements that are true.

• Adding a reason with a connective makes an answer stronger
• Using different tenses shows a wider range of language
• One-word answers are the best way to score highly
• Freezing when you forget a word is better than paraphrasing

Order how to prepare for the speaking test

Put the steps of preparing well for the Irish speaking test in a sensible order.

• Learn the vocabulary and phrases for each topic
• Prepare opinions and reasons you can give
• Practise the likely role-play situations aloud
• Rehearse extending your answers with connectives
• On the day, listen carefully and keep talking

One question, a fuller answer

Watch how one learner turns a bare answer into a strong one.\n\nThe question: the examiner asks whether she likes her town.\n\nA weak reply: she could simply say is maith liom and stop, which shows very little of what she can do. A stronger reply: instead she says is maith liom, joins on a reason with mar, adds that there is plenty to do, and then gives an example of a place she enjoys. Buying a moment: when she needs a second to think, she uses a short natural phrase rather than falling silent, and the talk keeps flowing. The words she knew were simple. What lifted the answer was giving what she thought, backing it with a reason, and never letting the talk come to a halt.

Complete the speaking test facts

A task where you play a part in a set situation is a _____. What you think, supported by a reason, is an _____. A small joining word such as agus is a _____. A short phrase that buys you a moment to think is a _____.

Build a speaking point

Choose the words that complete this statement about the speaking test.

The Irish speaking run

Five questions on the speaking test. Three lives.

Handle the speaking test

Read each moment in the speaking test and choose the best response, then think about why.

• You are asked a question and, at first, you can think only of a one-word answer. What is best?
• Halfway through a sentence you forget the Irish word for something. What should you do?
• In the role-play you are told the situation in advance. How should you use that?

Explain how to do well in the Irish speaking test

A student in the year below is nervous about the Irish speaking test. Explain how to do well using what this module has covered.

• Explain the difference between the role-play and the conversation
• Explain how to give an opinion and support it
• Explain how connectives make an answer stronger
• Explain one strategy for when you forget a word
• Finish by explaining why it matters to keep talking