(prepared by Dr. Carol Wilkerson)
Level I
These students will discuss self, family, school schedule, leisure activities, friends, weather, and time for a maximum of five minutes. The present tense and immediate future will be used. At this level students will probably give short answers or lists.
Example:
Q: Hello. What is your name?
A: My name is John.
Q: John, what do you study at school?
A: I study math, science, English, French and art.
Q: What is your favorite class?
A: I like math.
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: I don't understand.
Q: What do you do when you are not in school?
A: I eat. I sleep.
Q: Do you play a sport?
A: I play golf.
Q: Do you play alone or with friends.
A: I play with friends.
Q: What are your friends' names.
A: My friends are Mark and Steve.
Q: Tell me a little about your family.
A: I have two brothers and a mother.
Q: Are your brothers students also?
A: Yes. They are students.
Q: I've been inside the building for a long time. What is the weather like outside?
A: It is sunny. It is warm.
Q: Thank you for coming today, John.
A: Thank you.
Level II
These students will discuss Level I topics plus food, vacations, sports, and school activities (curricular and extra-curricular) for a maximum of eight minutes. Past tense will be used. At this level, students will probably still speak in listed activities, but sentences will also be common.
Example:
Q: Hello. What is your name?
A: My name is John.
Q: John, what do you study at school?
A: I study math, science, English, French and art.
Q: What is your favorite class?
A: I like math.
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: I don't understand.
Q: What do you do when you are not in school?
A: I eat. Isleep.
Q: Do you play a sport?
A: I play golf.
Q: Do you play alone or with friends.
A: I play with friends.
Q: What are your friends' names.
A: My friends are Mark and Steve.
Q: Let's talk for a few minutes about your daily routine. Tell me what you did yesterday.
A: I went to school. I played basketball. I ate dinner. I did my homework. I slept.
Q: What did you eat for dinner?
A: Pizza.
Q: What about your homework? What did you study?
A: I studied algebra and French.
Q: When did you go to bed?
A: I went to bed at 10:30.
Q: What about today? What did you do before this interview?
A: I got up early. No breakfast. I got on the bus. I ate at McDonald's. I came to the school. I came to the classroom.
Q: It sounds like you have been busy. Thank you for coming, John.
A: Thank you.
Level III
These students will discuss the previous topics and demonstrate competency in the use of-the present, past, future and related tenses particular to each language. Students will speak for a maximum of ten minutes. At this level students should show evidence of sentence-level speech and emerging evidence of connected, paragraph-level speech. Allow students time to work up to this level. In other words, begin with short answers, work up to sentences and then to paragraphs.
Example:
Q: Hello, what is your name?
A: My name is Eva.
Q: Eve, what do you study in school?
A: I study German, calculus, advanced English, world history, band, and office monitor.
Q: What is your favorite class?
A: German.
Q: What instrument do you play in the band?
A: I play the flute and the oboe.
Q: When did you first begin to play these instruments?
A: I played them in third grade.
Q: Tell me a little about your daily routine. What did you do yesterday?
A: I got up. I ate breakfast. I got a shower. My mother drove me to school. I went to school. I came home and called my
friend. We talked on the phone. I ate dinner. I did my homework. I went to bed.
Q: Let's talk about your music class. Can you describe the room to me?
A: It's big with a lot of chairs and instruments. We play music and Mr. Calhoun is the teacher. It is third period, after English. It's
okay. I like it.
Q: Are you going to play in the band next year?
A: Yes.
Q: What about in ten years? Are you going to play the flute in ten years?
A: I think I will play in ten years. I don't know.
Q: What plans do you have for the next ten years?
A: I want to be a doctor. I want to go to college in Kentucky and study medicine. After college, I want to be a doctor in California.
Q: Did anyone give you any advice about being a doctor?
A: Yes, I need to study very hard and make good grades. It is important
to study to go to a good college.
Q: Do you have any advice for other students who want to be doctors?
A: You need to study. You should study lots of math and science. It
sounds like you are a busy person. Thank you for coming.
A: Thank you.
Level IV and V:
These students will be prepared to discuss all of the previous topics and tenses for a maximum of twenty minutes. At these levels, there should be evidence of connected, paragraph-level speech. Again, lead up to this level of discourse by beginning with short answer and sentence-level speech. At these levels, complexity and quantity are important criteria.
Example:
Q: Hello, what is your name?
A: My name is Eva.
Q: Eve, what do you study in school?
A: I study German, calculus, advanced English, world history, band, and office monitor.
Q: What is your favorite class?
A: German.
Q: What instrument do you play in the band?
A: I play the flute and the oboe.
Q: When did you first begin to play these instruments?
A: I played them in third grade.
Q: Tell me a little about your daily routine. What did you do yesterday?
A: I got up. I ate breakfast. I got a shower. My mother drove
me to school. I went to school. I came home and called my
friend. We talked on the phone. I ate dinner. I did my
homework. I went to bed.
Q: Let's talk about your music class. Can you describe the room to me?
A: It's big with a lot of chairs and instruments. It is third period, after English. It's okay. I like it.
Q: Are you going to play in the band next year?.
A: Yes.
Q: What about in ten years? Are you going to play the flute in ten years?
A: I think I will play in ten years. I don't know.
Q: What plans do you have for the next ten years?
A: I want to be a doctor. I want to go to college
in Kentucky and study medicine. After college, I want to be
a doctor in California.
Q: Did anyone give you any advice about being a doctor?
A: Yes, I need to study very hard and make good grades.
It is important to study to go to a good college.
Q: Do you have any advice for other students who want to
be doctors?
A: You need to study. You should study lots of math and
science. I don't know much about music.
Q: Let's pretend that I want to learn to play the flute. What
advice would you give me?
A: You have to practice every day. You need to buy a flute.
Q: Am I too old to Learn to play?
A: No. Maybe.
Q: Do you know anyone who learned to play as an adult?
A: No. Most people are children when they play.
Q: Let's change topics for a moment. Teachers always give
students advice. What suggestions do students want to give
teachers?
A: Not to give homework. Students don't want teachers to give homework.
Q: What else?
A: I don't know. Maybe to give more extra credit.
Q:. Pretend that I am your German teacher. Tell me three things that
you want me to do.
A: I want you to give less homework. I want you to give
more free time. I want you to cook in class.
Q: Well, Eva, you sound like you are going to be busy these
next few years. Thank you for coming.
A: Thank you.