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Oral Exam

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AngelWings:
Hey guys!

I did Japanese SL back in 2014 and I remember distinctly that I was (and still am) terrified of speaking in Japanese (and actually any other LOTE for that matter) in oral assessments. Some solid tips have been already shared above, so this is a bit of an extension.
- Breathe. It's not going to be the end of the world.
- Know how to play off a mistake.
- Know how to extend your time by using あいづち, such as 「ええと。。。」
- Elaborate and procrastinate on discussing your next point by adding your opinion!
- Be nice about it. Don't forget they love it if you understand the humility and standard of respect Japanese people usually deliver.
- They're people too, so don't speak too quickly. Slow yourself down if you know you'll mutter gibberish words.
- Fake it until you make it! Embrace your inner thespian and pretend like you have the confidence.
- Make sure to bring it back to topics you know. Redirecting is always okay if they traipse into unknown territory.
- Use some body language to distract yourself from your nerves. Similar to how using curse words to helps to relieve pain, body language is sometimes a subtle, but natural way to personally de-stress during the oral. It also has the benefit of making yourself look engaged.

Hope that helps you guys out.

LifeisaConstantStruggle:
Oh yeah! for Japanese specifically, if you're stuck in a certain situation where you cannot find the word for the thing you wanna talk about, you can always use nominalisations to get around and describe that particular thing (wouldn't work in English, but for Japanese SL it's okay to do this to show that you attempt to articulate your thoughts instead of stuttering and trying to find the word).
Examples include (you've probably learnt these):
~もの (for animate/tangible objects)
~こと (for inanimate/intangible objects)
~ひと or びと (for people)
~じょうたい (状態) (situation)
~ところ (place)
~場所 (ばしょ) (place)
Also make sure you use these! it's to show that you have a natural grasp of the language and to make sure you don't sound rigid in your oral exam (the あいづち as mentioned by AngelWings)
ええーと
あの
なるほど
何だっけ
and many more
Good luck!

Jigsaw:
頑張って下さい！話すことの試験の後で、けいけんを話してくれて下さい！

joel_christie2017:
I feel your nerves too!! I have mine on Wednesday. 15 minutes may sound like a really long time but it flys by really quick. As an example, in my Detailed Study SAC, the interview actually went way over the 5 minutes and went to 12. Even though I was nervous, the time went by really fast.

Over the holidays my class had 2 practice oral exams where we ran through the entire process of entering the room, introducing yourself, stating your detailed study topic, General Conversation, Detailed Study Discussion and then finally exiting the room. Make sure you use あいづち as they show that you are attentively engaged in the interaction. Also, it is extremely important to reference your sources when talking about information in the detailed study and add your thoughts/opinions. My Detailed Study topic is Changes in Japanese Society and the sub-topic is Modern Japanese Youth Issues.

Just be yourself and enjoy the experience because once it's over you'll be relieved but the exam is really a valuable way to show off your Japanese speaking skills!!

みんなさん、頑張ってね！

shiba woof woof:
Thanks guys!! Really good tips here  :D

BTW, when I reference my sources do you think it's necessary/better to be much more specific?
Eg: 日本人という本によると、、、ｖｓ 本によると

Thanks again!!

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