UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS – TECHNOLOGY FOR INDUSTRIES

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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A. SPEAKING TEST FORMAT

PART DURATION REQUIREMENTS

Part 1: Introduction 1 minute Introduce yourself (give personal

information)

Part 2: Read out loud and 1 minute Read out loud a given paragraph and
answer questions answer examiner’s questions

Part 3: Topic development 2 minutes Give your own opinions on a given

topic

Part 4: Discussion 1 minute Answer examiner’s questions

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B. SAMPLE OF SPEAKING TEST

1. Introduce yourself (2 points)

2. Read out the following paragraph and answer examiner’s questions (3 points)
The postage stamp has been around for only a relatively short period of time. The use of
stamps for postage was first proposed in England in 1837, when Sir Rowland Hill published
a pamphlet entitled “Post Office Reform: Its Importance and Practicability” to put forth the
ideas that postal rates should not be based on the distance that a letter or package travels but
should instead be based on the weight of the letter or package and that fees for postal
Services should be collected in advance of the delivery, rather than after, through the use of
postage stamps.
Example:
Examiner: When was the use of stamps for postage first proposed in England?
Student: In 1837.
3. Give your own opinions on a given topic (3 points)
Topic: Describe your best friend
Suggestions:
 What’s your best friend’s name?
 How old is she/he?
 Where does she live?
 When/ where did you know her/him?
 What does she/he look like?
 What is she/he like?
 Why are you her/his best friend?
 What do you think about her/him?
 How do you keep your friendship with her/him?
4. Answer some more examiner’s questions (2 points)

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C. TEST TAKING STRATEGIES AND MARKING CRITERIA FOR SPEAKING:
1. Part 1: Introduce yourself

Criteria (2pts) Requirements Grades

Accurate pronunciation of word endings,

PRONUNCIATION
individual sounds, intonation, word stress,
(1 pt) 0.5 1.0
and rhythm.
CONTENT Personal information (name, age, job,
(1 pt) hobbies…) 0.5 1.0

2. Part 2: Read out the paragraph and answer the following questions

In this part, you need to read out a given PARAGRAPH. Then answer 2-5 examiner’s
questions.

Criteria for
Requirements Grades
Part 2 (3pts)
Accurate pronunciation of word endings,
PRONUNCIATION
individual sounds, intonation, word stress,
(1.5 pts) 0.5 1.0 1.5
and rhythm.
CONTENT
Appropriate response
(1.5 pts) 0.5 1.0 1.5

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3. Part 3: Give your own opinions on a given topic

In this part, there will be a given TOPIC and some SUGGESTIONS. You need to
CLARIFY the topic by using the supporting details and your own ideas.

Step 1: Analyze the topic

Step 2: State your answer
 Introduction: Paraphrase the statement.
 Body:
- Develop the supporting ideas.
- Illustrate the supporting ideas with an example or further information.
 Conclusion: Summarize the topic.
Note: Try to vary your vocabulary by using synonym, related words, phrasal verbs, etc,
instead of using given words.
Sample: Students prepare and present briefly in 2 minutes
I have many friends but my best friend is Anh. She is one of my classmates. We have
known each other since we were 6 years old. She has a short black hair. Her lips are small
but very beautiful. Her eyes are black and very attractive. She is tall and thin. She is very
kind and generous. She spends her free time doing volunteer work at a local orphanage.
Moreover, she is a hard working student who always gets good grades. Unlike me, she likes
sports very much. She is good at playing badminton. I am very pleased to have such a kind
friend like her. I wish our friendship would last forever.

Criteria for
Requirements Grades
Part 3 (3pts)
Accurate pronunciation of word
PRONUNCIATION
endings, individual sounds,
(1.5 pts) 0.5 1.0 1.5
intonation, word stress, and rhythm.
Topic elaboration, coherence and
CONTENT
cohesion, suitable linkers and
(1.5 pts) 0.5 1.0 1.5
connectors.
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4. Part 4: Answer some more examiner’s questions

Criteria for
Requirements Grades
Part 4 (2pts)
Accurate pronunciation of word
PRONUNCIATION
endings, individual sounds,
(1 pt) 0.5 1.0
intonation, word stress, and rhythm.
CONTENT Appropriate response, accurate
(1 pt) grammar structure and vocabulary. 0.5 1.0

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D. REVISION FOR THE EXAM
PART 2: Read out loud the following paragraph and answer examiner’s questions (3
points)
Paragraph 1:
For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming
back to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. Some may hide. But
all of them have something in common. They spend part of each day alone. They are called
“latchkey children”. They are children who look after themselves while their parents work.
And their bad condition has become a subject of concern.
Lynette Long was once the principal of an elementary school. She said, “We had a school
rule against wearing jewelry. A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys attached.
I was constantly telling them to put the keys inside shirts. There were so many keys; it never
came to my mind what they meant.” Slowly, she learned that they were house keys.
Paragraph 2:
Brown bears are found in Alaska and western Canada. They are first cousins of the grizzly,
each belonging to the species Ursus arctos. The chief difference in them is size, as brown
bears on the average are slightly larger. A full-grown male may weigh 1,500 pounds and
stand 9 to 10 feet tall. Like bears everywhere they are creatures of habit that tread the same
trails year after year. Brown bears have three gaits: an even, deliberate one that takes them
over rough or boggy ground at a steady clip, a quick shuffle, and a fast gallop. They are not
only surprisingly fast, but also, for such huge beasts, amazingly agile.
Paragraph 3:
When I opened the first “Body Shop” in 1976 my only object was to earn enough to feed
my children. Today “The Body Shop” is an international company rapidly growing all
around the world. In the years since we began I have learned a lot. Much of what I have
learned will be found in this book, for I believe that we, as a company, having something
worth saving about how to run a successful business without giving up what we really
believe in.
It’s not a normal business book, nor is it just about my life. The message is that to succeed
in business you have to be different. Business can be fun, a business can be run with love

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and it can do good.
Paragraph 4:
For one group of children aged between ten and fifteen, Saturdays are spent learning the art
of serious cooking. Their weekly lessons in small classes are so popular that there is a
waiting list of 30 children who want to do the course. Parents pay 280$ for the course where
their children can have fun and learn how to make good food.
Class member Bill, aged ten, says, “I love my mum’s cooking and now I can do it better
than her. The teachers make us laugh, especially when we sit down with them to share the
food we’ve made.”
Paragraph 5:
Bill Bird is a shoemaker who cannot make shoes fast enough for his growing number of
customers – and he charges more than $300 for a pair! Customers travel hundreds of
kilometres to his London shoe clinic or to his workshop in the countryside to have their feet
measured. He makes shoes for people with feet of unusual sizes: very large, very small,
very broad or very narrow. The shoes are at least as fashionable as those found in ordinary
shops.
Mr. Bird says: “My problem is that I cannot find skilled workers. Young people all seem to
prefer to work with computers these days. We will lose the necessary skills soon because
there are fewer and fewer shoemakers nowadays. I am 45, and now I want to teach young
people everything I know about making shoes. It’s a good job, and a lot of people want to
buy beautiful shoes specially made for them.

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Paragraph 6:
The oxidation of exhaust gases is one of the primary sources of the world’s pollution. The
brown haze that is poised over some of the world’s largest cities is properly called
photochemical smog; it results from Chemical reactions that take place in the air, using the
energy of sunlight. The production of smog begins when gases are created in the cylinders
of vehicle engines. It is there that oxygen and nitrogen gas combine as the fuel burns to
form nitric oxide (NO), a colorless gas. The nitric oxide is forced out into the air through
the vehicle tailpipe along with other gases.
Paragraph 7:
We decided Earth Day in my city last week. The idea of this special day began in the 1960s
when life was very different. Few people talked, or even thought, about the environment.
Most people had no idea how dirty our air and water were. This attitude bothered Gaylord
Nelson, who was a senator in the US government, and he had an idea. If people around the
world knew the planet was in danger, they might work harder to save it, so he just needed to
get their attention. The first Earth Day was just in the United States but it led to events
every year all around the world on April 22 or the nearest weekend, depending on where
you are.
Paragraph 8:
The period from the late 1930s to the middle 1940s is known as the Golden Age of comic
books. The modern comic book came about in the early 1930s in the United States as a
giveaway premium to promote the sales of a whole range of household Products such as
cereal and cleansers. The comic books, which were printed in bright colors to attract the
attention of potential customers, proved so popular that some publishers decided to produce
comic books that would come out on a monthly basis and would sell for a dime each.
Though comic strips had been reproduced in publications prior to this time, the Famous
Funnies comic book, which was started in 1934, marked the first occasion that a serialized
book of comics was attempted.
Paragraph 9:
The postage stamp has been around for only a relatively short period of time. The use of
stamps for postage was first proposed in England in 1837, when Sir Rowland Hill published

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a pamphlet entitled “Post Office Reform: Its Importance and Practicability” to put forth the
ideas that postal rates should not be based on the distance that a letter or package travels but
should instead be based on the weight of the letter or package and that fees for postal
Services should be collected in advance of the delivery, rather than after, through the use of
postage stamps.
Paragraph 10:
If you want to take the whole family on holiday, and keep everybody happy, then I have
found just the palace for you. I recently went with a group of friends to stay at the
Greenwood Holiday Village, which is open from May until October.
Built in the center of a forest, Greenwood is a great place to stay whatever the weather. Its
main attraction for families is the indoor World of Water, where young and old can have
fun in the different pools. Some of these, however, are for serious swimmers only.

PART 3: Give your own opinions on a given topic

Topic 1: Talk about advantages and disadvantages of watching TV.
- Do you like watching TV?
- How much time do you spend watching TV a day?
- What is your favorite TV programme?
- What are the good/bad points of watching TV?
Topic 2: Talk about your hometown.
- When is the best time to come to your hometown? Why?
- What do you like best about your hometown?
- Do you think your hometown is the best place to grow up? Why? Why not?
Topic 3: Talk about one sport that you like playing or watching.
- What sport is it?
- How did you begin to like it?
- How often do you play or watch it?
- Why do you like it?
Topic 4: Talk about your last holiday.
- What did you do on your last holiday?
- Who do you prefer spending your holiday with? Relatives or friends?

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 - Do you prefer going on holiday abroad?
Topic 5: Talk about your favourite TV program.
- Which program do you like?
- What is it about?
- Why do you like this program?

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Topic 6: Talk about Vietnamese public transportation.
- What is the best way to travel in your town/ city?
- What do you like or dislike about it?
- Do you think people should use public transportation more? Why? Why not?.
Topic 7: Talk about your future plan.
- What are you planning to do in the future?
- Why are you planning to do them?
- What do you think about it?
Topic 8: Talk about a beautiful place in your country.
- Where is it?
- How can we go there?
- What is it famous for?
Topic 9: Talk about your favourite food.
- What is your favourite food?
- What is it made from?
- When is it eaten?
- Why do you like it?
Topic 10: Talk about a famous person in your country
- Who is your famous person in your country?
- Why is she/he famous?
- What do you think about him/her?

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