Information Concerning the Oral Examination for Certificate Business English
• Date of the Oral Exam:
Monday, July 9 and Tuesday, July 10 in AB 120. The exam will be scheduled by appointment. Candidates who have not yet signed up for the exam may do so before the written exam begins on July 4.
• Proposal
All candidates must submit a proposal of the topic they intend to discuss. Please read the information given below, by "Submission of Prposals !
• Length of Time
The oral examination takes a total of thirty minutes. During the first five minutes of the exam, the candidate is to deliver a presentation on a theme from the field of business or economics. The rest of the examination will be in the form of a discussion with the two examiners.
• Choice of Topic
Candidates should choose a topic which allows for discussion. Some examples of possible topics can be found here. Avoid topics which do not readily lend themselves to a discussion with the examiners (e.g., "The Structure of German Tax Law").
• Grading Criteria
There are three grading criteria for the oral examination. These are (roughly translated from the Prufungsordnung) 'language', 'style' and 'content'. By 'style' we mean the usage of appropriate academic register. Some students with very good English-language skills (perhaps obtained during a stay in England or the United States) don't do as well as they had expected because they use a style which is too colloquial. In judging the 'content' of a candidate's performance, we consider both the 'breadth' and 'depth' of the candidate's coverage of the subject matter. 'Breadth' indicates the range of facts and details which the candidate is able to integrate into the discussion. A significant portion of these should, of course, be related to business and/or economics. 'Depth' indicates the ability of the candidate to express the relationship (e.g., implication, contingency and process) of these facts to each other.
The exam will test the relevance and coherence of what you say, as well as the accuracy and style of your English. Thoughtful comment and good interaction with the examiners will improve your grade; reading from notes or giving a memorized speech will lower it.
• Submission of Proposals
All candidates must submit a proposal of the topic they intend to discuss by July 4 before the written exam begins. The proposal should be printed and in the following form:
· TITLE
· Paragraph describing the background and the issues involved.
· Bullet list of five to eight points or questions of discussion which could be raised during the discussion. These won't necessarily come up during the exam, but may provide a stating point for the discussion.
Examples of an oral proposal can be found here and here.
If you have any questions please contact Jim Potter: potter[at]euv-ffo.de .