This document provides guidelines for an activity that requires students to participate in a mock interview for the speaking portion of the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam. Students will be interviewed in pairs and their performance will be evaluated based on four criteria: accurately completing the four parts of the interview, appropriate pronunciation and intonation, fluent delivery, and effective use of grammar and vocabulary. After the interview, students must submit a reflection on their performance along with a screenshot as evidence of participating. Their work will be assessed using a rubric and can earn a maximum of 80 points.
2. 2
In the course internal mail and your institutional email, you will get from the course
director the guidelines and information to register in one of the available interview
sessions for a couple of students. The interview will be conducted by a tutor.
Step 2 – Being interviewed in the mock of speaking part of Cambridge C1
Advanced
According to your subscription in Step 1, be ready the set day and time to participate
in the interview, which will last about 15 minutes for each couple of students. You
need to be ready to interact in real-time with a peer regarding the examiner’s
assigned tasks through Teams or Skype.
The interview will have four parts: 1) Answer some personal questions; 2) Compare
and answer questions about some pictures; 3) Discuss viewpoints based on a piece of
visual input; and 4) Answer questions based on the topic of Part 3.
At the beginning of the interview take a screenshot and save it as part of the
evidence of Task 4 that you will deliver to the Evaluation environment. Avoid getting
the evidence of the activity in the middle of the interview; otherwise, your
concentration and performance might be affected.
NOTE: The use of microphone and camera is mandatory.
Step 3 – Submitting a reflection about your performance in the interview
Right after your participation in the interview, write a reflection in at least one
paragraph about the perception of your performance in the interview. Remember that
there are not correct or incorrect reflections. Just express freely how you felt during
the activity and what you would do differently if you had the chance to apply for a
real standardized test. You can include an opinion of your peer’s performance too. Do
not forget to include at least a screenshot as evidence of your participation in this
task.
For the development of the activity consider that:
In the Initial Information Environment, you must:
- Check the course agenda to be aware of the synchronic activities this course
implies.
- Go over the course rules and conditions to double check your commitment to
subscribe and participate in the synchronic activities of the course accordingly.
- Be attentive to the informative web conferences schedule to assure your
attendance.
3. 3
In the Learning Environment, you must:
- Read thoroughly the course syllabus to understand the dynamics and nature of
English Conversation course, which is atypical from other courses due to real-time
interaction and overlapping of several activities.
- Be aware of the guidelines and evaluation rubrics of each one of the tasks to
assure an excellent performance in the course.
In the Evaluation Environment, you must:
- Submit your individual outcome consisting of a PDF file with the screenshot of the
interview and the personal reflection (at least one paragraph long) about your
performance in the activity.
Evidence of independent work:
The independent evidence to be submitted is:
A PDF document with the reflection of the interview session and at least a screenshot
of the activity as evidence.
Evidence of group work:
No collaborative evidence is required in this activity.
No group submission is required apart from the performance and real-time
interaction of every couple of students in the interview.
2. General Guidelines for the Development of Evidences to Submit
For Independent evidence, consider the following:
The PDF file to be submitted to the Evaluation environment must include a cover
page, the reflection about the activity, and the screenshot that shows your
participation in the synchronic interview through Skype or Teams.
Please keep in mind that all individual or collaborative written products must comply
with the spelling rules and presentation conditions defined in this activity guide.
Regarding the use of references, consider that the product of this activity must
comply with APA style.
In any case, make sure you comply with the rules and avoid academic plagiarism.
You can review your written products using the Turnitin tool found in the virtual
campus.
4. 4
Under the Academic Code of Conduct, the actions that infringe the academic order,
among others, are the following: paragraph e) Plagiarism is to present as your own
work all or part of a written report, task or document of invention carried out by
another person. It also implies the use of citations or lack of references, or it
includes citations where there is no match between these and the reference and
paragraph f) To reproduce, or copy for profit, educational resources or results of
research products, which have rights reserved for the University. (Acuerdo 029 - 13
de diciembre de 2013, artĂculo 99)
The academic penalties students will face are:
a) In case of academic fraud demonstrated in the academic work or evaluation, the
score obtained will be zero (0.0) without any disciplinary measures being derived.
b) In case of proven plagiarism in academic work of any nature, the score obtained
will be zero (0.0), without any disciplinary measures being derived.
3. Evaluation Rubric Template
Type of activity: In Collaborative Group
Evaluation moment: Intermediate Unit 3
The highest score in this activity is 80 points
First evaluation
criterion:
Perform the four
parts of the
interview accurately
This criterion
represents 36
points of the total
of 80 points of
the activity.
High level: Participation in the interview by couples evidences
the strengthening of sociolinguistic skills as student shows a high
quality performance in the four parts of the speaking paper of
Cambridge C1 Advanced through clear explanations,
descriptions, and discussion of the addressed topics and visuals
used during the activity. The student can handle time
management for each task in the interview as well.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 25 points
and 36 points
Average level: Sociolinguistic skills seem to be partially
affected when some shortcomings are present during one or
some of the four parts of the interview. Performance might be
affected by lack of understanding of the assigned tasks or failure
in time management in one or more tasks during the interview.
5. 5
If your work is at this level, you can get between 13 points
and 24 points
Low level: Participation in the interview does not show a good
performance due to a total lack of understanding of the assigned
tasks or a deficient management of time when performing them.
No accurate interaction with the other person might be present
as well.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 1 point
and 12 points
Second evaluation
criterion:
Produce speech with
appropriate
pronunciation and
intonation
This criterion
represents 12
points of the total
of 80 points of
the activity.
High level: Phonological features are used effectively to convey
and enhance meaning, and intonation patterns and stress are
appropriate or show minor difficulties.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 9 points
and 12 points
Average level: It is unclear with pronunciation at times, and
intonation patterns and stress show some difficulties.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 5 points
and 8 points
Low level: Listener requires a high effort due to unclear
articulation and awkward intonation.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 1 point
and 4 points
Third evaluation
criterion:
Demonstrate
effortless fluency
and delivery
This criterion
represents 12
points of the total
High level: Speech is effortless and smooth to express ideas in
a clear and concise manner.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 9 points
and 12 points
Average level: Response level can sometimes cause slow,
stumbling, nervous, or uncertain speech and delivery.
6. 6
of 80 points of
the activity.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 5 points
and 8 points
Low level: Delivery shows choppy rhythm and pace, and
frequent pauses and hesitation are evident.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 1 point
and 4 points
Fourth evaluation
criterion:
Convey ideas with
effective use of
grammar and
vocabulary
This criterion
represents 12
points of the total
of 80 points of
the activity.
High level: Ideas are expressed with effective use of grammar
and vocabulary including control of a wide range of structures
and appropriate vocabulary to exchange views on familiar and
unfamiliar topics.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 9 points
and 12 points
Average level: Expression of ideas may exhibit some imprecise
or inaccurate use of grammar and vocabulary, with control of a
limited range of structures and vocabulary to exchange views
only about familiar topics.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 5 points
and 8 points
Low level: Range and control of grammar and vocabulary
severely limit expression of ideas and connections among them,
with control of only very basic vocabulary and expressions.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 1 point
and 4 points
Fifth evaluation
criterion:
Reflect about
performance in the
oral test
This criterion
represents 8
points of the total
High level: The reflection fulfills the requirements of the
guidelines regarding length (one paragraph) and contents, and
the text has no or almost no vocabulary, spelling, punctuation
or grammar issues. The screenshot evidence is attached as well.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 6 points
and 8 points
Average level: The reflection is just from two to five sentences
long or might not include all the required aspects in the
7. 7
of 80 points of
the activity.
guidelines. Some issues related to vocabulary, spelling,
punctuation or grammar might affect the quality of the text. The
screenshot of evidence is not included.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 3 points
and 5 points
Low level: The reflection about the performance in the
interview is not submitted to the Evaluation Environment or its
contents does not meet the requirements of the guidelines, or
there are plenty of writing issues in it.
If your work is at this level, you can get between 0
points and 2 points