Irish orals?

Question

So I'm having the L.C Irish orals next week (ahh!)

And I'm not to sure of what’s going to happen in it

I know the examiner will ask various questions on my hobbies, my school, my family etc.

But will they be vague questions?

Like 'Do you have any brothers or sister?' and then will they just let me talk about them without asking anymore questions about this particular subject and then move onto another topic?

Or will they continue asking about my family in more pointed questions and cutting into any prepared speech I have about them?

Answer 1

I don't know if this will help or not but in my orals they asked me about what work I did in the garden and we talked about Irish weather (as gaeilge of course). I was in honours.

= )

Answer 2

did your school not prepare you for this at all??

I did my LC in 2003 and the teacher went through loads and loads of questions that we might be asked...

they will ask basic questions but then will lead into more detailed conversation...more detailed if you are doing honours level obviously

they will butt in and ask different questions - they wont leave you ramble on about your family for the whole oral by the way!

maybe you should ask your teacher though?they will be able to tell what questions are normally asked and have been asked over the last few years

EDIT : Im just thinking back to my one now and i remember i was asked about the subjects i was doing for the leaving and they were asking me about art and art history and paris and stuff like that!

Answer 3

usually they ask you a general question and just let you ramble on. I was asked 'tell me about your family'

Then they move on to harder questions. My examiner said 'imagine I am blind, look around you and describe our surroundings!'

Answer 4

Heya doing my orals next week too!!!

you start by reading the sliocht,it's good to calm you down and you can take a few mins to read it to yourself before starting.

They could ask anything! They'll prob start with Qs about your family and you,and your area,school etc... Just make sure you know the word aiseanna! ha If you know loads about certain things like music/sport keep refering to them in answers to try get them to ask you about them.

They'll most likely ask you topical questions too,and at the moment the whole Bertie thing looks likely,they could combine it with the Modh coinniolach:

Cad a dheanfadh da mbeidhfa i do thoiseach? (totally wrong spelling!) What would you do if you were taoiseach? So make sure and prepare that!

Best of Luck!

Answer 5

Generally they will let you talk but if you pause to long they will ask another question hoping to to help you out. You lead it they will change sometimes but not often.

Answer 6

they'll usually start off with simple enough questions about yr family + stuff, and move on from there, depending on if youre doin ordinary or higher level. you could get asked about yr school yr hobbies, current even, the environment. as soon as they bring up a topic you think you can talk about, just BABBLE! say what ever you can, keep talking, thats the main thing. if you stall, they'll move onto a new topic and you may not know much about that, so just say whatever comes into yr head :)

oh! and best of luck (no one will ever ask you how you did in yr orals once you graduate)

x*x

Answer 7

As far as I remember, they will be relatively vague. They won't usually interrupt you, so make sure you keep talking for as long as possible. You can lead the question the way you want it to, in a way. If they ask you about your brothers and sisters, you could talk about them, and then carry on with what your house is like, and how many pets you have, and how you want to be a vet, that sort of thing. They're fairly easy to lead in a direction, as long as you try. Remember, they want to see if you can hold a conversation. Make it fairly one-sided, and you should be fine. It's not as bad as it seems, honestly. I was terrified going into mine and it was fine in the end. Good luck!

Answer 8

i didnt do the orals but wish all the luck with them..x*x

Answer 9

Yes they will ask you basic questions, like your age, where you live, the members of your family, etc. They will not interrupt  you and suddenly change the topic, but if you pause for awhile or finish up on a topic, they will move onto something else. My examiner made me feel at ease. They realize that you may find the exam difficult or stressful, so they are patient and friendly enough. They want you to do your best, so they're not going to try to make it any harder for you.

But remember you can always direct the flow of conversation and bring up the topics that you have prepared. For example, for my Ordinary Level Irish Oral exam (2001), i had prepared a conversation about films that i like. So when he asked me: "What did you do last weekend?" I told him that i went to the cinema with my friend. So then the conversation turned towards my prepared topic which was great. However, then he started asking me if i liked Woody Allen movies (obviously he was a big fan!) so i had to steer him off that pretty quickly! I just replied, "No, i haven't seen any of his movies" (even though i have and i dislike them, i couldn't think of what i could say about them!)... and i continued "but the film i saw last week was very good, it was a thriller..." etc. Think of the natural flow of conversation, and how you can direct it. From here, i moved onto discuss my part-time job, (which is also a common question), and it related to the last topic because i worked in a cinema!

Think of the topics that genuinely interest you, and think of how they could link together in conversation. Keep it simple. Just remember, never speak in english during the exam. Its better to just be honest and say in Irish, "Im sorry, but i don't understand the question" - "Ta brón orm, ach ní thuigim an ceist." The examiner will repeat it more slowly, or else try to rephrase it in a more simple way so that you can understand it.

Answer 10

You can never be too prepared for this thing!

One piece of advice i can give you is to be careful how you answer the questions because if you mention something they'll generally head towards that topic for example if you say i want to be a nurse when i leave school they'll usually ask you how you would go about doin that etc etc... so try avoid those kind of things unless you're able to talk about them!

Also i would have a few sentences about bertie resigning. They tend to ask you about current goings on!

Answer 11

i havnt done it yet but my teacher said that you should keep talking about the stuff you know and like. its not about answering as many questions as possible, its about being able to engage and hold a conversation with the examiner.

Good Luck!!!!