Why is the Speaking Exam like a set piece in a Football Final?
Well firstly because of your attitude. When you get to take a penalty, there are two mindsets. One says "Oh no. I might miss." The other says, "Great. This is where I get to score."
After the 2020 exams debacle where some pupils failed an exam they never even got the opportunity to take, we should all be firmly in the "The exam is your chance to show what you can do, so go for it" mindset.
Secondly, it is important to realise that in the Speaking exam, you are the attacker. Some people seem to think that they are the goalkeeper, and that the examiner is the striker, trying to score goals against them. Nothing could be further from the truth. The examiner is on your side. The examiner is in fact Luke Shaw. They play in the ball so you can bounce it off your slabhead into the goal.
So if the teacher sends in a question along the lines of "What is your opinion on...?" Then you are waiting with "I like... because I can...." If the teacher sends in a question that says, "What did you do...? Then you are ready with "I went..." Or if the teacher's question is "What are you going to do...?" Then you are ready with "I am going to..." GOAL, GOAL, GOAL. Every time.
Even better, if the ball bounces back out of the net and you whack it back in a couple more times, that all counts too: "I like... because I can... but I don't like... when I have to... because I can't..."
There are some cases where your defense might slip up and let a goal in. For example in the Role Play there might be a question you don't understand or a word you don't know. Who cares. That's 1 goal down in the first minute. Football is a game of two halves. You're the striker. Your job is to get back up the other end and put the ball in the back of the net even more times.
If you want more footballing metaphors as a guide to the Speaking and the Writing exam, follow this link to equip your pupils with a whole Game Plan.
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