ll0124

i heard there's speaking on the exam.

how does this work?

GuitarRckr

You speak in two different sections. In one section, you have a "simulated conversation," where you talk to a pre-recorded voice in a day-to-day situation. There are instructions on sheet outlining the conversation and what you should talk about, and you alternate with the recording for speaking parts - the recorded voice speaks, there is a beep, you talk for 30 seconds, and then there is another beep to indicate when you stop. This goes back and forth for about a few minutes or so.

The second section involves you reading a source with information about a topic and listening to an audio source. Using information from BOTH sources, you answer a question that is presented to you. It's like an oral presentation. It lasts about 2 minutes I think.

I'm sorry I can't accurately tell you the length of each section, but I'm sure it's on the College Board syllabus too. Go onto the CB website to get more exact/understandable info if what I said doesn't make sense :-P

ll0124

so you speak into like a recorder thing?

GuitarRckr

You use a personal, usually hand-held tape recorder in order to record yourself both times. During the simulated conversation, a boom box plays the pre-recorded parts, pauses for the appropriate amount of time, and beeps accordingly - you record all of this yourself with the tape recorder and speak into the recorder in between the beeps. With the oral presentation, you just record yourself speaking for the time - you don't record the audio recording that is played for you.

It seems weird, but with practice it becomes easier.

coconnor

if your school has a language lab, you use the provided headset to record and listen to the tape

arachnophobia12

Or, you if your school is anything like mine, you'll record your responses onto a computer and make an mp3.

Sungchul

At my school, they just set up tapes in the library.