(SPA) Speaking Proficiency Assessment – Preparation
(SPA) Speaking Proficiency Assessment is a predictable random set of questions. The actual question you get might be random, but the type of questions you will get will always be the same. Make sure to practice every day to get familiar with the type of questions and learn how to answer specific types of questions.
Overcoming nervousness
One of the biggest hurdles (SPA) Speaking Proficiency Assessment test takers must overcome is their fear. Most students get super nervous during the test which leads to poor SPA performance. One thing you can do to overcome your nervousness is by making a power pose before entering the exam room. It has been proven that holding your body in a dominant pose for a few minutes can increase your confidence level and reduce your stress. Stretch out and take some deep breaths before taking the exam.
Not all questions are equal.
The (SPA) Speaking Proficiency Assessment is a timed exam. The evaluators will never exceed the 10 minutes mark. Also, you will receive some questions that are easy and some that are more difficult. You are more likely to make more grammar mistakes answering questions that are difficult or a topic you are not familiar with. Therefore you need to maximize your speaking time and be smart on how much time you spend on answering each question.
For the easy topic question:
- Give a long and elaborate answer. Try to spend as much time as you can answering these type of questions.
For the difficult topic question:
- Give a short and simple answer. Try to answer the question as simply as possible and try to limit making many grammar mistakes.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
If you do not understand the question, please ask. If you don’t understand the question, you won’t be able to answer the question effectively anyway. Make sure you remember question statements, “Could you repeat the question?”, “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. Could you say it again?”. So when you need to ask the evaluators, you can do it with confidence and without grammatical errors. You will not be penalized for asking questions, but you will be heavily penalized for giving an answer that is irrelevant to the question.
Final Message for (SPA) Speaking Proficiency Assessment
Learning English is not easy and can be quite challenging and frustrating. However, if you practice every day and keep a positive attitude, you will be able to overcome it and improve your English skills. Good luck and stay positive!
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(SPA) Speaking Proficiency Assessment Breakdown
The (SPA) Speaking Proficiency Assessment can be broken down into three sections:
Listening comprehension
It is important to focus on the accuracy during this portion of the (SPA) Speaking Proficiency Assessment. It is always better to give a short accurate answer than a long inaccurate answer. Start by using simple sentences and sentence patterns to relay your message to the evaluator. You can practice using more complex answers after you master how to provide the pertinent information simply.
- Narrative/Informative/Factual:
- This is the most common type of passage. It will inform the listener of a fact, history, or story about an actual event. Listen for the main idea, events, and general information about the topic.
- First-person
- This type of passage will feature information about an event surrounding a person or their biographical account, sometimes in the first person.
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Discussion Questions
There are 6 types of discussion questions you will get during the (SPA) Speaking Proficiency Assessment. Each type of question will have different grammar rules and sentence patterns you will need to use. Once you know your weakness, you can study and practice those weaknesses by doing drills.
- Describing a person, a place, or a thing
- Describing past events or future plans
- Describing preferences and making comparisons
- Describing hypothetical situations
- Describing a process/giving suggestions
- Expressing your opinions
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Photo Elicitations
There are 5 types of photo-elicitation you will get during the (SPA) Speaking Proficiency Assessment. Each type of question will have different grammar rules and sentence patterns you will need to use. Once you know your weakness, you can study and practice those weaknesses by doing drills.
- General Description
- Compare and contrast/Preference
- Graphs
- Sales Pitch
- Making an Inference
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