SPEAKING 800/2 MUET PAPER 2

Structure of the Speaking Test

Part 1
2 minutes to prepare
2 minutes to present

Part 2
3 minutes to prepare
8 to 12 minutes to discuss

IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN TASK A:

GREETINGS
*A very good morning I bid to the examiners and fellow candidates
*Good morning everyone.
*Good morning examiners and all my friends

REPEAT SITUATION
*The situation I have been given is…

STATE THE POINT YOU WILL BE TALKING ABOUT
*I think that ________ is the best ……

MAIN POINTS (Suggest 3 Points )
*Firstly, I think that ______ because _.Besides _____For example….

CONCLUSION
*In conclusion, I strongly believe that my point is the best because….

IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN TASK B:

ASKING FOR / GIVING OPINIONS
*What do you think of…?

INTERRUPT
*Excuse me for interrupting, but…
*Pardon me, but could I add something please?

GIVE ENCOURAGEMENT
*Yes, that is a good point.

AGREEMENT/CONSTRUCTIVE/DISAGREEMENT & COMMENT/ELABORATE FURTHER
*I agree with you.
*I completely understand your concern, but I would have to disagree…

QUESTIONING
*What do you think, Candidate A?
*Candidate B, would you like to give us your opinion?

Understanding the situation
Proper preparation hinges on proper understanding of the situation given to the candidate(s). Remember to:
-Analyse the given situation carefully.
-Underline keywords.
-Develop your response.

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a very useful way to gather ideas about a particular topic. As you brainstorm for ideas, you need to plan and organize your ideas in a systemic way. Remember to:
-Jot down your ideas in clusters using keywords
-Avoid writing your ideas in complete sentences
-Plan and organize your ideas as you only have two/three minutes

Useful expressions to close a discussion in Group Interaction

Total agreement

Now that we have presented our points, we have decided that _____. Thank you for a fruitful and interesting discussion. In conclusion, all of us agree that _____. It was a fruitful discussion. Thank you everyone

Scenario 1: 3 agree 1 disagrees

In conclusion, most of us agree that _______. Thank you for your attention.

To conclude, most of us agree that _____is the best choice because _____. Thank you


Scenario 2: 2 agree 2 disagree

To conclude, we are unable to come to a group decision because some of us believe that _____. The rest of us, on the other hand, are of the opinion that _____. Thank you.

In conclusion, we were unable to make a solid decision because some of us strongly believe that the best choice is _____ because ___.while the rest of us think that giving him ___is the most useful because _____. Thank you.


Scenario 3: No one agrees with anyone

We are unable to come to an agreement on _______. All of us strongly believe in our own views though we agree with some of the arguments presented.

In a nutshell, we were unable to come to an agreement on which of the four options is the best choice. It seems all of us strongly believe in our own points so as we have run out of time, we think that we should each buy him a gift individually. Thank you. Thank you for your contributions to this discussion.”

Dos and Don’ts for Speaking Test

Do
-Practise in front of a mirror or get a friend to listen to you and give constructive feedback
-Speak clearly and audibly; pay attention to stress, intonation and pauses
-Use connectives and appropriate expressions
-Listen attentively when others are talking
-Participate actively when others are talking
-Be courteous and diplomatic – accept better suggestions
-Read widely and keep abreast of current issues
-Underline the main ideas or keywords
-Give convincing reasons and examples to support your opinion or suggestion
-Interrupt politely and only when necessary
-Keep within the stipulated time and allocate sufficient time for each point
-Address others appropriately – observe the correct social conventions
-Sit upright, be calm and confident, and smile
-Maintain eye contact
-Use appropriate hand gestures and body language

Don’t
-Mumble, speak softly or shout
-Use fillers like ‘um’, ‘er’ or ‘uh’
-Use peculiar speech habits like ‘lah’, ‘you know’, and ‘actually’
-Fidget, fold your arms or shake your legs
-Fiddle with your pen or tap the table with your pen or fingers
-Give sweeping statements and generalizations
-Be upset if your opinion or suggestion is not accepted
-Make personal remarks, be defensive or be overcritical
-Monopolize the discussion

From: bossku@gmail.com
To: Linda linda@gmail.com
Subject: Online Business

Hi Linda,
I just saw your email. I’m doing great. I just finished sitting for the Semester 2 exams and am looking forward to our family trip to Bhutan next week.
Yes, I missed the Online Business talk as I had to study for the Semester 2 exams. I am glad you enjoyed the talk. I do agree with the speaker that online business is more popular than the traditional way of doing business. Since the Covid19 pandemic people have had little choice but to learn to go online to carry out various transactions from ordering food, to buying clothes, gadgets, groceries and many other things. Even payments are done online nowadays via online banking, E-wallet and many other ways. It is so convenient as well as time and energy saving. I believe this trend will continue.
I am glad to know that you are interested in starting your own online business after you finish your studies. Since you asked for suggestions, I would suggest you sell clothes and ICT products. You can sell clothes of various types – babies’ clothes, children’s clothes, school unforms, adults’ clothes, shoes and so on. You will need a big place to store all these clothes in good condition and employ workers to pack and deliver them to your customers.
Another lucrative business is the IT business where you can sell computers, laptops, printers and even handphones. Today as more and more people are working from home and even educational institutions are carrying out online classes, ICT products are very much in demand. Thus, these two online businesses will certainly bring in big profits to you.
I’m sorry I can’t join you in setting up an online business. Business, whether online or traditional business is not my cup of tea. After STPM, I want to pursue a course in education and become a teacher. I believe teaching is a noble profession. Though it may not make me very rich, I will be very happy educating the future generation and see them succeed as good citizens and human beings. No amount of money and wealth can match the happiness and satisfaction I would get by seeing my students succeed in life. (Band 5+ adalah … 😊😊😊 )
Wishing you all the best, Linda.
Do keep in touch.
Bosssku

From: FLOM@gmail.com
To: Linda linda@gmail.com
Subject: Online Business

Hi Linda,
I just went through your email on Online Business. Yes, I’m doing great now, safe and sound after having come out whole from the one-week Covid19 quarantine.
If not for the mandatory quarantine period I surely would have attended the online business talk last week. Glad to know that you enjoyed the talk. You certainly would have since you are already doing some part-time business online, although in a very small scale helping your mother to sell keropok via Facebook and WhatsApp.
The speaker is right and I agree with her that online business is more popular than the traditional way of doing business. Doing business online is now gaining more popularity as it benefits both customers/consumers and business people or entities. Business entities save costs such as on rentals on retail outlets, utility bills, other overheads and paying wages to extra employees. Via the Internet, businesses can also reach out to a larger market and consumer base, even going global. Besides, consumers too prefer to shop and transact online, from buying food, clothing and groceries to purchasing many of the latest products they see being advertised online. Consumers find it very convenient as it also saves them costs, energy and time and businesses have to cater to the preferences of their consumers or lose out. Thus, it is true that doing business online is preferred to the traditional way of selling and buying.
Am I surprised that you want to venture into online business after completing your studies. I would suggest you expand on the keropok business you are already familiar with to include selling more varieties and choices of food. You can either cook and also deliver food to your customers or just act as middleman and provide delivery services to consumers. There is and always will be demand for food as people need to eat to be alive. More and more people are ordering food online especially during the weekends and public holidays and on those days as there is less traffic on the roads, delivery can be faster.
If you google and search online for popular online purchases, you will find that besides food, fashion products, books and stationery, health supplements and ICT gadgets and products are among the more popular items consumers are looking for to buy. So, I would suggest that you consider selling books and stationery as you can sell academic and non-academic books and stationery and your customers will range from school children to teachers to college students and university lecturers. To succeed you need to keep your prices reasonable and deliver the ordered books and products promptly.
Thanks for asking me but No, I’m sorry I can’t join you in setting up an online business together with you. I don’t think I’m made or cut out to do business especially an online business. I wish to pursue a career in the music and film industry, making music and films. I will let others do the marketing of my creative products, online and face-to-face.
Wishing you all the best, Linda.
Take care
Rossy

Suggested response to the Writing Task 1 Session 2 2022

*Shared by Madam Audrey

Mechanics of Writing- Grammar

This is a very good way of answering the question 👍🏻👏🏻.

Just keep in mind a few key tips

1. use all the notes given
2. DO NOT CHANGE THE WORD GIVEN ( synonym )
3. PLEASE organise your email/letter according to the points. ( 4 para)
4. And always always start with greetings and small talk. Dont go straight to the point.


Answers from textbooks are ok but it’s always better if you read essays from teachers/tutors. 😊

Just some scribbling ....

The lack of appreciation for our culture has caused Malaysians to lose their true identity.

What is culture? It includes language, food, clothing, celebrations, beliefs, cultural practices and so on.
‘Our culture’ or the Malaysian culture – what is it? Malaysia is a multi-racial, multi-religious country. In short, Malaysia is multi-cultural. There are Malays, Chines, Indians, the indigenous people and so on.
We were once colonized by the British but we have not become English.
Do we speak our respective languages, have education in our respective mother tongues, eat our food, still don our traditional clothes, celebrate our respective festivals, hold on to our beliefs and follow our practices? If yes, then we have not lost our true identity of being multi-cultural which is our true identity.
We may want to add we live in harmony, speak a common national language, have open houses, carry out gotong-royongs which are some common features of all the races.
Our true identity is not lost. We may enjoy eating foreign food, enjoy foreign entertainment, wear English clothes but we still do follow our respective cultures in the aspects mentioned above.
Thus, I disagree with the statement ….

Difference between Argumentative essay and Discursive Essay