Eiken 1 Speaking

I teach English in a small rural town in Japan. My students are - at the highest level - intermediate standard. Now I have a young man who passed the written section of Eiken 1 earlier this year but failed the speaking section. Eiken 1 is an extremely difficult examination and apparently often native English speakers fail. Although I have a Masters in TESOL I am scratching my head at the difficult questions posed in this speaking test. The best help I have received so far has been through a teacher in Japan who also belong to `using English.com` - not sure whether he wants me to name him - but if he reads this - many thanks. Can anyone help me and this young Japanese man - he will be sitting the speaking test in June and will undoubtedly be having sleepless nights. Jack the Geordie in Japan.

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

Can you give us an example of the sort of questions that are causing so many problems, even for native speakers?

Yes - this was submitted by a member of our community. Many thanks to him.

The student has 1 minute to read the question and 2 minutes to make the speech. This is followed by 4 minutes questioning by 2 examiners - one Japanese and the other a native speaker. Just try it yourself and see how difficult it is. Thanks Piscean.

emsr2d2 said:

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

Can you give us an example of the sort of questions that are causing so many problems, even for native speakers?

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Thank you for the welcome. :-D

Sample:

1.What role should the United Nations play in international politics?

2. Do the rich have a responsibility to help the poor in society?

3. Is tradition worth preserving?

4. Should students be asked to evaluate their teachers?

5. `Honesty is the best policy` - in all situations?

Choose one of these in one minute and then speak for 2 minutes.

Given that your student won't know the questions in advance, the best thing you can do is keep getting him to do "on the fly" speeches. You give him a topic, he has one minute to prepare and then has to speak for two minutes. You'll have to pick really random topics! I don't envy him (or you).

There are probably some stock sentences he will be able to use to take up a little bit of his time, though it will need not to be too obvious! He can start any speech with "This question is one which would prompt interesting debates. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to give you my thoughts on it" and end with "I hope you've enjoyed hearing my opinion on this top and thank you for listening". (I'm not familiar with the exam so it is possible that such openings and closings are discouraged because they would be deemed content-free time-fillers. If that's not the case, I'd be inclined to try it!)

Can your student remember what topic he chose and what he said in the exam he failed? Did he get feedback?

emsr2D2

Very good suggestions.

I like your idea of prepared opening sentences and concluding sentences.
We have to have some kind of pre-thought out framework on which he can build the 2 minutes.

On reflection Eiken 1 is not only a test of English fluency but also of current political events, social science, economics and - intelligence.

The young man is coming tomorrow and I will ask him about his exam topic and any feedback.

jackinkatsuura said:

The young man is coming tomorrow and I will ask him about his exam topic and any feedback.

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Further to the above:

There were 5 questions to choose from.He could only remember two.

1. Is globalization good for developing countries.

2.

3.

4. Does media have influence on politics?

5.

He had one minute to choose and initially chose 1. but was not sure about the difference between `developing` and `developed` so chose 4.

The two examiners gave no feedback. The American gave a pleasant smile.

jackinkatsuura said:

Can anyone help me and this young Japanese man - he will be sitting the speaking test in June and will undoubtedly be having sleepless nights.

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I've taken the Eiken 1 speaking test a few times. I suggest you consult several Japanese teachers of English.

I've stumbled upon this thread five years later and it makes for interesting reading.

I have been told by my employers to help an Eiken Grade 1 student with her speaking exam. I am a native speaker living outside Japan, (although I have taught in Japan previously) and have no experience of Eiken whatsoever.

I've been doing my own research and am frankly baffled at the apparent lack of guidance for Eiken teachers, especially if you don't read Japanese, and practice materials like coursebooks- along with the ridiculously high requirements to pass this exam.

If anyone has any further thoughts and advice (based on concrete experience of teaching the exam, and not conjecture, please) then please share them here; I'd be very grateful.

jackinkatsuura said:

Yes - this was submitted by a member of our community. Many thanks to him.

The student has one minute to read the question and two minutes to make the speech. This is followed by four minutes of questioning by two examiners - one Japanese and the other a native speaker. Try it yourself and see how difficult it is.

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It makes no sense to me that they would want me to talk without thinking beforehand. I'm certainly not used to doing that, and I'm sure I'm not any good at it. What would it mean that I fail at that?

Can they use TOEFL instead of this?