Foreign language oral exam trouble

Post Reply New Topic

YAY! A first post! Anyway, I'm a freshman aspie who's in French I after taking Japanese I last year. The written final was in a very different format, which bugged me, but I think I salvaged that part. To get to the point, I have an oral exam for my French class coming up, and 10 points out of 40 are for eye contact and body language, which I have consistently failed in for both the English and Japanese languages with the addition of the French Language to that list. I saw a post for eye contact in the friendship forum (which I'll try tonight; thanks to the person who posted that). I can use body language with my conversations conducted by use of English if I really focus, but I find that when I concentrate on fixing the grammar and vocabulary in my head, my body language ceases to exist (and effective body language to enhance communication is a component of the grade). Does anyone know a good way to keep track of the facts of situations in which body language might be employed?

Thanks!

Hi Earthmonkey!

Do you have an IEP in place at school? If so, I'd agrue that not being graded on eye contact was a reasonable accomidation.

BeeBee

Hello earthmonkey. I think it's cool that you are learning foreign languages. Oral exams have always made me a bit nervous.

I fully agree with BeeBee's advice. If you don't have an IEP or 504 Plan, maybe you could have your parents e-mail or call your teacher and expain the situation.

Thankies, BeeBee and Bec. I actually used to have a 504 in my other district, but somehow it didn't get transferred when I got enrolled in my current, charter school. Thanks again.

Best of luck on your oral exam! They aren't the best things, especially if they aren't in your native language! One thing that I found helpful is to pick a few spots on the walls around the room and look at them while giving an oral report.

Good luck!

eye contact and body language? i would talk to the teacher about your disability if i were you. being a language teacher, he/she should be aware of the problems that can arise with specific syndromes/disorders.

intonation is more important in french, anyway. i view it as acting. if you can imitate what you think the tone might be, you will usually be right (french has a very predictable pattern inasmuch as tone of voice is concerned. pitch rises at the end of questions, falls at the end of declarative statements.





this happens to me, too! i find that the only way to work out this conflict is to study the grammar and vocabulary until it is second nature. then you can utilize the tone/body language/etc... it's just like when an actor learns his lines by heart. (;

Hello, all. I know it's been a long time since the post, but I ended up with a 39 or 40 out of 40, which was especially good, considering that I was paired up with the one person at my school I regard with contempt. Thanks, everyone!

Excellent job!

Thanks for the update.

BeeBee