[etni] Fw:re: Oral Bagrut

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Louise - <lu_mmm@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Oral Bagrut

Firstly, let me say that I believe that it is vital, in learning any 
language, that students be able to verbally communicate. Without the ability 
to speak - what is the point? In looking at our students' future, the 
ability to speak English is a skill that will help them get better jobs, 
more pay, as well as help Israel to become competitive in a global economy. 
Diplomats, businessmen, politicians, researchers, scientists will all (and 
do now) need an excellent command of English.

Having said this, I ONLY speak English in my classes - this is true of 3 
points to 5 point Bagrut as well as elementary classes when I taught them. 
At first the students panic when they realize I won't speak Hebrew. 
Actually, my Hebrew is very poor and I let them know that this is because I 
do not speak. Through gentle encouragement they begin to relax and the next 
thing I know they are speaking! In the beginning I do not correct them - I 
want them to relax and know that speaking with mistakes is better than not 
speaking at all. Slowly, slowly students are speaking English with me in as 
well as outside the classroom - and it is beautiful to see. By the time they 
get to the Bagrut Oral exams, there is not much to do but to review what 
type of questions they may get as well as to re-visit their projects.

You may ask, how can they understand me if I dont speak Hebrew? You will be 
surprised to know that between drawing and doing a modified charades does 
wonders in teaching vocabulary. Also, there is ALWAYS 1-2 students who know 
the word and can give the Hebrew translation.

I think "the system" must have better faith in our students that they can 
learn to speak a foreign language no matter what their 'level' is. Being 
able to speak and doing a Bagrut are two separate things. If we really want 
to help our students' future than I say speaking should be as important as 
doing an unseen. A student is more likely to need this skill. Therefore in 
my mind I would have English only classes at all grades and levels.

Louise

Linda wrote:
> I think the oral bagrut is important. First, if something isn't tested,
> it isn't (usually) taught, and the test forces teachers to get the kids
> speaking for any length of time for the only time during their high school
> careers, in most cases. Also, if the kids have to talk to me to prepare 
> for
> an exam, they do, something they are shy of doing otherwise. For these
> reasons, I am 100% in favor of the exam.

Batya wrote:
> Someone recently wrote about how farcical the oral Bagrut has become due
> to the great variance in testers' standards (i.e., more than a few don't 
> 'go
> by the book'), which makes the results of the test totally unreliable.
> Considering all the wasted time (both teachers' and students') and money
> (the MOE's), wouldn't it make simple good sense to do away with this
> segment of the Bagrut exam?
> Moreover, as long as there are English teachers who use Hebrew as the main
> language for communication in the classroom (even for 5 pointers), how can
> the Ministry expect us to test them in spoken English? Are we counting on
> the English our students hear on TV and movies or the kind of literature
> they usually read?
> Though I haven't come up with an alternative to the present system, I
> think most of us would agree that the time spent on preparing for the oral 
> test
> would be better used in preparation for the written exams -- not to
 > mention that there should be more to 12th grade English than the looming 
Bagrut.
> Thanks to ETNI for providing a place to gripe!


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