Preparation for OGE. My Top Tips

OGE is a state exam held in Russian schools upon the completion of the ninth grade. It is targeted at assessing the knowledge gained during nine years of study at school. Like any other type of exam, it evokes feelings of fear, worry and excitement among exam takers. Things get worse taking into account that in this very case we deal with teens and their parents. However, there are a bunch of useful tips which are of utmost assistance while preparing students for OGE.

1. One of the most important aspects is the consistent focus on four language skills  (reading, writing, speaking, listening) as all of them are assessed within the framework of the exam. For the equal proportion of time devoted to the development of the given skills, from time to time I organize weeks devoted to specific skills, for example, a week of reading and writing or a week of speaking and listening. During this week students are exposed to the completion of tasks which hone the given skill. At the end of the week, they recap the main knowledge and tips gained through the practice. Below, I will note some practical tips for each skill respectively.
2. Students do practice tests once a week. They are timed while writing the test. After the test students are given immediate feedback on writing and speaking. Keys to the reading and listening sections are given to reflect back at home. During the next lesson, mistakes are discussed with the teacher.
   

   Reading

   As during the exam, two types of reading are examined (matching paragraphs with the heading and reading with true/false/not stated multiple choice). From the very first reading, I practice the tips given in the open bank of tasks available in the official site for OGE. This will enable the learners to have hands-on experience on the type of readings which they may have during the exam.

   Writing
   As writing tasks require certain fixed expressions to be implemented, some pre-writing work is done with students in this case. I prepared a table with some categories and the expressions used for these categories.
   

   

   Before they pass to the actual writing task available in the open bank of assignments, they are given a lot of ready-made letters which they need to change from formal to informal ones and use the target language provided by me. In this way, they get used to the register, style and memorize the fixed expressions. Then this stage is completed they are assigned writings as homework and get feedback during the next lesson.

   Speaking
   

   As speaking requires not only accurate usage of tenses but also a good range of topic-based vocabulary, I have sorted out the main topics which are discussed during the speaking tasks (School, Holidays, Sports, Pets, TV, Cinema, Books, Healthy Lifestyle, etc.) and under each topic we learn words which are used the most while discussing these topics (Travelling> go abroad, buy a ticket, go cycling/sightseeing, etc). When the students need to talk on the tasks, before passing to the speech they mention some words they remember on the given topic and then try to use those words in the actual speech.
   Besides words, students are also given some fixed expressions they can use while expressing their opinion (to my thought, as for me, the way I see it). Expressions, like I think, in my opinion, are taboo words for my students. We practice speaking part together in the lesson several times, then I ask to record the speaking part of the test and send the recordings to me. Later they get feedback from me. That saves a lot of time during our lessons.

   Listening

   While practising listening tasks, I follow the same procedure as implemented in the case of reading. Students are provided with some practical tips for each type of listening and they must ground each answer chosen. This triggers their speaking skills as well.

3. Instruction of tenses and practice on word-formation is done parallel to the development of four skills. The only important thing which I always exercise is that I devote the first 10-15 classes in the course to the full investigation and practice of grammar tenses and the examination of word-formation principles. As soon as students get some background knowledge in these two spheres, we pass to the intensive practice of the four language skills. However, the improvement of grammar items and word-formation principles proceeds to the end of the course.These tips are of great help for students to pass the test successfully and step on a new stage of their life with confidence.