I dont agree (line 4) Disagreement Im not agree (lines 3, 6 & 19) Disagreement Im agree (line 8) Agreement How about

you? (line 18) Redirect Interaction I dont think so

What your opinion

Im sorry, I dont understand what you mean How about your opinion D? What do you think? (line 3) Direct Interaction How about your opinion? (line 21) Direct Interaction Do you agree? (lines 24 & 43) Direct Interaction Like what? (line 12) Seeking Clarification Im sorry I dont understand. (lines 17, 25 & 37) Seeking Clarification What you mean? (line 30) Seeking Clarification What I meant was/is (lines 19 & 31) Clarifying Yes, I agree with you. (line 33) Agreement Yes, Im agree. (line 45) Agreement Yes, I know. (line 40) Agreement & Clarifying Thats a good suggestion/idea! (lines 42 & 49) Agreement

Agreeing 1 I agree with you. 2 Yes, thats a good idea. 3 Alright, I accept your suggestion. 4 Your suggestion sounds good. 5 Youre right. Disagreeing 1 Im sorry, but I dont agree with that. 2 Im sorry, I dont think thatll work. 3 No, Im afraid I dont see it your way. 4 No, I cannot accept that.

Seeking Clarification: 1 Do you mean that 2 So, youre saying that 3 You think that 4 Sorry, but I dont quite understand. 5 Sorry, could you repeat that please? 6 Sorry, could you say that again, please? Clarifying Oneself: 1 What I said was 2 What I meant was 3 Let me repeat that. 4 Let me explain once again.

Directing Interaction 1 What about you? 2 What do you think? 3 What is your opinion on this matter? 4 How about you? 5 Do you agree to that?

Appendix 3: Sample Extract of Group 3 Discussion Pre-Training Recording <A> So, which charity should we give the money to? How about the childrens ward? The children are sick and lonely, so we can give them the money to let them enjoy. Line 1 <B> I dont agree. I think em orphanage because because they have no one, no money. So give themlah! Line 5 <D> No, Im not agree. I think old folks Home more better. Ah they old people, have no one caring them. <C> Im agree. Old people, people always forget. There not many money for them. But also ah how about fund for victims of war? They also need money. Line 10 <A> Yes, but I think it still should be given to the Childrens Ward. We only have RM3,000 which isnt much, so its much better if we give it to the children to enjoy. <D> How about old people? They have no money also. They are so lonely, you know. Can buy many thing for them. Line 15 <C> Uh I dont think so. I now feel orphanage, because they always what? kurang ah not enough financial. Always wear old clothes, food always is not good. So, how about you B? <B> Im not agree with you. AhahWhat you think? <D> Old folk are special. They are parents. They also need more Line 20 money becausebecauseah and orphanage, people always sedekah? What that word? ah <C> I dont think so! I see so many orphanage no money.

<A> Yes, but the charity that most needs it is the Childrens Ward. Line 24 Post Training Recording <A> Natural disasters are terrible but with all of us and the Line 1 authorities to help, it would help the victims. So, what can we do? What do you think B? <B> I think can have gotong-royong to help to clean up like after water ah rain heavyah. Line 5 <A> After the floods, you mean? <B> Ahyesyes! People can bring food, clothes to help the kampung people. <A> Yes, we could also have a volunteers group to help people. The volunteers would go around helping the victims, helping to Line 10 raise funds. There are lots of natural disasters, you know <C> Like what? <A> Like floods, land slides, fire <C> Yahyah! We have to form groups, young people to help increase financial of the victims ah because they have no Line 15 money, all got lost or burn. <B> Im sorry, I dont understand what you mean young people to increase financial? <C> What I mean is they can helplah to to collect money, I think. <B> Oh! Raise fundslah! To buy cloth, food rice. Build their houses Line 20 again. How about your opinion D? <D> We can get people to give money. Like A say, have volunteer group to collect money or get sponsor like big companies or corporate people. Do you agree C? <C> Im sorry, what you mean corporate people? Line 25 <D> We can get money from the big companiesah that is corporate. <C> Oh, I see! What about police, ambulance, bomba ahfire <A> Fire department! <C> Ah! Fire department! And all can also help. <B> What you mean all can also help? Line 30 <C> What, I meant was that the fire department, police can help together.

The English Teacher Vol.XXXIV

<A> Yes, I agree with you. All of these people must help. But we ordinary people must help them also. Maybe, the volunteer group that we form can be trained to help them. Like when Line 35 there are too many victims we volunteers can help out. <B> Im sorry, but I dont understand. What you mean help out. If the professional are there, how we can help out? We dont have expert. <A> Yes, I know, but we can be trained first. So, whenever theres Line 40 a disaster, the volunteers who are trained can help out. <C> Yes, thats a good suggestion. I also think we should collect funds ah because money is so important. Do you agree or not D? <D> Yes, Im agree. As I say before, we must collect funds, maybe Line 45 have funfair oror jualan ah <B> Sales? <D> Yah! but sale cloth, old cloth or things. <A> Jumble sales? Thats a good idea!

You are in the selection committee for the special teacher award in conjuction with the teacher Day Celebration . which teacher should be give the award ? Candidate A : the teacher who produce the best academic result (Akirah) Candidate B : the most creative teacher ( Azliza ) Candidate C : the most caring teacher ( Iena) Candidate D : the teacher who has served the longest in the school (Liza)

TASK A
CANDIDATES A Good morning to the examiners and my fellow friends. I think the teacher who should be given the award on the Teachers Day celebration is the teacher who produces the best academic result .This is because the teacher can create good performance in school. Firstly ,the teacher has organized many programs to increase the examination in school .For example ,the teacher makes program exploration ,starting from 2.45pm until 4.30pm.Besides that ,the teacher can do the program like answering techniques for each subject during school holidays or Saturday and even at night .It can increase the result in school. Secondly ,the teacher also helps to attract student to study .For example, teacher makes extra classes without taking any payment ,then the students will study smart and hard and this can increase the school rank in the state. Lastly the teacher will not stop to increase the performance of the students .The teacher also can contributes ideas to increase the quality of the school .For example ,the teacher will give student a lot of exercises ,make extra class and tuition continuously even until the exam is around the corner. In conclusion ,I think the best teacher should be given the award is the teacher who produces the best academic result.

CANDIDATES B The teacher who should be given the award in the teachers day celebration is the most creative teachers. Creative teachers can make students enjoy in their studies and learning process more happening. My first point is, teachers always create the new situation for their classes. For example, they do not only use the same classroom for their teaching period, but they try to find the other comfortable places such as the open space to do their teaching activities. The impact is that student not si stress full in that class.

My second point is, creative teachers always use the relaxing teaching activities such as learning by doing the quiz. The information can be created and delivered when students try to fulfill the quiz questions. The activities can make all the students give their opinion and the learning process can be more interesting. Last but not least, the creative teacher will always find the way to make sure that students can get more information and knowledge with their creative notes. Creative notes can make students understand the subject they learn better. The conclusion is, students can be make creative and smart in their study field because of all the activities. The impact is that their study result can be more excellent. That is why the award must be given to the creative teachers. CANDIDATES C A very good morning I bid to one and all. I have to a form committee for the teachers day celebration. The special teacher award on the teachers day is the the most caring teachers. We need teachers who care to improve students' personality The first reason give the award to a caring teacher on the teachers day is because students can share their problem with these teachers. I think this is important because, these teacher have been helping problems faced by students, for example in term of emotion, health and education. The second reason is, the teacher can give attention to students. This is because many students will seek him or her to improve their learning because they are cormfortable to see the teacher. Most students would feel himself appreciated by the teacher and in return students will show respect for their teachers. As a result they will strive to get good marks in exam. Lastly, caring teachers concerned to produce good students. For example , in terms of self- discipline . A good relationship between teachers with students can facilitate learning. Teachers also can be role model to their students. To conclude, i think that the best award should go to caring teachers because these teacher have to be appreciated. Thank you

CANDIDATES D

I would like to wish everyone here a very good morning. As we all know the special teacher awars will be given to one of the teachers in commemoration the teachers day celebration. Therefore, I have decided to give the award to the teacher who has served the longest in the school. First and foremost, the teacher who has served the longest in the school has much experience. The teacher can share his experience with the new teachers and students. For instance, the teachers can explain about the history of his school to the new teachers and they can learn a actual situation of the school from the senior teacher. So the new teachers will be interested to teach at this school soon. Furthermore, the teacher who has served the longest in the school can also give some advice to the new teachers how to handle students cases based on the students background. The next reason. is the teacher has a lot of knowledge in many areas or in studies. It because, the teachers who has served the longest in the school know more about his students behavior and he know how to solve their problem. He also has many ideas to teach the students and new teachers can learn the new techniques. In a nutshell, giving the award to the teacher who has served the longest in the school is good idea. This is because, the teacher have much experience and is knowledge end he can also share it with new teachers. Thank you for listening to my opinion.

TASK B

es C: Good morning everyone, we are here to discus for the teacher award in conjunction with the teachers day celebration.Candidates A would you like to share your opinion with us? es A: Yes, I would thank you. I strongly believe that who should be given the award on the teachers day celebration is the teacher who produces the best academic result. Why do I say so , the teacher has organized many program, for example, smart exploration program, answering technique and so on. Do you agree with me candidates D? es D: I am sorry, candidate A,I dont agree with you poin. I do not think that the award should be given to the teacher who produced the best academic result on teachers day .in my opinion, I would say that the teacher would has served the

longest in the school should be given the award . this is because, the teacher has much experience and this teacher can share his experience with new teachers. es B: Excuse me candidate D may I interrupt? es D: Yes, please go ahead. es B: Thank you candidate D, I see your point, but I have the new point. I think the caring teachers should be given the award. I say that because, the teachers can approachable easily. So the students can share their problem with this teacher. What do you think candidate C? es C: Yes, I agree with your point, because the caring teacher can give attention to all student. So the student will seek and improve their learning because they are comfortable with the teachers. e A: I do not agree with you.i think yhe caring teacher are not suitable. This is because the students will depend full from the teacher. So, the best point is the teacher who produces the best academic result should be given the award. Do you agree with me candidate D? es D: Yes I agree with you. Well, now that we have presented all our viewpoint. What do you have to say candidates B. es C: I support the opinion of candidate A that the award should be given the teacher to best academics result. e A: So, we all agree that the award should be given the teacher who produces the best academic result. Thank you. MUET October 2006 How a fresh graduate can succeed in workplace besides good academics? * Good communication skills * Ability to cooperate with others * Computer skills * Self-discipline

How to encourage the students to read more? * Set up a reading corner around the college * Equip the library with more interesting materials * Second hand book store * Reward those who read more

What would make a good life partner? * Religious * Wealthy * Good-looking * Fun to be with

How to promote tourism in Malaysia? * Build more tourist spots * Build more affordable hotels * Using Information Technology (IT) * More facilities

How to attract customers? * Reasonable price * Extend business hours * Fresh goods * Helpful and courteous staffs

What challenge would be faced by youth in 21st century? * Knowledgeable skills * Resources * Information and Communication Technology (ICT) * Good in studies and active in co-curriculum activities

Instructions to candidates: Task A: Individual presentation

Study the stimulus or topic given. You are given two minutes to prepare your responses. You are given two minutes to present. Listen to the others while they are making their presentations and take down notes for the group discussion in Task B.

Task B: Group discussion

You are given two minutes to prepare points to support or oppose the other candidates views. After you have listened to everyone, try to come to a decision as to which of the four suggestions is the best. Your group is given ten minutes for the discussion.

Task A and Task B will be carried out consecutively. Situation Your brother has been given the opportunity to study in England on a government scholarship. You and your family are very proud of him. Decide on a special gift for him to prepare for his trip abroad. Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why. Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful. i. cash ii. a computer iii. some suitable clothing iv. some Malaysian foodstuff

Candidate A Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.

Good morning to the examiners and my fellow friends. Im very happy that my brother has just received a scholarship to study in England. My relatives and I would like to give him a special gift. We all think that the best gift is money because it will be very useful for him. The first reason is with cash he can buy the things that he needs when he gets there. There will me a lot of things that he will need like new books, stationery, clothes and food. He will also need to pay for transportation like taking the bus or train to go to the university campus. As we know, it is very expensive in England so any money we give him will be very useful. Secondly, my brother can use the money to buy a mobile phone when he gets to England. I think this is very important in case of emergencies so we can contact him easily. Furthermore, he can sms us and keep us updated with his progress in his studies there. Hence, if we really miss him we can just give him a call. Finally, I also think giving him money is the best choice because it is light and doesnt take up a lot of space. If we were to give him a computer, books or winter clothes it will be very heavy and bulky for him to bring to England. Therefore, I think that it is much easier to bring money and buy those things when he gets there. In conclusion, these are some of the reasons why I think giving him cash is the best choice. To me, it is the most useful gift we can give him. Thank you.

Candidate B
Task A: You suggest that they give him a computer. Say why. A very good morning I bid to one and all. My relatives and I are very proud of my brother. He has just received a scholarship to study in England and so we would like to give him a special gift. We believe that the best present for him is a laptop computer. Firstly, as a university student, my brother will have to do many assignments. If he has a laptop computer he can bring it everywhere and consequently, do his work anytime and anywhere. Thus, he will not have to share the computers at the computer room with other students and he will be able to do his work more quickly and efficiently. Another point is that when he boards the plane from KLIA to London, he will be able to bring the laptop with him easily because it is compact and light compared to a desktop computer. Hence, it will not be too much trouble to transport it to England. Last but not least, if he has a laptop he will be able to connect to the internet. This has two main advantages as firstly, he can do a lot of research online. The world wide web is a fountain of information so it will be very useful for him to make full use of this technology. Furthermore, he can keep in touch with friends and family here in Malaysia by e-mail. In short, a laptop computer will prove to be very useful to my brother. He can do his assignments, research for information and keep in touch with us using it therefore it will make the best gift. Thank you for listening.

Candidate C
Task A: You suggest that they give him some suitable clothing. Say why. To the examiners and my fellow candidates, a wonderful morning I bid you. My brother was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to study overseas. We want to send him off with a nice gift so we have decided to buy him some suitable clothing. The main purpose for buying him some suitable clothing is because the weather in England is very different from the weather in our country. There are four seasons there so he will need to have different clothes for different situations. For

example, we can buy him some sweaters, cardigans, scarves, snowcaps, thick socks and gloves and many more. These will definitely keep him warm in winter. The second reason is we think that he should have clothes that reflect our Malaysian identity. This is because he will be a young ambassador for our country so if he has a few sets of traditional clothing like the Baju Melayu or formal Batik shirts, I am sure he will not only look good but promote our culture overseas. Lastly, neat clothes make a good impression. For instance, if we buy him some everyday clothes like jeans and trousers with nice shirts and matching ties, this will give him a good feeling about himself so he will walk a bit straighter and talk a bit wiser. Moreover, people will look at him and have a good impression about Malaysian students. To conclude, I think that the best present to give him is some suitable clothing because it will be very useful and will reflect positively on him. Thank you very much.

Candidate D
Task A: You suggest that they give him some Malaysian foodstuff. Say why. I would like to wish everyone here a very good morning. As we all know, my brother has won a scholarship to study in England. Therefore, some relatives and I have decided to give him some Malaysian foodstuff as a going away present. First and foremost, one of the main problems Malaysians face when studying overseas is that it is hard to find Halal food. We feel it is a good idea to give him some Malaysian foodstuff because it will take time for him to get used to the place and find out where to buy Halal food. Thus, in the meantime he can enjoy the Malaysian foodstuff that we have given to him. The next reason is because some of the foodstuff we are used to having here in Malaysia is quite hard to find in UK. Most students studying overseas really enjoy eating Maggi Mee and sambal belacan. For instance, it is also hard to find the right spices for curry and rendang and so on so if we supply him with enough Malaysian foodstuff, he can eat it whenever he misses home. The final point I have is that he can use the Malaysian foodstuff we give him and cook it for the Westerners there. Sometimes, universities organise events like Malaysian Night and so he and his friends can cook some Malaysian specialities for them to taste a bit of our way of life. Hence, the Malaysian foodstuff will be very useful to promote our culture. In a nutshell, giving my brother Malaysian foodstuff to take with him to England is a good idea. This is because he will have some familiar food to eat when he misses home and he can also share it with his new friends. Thank you for listening to my opinion.

Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful. i. Cash ii. A computer iii. Some suitable clothing iv. Some Malaysian foodstuff * Work together in your respective groups and complete the following discussion.

A: Good morning once again to everyone. We are here to focus on the issue at hand which is __________________________________________________________. I would like to invite anyone of you to kickstart this discussion by giving us your point of view. B: Allow me to begin. First of all, Im happy that our brother has won the scholarship to study in England. Therefore, we must decide what would be the most useful gift for him. In my opinion, I strongly believe that _______________ _________________________________________________________________. This is because I think he can _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. For example, ______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

C: I see your point but how about getting him ______________________________. In this way, he can use it to ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. D: I dont quite agree with you because ____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. I think it would be more useful if we bought _______________________ for him. Does anyone agree with me? Yes, I agree with you. To add to your point, I feel that _________________________________________________________________. ______________________

A:

This is so he will ___________________________________________________. C: Im afraid I dont see eye to eye with both of you. Buying that as a present for him is not the most useful gift because __________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. Moreover, ________________________________________________________. Can you all understand what Im trying to say? B: Indeed, I do see your point of view but I still feel that the most useful gift is __________________ because it can ___________________________________. Another reason is ___________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. For instance, _______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. D: Thats an interesting perspective and I agree with you that ___________________ _________________________________________________________________. However, I think we should consider other points. We should also think about buying him _______________________________________________________. he gets this as a present, he can ______________________________________ ____________________________________________. Wouldnt you agree? and

If

A: Im not sure I understand what you are saying. Can you explain it again, please. D: What I mean is we should buy him _____________________________________ because it will me more useful for him when he is studying in England. This is because ___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

A:

Aaah I see. Yes, I think it would be a very useful gift too. _________________________________________________________________.

This

way,

he

can

C: Thats a good point, but dont you think if we gave him _____________________ it will be the most useful for him as a student. I still believe that this is the most useful because _____________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. Remember, we need to think of the best and most useful choice. B: I agree with you, Candidate C. In addition, he can use this gift to _____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ ___. So candidates A & D, what do you guys think?

D: Now that youve explained it like that, I also agree that it will be the most useful. In fact, he could also use it to _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. A: As for me, I feel that it is also the most useful. When he arrives at his university in England, he will be able to ____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. C: Thats right. Well, after listening to all the points on the four choices we have, I think it is time to make a conclusion. D: Yes, I think so too. Does everyone agree that we should _______________________________________ as a special going away present? give our brother

All: Yes, I agree. B: In a nutshell, we all agree that _______________________________ is the best choice because firstly, he can _________________________________________, secondly, ________________________________________________ and finally _________________________________________________________________. Thank you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What to conclude if after 10 minutes of discussion.

A) Agree = 3, Disagree = 1
Conclusion: To conclude, MOST OF US agree that ______________________ is the best choice because ________________________________. ___________________________________________. Thank you.

B) Agree = 2, Disagree = 2
Conclusion: In conclusion, we were unable to make a solid decision because

SOME OF US stongly believe that the best choice is __________ because _______________________________________________ while THE REST OF US think that giving him _______________ is the most useful because _________________ ___________________________________________. Thank you.

C) All Disagree
Conclusion: 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.