Oral Examination: Presentation and Discussion
What this section tests
The oral has two parts: a short prepared presentation on a chosen topic (often linked to study, community, culture or a personal interest), then a discussion with the examiner on that topic and on general themes. Marks reward fluency, range, accuracy, pronunciation and interaction - not just content.
Concepts to master
- Presentation structure: greeting, topic statement, two or three developed points with examples, a conclusion, and an invitation for questions (Ako imate pitanja, rado ću odgovoriti).
- Signposting language: Najpre, zatim, pored toga, s druge strane, da zaključim.
- Interactive strategies: asking for clarification (Možete li da ponovite?), paraphrasing when a word is missing (To je kao...), buying time naturally (Pa, dobro pitanje...).
- Pronunciation: consistent stress, clear distinction of č/ć and dž/đ, correct vowel length in genitive plurals.
- Discussion topics: education, family, environment, media, Serbian culture and traditions - prepare vocabulary fields for each.
Traps
Reciting a memorised script and then failing to answer follow-up questions. Giving one-word answers in the discussion. Panicking over an unknown word instead of paraphrasing. Ignoring the examiner's question and returning to prepared material. Speaking too fast and losing case endings.
Rule of thumb
Prepare your presentation as five cue cards, not a script - one card per point with key vocabulary. Practise saying each point aloud in three different ways so you can adapt when the examiner interrupts. In the discussion, answer the question first, then add one reason or example; this builds length without rambling.
Worked example
Topic: why learning a second language matters. Cue card 2 might read: prednosti - posao, putovanja, mozak; primer - praktikujem engleski sa kolegama. On the day this becomes: Pored toga što otvara mogućnosti za posao, učenje jezika pomaže i na putovanjima; na primer, engleski koristim svakog dana sa kolegama. The cue card keeps you fluent; the sentence shows range.