The Group Gift and the Repeated Monologue
Oral exam, Part 2, paired interaction. Candidate Sofia, 18, is paired with Nikos. The prompt: choose a leaving gift for their English teacher, Mrs. Dimou, with a budget of €30; the gift must be usable in class and must include a card signed by the class. Sofia has prepared a speech about a €28 hardback dictionary. Nikos suggests a €15 fern and a €5 card, leaving €10 for a class photo. Sofia says: «Όχι, αυτό είναι βαρετό. Το βιβλίο είναι καλύτερο. Το βιβλίο είναι καλύτερο.» She repeats it three times and does not look at Nikos. The examiner gives them two minutes to decide. Sofia’s vocabulary and grammar are strong; her teacher predicted a high mark. However, the interaction criteria include turn-taking, responding to the partner, and negotiating.
1. Why is Sofia likely to lose interaction marks despite accurate Greek?
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The task is interaction, not a presentation. Sofia treats it as a monologue: she rejects Nikos’s idea with «αυτό είναι βαρετό», gives no reason tied to the brief, repeats the same sentence instead of developing it, and does not ask Nikos a question or acknowledge his budget point.
She also ignores the constraint that the gift must include a card signed by the class. Her dictionary does not obviously include that element, and she does not negotiate how to add it. Repeating «Το βιβλίο είναι καλύτερο» may show accurate grammar, but it does not show turn-taking, responding, or reaching a decision. The examiner cannot award interaction marks for language that is accurate but functionally one-sided.
2. Write two Greek turns Sofia could use: one to disagree politely and one to move toward a decision. Explain what each turn repairs.
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Polite disagreement: «Καταλαβαίνω ότι το φυτό είναι πιο οικονομικό, αλλά μήπως θα ήταν πιο χρήσιμο ένα λεξικό για την τάξη;» This acknowledges Nikos’s proposal («Καταλαβαίνω ότι…»), gives a criterion from the brief («χρήσιμο για την τάξη»), and invites a response with «μήπως». It repairs the blunt rejection.
Move toward a decision: «Τι θα λέγατε να βάλουμε 20 ευρώ για το λεξικό και 10 ευρώ για την κάρτα και τη φωτογραφία;» This proposes a concrete compromise inside the €30 budget, includes the card requirement, and uses a first-person plural form that treats the decision as joint. It repairs the repetition and gives Nikos something specific to accept or modify.