THE oral exams vary from subject to subject but both honours and pass students take the same exams. In the Irish orals, students read a poem and a piece of prose and answer questions on the prose, for which they are marked out of 40. They then engage in conversation with the examiner and are marked out of 110 up to 70 marks may be awarded for fluency and up to 40 for grammar and accuracy.

The oral exams in the modern languages (including French, German, Spanish and Italian) usually consist of role play, conversation and in some instances story telling through pictures. Last year for the first time schools were sent lists of toring to ensure that marking Standards are fair.

The contents of the aural exam may also vary from subject to subject, but it is essentially a test of listening skills. During the exam students listen to a tape which contains conversations, announcements, weather forecasts or items from news bulletins. Students answer questions about the contents of the tape, section by section. Both questions and answers are written.

In the case of Irish, the questions are written in Irish and candidates are expected to answer in Irish. However, in the modern language aurals, questions and answers are written in the mother tongue either English or Irish.

10 role plays and pictures that would be used in the exams.

In the orals, students are awarded marks for pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and fluency. Examiners ask themselves "Would this student be understood by a native speaker?". But they stress that students don't lose points for making the odd mistake. "The more fluent you are, the more marks you get," says Treasa Ni Chonaola, an Irish teacher at St Michael's College, Ballsbridge, Dublin.

Examiners choose topics of conversation family, hobbies, holidays or sports for example that are familiar to students. The orals, which are of up to 15 minutes duration, are taped and sent to the Department of Education for moni