The new oral format was recently just announced. One of the most drastic change is replacing the picture description segment with video description. Personally I was appalled by the bold changes as I feel that the ministry is raising the bar for Chinese which might in turn shun more students away from embracing the subject.
Why is video description more difficult that the former picture description?
1) The contents of the picture would change quickly and thus foundation-ally weak students may not be able to respond in time with a proper description. Normally the students would be given time to view the video beforehand to prepare. Yet many would forget specific details at the beginning after completing the video. This is unlike picture description where the picture is just stagnant for you to see and describe.
2) the dialogue in the videos may be misheard due to its speed. Careful listening must be observed.
3)videos without dialogue are harder to interpret. Especially the one on the topic of tourist attractions, students do not know how to say.
4) inaccurate use of vocabulary.
5)students' sentences are not coherent.
How to cope with the changes?
1)I will normally use the recent, most talked about news broadcast and make them watch and answer questions, mastering their answering skills.
3)use audio or video recording, webcam for practice which is the most effective way to learn.
