FRESHMEN WST SPEAKING QUESTIONS
1BB
1BB Literature and Writing (J. Klagová)
Every student will draw out one question and one literary term that he/she will explain and give an
example of.
1BB LW 1: C. S. Lewis
Name significant events of C. S. Lewis life. Name a few books by C. S. Lewis. Why do you think our
school is named after him? We read his short story The Man Born Blind, what was it about? What is
the message of the book?
1BB LW 2: Charles Dickens: A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Who wrote the book and when? How are social classes depicted in the book? What stereotypes did
Dickens use in his book? Describe Scrooge and the change that he goes through. Describe Victorian
England. How did celebrating Christmas change during the 19th century?
1BB LW 3: STORY ELEMENTS
What is the plot? Using A Christmas Carol as an example explain the story elements. What is the
setting of the story? Who are the characters? What is the main idea of the story? What types of
conflicts can we find there? What is the message of the book?
1BB LW 4: NON-SENSE LITERATURE
What is a non-sense literature? What is it based on? What is a limerick? What is a homophone?
Whowere the main representatives of a non-sense literature? Choose one of them and explain who he
was, what he wrote etc.
1BB LW 5: THE PROCESS OF WRITING
What should you do before you start to write? What should be checked after finishing writing? What
is a paragraph? Define a topic, supporting and concluding sentence. What makes a strong topic
sentence? How do we structure our ideas in the paragraph to make it complete and coherent? What is
a summarizing paragraph? What are linking or transition words? Give examples.
1 BB Global Studies (M. Edsall & S. Vachálková)
1BB GS 1. What is globalization? What are the motives of people to leave their countries? How do
these motivations contribute to globalization? What is a „Global Citizen“ and what might motivate
a person to be one?
1BB GS 2. Describe the life in a slum – in what conditions do the people live? What are their major
needs? Can you make suggestions on how an individual could escape poverty?
1BB GS 3. We talked about impact of pandemics like HIV/AIDS. Mention some myths connected to the
disease, but mainly focus on the impact of the disease on the individual, mention the impact in
connection to their place in community, their status and acceptance in the community.
1BB GS 4. This year Western Africa has been struggling with the Ebola outbreak. What impact could
an outbreak have on a community, focus on economy, education and children and families? Why is it
difficult to contain the disease in Western Africa? What enables the virus to spread? Suggest possible
ways of containing the disease.
1BB GS 5. Describe your final project – which topic did your group choose? What interviews did you
make (where and with whom)? What were the hardships and successes while making the project?
What new did you learn about the topic through this project?
1BB American Studies (S. Markowitz)
1BB AS 1: What are some of the ways that physical geography and people/culture have been tied
together in the United States? In your answer, you may consider discussing how physical place has
affected people and/or how people have affected their physical surroundings. Discuss specific
examples from the United States.
1BB AS 2: What are some of the symbols of the United States? What do they mean and how did they
become symbols of the country? Why were they selected?
1BB AS 3: What are some of the ways in which American cities and regions have been changing? What
factors are causing these changes? You may highlight a few central processes and then focus on one
American city or region in your answer.
1BB AS 4: What factors caused the Revolutionary War? In your answer, discuss some of the primary
actions and events leading up to the war.
1BB AS 5: What are the central principles of the American style of government (structure and
processes), as specified in the Constitution? What are amendments? And what do some of the key
amendments provide?
1BB Coursebook + Speaking (J. Iršai & S. Stopper)
1BB CB+SP 1: Colours
Speak about different ways people use colours . Give specific example of each way.
Explain what different colours mean in different cultures?
Speak about colours of your house, flat, room.. etc.
(extra task: Explain what is your favourite colour and why?)
1BB CB+SP 2: Performance
 Enumerate different music genres and explain what they are like using as many adjectives as
you can.
 Speak about different emotions which music can evoke in people.
 Speak about different traditional events we have in Slovakia.
 Explain what your favourite types of events are and why.
 (extra: What do you remember about taiko drumming?)
1BB CB+SP 3: Water
 Speak about different activities we can do in and under water.
 Give interesting facts about water (e.g. how much of the Earth's surface is covered in water,
daily consumption of water in developing versus developed countries etc.)
 Give examples of how people can save water at home.
 (extra: What do you remember about Titanic?)
1BB CB+SP 4: Encouragement Project
 Describe for us the process of choosing what to do for your encouragement project. Did it just
happen? Or was it planned?
 How would you describe the reaction of the person/people you encouraged? How did they
respond?
 What was the result of this project? Do you think it worked? Why or why not?
 Think of a time when someone else encouraged you in some way, be it a small kindness or a
grand gesture. How did it make you feel?
1BB CB+SP 5: Beauty and Identity
 Using some of the adjectives that we have used in class, describe someone you know that you
think is really beautiful. What words would you use to describe them?
 What makes that person beautiful? Is it an inner or an outer beauty (or both)?
 How would you compare your idea of beauty with the overall societal view of beauty?
 Can we really define "beauty"? Why or why not?
 What are some of your own characteristics that make YOU beautiful?