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At the start of the year I tried to givea few suggestions regarding speaking in particular as it related to the topic of the environment. In this article I would like to go into more depth regarding speaking tests as many colleges and schools will be conducting them in the lead up to the Spring Festival. To begin, remember it is about your oral English, so ideally your performance and ability is the same whether live or recorded. These days many departments require a digital recording so your spoken English can be tested by several examiners after the event. This means that your old excuse of "that examiner didn't like me" is not valid. Often several people will listen to your speaking test so accept your score and be responsible for your success or failure. Also, what this means is - if you are a young lady, or young Romeo and hoping to get a few extra points by wearing a short dress, tight t-shirt, putting on mountains of makeup or buckets of perfume or cologne – this strategy may not work. Actually I know some foreign teachers who immediately mark less when they think a student is trying to trick them with "eye candy" or "nasal stimulation". Ideally just dress smart, no need to try and be sexy or debonair but on the same note, make sure you wash and in particular – brush your teeth. This last point is of extreme importance. I remember being in a staffroom once and laowais complaining that during many speaking tests their candidates had just eaten, often fish or onions or some other strong smelling food like baozi with jiu rou and spring onion filling and when they opened their mouths this wind that could knock leaves off of trees was released, like something from the film, "The Fantastic Four". This creates unease with an examiner so a good idea is to brush your teeth before a speaking test and don't eat anything until after. | 
