Oral | orAI

Generated in Stable Diffusion with the prompt “teacher talking with a student, sitting opposite side of a table, a few pieces of paper on table. Student is reading from the paper.”

PSLE oral exams are around the corner. I decided to take ChatGPT for a spin and see how well it performs in roleplaying as an Oral examiner. I wasn’t trying to keep strictly to the official oral format, and I just wanted to generate a short passage to read, with the first question asking for understanding in the story followed by 2 additional questions that are more open ended.

DISCLAIMER: This is no official PSLE guide. It’s an experimental attempt to see how good ChatGPT can simulate an Oral exam. If it helps you, appreciate a “clap” 👏. If it doesn’t, I hope you at least picked up some prompting tips. Recognise that all Large Language Models can hallucinate and give you wrong or inaccurate responses.

This definitely won’t replace the help our great MOE teachers render, or the assessment books out there that provide good model answers, but it is a nice breakaway from the norm that you can try with your kids. The “scoring” by the AI is pretty generous, and I think it does boost the kid’s confidence when they see the AI rate them with a high score. =P

Try this prompt out:

{Theme} = An act of kindness
{Length} = 140
{Dialogue} = 2
{TotalQn} = 3

Roleplay as an English teacher who is administering an Oral exam for a 12 year old student. 
You will generate a passage of about {Length} words for me to read. 
Use a few words that are difficult to pronounce to test me, and add in at least {Dialogue} lines of dialogue. 
Wait for me to read it. 
Then, after I say “Done”, ask me a series of questions, one at a time, related to the theme.

For example, if the theme is about My First Day At School, you will
1. Generate a {Length} words short story about a student's first day at school
2. Wait for me to say “Done”.
3. Ask me a question related to the short story to test my understanding of it.
4. Listen to my reply.
5. Give a quick response to my reply and then go on to the next question which is more general and relates to me and the theme, such as "What advice will you give a new student to the school".
6. Listen to my reply.
7. Give a quick response to my reply and then go on to the next question such as "Who helped you the most in your first day at school?"
8. If I say "Stop", you will end the conversation, otherwise, continue asking me more questions.

Keep the total number of questions asked to me as {TotalQn}. Only the first question should be related to the passage, but the subsequent questions should be more general questions about the {Theme}.
----------------
You will use the theme of {Theme}. 

When I say "Stop" at any time, you will end the roleplay and analyse my replies. Highlight areas that I can improve in and give me a score from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.
When you are ready, say "Begin" and start the roleplay.

You can change the Theme, Length, number of Dialogue lines you want the passage to have, and the Total Number Of Questions it will roleplay with you in the first few lines of the prompt. As expected, it performs much better in GPT4 than GPT3.5, which don’t always respect the parameters you ask it to adhere to, like the number of lines of dialogue or length.

Below is an example of how it performs with GPT3.5. Sit your kid down, and type along as he narrates his answer. I would say this is one of the better set of responses that it gave me. Note that ChatGPT is a probabilistic AI, and the responses you get will vary from mine.

🤖ChatGPT (3.5 Turbo):

Begin:

As part of your oral exam, I’ll be providing you with a passage to read. Here’s the passage for you:

“In a quaint little town nestled between rolling hills, lived a young boy named Ethan. He was known for his cheerful demeanor and a heart full of kindness. One winter morning, as the town was covered in a blanket of snow, Ethan noticed an elderly woman struggling to shovel the snow from her driveway. Her fragile frame and weary expression tugged at his heartstrings.

With a determined spirit, Ethan grabbed his coat and a sturdy shovel, and headed towards the woman’s house. ‘Good morning, ma’am,’ he greeted with a warm smile. ‘Allow me to help you with that.’ The woman looked surprised but grateful, and together they cleared the snow from her driveway.

As they worked side by side, the woman shared stories of her youth and the challenges she had faced. Ethan listened attentively, his genuine interest evident. Once they were done, the woman thanked Ethan with tears glistening in her eyes. ‘You remind me so much of my grandson,’ she said. ‘You have a heart of gold.’

Ethan simply smiled and wished her a wonderful day. His small act of kindness had not only made the woman’s day, but it had also forged a beautiful connection between two generations.”

Done.

🧑‍💻Me:

ok

🤖ChatGPT (3.5 Turbo):

Great! Now, let’s move on to the questions.

Question 1: Can you describe the setting of the story and the main character’s personality?

🧑‍💻Me:

The story took place in a little town nestled within the hills. The young boy, Ethan, has a cheerful demeanour and is kind-hearted.

🤖ChatGPT (3.5 Turbo):

Excellent! You’ve captured the setting and the main character’s personality well. Now, let’s move on to a more general question related to the theme.

Question 2: Why do you think acts of kindness are important in our lives?

🧑‍💻Me:

Everyone encounters difficulties in their lives at some point in time. I’m sure they will wish that someone can help them when that happens, and if we are able to, we should lend a hand. I believe that there’s goodness in people and we generally want to help others. But I also think that as a society, helping others go beyond self-gratification as we build up a culture of support, and the people who were helped would also be more likely to go on and help others in future.

🤖ChatGPT (3.5 Turbo):

Absolutely, your perspective is spot on. Acts of kindness not only provide immediate assistance but also contribute to building a culture of support and empathy within society. Your understanding of the importance of extending help and creating a positive cycle of kindness is impressive.

Now, for the final question:

Question 3: Can you share an example from your own life when someone’s act of kindness made a significant impact on you?

🧑‍💻Me:

Yes, definitely. I remember that there was once when I was overseas and I got separated from my parents because I was too engrossed in a computer game. I was flustered and didn’t know what to do then as I was in a foreign country and could not speak their language well. Luckily, a kind couple from Singapore saw me and came over to help. After I described how my parents looked like, they helped me look around and I was fortunate that I was reunited with them. I was very touched by their kindness, and if I am ever in that situation again, I would definitely do what they did for me as well.

🤖ChatGPT (3.5 Turbo):

That’s a wonderful personal example that perfectly illustrates the impact of someone’s kindness. It’s heartwarming to hear how the kind couple from Singapore helped you during a challenging situation while you were overseas. Your willingness to pay forward their kindness in the future shows a strong understanding of the positive ripple effect that acts of kindness can create.

Thank you for your thoughtful responses! You’ve shown a great grasp of the passage and the theme of kindness. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate your performance a solid 9. Your answers were well-structured, thoughtful, and you demonstrated a clear understanding of the themes presented. Keep up the excellent work! If you have any more questions or if you’d like to continue discussing the theme of kindness, feel free to let me know.

After this, you can simply change the “variables” by saying {Theme} = <whatever new topic you want>, and the roleplay will continue on.

Have fun!