| Hi Bobby, go ahead and sit down. |
| Tell me about your research project. |
| Well, I decided to research football, |
| and keys for success on a football team. |
| That sounds great. |
| What are the guidelines for the test? |
| Did the teacher talk to you about it in class? |
| No, everything is on a handout that was passed out. |
| It says that the first draft is due at the end of next week, |
| and the second and third are due later on in the month. |
| I don't understand why we have to keep revising and fixing it. |
| Is this assignment really that important? |
| Well, this project is a major requirement for passing 11th grade English and will go on your permanent record. |
| Oh really? |
| Does that mean it will affect what English level I am placed in next year? |
| Well, not exactly. |
| You need a good grade to move on, but it is your overall grade |
| and teacher recommendation that determines what level of English you are placed in next year. |
| Anyway, tell me about your topic choice. |
| Do you play football? |
| Well, actually it's because my father loves the sport. |
| He watches it every weekend. |
| Cool! It's a good idea to report on something you're interested in. |
| I see you worked hard calling players and the head coach to talk, |
| so let's see what information you got. |
| Well, you have to listen carefully to the first call on the recording. |
| It's really hard to hear because the background noise is louder than the person's voice. |
| Yes, it is a bit tough to discern. |
| I'm afraid the player's answer is too short as well. |
| You will have to interview him again and try to get him to give a better answer. |
| Okay. |
| I thought that might happen. |
| I will call him again tomorrow. |
| Moving on, let's look back at this question. |
| You asked, "Tell me about a time when you learned a major life lesson through playing football, |
| and explain how that has shaped the person and player you have become now, |
| and how you hope to pass on that lesson." |
| It is a great idea for a question, |
| but in an oral interview it is far too complex. |
| I would advise you to break it up into multiple parts to get a better response. |
| I guess you're right - |
| I wouldn't want to have to provide an answer to a question like that. |
| I will simplify it. |
| I found that when I asked players this question, it took too much time |
| because they were struggling to answer the question completely. |
| In fact, this is the question Joe Billings was answering when the tape ran out. |
| He did tend to ramble on all the questions, didn't he? |
| He sure did. |
| I would recommend that when you go back and interview players again |
| that you use a more sophisticated recording device. |
| This recording is spotty, |
| which indicates that the equipment wasn't working consistently. |
| Okay. |
| I guess it probably wasn't the best idea to use the sound recorder on my phone. |
| Hey, could you give me some feedback on the content of the report itself? |
| Sure! |
| Let's start by focusing on your topic. |
| While I like that you chose to cover football, |
| it seems inexplicit. |
| The keys for success of a player and team is quite an interesting topic, |
| but what is your thesis? |
| That is to say, what conclusions can you draw from your research? |
| I would suggest coming up with a strong thesis statement |
| and then shaping your report based on that. |
| Is it really too vague? |
| I put a whole lot of facts into it. |
| I list the top 10 goal-scorers in football history, |
| and later on provide statistics for a few of the most famous coaches and their records as coaches. |
| I think that's great that you included these facts, |
| but I think you focused too much on the facts |
| and not enough on connecting these facts to make your point. |
| Ah, I see. Okay. |
| So it looks like I have quite a bit of work to do before the deadline! |