ORAL exams have been dropped from modern language GCSEs and A-levels to be taken by pupils next summer.
Speaking units in Irish, Spanish, German and French have all been cut.
Young people will only be awarded grades based on their reading, writing and listening skills.
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has outlined several changes in a newly-published document.
It follows an announcement by Education Minister Peter Weir on the planned return of public examinations in 2021/22.
He said there would be "significant reductions" in the assessment requirements across a range of CCEA qualifications. There is also expected to be generous grading.
CCEA said it published its document to provide clarity as quickly as possible.
One assessment will be omitted from the vast majority of GCSE, AS and A-level qualifications in 2022.
Students' overall grades will be determined by their performance in the unit or units they sit.
A young person who wishes to take all examinations can do so, however there is no obligation. Anyone who sits all units will be awarded the higher grade from either all units or the mandatory sections only.?
Language GCSE pupils are typically examined across four areas - listening, speaking, reading and writing. Each is worth 25 per cent of the final grade.
The speaking units, which test pupils' ability to hold a conversation, are teacher-conducted and externally marked and usually last up to 12 minutes.
Oral exams have been retained in the GCSE Gaeilge course, which builds on language skills that pupils acquire in Irish-medium education. Instead, there have been some cuts to writing and reading elements.
CCEA added that despite cuts, "in all cases, schools and colleges are encouraged to cover the full specification".
