How much of my grade is the speaking exam worth ?
25%
How long does the exam last ?
8-9 minutes for Foundation Tier
11-12 minutes for Higher Tier
Who is the examiner ?
Usually your class teacher.
The exam will be tape-recorded and the tape will be sent to the exam board to be marked.
What will I have to do during the exam ?
2 role plays
Conversation on 2 topics
What are the role plays all about ?
Each role play is a 4-part conversation with the examiner on a transactional topic such as shopping, tourism, restaurants or accommodation.
Foundation Tier candidates will do one Role Play A and one Role Play B.
Higher Tier candidates will do one Role Play B and one Role Play C.
Role Play B will have one unpredictable element.
Role Play C will have two unpredictable elements.
You will be given a short time to prepare the role play immediately before the exam.
What do I have to do for the first conversation ?
The topic of the first conversation will be agreed with your teacher in advance.
You will be told the questions and prepare your answers in advance.
You will be able to take into the exam room with you an A5 sheet containing
a few bullet points in French/Spanish or a simple spider diagram to help
you to remember what to say.
You will have 60 seconds maximum to speak on this topic before the examiner asks you questions about it.
What do I have to do for the second conversation?
The exam board will tell the examiner which topic you will have to answer questions on. It will not be the same topic as your first conversation. You will not know until you are in the exam room which topic you will be doing. However, you will have prepared and learnt all the answers to all the topics in advance.
The two conversations together will last 4-5 minutes for Foundation Tier and 6-7 minutes for Higher Tier.
Am I allowed to use a dictionary ?
To prepare for the exam, yes.
Immediately before and during the exam, no.
What will I be expected to do for a Grade C?
Use opinions, present tense, past tense and future tense.
You may make some errors but you will convey a clear message and your pronunciation and intonation will be generally accurate.
What will I be expected to do for a Grade A ?
You will be expected to give more extended answers with a variety of vocabulary, structures and tenses.
You will speak confidently and your pronunciation and intonation will be good.
Your message will be clear, although you may still make some errors.
So what do I have to do before the exam ?
Prepare and learn your answers to the questions in your speaking
booklet.
Take advantage of the help that is given to you in class for practising role plays.
What can I use to help me ?
Your exercise book
Your file
Your text book
The school website
Spanish Speaking