Who are the qualifications intended for?

They are for learners of all ages. Students at higher levels are able to provide companies and educational institutions with evidence of competence in spoken English. The Certificate in Spoken English examinations offer a comprehensive test of spoken English which can either be a stand-alone examination or a complement to the written ESOL examination. The tasks in the examination are designed to test the use of English in real-life situations. The Certificate in Spoken English series of graded examinations provides ‘steps up the ladder’ of proficiency and can motivate students who are attending courses over a long period to continue their studies. They are suitable for learners attending short courses in English.

The four parts of Certificate in Spoken English

The differences between the 6 levels are found in the

• length of the test
• linguistic difficulty and complexity
• range of topics and functions
• nature of the tasks.

The focus of the 4 Parts of Certificate in Spoken English is the same at each level.

Part 1

The aim of Part 1 is to settle the candidate quickly and to ask a variety of questions aimed at eliciting personal information, ideas or views. From Access to Mastery, the questions are grouped under 5 topic headings. Having asked first for the spelling of the candidate’s family name and his/her nationality, you should ask a selection of questions. If you want to ask 2 questions from the same topic area, you may, but try to vary the questions between candidates. There is no need to write anything down. Giving personal information is likely to be the area which is most familiar, and candidates’ answers may well sound rehearsed. However, long and obviously prepared speeches should be discreetly intercepted.

Part 2

The focus of Part 2 is to test how well the candidate can use functional language ina range of real-life situations. You and the candidate enact a variety of given situations, ranging from the extremely simple at Preliminary, to complex and demanding scenarios at Mastery. You may need to adopt a different personal or role (eg hotel manager, doctor), but the candidate is never asked to do so. The first situation requires the candidate to respond and the second situation requires the candidate to start the dialogue. If time allows a third situation can beselected. At the lower levels each situation should run to about 2 turns each, but at the higher levels, you need to expand the exchange both in terms of length and complexity.

Part 3

The focus of Part 3 is to test how well the candidate can exchange information with you in order to perform a communicative task.

• At Preliminary and Access, you and the candidate ask and answer questions to find the differences between two pictures
• At Achiever, you and the candidate try to reach an agreement after a discussion based on the same visual prompts
• At Communicator, you and the candidate both have different information around the same theme, and you try to make a plan or an arrangement based on the two sets of information
• At Expert and Mastery, you and the candidate both have the same written prompts based on a variety of topics which may also include contemporary issues
• During the discussion the candidate needs to demonstrate an ability to expand and give examples, to justify opinions and to challenge you if you disagree. The discussion might require you both to rank or prioritise things, to analyse, or to imagine and hypothesise.

Do remember that the important aspect of Part 3 is the quality of the language of discussion and negotiation, not completion of the task.

Part 4

The aim of Part 4 is to give the candidate an opportunity to talk at greater length (‘a long turn’), on a topic which you select from a choice of 3. Range, fluency and the ability to organise and manage the discourse, are all features which the examiner will be assessing here. You can support the candidate during the long turn by prompting and asking questions but only where necessary, if the candidate seems to be struggling. Make sure that the topic you choose is not one which has already been covered in Part 1. Candidates have 30 seconds in which to gather their thoughts and prepare themselves before speaking. Offer them paper and pencil to make notes if they wish. Candidates should be told before the test that the notes they make during the preparation time are not part of the test and will not be used in the assessment process.

There are 6 levels conducted at Oxford which are pegged at the standards as listed by City and Guilds. Students at the end of the course will need to sit for a City and Guilds Examination.