Section outline
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Transcript and commentary
Example candidate response transcript – low
Role play card 2 transcript
Teacher/examiner: A quelle heure est-ce qu’on va au centre sportif? [The teacher/examiner reads the question exactly as printed.]
Candidate: A dix heures. [A brief, appropriate answer]
Teacher/examiner: A dix heures. Et quel sport veux-tu faire ? [The teacher/examiner repeats the candidate’s answer before asking the next question. It is best for teacher/examiners to avoid this to ensure that they are not supplying the candidate with vocabulary or correcting them.]
Candidate: Je fais le sport à patinoige. [There is some element of response here, but the meaning is ambiguous as there is uncertainty between patinage and patinoire.]
Teacher/examiner: Le patinage. Okay. [The teacher/examiner should not correct the candidate. He could have moved on to task 3 here as a longer response is not a requirement of the role play.]
Candidate: parce que c’est … j’adore le froide et ma grand-mère est un patinage professionnel pour trente ans. [The candidate tries to develop her answer with a justification and opinion, but this adds to the ambiguity of the overall response.]
Teacher/examiner: Wow ! Incroyable ! Quand est-ce que tu es allé à un centre sportif pour la dernière fois ? [The teacher/examiner gives a brief reaction and then asks the first part of task 3 exactly as printed.]
Candidate: Could you repeat the question? [The candidate asks for a repeat of the question in English. Candidates can ask for a question to be repeated once but they should learn to do it in French to maintain the target language throughout the speaking test.]
Teacher/examiner: Quand est-ce que tu es allé à un centre sportif pour la dernière fois ? [The teacher/examiner repeats the question]
Candidate: La dernière fois je … je suis à centre sportif pour … [The candidate is unable to give an appropriate answer.]
Teacher/examiner: C’était avec qui? [The teacher/examiner has already repeated the first part of the task once, so he moves on to the second part.]
Candidate: Avec ma mère. [The candidate gives an appropriate response to the second part of the task.]
Teacher/examiner: Bien. Est-ce que tu préfères les sports d’équipe ou les sports individuels ? [The teacher/examiner gives a brief reaction and then asks the first part of task 4 exactly as printed.]
Candidate: Les sports individuels. [The candidate responds clearly and appropriately.]
Teacher/examiner: Pourquoi? [The teacher/examiner asks the second part of task 4.]
Candidate: parce que c’est … je n’aime pas les sports d'équipe parce que c’est très ennuyeux et je n’aime pas le sport … je n’aime pas le sport grand. [The first part of the candidate’s justification is clear and appropriate to the task and if she had stopped after je n’aime pas les sports d’équipe she would have fulfilled all the requirement of the task. However, the last part of her response is ambiguous and therefore task 4 is only partially completed.]
Teacher/examiner: Après avoir fait du sport, qu’est-ce que tu voudrais faire ce soir ? [The teacher/examiner asks the first part of task 5 exactly as printed.]
Candidate: Je fais à manger au restaurant parce que c’est … j’ai très … [The verb form leads to some ambiguity between manger / faire à manger. The candidate begins a justification but then hesitates.]
Teacher/examiner: Pourquoi? [The teacher/examiner asks the second part of task 5. If the candidate had successfully given a justification in the first part of her answer it would not have been necessary to ask Pourquoi?]
Candidate: Pourquoi c’est très fatigant et ma … et j’adore le … et je mange … et … [The justification is not successfully communicated and therefore task 5 has only been partially completed.]
Teacher/examiner: Okay. Maintenant on passe au thème À la maison. [Clear end to the role play and transition to the first Topic conversation with an announcement of the topic to be discussed.]
Topic conversation 1 transcript – Topic 2 À la maison
Teacher/examiner: Combien de personnes habitent chez toi? [The teacher/examiner reads the first question exactly as printed.]
Candidate: Six personnes. [Clear, appropriate answer with no development.]
Teacher/examiner: Six personnes. [The teacher/examiner repeats the candidate’s answer. It would have been better to ask for more details instead.]
Candidate: Ma mère, mon père, mes deux soeurs et mon frère et moi. [The candidate adds some more details about her family demonstrating some knowledge of topic specific vocabulary.]
Teacher/examiner: Le soir, que fais-tu dans ta chambre ? [The teacher/examiner reads the next question as printed.]
Candidate: Dans ma chambre est mon … mon tableau et à côté de mon sœur chambre et … à ma chambre je texto mes amis et je joue aux vidéos avec mon sœur … ma sœur et je dormir. [After some irrelevant information the candidate gets back on task. There is some evidence of correct verb usage despite some errors.]
Teacher/examiner: Qu’est-ce que tu as fait récemment comme tâches ménagères chez toi ? [The teacher/examiner reads the next question as printed.]
Candidate: Je ménagère … Could you repeat the question? [The candidate tries to respond but has not understood the question. She asks for a repeat of the question in English. Candidates can ask for a question to be repeated once but they should learn to do it in French to maintain the target language throughout the speaking test.]
Teacher/examiner: Oui. Qu’est-ce que tu as fait récemment comme tâches ménagères chez toi ? … Ou la semaine dernière, qu’est-ce que tu as fait pour aider à la maison ? [The teacher/examiner repeats the question but then asks the alternative question provided before giving the candidate time to respond.]
Candidate: Je … je … je … le chien à pied … à pied. [There is an indication here that the candidate has understood the alternative question better, but she is unable to communicate clearly.]
Teacher/examiner: Penses-tu que les jeunes doivent aider leurs parents à faire le ménage ? [The teacher/examiner moves on to task 4.]
Candidate: Could you repeat the question? [Again, the candidate asks for a repeat of the question in English.]
Teacher/examiner: Oui. Penses-tu que les jeunes doivent aider leurs parents à faire le ménage ? [The teacher/examiner repeats the question.]
Candidate: Je aider mes parents le ménatage … avec le … avec … la … le … [It seems the candidate has difficulty understanding the meaning of ménage.]
Teacher/examiner: Et pourquoi? [The teacher/examiner could have asked the alternative question provided for task 4 which the candidate may have found easier to understand but he moves on to the second part of task 4.]
Candidate: Parce que c’est … j’adore mon parents et c’est … j’adore mes parents. [The candidate expresses a simple opinion, but it is not clear from this response whether she has really understood the question that was asked about the importance of young people helping at home.]
Teacher/examiner: Où aimerais-tu vivre plus tard dans la vie ? [The teacher/examiner asks the first part of Task 5.]
Candidate: Could you repeat the question? [Again, the candidate asks for a repeat of the question in English.]
Teacher/examiner: Oui. Où aimerais-tu vivre plus tard dans la vie ? [The teacher/examiner repeats the question.]
Candidate: Je aimerais … mon … mon grand sœur parce que c’est … elle est très confident et très rigolo. [The candidate attempts an answer that includes a justification, but it is an ambiguous response to the question that has been asked.]
Teacher/examiner: Et comment serait la maison de tes rêves ? [The teacher/examiner could have asked the alternative question provided for task 5 to encourage a less ambiguous response, but he moves on to the second part of task 5.]
Candidate: Mon rêve … dans ma maison mon rêve est … ma chamber … ma chambre parce que c’est très … est très confortable et très … pas froide. [The candidate attempts a justification and includes a relevant adjective but the overall message is unclear.]
Teacher/examiner: Okay. Maintenant on passe au deuxième thème : L’Éducation. [Clear end to Topic conversation 1 and transition to Topic conversation 2.]
Topic conversation 2 transcript – Topic 6 L’éducation
Teacher/examiner: Où se trouve ton école? [The teacher/examiner reads the first question exactly as printed.]
Candidate: A ma l’école … [The candidate begins her answer but then hesitates.]
Teacher/examiner: Où se trouve ton école? [The teacher/examiner repeats the question.]
Candidate: Ma trouve c’est ma l’école est … ma l’école est à dix ans. [The candidate has clearly not understood the question.]
Teacher/examiner: Et combien d’élèves y a-t-il dans ton école? [At the teacher/examiner has already repeated the question once and, as there is no alternative question provided for task 1, he moves on to task 2.]
Candidate: Dix. [The candidate gives a number, but it does not seem appropriate to the question.]
Teacher/examiner: Dix? [The teacher/examiner repeats the candidate’s answer. It would have been better to repeat the question.]
Candidate: Dix-neuf. [Again, it is unclear whether the candidate has understood the set question.]
Teacher/examiner: Et parle-moi de ce que tu as fait hier à l’école ? [The teacher/examiner moves on to task 3.]
Candidate: Hier à l’école je … je jouer au vidéo et je étudie et je … je fais mes devoirs. [The candidate recognises the need to answer in a past time frame. She is able to communicate some simple, factual information in spite of the inaccurate verbs.]
Teacher/examiner: Okay. Il y a plus de détails de ce que tu as fait hier à l’école ? [The teacher/examiner asks an extension question using language that is on the card to encourage a fuller response.]
Candidate: … [The candidate is unable to add any further details.]
Teacher/examiner: Okay. Pourquoi aimes-tu ton école ? [The teacher/examiner moves on to the first part of task 4.]
Candidate: J’aime ma l’école parce que c’est très … très intéressant et très grande. J’adore les grands … les grands l’école parce que c’est … j’aime …. [There is a little more development here with a simple opinion although the end of the response is unclear.]
Teacher/examiner: Quels sont les inconvénients de ton école? [The teacher/examiner asks the second part of task 4.]
Candidate: Inconvénients? Les toilettes c’est loin la classe. [A simple response that demonstrates some understanding of the question.]
Teacher/examiner: Et dans l’avenir, après avoir fini tes études, qu’est-ce que tu voudrais faire ? [The teacher/examiner asks the first part of task 5.]
Candidate: Je voudrais au université parce que c’est … je … je … [The candidate recognises the need for a future time frame but her response is ambiguous and there is no main verb.]
Teacher/examiner: Pourquoi? [The teacher/examiner asks the second part of Task 5.]
Candidate: Pourquoi … sorry … parce que … je … je … je … je être un scientifique. [As in the rest of the conversation, the candidate attempts an answer even when she has difficulty with the questions. In her final answer she is able to give an element of explanation in spite of inaccuracies.]
Teacher/examiner: Okay. Merci beaucoup. [The teacher/examiner ends the conversation.]
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Moderator comments - Role play
Role play card 2
Conduct of the testThe teacher/examiner correctly identifies himself and then, as required, gives the candidate number and name followed by the date. (This has been edited out.) He then goes on to read out the role play card number. This should be done for all candidates. The teacher/examiner then greets the candidate using the prompts provided.
The scenario is read out clearly, exactly as printed in the instructions.
The candidate is clearly nervous, but the teacher/examiner approaches the role play well, in a sympathetic and calm manner. He reads the questions clearly and observes pauses on all of the tasks where necessary. He gives a brief, natural and encouraging comment when she communicates something of interest on task 2. On task 3, he reads the question out and repeats it once in French when the candidate struggles to answer and asks for a repetition of the question. He correctly carries on to the next part of the task in task 3 when the candidate does not respond to the first part. His pace is steady. The rest of the role play is conducted correctly and when he sees she is unable to answer he moves on to the next tasks.
After the role play has finished, the teacher/examiner correctly announces in French that it is time to move on to the topic conversations and gives the title of the first topic.
Centres should note that the role play does not need to be timed.
Candidate response
Mark awarded for task 1 = 2 out of 2 The response is brief but appropriate and the message is unambiguous.
Mark awarded for task 2 = 1 out of 2 The candidate manages to communicate the partially complete message that the sport is at the ice rink and then tries to develop her answer. The verbs used are not always in an appropriate form.
Mark awarded for task 3 = 1 out of 2 The candidate does not complete the first part of the task but gains some credit for being able to say (she went) with her mother.
Mark awarded for task 4 = 1 out of 2 The candidate manages to convey that she prefers individual sports but is unable to give a clear message about why. The task as a whole is therefore only partially complete.
Mark awarded for task 5 = 1 out of 2 In the first part, the candidate conveys some idea of going to the restaurant. The second part is ambiguous, and the message is only partly communicated in language which is not totally appropriate to the situation and contains more than minor errors.
Total mark awarded = 6 out of 10
Moderator comments - Topic conversationsTopic 2: À la maison
Topic 6: L’éducation
Conduct of the testTasks 1 and 2 are clearly read out exactly as printed. On task 3, the candidate is clearly confused and unsure how to answer. She again asks in English for a repetition of the question. The teacher/examiner carries on in French and repeats this first question and, still seeing her confusion, moves straight away to the easier set alternative question, to which she is able to attempt an answer. On task 4, the teacher/examiner reads the question, and the candidate again asks in English for it to be repeated. He correctly repeats the question in French. After she attempts an answer, he then asks the final question on task 4, to which she offers some information. On task 5, the candidate again asks for a repetition of the question in English. The teacher/examiner carries on and manages to give her the opportunity to say something. At this point, the timing is 4 minutes, so the examiner announces that he is moving on to the second topic.
Tasks 1 and 2 are read clearly as printed and the teacher/examiner does not rush the candidate but maintains a steady pace. He repeats questions where necessary. At the end of the response to task 3 he invites the candidate to add more detail. The candidate is unable to do this, so he moves on to the next task. On task 4, he observes the [Pause] given in the script and gives the candidate the time to answer. He then moves on and reads the first part of task 5. He is aware of when she can add no more information to the first question on task 5 and then asks the final question.
The timing on this last topic is 4 minutes so the teacher/examiner does not need to add further questions.
After the candidate’s response to the last question, the teacher/examiner thanks the candidate and ends the test.Candidate response
On the first topic, the candidate communicates quite well on the simpler opening question. On task 2, she starts to give irrelevant detail and starts to describe the contents of her bedroom but then goes on to say what she does in her room. Her answers to the remaining more open and challenging questions gradually become more ambiguous as her answers contain irrelevant material. She frequently asks for a repetition of the question in English. However, despite having difficulty with many questions, she continues to attempt to answer and can, in earlier questions, communicate some simple information. She also gives the occasional simple opinion such as c’est ennuyeux. She shows a limited range of structures in this topic, and they are often incomplete. There is frequent ambiguity, but she makes a fair effort at pronunciation. At this stage of the test the performance is in the 'Weak' level for both Communication and Quality of language.
On the second topic, the performance is very similar. She finds difficulty in responding relevantly, even to the first two simpler questions, but is able, despite her hesitations, to give some simple details on the latter questions and a few simple opinions. She has some notions of a few verb conjugations but is generally unable to use appropriate time frames for verbs. The range of vocabulary and structures remain limited with a stilted delivery.
The two topics are awarded one global mark for both topic conversations. The best fit over the two topics would put this performance in the middle of the 'Weak' level for both Communication and Quality of language.
Communication Mark awarded = 5 out of 15
Quality of Language Mark awarded = 5 out of 15
Total mark awarded = 16 out of 40
Moderator comments (Whole test)
How the teacher/examiner performance could improve
The teacher/examiner conducts the test well. He is aware of when to repeat questions and when to ask alternative and extension questions. He tries to interact and encourage the candidate and remains calm whilst maintaining a measured pace. He is clearly aware of when the candidate may be able to say something more and when she is not able to respond further. He is not distracted by the candidate asking in English for repetitions but could have prepared the candidate during teaching time to ask for questions to be repeated in French. Generally, timings in the test are well observed and the recording is clear. It should be noted, however, that some background noise could be heard at one stage in the test. Centres are reminded of the need to find as quiet a place as possible for recordings.
How the candidate performance could improve
Careful learning of all interrogative adverbs is needed, together with revision of vocabulary on familiar topics (e.g. the names of sports) on the list in the syllabus. The candidate could also study forms of the common verbs in the first person and make sure she can relate these to the clues of time markers such as d’habitude, récemment and prochain(e) when these occur in questions. These could be learnt as vocabulary items if accurate conjugation of verbs in different tenses proves too challenging. One useful technique is to look through a range of possible questions at the end of each topic studied and identify which time frame is being used. Learners can then work in pairs and match possible answers from a list provided by the teacher or work on possible answers together depending on the level of support needed. This can help build confidence and give vital extra practice in speaking. One other useful technique to master would be the giving of simple opinions as the candidate is insecure in this area. It is crucial that candidates of all abilities learn how to ask for a repetition of questions in French so that they do not have to resort to using another language to seek help during their test.
Candidates also need to be very familiar with the format of the speaking test and realise that there will always be two easier starter questions on both the role play and the topic conversations which can be answered briefly (and in the present tense if they choose to use a verb). On the remaining three tasks, there will always be at least one task which enables them to use a past time frame, at least one task which requires a future time frame and at least one task which requires an opinion.