SPEAKING MARK SCHEME - LRN Level 1 Certificate in

ESOL International (CEF B2)

 LEVEL INFORMATION – CEFR Level B2

A B2 speaking candidate can:

use the language fluently, accurately and effectively on a wide range of general, academic, vocational or leisure
•
topics, marking clearly the relationships between ideas.

communicate spontaneously with good grammatical control without much sign of having to restrict what he/she
•
wants to say, adopting a level of formality appropriate to the circumstances.

interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction, and sustained relationships with
•
native speakers quite possible without imposing strain on either party.

highlight the personal significance of events and experiences, account for and sustain views clearly
•
understand in detail what is said to him/her in the standard spoken language even in a noisy environment.
•
give clear, detailed descriptions andpresentations on a wide range of subjects related to his/her field of interest,
•
expanding and supporting ideas with subsidiary points and relevant examples.

explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
•
develop a clear argument, expanding and supporting his/her points of view at some length with subsidiary points and
•
relevant examples.

Discrete competenciesat B2 level:

Grammatical areas:

> Future perfect/ continuous

> All conditional structures
> Passives
> Modals + perfect infinitive
> Modals for deduction/speculation
> All narrative tenses
> Reported speech and reporting verbs
> Past perfect simple and continuous
> A range of phrasal verbs
> Used to / Would for past
> Relative clauses
> Cohesive devices (e.g. in other words)

Lexical areas:

> A range of discourse connection

> Vocabulary suitable for a variety of topics (all topics should be non-technical and avoid
restrictive vocabulary in terms of subject specificity)
> Spoken topics of the level to include past events, town and country, health, environment, travel,
computers and the internet, crime.

Source: Council of Europe (2001) Structured Overview of All CEFR Scales (http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/elp/elp-
reg/Source/Key_reference/Overview_CEFRscales_EN.pdf) and British Council (2010) EAQUALS Core Inventory
for General English
(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/Z243%20E&E%20EQUALS%20BROCHUR
Erevised6.pdf)
MARKING CRITERIA

Grading scales

Candidates are assessed using the marking criteria below. Each candidate will receive
DISTINCTION or MERIT or PASS or FAIL grade corresponding to their performance at the level.

Examiners will grade candidates as having met the language and functions of the CEFR level, or
not met the language and functions of the CEFR level as follows:

Overall impression
Candidate’s performance meets or
Distinction exceeds the ‘can do’ statementsof
the CEFR B2 level specification.
Candidate’s performance meets
Merit the ‘can do’ statementsof the
CEFR B2 level specification.
Pass The holistic impression formed by
the examiner is that the candidate
performs consistently at B2.
Speaking examinations grades for CEFR B2
Task fulfillment and
communicative effectiveness
• Able to understand prompts,
respond appropriately (incl.
length of contributions, register,
turn-taking, appropriate
functions) and successfully
complete the tasks set.
• Provides a fair amount of extra
detail relevant to the prompt.
• Interaction is well paced and
spontaneous with confidence.
• Able to understand prompts,
respond appropriately (incl.
length of contributions, register,
turn-taking, appropriate
functions) and successfully
complete the tasks set.
• Provides a fair amount of extra
detail relevant to the prompt.
• Interaction is well paced and
spontaneous with confidence.
• Able to understand prompts,
respond appropriately (incl.
length of contributions, register,
turn-taking, appropriate
functions) and successfully
complete the tasks set.
• Provides some extra details
relevant to the prompt.
• Interaction is well paced and
Grammar and lexis
• Language is generally accurate
and appropriate to B2 Level
and may at times exceed it.
• Wide range of word choice is
appropriate to the task most
throughout.
• Meaning comes across clearly
throughout.
• Language is generally accurate
and appropriate to B2 Level
with only minor slips corrected
with restart/repetition.
• Word choice is appropriate to
the task most of the time.
• Meaning comes across clearly.
• Language is generally accurate
and appropriate to B2 Level
with some slips corrected with
restart/repetition.
• Word choice is appropriate to
the task most of the time.
• Meaning comes across clearly.
Clarity of expression
• Clear articulation with
appropriate/acceptable stress,
rhythm and
intonationthroughout.
• Speech is intelligible and
comprehensiblethroughout.
• Causes no major strain on the
listener’s part.
• There may be one or two very
minor slips, but corrected during
repetition.
• Clear articulation with
appropriate/acceptable stress,
rhythm and intonation most of
the time.
• Speech is intelligible and
comprehensible most of the
time.
• Causes no major strain on the
listener’s part.
• There may be only few very
minor slips, but corrected during
repetition.
• Clear articulation with
appropriate/acceptable stress,
rhythm and intonation most of
the time.
• Speech is intelligible and
comprehensible most of the
time.
• Causes major strain on the
listener’s part on in isolated

Candidate’s performance does not
Fail meet the ‘can do’ statements of
the CEFR B2 level specification.
The holistic impression formed by
the examiner is that the candidate
performs belowB2.
When examining candidates examiners will refer to the CEFR level information documents in as well as the marking criteria.
spontaneous with a small
degree of confidence.
• Responses are appropriate to
the prompts only some of the
time and often do not provide
evidence of appropriately
extensive contributions and
detail, appropriate register,
turn-taking or appropriate
functions.
• Lacks fluency and spontaneity.
• Hesitations are obvious and
impede communication.
• Frequent pauses and restarts.
• Language of the level contains
frequent errors and/or covers
too narrow a range
• Word choice is often
inappropriate to the prompt.
• Meaning can be deciphered
only with repeated clarification.
instances.
• There may be minor slips, but
corrected during repetition.
• Only some parts of articulation
are clear.
• Frequent errors in articulation,
stress, rhythm and intonation.
• Only some parts of speech are
intelligible.
• Causes considerable strain on
the listener’s part throughout.
Deciding on a candidate’s final mark
o Examiners should base their marks on a holistic view of the candidate’s performance by balancing the performance in all parts of the test, the
grammatical and lexical range and accuracy of the level with fluency, clarity, task fulfilment and communicative effectiveness to reach an
overall mark. Examiners will use the marking criteria, CEFR level information and the standardisation training to ensure they are marking
accurately and consistently.
o Examiners must use numerical values to work out the final score:

Overall impression Task fulfilment and Grammar and lexis Clarity of expression
communicative
effectiveness

Distinction 5 5 5 5

Merit 4 4 3 2

Pass 3 3 2 2

Fail 1 1 1 1

No language to assess 0 0 0 0

Total Marks:

o 0-9 = Fail
o 10-12 = Pass
o 13-15=Merit
o 16+ = Distinction