The window during which oral examinations must take place is set by Edexcel each year
and is usually between mid-March and mid-May.
If you’re planning to enter candidates for the oral examination, you will first need
to make sure that you will have an appropriately qualified teacher in place to carry out the
oral exam during this window.
This will usually be a teacher with a degree-level qualification in the language and experience
of delivering the relevant specification.
Family members or native speakers with no teaching experience are not appropriate people
to conduct the oral exam.
If there is no suitable teacher available at your centre, you must either locate a host
centre or make your own arrangements for a teacher from another centre to visit and conduct
the oral exam during the window.
A further alternative is for candidates to arrange to take the exam as a private candidate
at another centre.
– Although we can’t give out centre information due to data protection policies, a special
‘find a centre’ facility is available on our website for potential ‘private candidates’
It is centres’ responsibility to provide an appropriate teacher to carry out the oral
exams; Edexcel are not able to supply visiting examiners for GCSE exams
You must be confident that a suitable venue will be available where the oral can be conducted
– this should be free of background noise and, ideally, provide a quiet area where those
waiting to take the exam can gather their thoughts just before the exam.
If suitable arrangements cannot be made to conduct GCSE oral exams, centres may wish
to consider entering students for the Short Course, which includes an option for assessment
in Reading and Writing only.
In all cases, centres must ensure that students know exactly what the oral examinations involve
before deciding to register them
It is most important to understand that, unlike some GCSE qualifications, the oral element
of the lesser-taught languages is a terminal examination and does not involve Controlled
Assessment.
Like all units in GCSE Arabic, Greek, Japanese and Russian GCSEs, it is 100% marked by Pearson/Edexcel.
The exam involves two separate tasks, but these must be carried out consecutively as
one exam, with the recording running unbroken from the start of task 1 through to the conclusion
of task 2 Each task relates to one of two broad themes
prescribed by Edexcel and chosen in advance.
The themes are Media, Travel and Culture or Sport, Leisure and Work.
The theme of each task will usually be chosen sufficiently far in advance for students to
undertake preparatory work; it is not envisaged that students should be made aware of the
theme of the tasks just before the examination.
Typically, students will select their chosen theme or themes 4-6 weeks in advance of the
examination and two week should be regarded as a minimum.
Each task may relate to a different theme, or both tasks may be based on the same broad
theme, but it is important that the specific focus of each task is different.
For example, a student might choose to undertake both tasks based on Media, Travel and Culture,
but the Teacher would need to ensure that different topics were covered in each task.
In this example, task 1 might focus on the candidate’s views on holidays and travel,
while in task 2 the Teacher might move the focus to music and television.
There is a choice of first task.
Students may choose to make a brief presentation linked to their chosen topic, followed by
related questions from the teacher.
Alternatively, candidates may choose to provide a picture relating to their chosen topic,
which will form the basis of their discussion with the teacher.
Pictures may be a single photograph or a simple drawing by the candidate
The second task takes the form of a general conversation, with students engaging in 4-5
minutes of dialogue with the teacher on the chosen theme.
It is important to note that there is no presentation element to the second task.
No oral materials are sent out by Pearson/Edexcel.
An ‘Administrative Support Guide’ is available on the language-specific GCSE homepage.
There are some Sample Assessment Materials but teachers are expected to come up with
their own questions appropriate to the level and topic choice of their students.
It is vital that teachers preparing students for this exam should be fully familiar with
the Specification and the Administrative Support Guide.
Both of these appear on the language-specific GCSE homepage and offer
detailed guidance on the preparation for and conduct of all aspects of the oral exam
The oral exam can be a stressful experience for students.
However, students for whom speaking forms a regular part of their classroom experience
are those most likely to be more at ease on the day
Equally, regular practice in the classroom of exam-style tasks and questions will help
the exam itself feel familiar to students and help them to relax and perform to the
best of their ability Teachers and students have a free choice of
whether to relate one task to each of the broad prescribed themes or to relate both
tasks to just one theme.
Neither route has any advantage over the other; what is essential is that the focus of the
two tasks should be different.
Please note that tasks that have significant overlap of focus are unlikely to provide enough
opportunities for students to demonstrate a range of language and ideas
Whatever decision is taken regarding the theme (or themes) used, a key decision for teachers
is the selection of appropriate topics as the focus of each task.
An inappropriate topic can have a considerable adverse effect on the mark a student is able
to achieve for the task, as much of the material covered is likely to be considered irrelevant
Students should be used to responding to a range of question types, from closed ‘starter’
questions requiring short, factual answers to open-ended questions that allow the student
to offer longer, more developed responses.
It is also important that students should be used to responding to questions that elicit
a range of tenses Key to accessing the upper areas of the marks
available for communication is the ability to offer opinions and back them up with justification.
Students should be encouraged to make this a regular feature of their responses when
appropriate.
A popular choice for the first task is the student presentation with linked follow-up
questions from the teacher As long as it falls within one of the broad
prescribed themes, the choice of topic for the presentation is free.
The topics that work best are those of genuine interest to the student
The student should make a presentation of between 1 and 2 minutes on his or her chosen
topic.
It is expected that students will have prepared this presentation in the period since electing
their theme for the first part of the exam.
The presentation should be followed by 3-4 minutes of questioning by the teacher, which
should follow on logically from the topic of the presentation.
If the presentation runs beyond 2 minutes, teachers should interrupt at an appropriate
moment and begin the follow-up questions Students may take into the exam an A5 sheet
of notes.
These should be in the target language, bullet points and should not total more than 30 words.
Access to a dictionary or a separate task sheet is not permitted
The follow-up questions should link to the topic of the presentation and should remain
within the broad theme of the task, although they may take in other topics within the broad
theme, as the conversation develops Questioning should be designed to support
the student but also to allow them to demonstrate the highest level of their ability.
Often, it can be helpful to begin a discussion with closed, straightforward questions and
then gradually to move into more open-ended questioning
Students should have the opportunity to prepare and practise for the exam, but must not know
exactly what will be covered on the day.
Rehearsing in advance precisely what will be asked on the day is not good practice.
Exams that have been rehearsed in this way are usually obvious to the Pearson/Edexcel
examiner and are likely to restrict the mark a student is able to achieve.
An increasing number of students choose the picture-based discussion for their first task
For this option, students select a picture that relates to their chosen topic.
The picture is chosen once the theme has been selected and is taken into the exam.
Students may again take into the exam an A5 sheet of notes.
These should be in the target language, bullet points and should not total more than 30 words.
Access to a dictionary or a separate task sheet is not permitted
There is no presentation element for this task.
Instead, 4-5 minutes of conversation are undertaken, based upon the chosen picture and linked follow-up
questions from the prescribed theme.
It is expected that the discussion will focus closely on the picture initially, before broadening
to consider other aspects of the chosen topic.
For example, a student might describe a holiday he or she was on in the picture, before going
on to discuss holidays and travel more generally As with the presentation and discussion option,
questioning should be designed to support the student but also to allow them to demonstrate
the highest level of their ability.
Centres should note that, with this choice of task, a copy of the picture used in the
assessment should be sent to the examiner along with the candidate’s Mark Record Sheet.
However personal photographs (e.g. picture of candidate receiving sports trophy) must
not be submitted.
Instead, a short description of the photograph referred to must be provided.
It is recognised that the use of photographs of young candidates can be
sensitive.
Teachers must refer to their school’s own policy on the use of candidate photographs
and related requirements for parental consent prior to instructing candidates to bring in
photographs for use in formal assessment.
It is not a task requirement for candidates to refer to a personal photograph; indeed,
it is perfectly acceptable for candidates to refer to an appropriate photograph or picture
cut out of a magazine or newspaper.
This task type allows students to have some ownership of the assessment content but some
may be unable to locate or provide an appropriate picture.
Teachers may wish to build up a stock of appropriate pictures to cater for such candidates.
The candidates could then choose from a range of pictures made available to them.
However, where possible, candidates should be encouraged to source their own picture.
They are more likely to speak with conviction and enthusiasm if the picture they are using
has been selected by them and has some personal significance.
For the second task, there is no choice of task-type; all candidates must undertake a
general conversation based upon a chosen broad theme (Media, Travel and Culture or Sport,
Leisure and Work) The conversation should last 4-5 minutes and
must be a dialogue throughout; there is no presentation element to this task
The questions all relate to one of the chosen broad themes, although more than one topic
area from within the chosen theme may be covered during the conversation
It is again important for teachers to use a range of question types during the assessment;
in order to access the higher areas of the mark scheme, students must show an ability
to take the initiative by offering longer, more developed answers in response to open-ended
questions Students must also show an ability to respond
to unpredictable questions.
You must not, therefore, rehearse task-specific lists of questions with students in advance,
although they should, of course, be familiar with the topic areas featured and the types
of question that might be asked The role of the teacher is that of facilitator
– questions should help the candidate and any interjections or comments by the teacher
should be brief Conducting the Test
Centres must ensure that assessments are carried out in a suitable location.
Exam rooms must have the appropriate JCQ signs displayed and any posters relevant to the
language being assessed should be removed.
Background noise can be a major distraction to candidates, so if possible a location should
be selected where large numbers of students will not be moving past or bells ringing,
or where people might walk in accidentally.
Ideally, a quiet area will also be available where those waiting to take the exam can gather
their thoughts and prepare for the exam.
All tests must be recorded and submitted to Edexcel.
Recording should be in an approved digital format, details of which are given later in
this presentation.
It is very important to test the recording equipment in advance of the exam and to ensure
that the recording favours the candidate rather than the teacher.
Teachers must also check after each assessment that the exam has recorded successfully.
In the event of a failed recording, the exam must be carried out again as soon as possible.
Each test should last a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 10 minutes in total.
This time should be equally split between the 2 tasks, with each task lasting no more
than 5 and at least 4 minutes The end of task 1 and the beginning of task
2 should be clearly announced by the teacher; this announcement should be in English
Each task is separately assessed out of 25, under 3 headings of Content & Response, Range
of Language and Accuracy.
This means that candidates must fulfil the requirements of the mark scheme in each task.
For example, a candidate offering a full range of tenses, accurately used, in task but who
then offers just one tense throughout task 2 would not score full marks for Range of
Language on task 2.
Teachers should ensure that their questioning is designed to put the candidate at ease and
to allow opportunities to access the full range of the mark scheme.
For example, questions in each task should allow for a full range of tenses and give
regular opportunities for students to express and justify opinions
At the same time, Teachers must ensure that the focus of their questioning remains within
the chosen theme The dialogue should be as natural as possible
and teachers are encouraged to offer interjections and brief comments, but these should be kept
brief.
It is important that students are not simply exposed to a battery of questions from a predetermined
list.
An Administrative Support Guide is available via the Edexcel website and should be read
in full well before conducting the examinations As soon as all examinations have been completed
and certainly within 48 hours, all materials should be despatched to Edexcel’s appointed
external examiner.
An address label will be provided at the bottom of the attendance register, which is sent
to centres in advance of the examinations taking place.
The top 2 copies of the completed attendance register should be sent to the examiner, along
with the recordings of all candidates and a completed mark record sheet for each candidate
and a copy of the picture used in any picture-based discussions.
You should only complete Section A of the Mark Record Sheet – the exam is marked by
an Edexcel / Pearson examiner, not by the teacher conducting the exam.
You must ensure that you retain the bottom copy of the attendance register in your centre.
Recordings should be sent on a correctly labelled CD or USB memory stick and recordings must
be in .mp3, .wma or.wav format.
You are discouraged from using cassettes.
The oral element for lesser-taught languages is a terminal exam and is not Controlled Assessment.
Centres must be very careful to ensure that all oral examinations carried out for these
lesser-taught languages conform to the instructions laid out in this presentation, in the Specification
and in the Administrative Support Guide.
The arrangements for Pearson/Edexcel Controlled Assessment tasks for GCSE French, German,Spanish,
Italian, Chinese and Urdu differ significantly.
If teachers submit tasks for GCSE Arabic, Greek, Japanese or Russian that have been
carried out as Controlled Assessments, they could seriously disadvantage their students.The
exam must consist of 2 separate tasks, but these should be conducted one after another
without stopping the recording.
Each task must be 4-5 minutes in length and will be separately assessed out of 25.
Centres should note that tasks shorter than 4 minutes will be unable to gain the full
marks available, while tasks in excess of 5 minutes will not benefit the student, as
examiners will stop listening after the maximum 5 minutes allowed for the task.
Teachers must announce the beginning and end of each task but must not stop the recording
until the whole assessment is complete.
While a broad choice of topics is available, centres must nevertheless ensure that the
focus of each task remains within one of the two prescribed broad themes - Media, Travel
and Culture or Sport, Leisure and Work.
An inappropriately selected topic can have a serious adverse effect on the mark a candidate
can achieve.
For example, ‘school’ featured on previous specifications as an oral topic but is not
a feature of the current specification.
At worst, a candidate who speaks solely about school for the entire 4-5 minute assessment
could score 0 for that task.
Centres should also note that a mark of 0 under Content and Response
also means 0 in the remaining 2 categories.
Possible topics linked to the two broad themes are listed in the specification.
Teachers must not prepare exam-specific lists of questions with candidates or rehearse specific
exams.
Such cases are usually obvious to examiners and are likely to limit candidate performance.
At worst, this could be considered collusion with the candidate and could be referred to
Edexcel’s Standards and Compliance Department.
It is vital to check after each exam that the exam has been recorded.
If a student’s exam has not been recorded and this is discovered only after the assessment
window has closed, it will not be possible for another exam to be carried out.
It is also good practice for centres to keep copies of submitted recordings.
This would be useful in the event of broken CDs, corrupted USBs or if they become lost
in the post.
The Specification and Administrative Support Guide are both invaluable sources of detailed
guidance on the preparation, conduct and administration of all aspects of the oral assessments.
You can access reports on previous exam series that feature examiners’ tips and advice
via the language-specific GCSE qualifications page.
These appear under the ‘Examiner reports’ category.
Access to all of these materials is via Edexcel’s website www.edexcel.com