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Notes and guidance: webinar - conducting AS speaking tests: Paper 3 Speaking

For guidance on conducting our new speaking tests for AS French, German and Spanish, see the presentation slides and webinar transcript below.

Presentation slides

AS speaking tests in French, German and Spanish: Guide to the conduct of tests (presentation slides)

Transcript

Slide 1

Welcome to the online presentation.

Emphasise that this is an across languages presentation for the new AS in French, German and Spanish.

Sample questions or lines of questioning will be in English.

The overall aim of the presentation is to enable teacher-examiners to approach the conduct of the speaking test in ways that will be most advantageous to their students.

Within that overall aim there are four specific objectives which we can see on the next slide.

Slide 2

How the speaking test functions – how it is organised and how teacher-examiners need to be organised and prepared to conduct the tests effectively.

How the student’s performance in this test is assessed – it is crucial that as both teachers preparing students for the tests and examiners conducting the tests we have a clear understanding of the assessment objectives and mark schemes.

We need to have this understanding because it impacts directly and very significantly on how the tests are conducted. We need to be aware of our responsibility as examiners to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate the skills and knowledge the mark scheme rewards.

From this understanding of how the test functions, how performance is conducted and how this affects the examiner’s role, we will be able to identify aspects of best practice that will enable optimum performance by the student.

Slide 3

For each student the cards to be given out for that student’s test will be prescribed in a printed sequence. So, for example, Student 1 will have to be given Cards A + B  and Cards G + I. This sequence of cards will be provided for centres.

Each student is given four cards. For the first discussion the two cards will be on the same sub-theme within either, the overall theme aspects of society or, the overall theme artistic culture, as dictated by the sequence table.

The overall themes and sub-themes have slightly different titles depending on the language. So French has Aspects of French-speaking society – current trends as its overall theme; German has Aspects of German-speaking society and Spanish has Aspects of Hispanic society.

So in French a student will be given two cards on one of the sub-themes of The changing nature of family or The cyber-society or The place of voluntary work.

In German a student will be given two cards on one of the sub-themes of The changing state of the family or The digital world or Youth culture – fashion and trends, music, television.

In Spanish a student will be given two cards on one of the sub-themes of Modern and traditional values or Cyberspace or Equal rights.

Most of the preparation time will be used to consider and prepare responses to the printed questions but there is also something else the student will need to consider which we will come to in a moment.

The student chooses one of these two cards to prepare for the first discussion.

Slide 4

For the second discussion the student’s two cards will be on two different sub-themes from the overall theme of aspects of society where the first discussion is from artistic culture or from the overall theme of artistic culture where the first discussion is on aspects of society. The combination for each candidate is clear in the sequence table.

So in French a student will be given one card from two of the three sub-themes of A culture proud of its heritage, Contemporary francophone music or Cinema, the 7th art form.

In German a student will be given one card from two of the three sub-themes of Festivals and traditions, Art and architecture or Cultural Life in Berlin, past and present.

In Spanish a student will be given one card from two of the three sub-themes of modern day idols, Spanish regional identity, or Cultural Heritage.

The student chooses ONE of these two cards to prepare for the second discussion.

Most of the preparation time will be used to consider and prepare responses to the printed questions but there is also something else the student will need to consider which we will come to in a moment.

So within the 15 minutes preparation time the student must prepare both chosen cards and the student will of course be responsible for managing their time so that both cards can be adequately prepared. This is something that students will need guidance with and for which they will need timed practice sessions.

Slide 5

The timing that the examiner has to be aware of and that he or she is responsible for is ensuring that each discussion lasts between 6 and 7 minutes from the asking of the first printed question.

Is there any advantage in taking a student right up to the 7 minute mark? Teachers might think that a 7 minute test will gain more marks than a 6 minute test but this isn’t necessarily the case. If a student after 6 minutes has demonstrated – according to the mark scheme – the knowledge and skills that are being assessed in this test, the examiner should end the test after 6 minutes. If at 6 minutes 20 seconds a student has completed an answer to a question, there is nothing to be gained by asking any further questions. If at 7 minutes a student is mid-answer it’s in the student’s interests for the examiner to interrupt in a positive way e.g. ‘OK we are going to have to leave this discussion here and move on to the next card’ so that time is not taken away from the second discussion.

The marking of the tests will stop at the end of 14 minutes.

Slide 6

When we looked at slide 3 I mentioned that as well as the printed questions there is something else the student must prepare during the preparation time. In each discussion the student is required to ask a question of the examiner. The type of question to be asked is defined quite precisely in the specification. Students must seek information or an opinion. Asking for repetition or clarification will not meet the requirement. The student’s questions must contain a conjugated verb. Rephrasing or repetition of the printed questions will not meet the requirement.

In the specimen assessments and mark schemes there are plenty of examples of the sort of questions students might ask and this aspect of the preparation time is again something students will need guidance and practice with.

There is a consequence in terms of the mark awarded if the student fails to ask a question. Whatever mark is awarded for AO2 will be moved down to the next band so potentially if the student omits to ask a question there will be a loss of one mark.

The examiner can prompt the student if towards the end of the discussion a question has not been asked: Is there anything you want to ask me? Or Do you have a question for me?

This mention here of Assessment Objectives leads logically to looking at the mark scheme.

Slide 7

The same mark scheme is applied twice – once for each of the discussions.

The total mark for each discussion is 30 and these totals will be added together to give an overall total mark on 60.

All 4 assessment objectives and assessed in each discussion and are assessed in exactly the same way in each discussion.

Slide 8

The different assessment objectives, what they mean and the marks allocated are shown in these next two slides.

AO1: Understand and respond in speech to spoken language including face to face interaction (5 marks).

AO2: Understand and respond in speech to written language drawn from a variety of sources (5 marks).

Slide 9

AO3: Manipulate the language accurately, in spoken form, using a range of lexis and structure (10 marks).

AO4: Show knowledge and understanding of, and respond critically to, different aspects of the culture and society of countries/communities where the language is spoken (10 marks).

Slide 10

Just to compare quickly what we have in the new specification with what is in the legacy AS mark scheme, we can see that now assessment is weighted more towards AO3 and AO4.

What we are going to do now is to look in greater detail at the mark schemes, at the various bands and descriptors so that we get a very clear understanding of them.

The approach for each AO will be the same: look at the mark scheme and descriptors; identify the key messages for that particular assessment objective; and then link those key messages to aspects of conduct of the tests.

Slide 11

5 marks – A good pace of delivery that makes nearly all responses easy to follow. The ideas and opinions expressed are mostly developed. Students respond appropriately to most unpredictable elements

4 marks – A reasonable pace of delivery that makes most responses easy to follow. The ideas and opinions expressed are often developed. Students respond appropriately to some unpredictable elements.

3 marks – Pace of delivery is such that some responses are easy to follow. The ideas and opinions expressed are sometimes developed. Students respond appropriately to a few unpredictable elements.

2 marks – Pace of delivery is such that most responses are difficult to follow. The ideas and opinions expressed are only occasionally developed. Students respond appropriately to few unpredictable elements

1 mark – Pace of delivery is very slow and disjointed throughout. The ideas and opinions expressed are rarely developed. Students respond appropriately to very few unpredictable elements

0 marks – Nothing in the performance is worthy of a mark

The key messages here are very clear.

Slide 12

First key message: How easy to follow is the pace of delivery and how does this apply to the responses the student makes in the course of the discussion? – nearly all, most, some responses are easy to follow, most responses are difficult to follow or the pace of delivery is slow and disjointed.

Second key message: The development of ideas and opinions: that is what we are aiming to elicit from our students.

Third key message: The student’s response to unpredictable elements.

Discuss translating these into how we conduct the test.

Slide 13

Make sure we ask our questions in a way that helps and supports the student’s pace of delivery – we don’t want to be asking questions too quickly or in a disjointed way; we don’t want to be firing questions at the student interrogation-style; we want a calm, relaxed but purposeful manner in the conduct of the test.

We must have questions that elicit views and opinions and that invite the student to develop points made, for example what do you think about …? Do you agree / disagree with that? Why do you agree / disagree?

For the unpredictable elements we need responsive questioning – questions that come back to what the student has said in a response and that probe and develop that further.

Slide 14

5 marks – Students’ responses show that they have a very good understanding of the material on the card.

4 marks – Students’ responses show that they have a good understanding of the material on the card.

3 marks – Students’ responses show that they have some understanding of the material on the card.

2 marks – Students’ responses show that they have a limited understanding of the material on the card.

1 mark – Students’ responses show that they have a very limited understanding of the material on the card.

0 marks – Nothing in the performance is worthy of a mark.

The key messages here need a little more explanation.

Slide 15

It’s important we realise there is a link between how the students respond to the questions and what these show of their understanding of the material on the card.

It is also important that we understand what is meant by material on the card – it is in fact everything presented in text on the card.

Slide 16

Key messages translate into the following aspects of conduct:

If the student has clearly misunderstood something on the card, don’t leave this unchallenged but equally don’t be heavy-handed in dealing with this or critical of the student’s misinterpretation – are you sure that’s what is stated on the card will be a ore helpful intervention than You’ve completely missed the point here. So try and guide the student towards reviewing and rethinking their interpretation.

It is in the student’s interests for you to keep as close as possible to the phrasing of the printed questions which are after all the questions that have been prepared by the student.

Please realise however that AO2 does not require the examiner to ‘test’ the comprehension of language items on the card through specific questions – e.g. what does such and such a word mean?

AO2 is the AO where the student’s question is assessed so remember to prompt the student to ask a question if necessary.

Slide 17

9-10 marks – A good range of varied vocabulary and complex language and some knowledge of appropriate idiom are demonstrated. Application of grammar is mostly accurate. Pronunciation and intonation are very good.

7-8 marks – Some variety of vocabulary and complex language is demonstrated. Application of grammar is often accurate. Pronunciation and intonation are good.

5-6 marks – Little variety of vocabulary and structures is demonstrated. Application of grammar is sometimes accurate. Pronunciation and intonation are fairly good.

3-4 marks – Predominantly simple language with limited variety of vocabulary and structures. Application of grammar is rarely accurate with some serious errors. Pronunciation and intonation are mostly intelligible.

1-2 marks – The range of vocabulary and structures is significantly limiting. Little evidence of accurate grammar with frequent serious errors. Pronunciation and intonation are poor.

0 marks – Nothing in the performance is worthy of a mark.

Again the key messages here are clear enough.

Slide 18

Variety of vocabulary, complexity of language and appropriateness of idiom – idiom refers to a form of expression particular to the target language.

Accurate application of grammar: serious errors are defined as those which adversely affect communication.

Pronunciation and intonation – not expected to be of native speaker standard.

Slide 19

Other guidance documents provide exemplar question types that will generate more complex language.

Please be aware that this is not about present, past and future time-frames.

Slide 20

This AO has been re-introduced into the new specification and it is to do with knowledge and understanding of the sub-themes studied and discussed.

9-10 marks – Very good critical response. Very good knowledge and understanding of those aspects of the sub-theme covered in the discussion. Students are mostly successful in developing their arguments, justifying their points of view and drawing conclusions based on their understanding of the sub-theme.

7-8 marks – Good critical response. Good knowledge and understanding of those aspects of the sub-theme covered in the discussion. Students are often successful in developing their arguments, justifying their points of view and drawing conclusions based on their understanding of the sub-theme. The performance is worthy of a mark.

5-6 marks – Reasonable critical response. Reasonable knowledge and understanding of those aspects of the sub-theme covered in the discussion. Students are sometimes successful in developing their arguments, justifying their points of view and drawing conclusions based on their understanding of the sub-theme.

But it isn’t just about knowledge and understanding which we will see when we look at key messages.

Slide 21

3-4 marks – Limited critical response. Limited knowledge and understanding of those aspects of the sub-theme covered in the discussion. Students are occasionally successful in developing their arguments, justifying their points of view and drawing conclusions based on their understanding of the sub theme.

1-2 marks – Very limited critical response. Very limited knowledge and understanding of those aspects of the sub theme covered in the discussion. Students are rarely successful in developing their arguments, justifying their points of view and drawing conclusions based on their understanding of the sub theme.

0 marks – Nothing in the performance is worthy of a mark.

Slide 22

The understanding must be demonstrated in terms of developing arguments, justifying points of view and drawing conclusions. This aspect of the conduct of the test is going to be one of the most challenging, I think, because of the temptation to invite students to give detailed knowledge from what they have studied. We have to be very careful about how we handle this demonstration of knowledge.

Slide 23

Factual knowledge per se is not what is required. Avoid prompts such as ‘You’ve studied German architecture, haven’t you? Tell me about that.’ or ‘Tell me about a modern day Spanish celebrity you’ve studied’ or ‘Contemporary francophone music – off you go! I‘m listening!’

This isn’t about mini-presentations, it isn’t about detailed and specific knowledge-based questions, in with the knowledge and understanding there have to be views and opinions developed, points of view justified and conclusions supported.

Slide 24

Keep the knowledge student led – or perhaps more appropriately studies-led. In other words, tap into those areas that you know the student can discuss knowledgeably or areas that are personal to individual students such as a visit aboard or contact with pen-friends.

Keep the balance between knowledge and understanding and the purposes these are intended to serve development, justification, support or evidence.

Slide 25

Finally some best practice pointers:

The key to successful conduct in this new style of speaking test is to approach each discussion as a structured dialogue.

As outlined in this slide such an approach will almost automatically create the exchange needed to address what the mark scheme requires

Slide 26

Please see our resources pages for French, German and Spanish to find:

  • advice and guidance notes for new AS Speaking tests
  • example assessment
  • example speaking test  sound files
  • AS Instructions for the conduct of examinations.

Slide 27

Please send any queries to: mfl@aqa.org.uk or call 01423 534 381.

Slide 28

Thank you.

Contact us

If you have any questions after reading the webinar transcript, email our subject team at MFL@aqa.org.uk or call us on 01423 534 381.