Interview 1
Examiner Analysis
Speaking Part 1: Where you live, Family, Learning English
Band 6
This candidate is not prepared to give extended responses and most of her answers are short in length. Nevertheless, she does answer the examiner’s directly showing a clear understanding of the questions. She does hesitate somewhat and some markers are used effectively
e.g. “Well….”
“As I said before....”
However, sometimes there is occasional loss of coherence.
e.g. “loud … because … annoying sometimes”.
Correction: It’s annoying sometimes because they are so loud
She uses fairly basic vocabulary here, but utilizes it to talk about a variety of topics. There are some inaccuracies
e.g. “they’re trying us to speak”
Correction: They try to get us to speak.
However, she does also use appropriate noun modification
e.g. “younger brother, nearly everyone”
In addition, she uses some useful expressions
e.g. “I’ve got my own; once in a while; really unclear; it’s always good to”
In all, she uses basic sentence structures very accurately. There is some evidence of a wider range, but not really many examples of more advanced forms. In addition, some of her sentences are incomplete.
Her pronunciation is clear and understandable with just some minor mispronunciation of phonemes.
Interview 2
Examiner Analysis
Speaking Part 2: A well-known person
Band 7
This candidate can talk at length in a coherent manner. He does hesitate occasionally to reword statements, although is careful to avoid too much repetition. He uses sequencing (e.g. first, Second, finally) to structure his talk information links ideas effectively using a variety of discourse markers.
He also uses a variety of vocabulary:
e.g. legend; background; inspired; creativity; style
He also uses some relevant and common collocations (words that often go together)
e.g. a pop icon; fight for their rights.
He also uses a variety of quite complex structures. His tense usage is not always correct, but errors are not common.
This candidate has a strong accent and often pronounces ‘f’ instead of ‘th’. Nevertheless, we can see that is pronunciation is only incorrect for certain words.
e.g. leegend; founds instead of funds),
Sometimes fillers (ehm) are not used within a natural pattern of intonation and break up the flow of speech.
Note: Fillers are words or expressions that are used to give the speaker time to think.
Common examples include terms like ‘actually’ and ‘you know.’
Interview 3
Examiner Analysis
Speaking Part 3: Hobbies
Band 5
The candidate does hesitate somewhat but keeps the flow of speech in general. However he doesn’t really use the extended responses that we are looking for. He uses a variety of connectives and markers,
e.g. “In my case”
“As I was saying”
“I tend to think”
Other examples- conversely, similarly)
However, these do tend to be used in rather formulaic ways and are mostly used at the beginning of sentences. He does hesitate somewhat, and reword what he’s trying to say. In addition, sometimes he does lose coherence, but in general he makes use of simple sentence structures with a fairly good degree of fluency.
He tries to personalize his replies and does repeat vocabulary repetitively. This does show a lack of confidence in his range of vocabulary. Nonetheless, he uses a sufficient variety of words to express his view on more general social trends.
He uses a set range of sentence structures repeatedly, such as ‘if’ clauses, without demonstrating the use of other complex structures. He can make use of basic structures to a good degree, but we can often see errors. His pronunciation is clear in general, though he occasionally mispronounces certain words (deflation), r
This doesn’t really inhibit his ability to convey meaning since he only has difficulty with particular words.
Stress and intonation does tend to follow fixed patterns, while marked but could not be considered monotone and doesn’t prevent the listener’s comprehension. In all, his performance is a good example of Band 5.
Interview 4
Examiner Analysis
Speaking Part 3: Hobbies
Band 6
He is able to talk at length and is willing to give long responses. However, he doesn’t always directly answer the examiner’s question. He does hesitate somewhat and he does repeat himself sometimes which reduces his fluency. He uses a variety of discourse markers, although not always in an appropriate way or accurately.
e.g. but on the other side; in nearest future
Correction: but on the other hand, in the near future
His vocabulary is good enough to talk about the topics at some length, and in spite of some uncertainty and inaccuracy (how to say?) and some inaccurate word selection (This is not very well for family or health), He generally expresses his ideas and opinions well. However, there are some examples of some uncertainty and inaccuracy
“How to say?”
Correction: How do I say?
How should I say?
There are also some erroneous word choices:
“This is not very well for family or health”
Correction: This is not very good for our family life and our health.
He tries to use a mixture of simple and more complex sentence structures. However, his level of correct grammar use does vary. In particular, he sometimes omits verbs. Other minor errors become more noticeable towards the end. This is his weak point..
His pronunciation is mostly clear with some words being difficult to catch (gardening), because of mispronunciation of individual sounds or erroneous word stress (casino). For part 3, this candidate is a good example of Band 6.
Interview 5
Examiner Analysis
Speaking Part 3: Hobbies
Band 7
This candidate can keep the flow of conversation comfortably, although the speed of his speech is a little slow and he does hesitate somewhat. He uses a variety of reference markers with fluency and naturally, so this helps him to be more coherent.
e.g. “It’s likely that they will; so that helps”
.However, in general the way he expands on the topic is fairly limited and he doesn’t really extend his responses enough to reach Band 8. His vocabulary matches the topic, but he does not use a broad range. Examples of good collocation and idioms (the job ladder) are not used frequently enough as would be the case at a higher band, and are sometimes not well placed in the discussion or used awkwardly in a not entirely appropriate context.
e.g. everything in excess is not good; to provide themselves; want to go higher, higher on the job ladder.
A variety of structures are used, but they are complex enough to reach a level higher than Band 7. The accuracy level is high, with only a few minor mistakes, but the candidate still uses fairly simple language whilst indicating that he has the ability to use more advanced vocabulary. This candidate has a slight accent that doesn’t really impede his English pronunciation. He is able to use a wide variety of phonological features to express meaning effectively
e.g. it’s not that difficult to play
He also makes make clear distinctions with the word stress, whilst using the correct comparative and superlative forms respectively.
e.g. more popular vs most popular
This is a high level candidate who could perhaps score higher if he extended his range of vocabulary.
Interview 6
Examiner Analysis
Speaking Part 3: Hobbies
Band 8
This candidate speaks extremely fluently and is able to give extended, complex and very accurate responses whilst still remaining coherent. She doesn’t repeat herself and spend time searching for the right word choice. She uses a wide variety of discourse markers in a natural way and very precisely. Her extensive vocabulary gives her a high level of precision. She uses a lot of vocabulary that is very specific to the topic in the correct context. There are some minor inaccuracies which do prevent her from reaching the next band.
e.g. have your focal point on
She uses an extensive variety of complex sentence structures, most of which are without errors. However, some examples of inappropriate choice of tense are evident. This candidate can be easily understood and her accent doesn’t affect the clarity of expression even though she does sometimes mispronounce individual phonemes. This doesn’t realty affect her ability to communicate and convey meaning. She is able to use a wide variety of features, such as intonation and contrastive stress, to express ideas.
