5.5 Speaking Assessment Criteria & Confidence Building

5.5 Speaking Assessment Criteria & Confidence Building

Quick Answer: One Speaking Examiner marks the whole A2 Flyers Speaking test on three criteria, each on a 0–5 scale: Vocabulary and Grammar, Pronunciation, and Interaction. The paper is worth a maximum of five shields. Do not rename Interaction as Interactive Communication. Complete accuracy is not expected even at Band 5. If the child produces only a couple of words, the maximum pronunciation score is 3, whatever the sounds were like.

Three criteria, one examiner, 0 to 5

Throughout the test the candidate is assessed by one examiner using the assessment criteria. There is no second examiner in the room taking silent notes, and there is no separate interlocutor-plus-assessor pair as in some older-teen Cambridge papers. The standard Flyers format remains one child + one examiner.

The assessment for Flyers is based on three criteria, each with a six-point scale (0 to 5) defined in terms of candidate behaviour. Bands 4 and 2 are not given their own full paragraphs: Band 4 is some features of 3.0 and some features of 5.0 in approximately equal measure; Band 2 is some features of 3.0 and some features of 1.0 in approximately equal measure. Band 0 is performance that does not satisfy the Band 1 descriptor.

Speaking Examiners complete training and regular certification of procedure and assessment. Team Leaders manage that quality assurance. Children do not need those job titles. Teachers do need to know the person in the room is using the published Flyers scale, not a homemade 'fluency / accuracy / confidence' sheet.

The Speaking paper still reports as shields (maximum five), in the same family as Listening and Reading and Writing. Do not invent a raw conversion table from the three 0–5 scores to shields; Cambridge equates versions, and this guide does not publish unofficial cut-offs. Teach the behaviour in the descriptors. The shields follow the performance.

Vocabulary and Grammar: range, control, extent, cohesion

Range is whether the child has the vocabulary to deal with the test tasks. Flyers candidates should make increasing use of a greater variety of words and grammatical forms than at Movers. Part 1 differences, Part 2 restaurant (or similar) facts, Part 3 picture actions, and Part 4 personal topics all have to be handled. A child with excellent animal words who cannot ask What time does it open? has a range problem, not a 'shy' problem.

Control is whether the child can (attempt to) use the simple structures on the syllabus. The Handbook glossary is explicit: complete accuracy, even to score a 5 at A2 Flyers, is not expected. What is considered is how far errors may or may not obscure meaning. I goed to the park yesterday is imperfect control with clear meaning. I park go yesterday brother football starts to obscure meaning.

Extent is the length of utterances. This moves from mostly one-word responses at Pre A1 Starters, through short simple sentences at A1 Movers, to slightly longer and slightly more complex sentence responses at the upper A2 Flyers level. Extent is not a word-count race. Part 4 still wants a phrase or one or two short sentences. The jump from Yes to Yes, I have. I went with my grandma is the Flyers move.

Cohesion is joining ideas with simple linkers. At Flyers the range expected at Band 5 is and, but, when, then, because. Band 3 cohesion is and, but, when, then — without because in the example list. Band 1 is a few simple linkers, example and. Training because in contrast sentences (In your picture the clock is round because… is usually too much) and in Part 4 (I like Saturdays because I go swimming) is one of the cleanest Band 5 habits in this paper.

Band 5 versus Band 3 versus Band 1 (Vocabulary and Grammar)

Band 5: uses a range of vocabulary to deal with all test tasks; uses a range of simple structures and, although there are some mistakes, meaning is clear; responds at word, phrase or longer utterance level; can join ideas with a range of simple linkers (and, but, when, then, because).

Band 3: uses the vocabulary required to deal with most test tasks; uses some simple structures correctly but makes some mistakes, although meaning is generally clear; responds at word, phrase or longer utterance level; can join ideas with some simple linkers (and, but, when, then).

Band 1: uses the vocabulary required to deal with some test tasks; attempts some simple structures but makes some basic mistakes which may obscure meaning; generally responds at word or phrase level but may also produce longer utterances; can join ideas with a few simple linkers (and).

Notice that Band 5 and Band 3 both allow mistakes. The split is range (all tasks vs most), how clear meaning stays, and whether because and a wider linker set appear. Chasing perfect grammar by saying almost nothing pushes the profile toward weak extent and, as the next section shows, can cap pronunciation.

Pronunciation: sounds, stress, intonation — and a hard cap

Individual sounds means vowels, diphthongs and consonants. Generally the candidate should be intelligible to non-EFL/ESOL specialists even if the candidate has a strong or unfamiliar accent. Flyers is not an accent-reduction exam. A clear Indian, Spanish, Mandarin or Brazilian accent that a non-teacher can follow is compatible with high pronunciation bands. Unintelligible sounds are the problem, not 'sounding British'.

Stress is the emphasis laid on a syllable or word. Intonation is the way the voice rises and falls to convey mood or support meaning. The Handbook is unusually specific for Flyers: some A2 Flyers tasks require candidates to ask questions, which is why a reference to question intonation is included in the 3.0 and 5.0 pronunciation descriptors. Part 2 is the obvious place this is heard. A child who answers beautifully and then asks what time it open on a falling statement tune is giving away an intonation feature the scale is built to notice.

Band 5 pronunciation: mostly intelligible; some control of stress and intonation at both word and longer utterance levels.

Band 3 pronunciation: mostly intelligible; limited control of word stress and intonation.

Band 1 pronunciation: mostly intelligible, although some sounds may be unclear; limited control of word stress. Intonation is not claimed at Band 1.

The couple-of-words cap

If the candidate produces some language, but insufficient language to make a confident judgement about pronunciation (the Handbook example is just a couple of words), the maximum score that can be awarded is 3, regardless of quality of pronunciation. A shy whisper of cake… magazines may be beautifully articulated and still cannot go above 3 on this criterion. The practical classroom rule is: give the examiner enough connected speech to judge. Short sentences in Parts 1–4 protect pronunciation as well as Vocabulary and Grammar extent.

Interaction — not Interactive Communication

The third criterion is Interaction. Do not rename it Interactive Communication. That label belongs to other Cambridge papers. On the Flyers scale the three Interaction ideas are:

• Reception/Responding — understanding the examiner and responding appropriately to what the examiner has said, including instructions, questions and visual prompts.
• Support required — how much help the examiner must give. Band 5 needs very little support and the child is able to ask for support if required. Band 3 needs little support and can still ask for it. Band 1 responds to some prompts with some support and may attempt to ask for support.
• Fluency/Promptness — relevant, appropriate interaction, from overall fluidity down to being generally unable to sustain speech. The scales account for the fact that typical performances at all three levels are characterised by hesitation and pauses. Flyers Band 5 is Responds promptly with only natural hesitation and pausing — not 'never hesitates'. Band 3 almost always responds promptly, although there may be hesitation and some pausing mid-utterance. Band 1 often responds promptly, although there may be hesitation and pausing mid-utterance.

A child who says Sorry, I don't understand and then answers the rephrased question is showing Band 5/3 Interaction behaviour (able to ask for support). A child who stares at the picture until the examiner supplies the whole sentence is asking for more support than Band 5 allows.

Band 5 versus Band 3 versus Band 1 (Interaction)

Band 5: responds appropriately to all instructions, questions and visual prompts; very little support required; able to ask for support; promptly with only natural hesitation and pausing.

Band 3: responds appropriately to almost all instructions, questions and visual prompts; little support required; able to ask for support; almost always promptly, although there may be hesitation and some pausing mid-utterance.

Band 1: responds appropriately to some instructions, questions and visual prompts with some support; may attempt to ask for support; often promptly, although there may be hesitation and pausing mid-utterance.

The move from Band 1 to Band 3 is less 'talk faster' and more 'handle almost all prompts with little help, and ask when stuck'. The move from Band 3 to Band 5 is handling all prompts with very little help, and keeping hesitation natural rather than mid-utterance stalls on every turn.

Confidence building that matches the mark scheme

One way of making the test as stress-free as possible is the usher. The child is first met by someone who explains the format in the child's first language before going in to meet the examiner. Tell families this in advance. The child is not being 'thrown in'. The pattern is always the same: greeting and six differences; answer then ask; five-picture story; personal questions; goodbye.

Children create a good impression when they use Hello, Goodbye, Thank you, Sorry and I don't understand confidently. Those formulae are Handbook preparation advice, and they feed Interaction (asking for support) as well as politeness. Practise them until they are boring.

Classroom English instructions — Look at, Ask, Give, Put, Find — should be normal long before test day, so Part 1 Look at your picture is not a new listening item.

Bring nothing. Rehearse standing up from a waiting chair without a pencil case. If the child is used to holding a pen in every English lesson, empty hands can feel like a trap. They are not.

Give enough language to be marked. A couple of whispered words can cap pronunciation at 3 and flatten Vocabulary and Grammar extent. The counter-error is a memorised speech that ignores the examiner. Interaction is reception and responding, not a performance.

Hesitation is allowed. Band 5 explicitly includes natural hesitation and pausing. Training 'never pause' creates panic. Training 'answer the thing that was asked, then stop' creates promptness.

Do not promise a shield number from a mock. Shield boundaries can differ slightly by version. Promise a routine: greet, six contrasts, answer and ask, four picture descriptions after the examiner's first picture, short personal answers, thank you, goodbye.

Confidence traps

• Calling the third criterion Interactive Communication in parent evenings and marksheets.
• Telling children they must speak without mistakes to get Band 5. Complete accuracy is not expected.
• Praising tiny, perfect utterances that leave pronunciation unjudgeable above 3.
• Treating I don't understand as failure rather than a Band 5/3 support move.
• Practising four differences or four story pictures from a website summary instead of Handbook 2024's six and five.
• Inventing a raw-score-to-shields table and teaching to those numbers.

The Speaking paper is short. Seven to nine minutes is enough to show range, a few linkers, question intonation, and prompt, supported interaction — if the child talks. The rest of this guide returns to grammar and wordlist fuel for those four parts.