The Speaking Test (9280/S)

British & IGCSE › Oxford International GCSE English as a Second Language

The Speaking test (9280/S) is worth 20% of your Oxford International GCSE ESL grade, the same as Listening. It is the only part of the qualification you do with your own teacher, in your own school, and it is the part where good preparation makes the biggest difference. This page explains how the test works, how the photocard decides what you talk about in the conversation, what each of the four marking criteria rewards, and a simple method — A-R-E — to turn short answers into top-band answers.

1. The test at a glance

2. What happens on the day, step by step

1. Preparation room (10 minutes). You are given one photocard, chosen by a fixed sequence (you cannot choose it). The card shows a photo, the topic, and the three questions your teacher will ask. You may make notes on a clean sheet, but you must not write on the card. You are supervised and cannot talk to anyone.
2. Exam room. You take the card and your notes with you. The teacher starts the recording and says your name, candidate number and the card letter.
3. Part 1: Photocard (about 3-4 minutes, 15 marks). The teacher asks the three printed questions in order. The teacher may add short follow-up prompts if you need help. Then the teacher asks two more questions that are not on the card (unseen questions), chosen from a list of eight. You may use your notes in this part.
4. Notes collected. At the end of Part 1, the teacher takes back the photocard and your notes.
5. Part 2: General conversation (about 6-7 minutes, 25 marks). The teacher announces the first theme (*Now, the general conversation beginning with the theme…*) and talks with you about it for about three minutes, then moves to the second theme for about three minutes.
6. End. The recording is stopped only at the end. It is sent to OxfordAQA for marking.

3. How the photocard decides the conversation

The course has three themes. Your photocard is on one theme (and one topic inside it). The General conversation then covers the other two themes: about the same time on each. So you will talk about all three themes in your test.

• Your teacher chooses which topics and sub-topics to ask about inside each theme. There is no fixed number of topics.
• You will not know the conversation questions in advance. Prepare all topics in all three themes.
• A good teacher-examiner follows your answers with new questions (*Why? What happened? Would you do it again?*), so be ready to explain and give details.
• The teacher should say clearly when the second theme starts. Listen for it: it is a signal to change your vocabulary.

4. The 40 marks

5. What each criterion needs (the bands, in simple words)

Examiners use levels. They start at the lowest level and move up until they find the one that best describes your performance. Below is a summary in our own words; it is not the official wording.

Photocard: Communication (10 marks)

Photocard: Knowledge and use of language (5 marks)

Conversation: Communication (10 marks)

Conversation: Knowledge and use of language (5 marks)

Conversation: Spontaneity and fluency (5 marks)

Conversation: Pronunciation and intonation (5 marks)

6. How to develop every answer: the A-R-E method

The difference between a 5/10 and a 10/10 for Communication is usually not difficult vocabulary. It is development: top students never stop after one sentence. Use A-R-E for every question:

See the difference. Question: *Do you like living in your town?*

Weak answer (Level 1-2): *Yes, I like it. It is nice.* (one opinion, no reason, present tense only)

Top-band answer (A-R-E): A: *Yes, I really like it, although it's getting quite crowded.* R: *The main reason is that everything I need is close by: my school, the club where I train and my grandparents' flat are all within walking distance.* E: *Last weekend, for example, I walked to the new market with my cousins and we spent the whole afternoon there. In the future, though, I'd like to live somewhere greener, because the traffic here is getting worse every year.*

7. Tense variety: show past, present and future in every topic

8. Fillers that sound natural (and help you think)

Real speakers pause. A short, natural filler is much better than silence or *eeeh*. Use them to buy two or three seconds, but do not use the same one every time.

9. What loses marks

10. Pronunciation and intonation tips for Arabic speakers

• P and B. *Pen* is not *Ben*. Practise: *people, problem, park, pollution, public.*
• V and F. *Very, visit, volunteer, environment*: put your top teeth on your bottom lip and use your voice for V.
• Th. *Think, three, the, together*: put your tongue between your teeth. Avoid *sink* for *think* or *zis* for *this*.
• -ed endings. *Watched* = /t/, *played* = /d/, *visited* = /ɪd/. Do not add an extra syllable to *watched* (not *watch-ed*).
• Word stress. *TECH-nology?* No: tech-NOL-o-gy. Also: en-VI-ron-ment, e-DU-ca-tion, PHO-to-graph, pho-TO-graph-er.
• Do not add vowels at the start of words: *school*, not *ischool*, and *street*, not *istreet*.
• Intonation. Let your voice go down at the end of statements and up for yes/no questions. Stress the important words: *I REALLY enjoyed it.*
• Chunking. Pause between ideas, not between every word: *Last summer / I went to Alexandria / with my cousins.*

11. Practice: develop these weak answers

1. *Q: Do you use social media?* Weak answer: *Yes, I use Instagram.* Develop it with A-R-E.

   Show answer

   Sample: *Yes, quite a lot, mainly Instagram and WhatsApp, because they help me keep in touch with my cousins who live in Dubai. For example, last month my cousin sent me photos from his school trip and we ended up chatting for an hour. Having said that, I'm trying to spend less time scrolling, so next month I'm going to turn off my notifications during the exam period.*

2. *Q: What is your favourite subject?* Weak answer: *Maths.*

   Show answer

   Sample: *I'd say maths, because I enjoy solving problems step by step, and there's always one clear answer, which I find satisfying. When I was in Year 7 I found it really hard, but my teacher gave me extra exercises and my marks improved a lot. If everything goes well, I'd like to study engineering at university, so maths will be really important for me.*

3. *Q: What did you do last summer?* Weak answer: *I went to the beach.*

   Show answer

   Sample: *Last summer my family rented a flat in Alexandria for two weeks. We went to the beach almost every morning, and in the evenings we walked along the Corniche and ate ice cream. The best day was when my father took us on a boat trip — I'd never done that before. Next summer I'm hoping to go somewhere new, maybe Luxor, because I've never seen the temples.*

4. *Q: Is it important to protect the environment?* Weak answer: *Yes, it is important.*

   Show answer

   Sample: *Absolutely, because if we don't act now, the next generation will pay the price. In Egypt, for example, the summers are getting hotter every year, and water is becoming more precious. At home we've started to recycle plastic bottles and use less water when we wash the car. If I were the head of my school, I would ban single-use plastic in the canteen.*