MARKING CRITERIA - SPEAKING
POINTS
There 20 points to get at the STANAG 6001 English exam in speaking. 10 points for Task 1 (briefing) and 10 points for Task 2 (discussion).
To pass the exam you need to obtain 70%, that is 14 points out of 20. It doesn't matter how many points you receive for each task, the total score counts, so you can receive 4 points for your briefing and 10 points for the discussion and still pass. It means you will have level 3 in speaking on your certificate. If you obtain 12 or 13 points you will have 2+ on your certificate.
You can see the original marking sheets used at the exam on the Central Examination Board's website www.wsnjo.wp.mil.pl in the model exam.
I simplified it a little to show you the general principles behind marking. It looks like this:
It means that each of the following elements is evaluated separately:
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fluency,
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grammar and vocabulary,
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pronunciation,
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structure (briefing)/interaction (discussion),
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and task achievement
Each of these elements can evaluated by matching one of the bands of points: 9-10, 8, 7, 5-6 or fewer.
The points for each element are not added, the lowest number of points counts as the result for this task.
For example:
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fluency - 8 points
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grammar and vocabulary -7 points
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pronunciation - 8 points
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structure (briefing)/interaction (discussion) - 6 points
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and task achievement - 6 points
The final score for this task is 6 points.
WHAT IS EVALUATED?
How are these elements assessed? The summary below is an attempt to answer this question:
In TASK 1 (briefing), the following elements are evaluated:
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fluency (how smoothly your speech flows)
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language resources and accuracy (grammatical correctness and range of vocabulary)
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pronunciation (pronouncing words in a way that does not hinder understanding)
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production (clear and logical structure of your speech)
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task achievement (covering all points, relevance)
In TASK 2 (discussion) the following elements are evaluated:
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fluency (how smoothly your speech flows)
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language resources and accuracy (grammatical correctness and range of vocabulary)
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pronunciation (pronouncing words in a way that does not hinder understanding)
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interaction (active, natural discussion with equal participation of both candidates, logical references to each other’s questions)
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task achievement (covering all points, relevance)
WHAT CAN CAUSE A NEGATIVE ASSESSMENT of a task (not more than 6 points for a task)?
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speech tempo too slow, struggling to find the right words
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grammatical errors in simple and complex language
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wrong choice of vocabulary, simplistic vocabulary
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frequent pronunciation errors which do not hinder understanding
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the structure of the speech is not clear enough, making it an effort to follow by a listener, lack of consistent sequencing, linking not always logical
lack of active participation and initiative in the discussion, responses
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irrelevant to questions
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task achieved only partially, not all points covered, irrelevant information provided
