At the request of some students preparing for the level 3 speaking, I'm giving you today a sample STANAG 6001 level 3 briefing, followed by a plan/notes and examples of questions which might be asked by the second candidate about it.

FULL TEXT

You can use the full text of a briefing below as an example. You can read it aloud to practise how long a briefing should take. This one should take about 3,0 - 3,5 minutes. You can record yourself while you read and check how it sounds.

NOTES

The notes are here to show you how much you should write in your notes at the exam. This is what will make it possible to deliver your briefing without being "punished" for having notes which are too long or too detailed. Remember that you are not allowed to write a full text at the exam and read it.

You can use the plan provided below to practise delivering the briefing (without looking at the full text). Record yourself and check the results - fluency, timing, expressions, correctness, choice of words, pronunciation.

QUESTIONS

They are examples of questions someone delivering this briefing might hear from the second candidate at the exam.

You can imagine you have been given these questions after a briefing and answer them. Record your answers and listen, following the same procedure as above.

Remember that it's not enough to answer yes or no. You always need to justify your answer briefly.

 

TASK

There is a language course organised at the training centre. Your unit can send one soldier to attend this course. You have been tasked with giving a briefing presenting two possible candidates. Describe their strengths and weaknesses, recommend one of them and justify your choice.

• Candidate A
• Candidate B

 

Welcome to my briefing. I have been tasked with presenting two possible candidates for an English language course because our unit can send only one person to this training. Therefore, I will describe strengths and weaknesses of both soldiers who qualify for the course and recommend one of them. There will be time for questions after my presentation.

Let me start with Candidate A and his strengths. Captain Nowak is a very experienced officer who has participated in a few missions abroad and cooperated with our foreign allies. Therefore, he has plenty of practical experience in real life communication in English and working in this language. However, he has never participated in a language course and as a result has not obtained any language certificate to confirm his skills. The course would give him a chance to pass the exam and obtain a certificate. What is more, he also speaks Russian and German, so his ability to learn foreign languages has been already proven and we can assume that he will probably be successful also in an English exam.

On the other hand, Captain Nowak is a very busy person with lots of important duties and it might be a problem to release him of all his duties for 5 months of the course as he is badly needed in the staff to complete the tasks he has already began coordinating. Additionally, he indicated himself that he would be more interested in a cyber security course in English rather than learning a language. Which is why, he might have problems with appropriate motivation to learn.

 

I will now move on to Candidate B. Captain Kowalski’s situation seems to be quite different.  To begin with, his biggest strength is his motivation as he has already applied for this course a few times and is really determined to pass the exam and gain new skills. Another strength is his proven record of success in other courses he attended. He is a dedicated student and learns fast, which seems to be a guarantee that he will not waste his and our time participating in this course.

However, there are some weaknesses of this candidature. Firstly, due to the character of his work Candidate B does not need to use English in his current position at all and therefore sending him to this training seems pointless at this point. Secondly, this officer has already been planned for a transfer and was supposed to take up a new position next month. In this situation, his participation in the course would require introducing changes in this respect.

To sum up, I would like to recommend Candidate B as the most suitable person to participate in the language course because despite some inconveniences connected with his new posting, his motivation seems to be a guarantee of success and in the future his language abilities can surely become useful for the army. While Candidate A has already demonstrated practical language abilities and is not interested in formally certifying them.

Thank you for your attention. If you have any questions, I will answer them now.

NOTES

Purpose: present two candidates for a language course and recommend one

Candidate A

Strengths:

1. Experienced in communication and cooperation in English with foreign allies

• but no certificate > good candidate for a course

2. knows other languages (Russian and German)

• high language learning ability > high probability of success in English

Weaknesses:

1. very busy, many important duties

• no time for learning > problem with realising him of these duties

2. prefers to participate in a cyber security course

• not interested in learning a language > problems with motivation

Candidate B

Strengths:

1. applied for the course a few times

• motivated > determined to pass the exam and learn

2. successful in other courses he attended

• dedicated student and fast learner > he won’t waste his and our time 

Weaknesses:

1. character of his work

• doesn’t need English in this position > course pointless now

2. planned for a transfer

• new position next month >inconveniences connected with the changes

Recommendation

Candidate B

Despite weaknesses

• more motivated
• his language skills can be used in the future

 

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1. Can you tell me if Candidate A needs a formal confirmation of his language skills for any official reasons? What are they?

2. Don’t you think that sending Candidate A to a cyber security course in English would be more beneficial as he could learn both things at the same time?

3. I would like to know why Candidate A hasn’t participated in the language course so far if he applied for it a few times?

4. Could you inform me what Candidate A's new position is and if it requires the knowledge of English?

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to comment below ⬇⬇⬇ or contact me directly by email at info@stanagexpert.com