DG: Sylfaen (Foundation)

There are 5 components:

Listening

i. Telephone messages - candidates must fill an information grid based on a pre-recorded list of telephone messages.

ii. Weather bulletin - candidates must choose the appropriate symbol based on the information in the weather bulletin (multiple choice).

iii. Dialogue - candidates must fill in a form based on the information in a pre-recorded dialogue.

Duration: approximately 30 minutesw

Speaking

Three compulsory parts:

i. Topic Presentation - candidates are given a choice of topics (1 out of 3) from a prescribed list of 11, involving general topics. They must also ask questions to the interlocutor and respond to questions based on the topic.

ii. Responding to questions - candidates must answer questions from a set list which is given in the specification.

iii. Closed responses - candidates must respond positively or negatively using 10 of the most common yes/no replies to closed questions.

Duration: approximately 15 minutes

Reading

Two compulsory tasks:

i. Advertisements - candidates must fill an information grid based on a number of advertisements, e.g. from a local paper.

ii. Article - candidates must answer questions based on a short article.

Structural Competence

One compulsory task:

i. Gap-filling - candidates must fill in the gaps (mainly grammatical) in discrete sentences.

The gap-filling question is contained within the Reading test.

Duration: 40 minutes.

Writing

Two compulsory tasks:

i. Note / message - candidates must write a message or note based on a specific cue or situation.

ii. Diary / Record - candidates must write a diary or record of events in the past.

Duration: 40 minutes

Weighting of components

Listening 20%, Speaking 50%, Reading 10%, Structural Competence 5%, Writing 15%.

Results

Grades are awarded A-C (Pass) D (near fail) and F (Fail). Candidates are sent individual scores for each test. The pass mark is 50% of the total.