Public Band Descriptors (Speaking) Flashcards
speaks fluently with only rare repetition or self correction; any hesitation is contentrelated rather than to find words or grammar speaks coherently with fully appropriate cohesive features develops topics fully and appropriately
Fluency and Coherence 9
only produces isolated words or
memorised utterances
Lexical Resource 2
speaks at length without noticeable effort or loss of coherence may demonstrate languagerelated hesitation at times, or some repetition and/or selfcorrection
uses a range of connectives
and discourse markers with
some flexibility
Fluency and Coherence 7
uses a full range of structures naturally and
appropriately
produces consistently accurate structures
apart from ‘slips’ characteristic of native
speaker speech
Grammatical range and accuracy 9
uses a wide range of structures flexibly
produces a majority of error-free sentences
with only very occasional inappropriacies or
basic/non-systematic errors
Grammatical range and accuracy 8
uses simple vocabulary to convey
personal information
has insufficient vocabulary for less
familiar topics
Lexical Resource 3
speaks fluently with only occasional repetition or selfcorrection; hesitation is usually content-related and only rarely to search for language develops topics coherently and appropriately
Fluency and Coherence 8
speech is often unintelligible
Pronunciation 2
is able to talk about familiar topics but can only convey basic meaning on unfamiliar topics and makes frequent errors in word choice rarely attempts paraphrase
Fluency and Coherence 4
uses a range of complex structures with
some flexibility
frequently produces error-free sentences,
though some grammatical mistakes persist
Grammatical range and accuracy 7
shows some of the features of band 2 and
some, but not all, the positive features of
band 4
Pronunciation 3
manages to talk about familiar and unfamiliar topics but uses vocabulary with limited flexibility attempts to use paraphrase but with mixed success
Lexical Resource 5
is willing to speak at length, though may lose coherence at times due to occasional repetition, self-correction or hesitation uses a range of connectives and discourse markers but not always appropriately
Fluency and Coherence 6
uses a mix of simple and complex structures,
but with limited flexibility
may make frequent mistakes with complex
structures, though these rarely cause
comprehension problems
Grammatical range and accuracy 6
pauses lengthily before most
words
little communication possible
Fluency and Coherence 2
uses a limited range of pronunciation
features
attempts to control features but lapses are
frequent
mispronunciations are frequent and cause
some difficulty for the listener
Pronunciation 4
has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length and make meaning clear in spite of inappropriacies generally paraphrases successfully
Lexical Resource 6
produces basic sentence forms with reasonable accuracy uses a limited range of more complex structures, but these usually contain errors and may cause some comprehension problems
Grammatical range and accuracy 5
speaks with long pauses has limited ability to link simple sentences gives only simple responses and is frequently unable to convey basic message
Fluency and Coherence 3
uses vocabulary resource flexibly to discuss a variety of topics uses some less common and idiomatic vocabulary and shows some awareness of style and collocation, with some inappropriate choices uses paraphrase effectively
Lexical Resource 7
cannot produce basic sentence forms
Grammatical range and accuracy 2
attempts basic sentence forms but with limited success, or relies on apparently memorised utterances makes numerous errors except in memorised expressions
Grammatical range and accuracy 3
usually maintains flow of speech but uses repetition, self-correction and/or slow speech to keep going may over-use certain connectives and discourse markers produces simple speech fluently, but more complex communication causes fluency problems
Fluency and Coherence 5
uses a wide vocabulary resource readily and flexibly to convey precise meaning uses less common and idiomatic vocabulary skilfully, with occasional inaccuracies uses paraphrase effectively as required
Lexical Resource 8
produces basic sentence forms and some correct simple sentences but subordinate structures are rare errors are frequent and may lead to misunderstanding
Grammatical range and accuracy 4
uses vocabulary with full flexibility and
precision in all topics
uses idiomatic language naturally and
accurately
Lexical Resource 9
uses a range of pronunciation features with
mixed control
shows some effective use of features but
this is not sustained
can generally be understood throughout,
though mispronunciation of individual words
or sounds reduces clarity at times
Pronunciation 6
is able to talk about familiar topics but can only convey basic meaning on unfamiliar topics and makes frequent errors in word choice rarely attempts paraphrase
Lexical Resource 4
shows all the positive features of band 4
and some, but not all, the positive features
of band 6
Pronunciation 5
cannot respond without noticeable pauses and may speak slowly, with frequent repetition and self-correction links basic sentences but with repetitious use of simple connectives and some breakdowns in coherence
Fluency and Coherence 4
shows all the positive features of band 6
and some, but not all, the positive features
of band 8
Pronunciation 7
uses a wide range of pronunciation features
sustains flexible use of features, with only
occasional lapses
is easy to understand throughout; L1
accent has minimal effect on intelligibility
Pronunciation 8
uses a full range of pronunciation features
with precision and subtlety
sustains flexible use of features throughout
is effortless to understand
Pronunciation 9
PHONOLOGY] When a sound is modified by a neighboring sound, such as when the final /n/ of green is followed by a /p/, and is pronounced /m/; /t/ /d/=/p//b/; /t//d/=/k//g/
assimilation
DISCOURSE The use of grammatical and lexical means to achieve connected text. LEXICAL: repetition, synonyms, general words, same thematic field, substitution, ellipsis; GRAMMATICAL: references, substitution, ellipsis, linkers, parallelism
cohesion
DISCOURSE Also called pragmatic markers. Words or expressions that normally come at the beginning of an utterance, and function to orient the listener to what will follow. Can indicate some kind of cane of direction in the talk or appeal to the listener in some way.
discourse marker
PHONOLOGY This happens when a sound is omitted, because another, similar, sound follows. This is common when two plosive sounds occur together. walked to=walktuh; baked beans= bakebeans; last week=lasweek; next, please=neksplease
elision
DISCOURSE Leaving elements out of a sentence because they are either unnecessary or because their sense can be worked out from the immediate context. Very common in spoken language and is also a common feature of certain text types where brevity is a priority (i.e. postcards).
ellipsis
GRAMMAR Show that they are related to a subject by having person, number and tense. “Brad works for his uncle.”
finite verbs
PHONOLOGY When other people can understand what you are saying. Has resulted in the phonological core–features of phonology that are crucial.
intelligibility
PHONOLOGY The music of speech. A suprasegmental feature of pronunciation, meaning that it is a property of whole stretches of speech rather than of individual segments. Functions of this are: grammatical function: indicating the difference between statements and questions; attitudinal function: indicating interest, surprise, boredom; what is called high and low involvement; discoursal function: contrasting new information with information that is already known, hence shared between speakers. Serves both to separate the stream of speech into blocks of information (tone units), and to mark information within these units as being significant. High key=implies a contrast in attitude with respect to the preceding utterance. Low key=Speaker is adding something that is obvious or by the way
Intonation
PHONOLOGY This is the pausing (or lack of pausing) at the boundary between two sounds, which accounts for the difference between ice cream and I scream.
Juncture
PHONOLOGY This is where a sound is introduced at word boundaries, especially after words ending in a vowel, as in law and order=lohrandorder
Liaison
PHONOLOGY The non-stressed pronunciation of some words. Most function words in English (of, at, to, can, must, was, have, and) have 2 possible pronunciations, depending on whether they are stressed or not. Most of these ___ ___ involve replacement of the vowel by schwa, although some consonant deletion can also occur. The use of these helps in achieving an English-sounding rhythm.
weak form
