Throughout June and July within English, our Year 9 and 10 students will be completing the Spoken Language module for their GCSE qualifications. This is a compulsory task that has to be undertaken before students sit their written GCSE examinations and students will receive an additional grade of Pass, Merit or Distinction which will appear on their final GCSE results.
The aim of the assessment is to allow students to demonstrate their speaking and listening skills by giving a presentation in a formal context, responding appropriately to questions, asking questions themselves to elicit clarification and to use spoken Standard English in a professional manner.
Students must undertake a prepared spoken presentation on a specific topic and whilst students will be able to choose their own topic for their presentation, this must be pre-agreed with their English teacher.
As a guide, the duration should be no more than ten minutes and the key requirements are:
- presentations must be formal and students must identify the subject for their presentations in advance and agree it with their teacher
- presentations must be planned and organised.
- Students should be advised that that lack of preparation is likely to prevent access to the criteria for the higher grades
- as part of, or following, the presentation students must listen to and respond appropriately to questions and feedback
With this information in mind, we would really appreciate it if you would discuss this with students at home and start to think about appropriate topics that they would be able to present. Whilst it is not essential, we would also encourage students to begin to research their chosen topic so that they have evidence to support their choice when agreeing their topic with their teacher.
Should you have any questions about this assessment, please contact Mrs Davies or Mr Richards.