How your B2 First speaking is scored shows you what you need to do in your test to get a good score. My students frequently ask me about this, but it’s tough to explain everything in a minute or two in a lesson dedicated to writing improvement. So, I decided to write everything down for you. This way, you’ll have all the knowledge you need, and you’ll be able to come back to this site anytime you want to learn more about how to make your B2 speaking achieve higher grades.
There are four key factors that examiners use to grade your writing:
1/ Grammar and Vocabulary – how you use grammar and vocabulary
2/ Discourse Management – how you present your answers
3/ Pronunciation – English pronunciation
4/ Interactive Communication – How you communicate with the examiner and the other examinee(s).
There is also the Global Achievement score which is an overall score on how you communicate throughout the speaking test.
The full B2 First speaking assessment scales can be downloaded here.
Thre is also a general Global Achievement Score given by the main examiner.
The scales are all marked out of 5, so when you practice you will get a score between 0 and 20 for each text. There are two texts, so the total mark will be from 0 to 40.
But how does that relate to the scores you see of 160 to 180 that you see on the certificates? Examiners have their own marking system, while we need to use this marking rubric which is available to the public. Fortunately, there Cambridge have provided conversion charts so you can compare your practice scores to the real results you need to pass.
Now, we need to go into greater detail since the four assessment scales for B2 First examine varied and particular areas of your writing ability. You will only receive good grades if you can demonstrate a high level in all four, so let’s look at each scale in detail.
Grammar & Vocabulary for B2 First Speaking
Grammar and Vocabulary Definitions
Everyday situations: situations that candidates come across in their everyday lives, e.g. having a meal, asking for information, shopping, going out with friends or family, travelling to work, taking part in leisure activities. An A2 Key task that requires candidates to exchange details about a store’s opening hours exemplifies an everyday situation.
Familiar topics: topics about which candidates can be expected to have some knowledge or personal experience. B2 First tasks that require candidates to talk about what people like to do on holiday, or what it is like to do different jobs, exemplify familiar topics.
Appropriacy of vocabulary: the use of words and phrases that fit the context of the given task. For example, in the utterance I’m very sensible to noise, the word sensible is inappropriate as the word should be sensitive. Another example would be Today’s big snow makes getting around the city difficult. The phrase getting around is well suited to this situation. However, big snow is inappropriate as big and snow are not used together. Heavy snow would be appropriate.
Grammatical control: the ability to consistently use grammar accurately and appropriately to convey intended meaning. Where language specifications are provided at lower levels (as in A2 Key and B1 Preliminary), candidates may have control of only the simplest exponents of the listed forms.
Simple grammatical forms: words, phrases, basic tenses and simple clauses.
Complex grammatical forms: longer and more complex utterances, e.g. noun clauses, relative and adverb clauses, subordination, passive forms, infinitives, verb patterns, modal forms and tense contrasts.
Range: the variety of words and grammatical forms a candidate uses. At higher levels, candidates will make increasing use of a greater variety of words, fixed phrases, collocations and grammatical forms.
Grammar and Vocabulary Suggestions
Arguably the easiest of the four marking scales, Grammar and Vocabulary evaluates how well you utilize grammar and your vocabulary range.
Regarding Grammar, the better grammar you use correctly, the higher your score. If you only use simple grammar, then you will receive a minimal score for grammar content. Attempting more difficult grammar will raise your score, while using it successfully will give your grammar component of this score the highest mark.
As for the Vocabulary component of this score, it is based on your vocabulary range, so using everyday vocabulary will give you the lowest score. That will increase as you widen the range of topics you talk about. The more words, phrases, collocations and phrasal verbs you know related to a wider range of topics, the higher your score.
In conclusion, if you just answer the questions using simple grammar and vocabulary, then you will get a simple score. Preparation is essential to score well here, because then you can learn which grammar and vocabulary fit well into different parts of your speaking task. Once you reach that stage, a higher score is ensured.
For B2 Speaking Topic Vocabulary, go here.
Discourse Management for B2 First Speaking
Discourse Management Definitions
Coherence and cohesion are difficult to separate in discourse. Broadly speaking, coherence refers to a clear and logical stretch of speech which can be easily followed by a listener. Cohesion refers to a stretch of speech which is unified and structurally organised. Coherence and cohesion can be achieved in a variety of ways, including with the use of cohesive devices, related vocabulary, grammar and discourse markers.
Cohesive devices: words or phrases which indicate relationships between utterances, e.g. addition (and, in addition, moreover); consequence (so, therefore, as a result); order of information (first, second, next, finally). At higher levels, candidates should be able to provide cohesion not just with basic cohesive devices (e.g. and, but, or, then, finally) but also with more sophisticated devices (e.g. therefore, moreover, as a result, in addition, however, on the other hand).
Related vocabulary: the use of several items from the same lexical set, e.g. train, station, platform, carriage; or study, learn, revise.
Grammatical devices: essentially the use of reference pronouns (e.g. it, this, one) and articles (e.g. There are two women in the picture. The one on the right …).
Discourse markers: words or phrases which are primarily used in spoken language to add meaning to the interaction, e.g. you know, you see, actually, basically, I mean, well, anyway, like.
Extent/extended stretches of language: the amount of language produced by a candidate which should be appropriate to the task. Long-turn tasks require longer stretches of language, whereas tasks which involve discussion or answering questions could require shorter and extended responses.
Relevance: a contribution that is related to the task and not about something completely different.
Repetition: repeating the same idea instead of introducing new ideas to develop the topic.
Discourse Management Suggestions
This is how you answer. The more fluent you are and the longer you can speak, the higher your score.
You could think about this as talking about ideas that are not very complicated using good English. It is really common for students to try and talk about really complicated problems but using simple English. This is an English test, not an ideas test, so using good English with devices to aid the flow of your answers will give you a higher score regardless of how complex your ideas are.
Pronunciation for B2 First Speaking
Pronunciation Definitions
Intelligible: a contribution which can generally be understood by a non-EFL/ESOL specialist, even if the speaker has a strong or unfamiliar accent.
Phonological features include the pronunciation of individual sounds, word and sentence stress and intonation.
Individual sounds are:
• pronounced vowels, e.g. the vowel sounds in cat or in bed
• diphthongs, when two vowels are rolled together to produce one sound, as in host or in hate
• consonants, e.g. the /k/ in cut or the /f/ in fish.
Stress: the emphasis laid on a syllable or word. Words of two or more syllables have one syllable which stands out from the rest because it is pronounced more loudly and clearly, and is longer than the others, e.g. imPORtant. Word stress can also distinguish between words, e.g. proTEST vs PROtest. In sentences, stress can be used to indicate important meaning, e.g. WHY is that one important? versus Why is THAT one important?
Intonation: the way the voice rises and falls, e.g. to convey the speaker’s mood, to support meaning or to indicate new information.
Pronunciation Suggestions
In B2 First Speaking, Pronunciation is 25% of your main score. 25%!!!!
As long as you can pronounce most of your words properly with the right sounds and stress, then try to use sentence stress and intonation to really boost this score. Stress the content words in a sentence and put feeling into what you are saying for better intonation. If you are happy about something, sound happy. If you are disappointed, sound disappointed and so on.
Most students answer questions positively, but if you do it negatively, then it gives you a much better chance to express your dislike, hate, ugliness etc. using intonation.
Interactive Communication for B2 First Speaking
Interactive Communication Definitions
Development of the interaction: actively developing the conversation, e.g. by saying more than the minimum in response to the written or visual stimulus or to something the other candidate/interlocutor has said; or by proactively involving the other candidate with a suggestion or question about further developing the topic (e.g. What about bringing a camera for the holiday? or Why’s that?).
Initiating: starting a new turn by introducing a new idea or a new development of the current topic.
Responding: replying or reacting to what the other candidate or the interlocutor has said.
Prompting: instances when the interlocutor repeats, or uses a backup prompt or gesture in order to get the candidate to respond or make a further contribution.
Interactive Communication Suggestions
To get a higher score for interactive Communication (another 25% of your score), be present in the speaking test. maintain eye contact when someone else is speaking. Show you agree or disagree with what they are saying by nodding or shaking your head, smiling or another facial expression. Use listening noises for the same reasons.
Also, if your partner is having problems, give them a chance to speak and even prompt them to help them speak. it is not a competition. Do not try to dominate the conversation, give the other examinee a chance to speak and respond to what they say, not to what you are thinking.