Cambridge English: ESOL Skills for Life

ESOL Skills for Life Speaking and Listening Entry 3

Sample Test E

 This test should not exceed 22 minutes.

Please note: With the exception of the Task Sheets in Phases 2a and 2b, this sample
test frame will be used only by the interlocutor. It will not be shown to the candidates.

 3 minutes Phase 1a

Hello. My name is ____________ (interlocutor), and this is my colleague _______________

(assessor).

[Ask Candidate A and Candidate B in turn questions about name and nationality (see below).]

What’s your name?

Name
Can you spell it for me?

Where do you come from?

Nationality
How long have you lived here?

Thank you. Could I have your marksheets? [Collect marksheets and hand to assessor.]
Thank you.

Now you are going to ask each other some questions. I want you to find out from each other
about your favourite buildings and why you like them. You have two minutes to talk to each
other.

[Withdraw eye contact to signal that candidates should start. Allow two minutes. Prompt candidates
with questions from the box below, or others suitable for the level, if necessary (e.g. if interaction
breaks down or if language remains below E3 level).]

Prompt questions:

Where is your favourite building? (Why is it special?)

When did you last go and see it? (What did you do there?)

Do many people like to visit this building? (Why?/Why not?)

Do you think buildings in the past were better or worse than modern buildings? (Why?)

Thank you.
 7 minutes Phase 1b

In this part of the test, you are each going to talk for about one and a half minutes. While you
are talking, your partner will listen to you. Your partner will then ask you three questions about
what you have said.

_________________ (Candidate A), you’re going to tell _________________ (indicate Candidate

B) about the facilities at your college and whether you use them.

_________________ (Candidate B), you’re going to tell _________________ (indicate Candidate

A) about a job you’d like to do in the future and why you’d like it.

You both have one minute to think about what you want to say. You can make notes if you
want to. [Indicate paper and pencil.] If there’s anything you don’t understand, please ask me.

[Withdraw eye contact to signal start of preparation. Allow 1 minute for preparation.]

_____________ (Candidate A), are you ready? Please tell ______________ (Candidate B) about
the facilities at your college and whether you use them. _____________ (Candidate B), listen,
and ask three questions at the end. [Allow 1½ minutes.]

Thank you. _____________ (Candidate B), please ask ______________ (Candidate A) your
questions now.

Thank you.

_____________ (Candidate B), are you ready? Please tell ______________ (Candidate A) about a
job you’d like to do in the future and why you’d like it. _____________ (Candidate A), listen, and
ask three questions at the end. [Allow 1½ minutes.]

Thank you. _____________ (Candidate A), please ask ______________ (Candidate B) your
questions now.

Thank you.
 5 minutes Phase 2a

In this part of the test, you are going to listen to two recordings and answer some questions.
You can make notes [indicate paper] if you want to.

You hear two people describing how they find out what’s in the news. How do the people find
out what’s in the news? By watching TV, by reading a newspaper or by going online?

Listen to the recordings. [Play CD.]

Listening script 1

M: I pick it up at the station every morning just before I get on the train. It helps the journey go faster and I’ll
usually finish it by the time I get to work, that’s if I’m not working on my laptop to try and meet a deadline! I
always look at the sports results first – I like to check how my football team’s getting on – I know it’s bad but
that’s the one thing I absolutely have to know! After that I usually turn to the UK news pages and if I see a
headline that looks interesting, I’ll read that article. But there are some bits that I’m not interested in. I don’t look
at the business news, for example. Even though my boss probably thinks I should!

Listening script 2

F: When the kids are in bed and it’s peaceful, I’ll sit down in the living room and I like watching it with my
husband on a big screen. It’s a good programme. They have interviews with politicians and other people in the
news. But the best thing for me is that there’s a lot of international news. It’s an hour long but I don’t usually see
all of it. They finish off with something called ‘Tomorrow’s Papers’ – it’s about what’s in the newspapers the next
day. I usually switch off then because I have to go and check emails on the computer for work the next day,
unfortunately.

_______________ (Candidate A), in the first recording, how does the man find out what’s in the
news? By watching TV, by reading a newspaper or by going online.
Thank you.

________________ (Candidate B), in the second recording, how does the woman find out
what’s in the news? By watching TV, by reading a newspaper or by going online.
Thank you.

Now listen again, and answer these questions.

________________ (Candidate B), in the first recording, [short pause] what news is the man
most interested in? [short pause] And what does he never find out about?
________________ (Candidate A), in the second recording, what does the woman like most
about the programme? [short pause] And what part of the programme doesn’t she watch?
[Play CD again: scripts as above. At the end of the recording ask each candidate in turn their three
questions again. After each question, wait for the candidate's response.]

Thank you.
 7 mins overall Phase 2b

 3 minutes
Now you’re going to plan something together.

I’d like you to imagine that your teacher wants you to help to start a newsletter telling students
what’s happening in the college. [Hand out candidate booklet open at correct page.]

First talk together about different places where the newsletter could appear and choose the
one you think would be best. [Read out list while pointing at the first box.]

Then plan and decide what to do about these things. [Read out list while pointing at the second
box.]

You have two minutes to talk about this, so don’t worry if I interrupt you.

[Withdraw eye contact to signal that candidates should start. If candidates do not start within 10
seconds, ask: Would you like to start now?]

Plan and decide

Place for newsletter?
what information should go in the
college website
newsletter
college magazine
who should write the newsletter
photocopy for each student
how often to produce the newsletter

Thank you.

[Retrieve candidate booklets.]

 4 minutes Phase 2b

Now you're going to talk together about ways of finding out what’s in the news. Talk to each
other about the different ways of getting the news and say which you prefer.

[Repeat if necessary. Withdraw eye contact to signal start of activity.

If necessary, prompt candidates with questions from the box below (e.g. if candidates are
experiencing difficulty in continuing the interaction or if they stray from the topic). Adapt if necessary.
Encourage candidate-candidate interaction by eliciting agreement or alternative opinions from
candidates by asking questions such as “What do you think?”, “Tell us what you think.”, “And you?”]

News – prompt questions

How do you usually find out about the news?

What news are you most interested in – politics, sport or news about your area. (Why?)

Should newspapers and TV give us more happy stories? (Why?/Why not?)

Do you think that there’s too much news about the private lives of famous people? (Why?/Why not?)

Do you think people will continue to read newspapers in the future? (Why?/Why not?)

Thank you. That is the end of the test.

Key to Phase 2a

How do the people find out what’s in the news?

Text 1: by reading a newspaper
Text 2: by watching TV

Candidate B:
What news is the man most interested in? (t(the) sports results/news about his football team*
What does he never find out about? (the) business news
Candidate A:
What does the woman like most about the (there’s) (a lot of) international news
programme?
What part of the programme doesn’t she watch? ‘Tomorrow’s Papers’ / what’s in the (news)papers
the next day

*accept paraphrase
Entry 3, Phase 2a, Sample Test E

How do the people find out what’s in the news?

by watching TV by reading a newspaper by going online

Entry 3, Phase 2b, Sample Test E

Place for newsletter? Plan and decide

what information should go in

college website the newsletter
college magazine who should write the newsletter
photocopy for each student how often to produce the
newsletter
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