OxfordAQA IGCSE English Language: Speaking and Listening Endorsement — Revision Notes

The speaking and listening endorsement in OxfordAQA International GCSE English Language (9270) is optional and carries 0% of the grade: it appears as a separate statement on your certificate. You give one prepared, formal presentation or an interview with extended turns, on a topic agreed with your teacher, and the talk plus questions should take no more than 10 minutes (typically 5–8). You are graded Pass, Merit or Distinction against AO3 (SL1–SL3). For the full skills guide, use the Speaking and listening study guide.

Format at a glance

Detail	Specification (9270, 3.4)
Status	Optional endorsement; separate statement on the certificate
Weighting	0% of the International GCSE grade
Task	One extended task: a presentation, or an interview with extended turns
Forms	Talks, debates, speeches, dialogues; must be formal
Topic	Identified in advance and agreed with the teacher
Preparation	Must be planned and organised; lack of preparation is likely to block higher grades
Aids	Pre-prepared notes or slides allowed, not required
Length	Presentation plus questions no more than 10 minutes; average usually 5–8 minutes
Audience	One person or more
Assessment	Teacher assessed, moderated by the board

AO3: Speaking and Listening strands

Strand	Wording
SL1	Communicate clearly and purposefully; structure and sustain talk, and use a variety of techniques as appropriate
SL2	Prepare and develop ideas and concepts; listen and respond to questions about these
SL3	Interact with others, shaping meanings through comments, responses to questions and drawing ideas together

The five principles behind the criteria

The specification says the criteria rest on:

1. the need to prepare what you are going to say
2. the need to be heard and understood
3. the need to have ideas and concepts (content)
4. the need for interactive strategies to engage and help the audience (structure and rhetoric)
5. the need to use spoken English effectively (vocabulary and formality suited to the talk)

As an international qualification, students “will use international varieties of English”.

Pass, Merit and Distinction

Grading is holistic and on a competency basis: you must meet every criterion in a grade to move to the next. Students below Pass are recorded as Not Classified.

Pass	Merit	Distinction
Prepares for the talk	Expresses challenging ideas/information/feelings	Expresses sophisticated ideas/information/feelings
Is audible and intelligible	Organises and structures clearly and appropriately	Organises and structures using an effective range of strategies to engage the audience
Expresses straightforward ideas/information/feelings	Interacts with and engages the audience	Listens to questions/feedback, responds perceptively and, if appropriate, elaborates
Attempts to organise and structure	Listens and responds in some detail	Assured and flexible spoken English with a sophisticated repertoire of vocabulary
Attempts to interact with the audience	Confident spoken English with a range of vocabulary
Responds to questions in a straightforward manner
Generally uses appropriate spoken English

The specification’s example tasks

Example	Form
1. Speech to peers about lobbying a local representative on climate change	Speech
2. Presentation on a TV current-affairs programme on whether your country should bid to host a major sporting event, followed by audience questions (can be a panel, allowing more than one student to be assessed)	Presentation and questions
3. Presenting a novel, play, poem, film or TV programme you think deserves a wider audience	Persuasive talk
4. Debate on whether there should be controls on social media	Debate
5. A topic close to your own life: travel, hobbies, sport, music, your community	Talk
6. Any of the above as an interview, normally conducted by the teacher, with extended, prepared answers	Interview

The topic can link to the written NEA project, with the talk forming part of your preparation for it.

Planning for Distinction

Criterion	How to plan for it
Sophisticated ideas	Choose a question with more than one side, not a list of facts
Effective range of strategies	Plan at least three: anecdote, rhetorical question, visual, data, direct address
Responds perceptively	Predict questions; prepare evidence and a further example for each
Assured, flexible spoken English	Rehearse aloud; vary register for quotation, explanation and appeal
Time	Rehearse to leave room for questions within 10 minutes

Worked example: Merit to Distinction (SL2 and SL3)

Question: “Wouldn’t hosting the World Cup cost more than it brings in?”

• Merit: “It is expensive, but it brings tourists and jobs, so I think it’s worth it.”
• Distinction: “That depends on what we count as ‘bringing in’. If we mean ticket money during the month, many hosts lose money. But my argument was about long-term infrastructure, such as the new rail line I mentioned, and about national confidence, which is harder to measure. So I’d change your question slightly: the real test is what a country builds that it would not otherwise have built.”

The Distinction answer responds perceptively, links back to the talk and elaborates with new ideas.

Common mistakes / traps

• Over-running: the talk plus questions should take no more than 10 minutes.
• Unprepared talks: preparation is a Pass criterion, and its absence blocks higher grades.
• A list topic: straightforward information limits you to Pass.
• Forgetting interaction: Merit requires interacting with and engaging the audience.
• Short answers: questions are part of the assessment at every grade.
• Thinking it affects the grade: it does not; but it is reported to future employers and institutions.

Frequently asked questions

Does the speaking and listening endorsement count towards my 9270 grade? No. It carries 0% weighting and appears as a separate statement on the certificate.

Can my audience be just my teacher? Yes. The specification says the audience can be one person or more, and an interview is normally conducted by the teacher.

Do I need a British accent or British English? No. The specification notes that this is an international qualification and students will use international varieties of English.

How long should my talk be? No presentation plus questions should take more than 10 minutes; the average is usually 5–8 minutes.

Syllabus coverage

OxfordAQA International GCSE English Language (9270), Version 5.1: 3.4 Speaking and listening (optional endorsement), including possible tasks; 4.2 AO3 strands SL1–SL3; 4.4 Speaking and listening assessment criteria.

Self-test

1. What weighting does the endorsement carry? (0%.)
2. What is the maximum time for presentation plus questions? (10 minutes.)
3. Name the three AO3 strands. (SL1 communicate and structure; SL2 prepare ideas and respond; SL3 interact.)
4. What does “competency basis” mean? (Every criterion in a grade must be met.)
5. Who usually conducts the interview option? (The teacher.)

Related pages

• Speaking and listening study guide
• Speaking and listening practice questions
• Non-exam assessment revision notes

Official specification

OxfordAQA International GCSE English Language (9270) specification, Version 5.1 — oxfordaqa.com.