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Marking criteria (oral) levels 1 and 2

Each category may also be affected by considerations such as:
- the willingness to take risks;
- the attempt to introduce sophisticated/complex arguments;
- the relevance and completeness of points made;
- the clarity of meaning of points made.
Class Scale Mark Language:accuracy, range and complexity Task fulfilment and response
First Excellent 1st 100 An exceptional performance.
Exceptional command of the language.
Exceptional performance in terms of grammatical accuracy and vocabulary.
Virtually no errors of pronunciation.
Exceptional fulfilment of all aspects of the task.
Exceptionally confident delivery, and ability to engage with questions.
A very original response to the task.
94
High 1st 88 An outstanding performance.
Outstanding command of the language.
Outstanding performance in terms of grammatical accuracy, pronunciation and vocabulary.
Outstanding fulfilment of all aspects of the task.
Outstanding delivery and ability to engage with questions.
An original response to the task.
High Mid 1st 82
Low Mid 1st 78 An excellent performance.
Excellent command of the language.
Excellent performance in terms of grammatical accuracy, pronunciation and vocabulary.
There might be very few minor grammatical and pronunciation errors.
Excellent fulfilment of all aspects of the task.
Excellent delivery and ability to engage with questions.
Some degree of originality.
Low 1st 74
Upper second High 2:1 68 A very good performance.
A very good command of the language.
Very good performance in terms of grammatical accuracy, pronunciation and vocabulary.
Generally accurate and fluent with only a few major and minor errors of pronunciation, grammar and interference from other languages.
A very good fulfilment of the task.
Very good delivery and ability to engage with questions.
Mid 2:1 65 A good performance.
Good command of the language.
Good performance in terms of grammatical accuracy, pronunciation and vocabulary.
Generally accurate and fluent with some major and minor errors of pronunciation, grammar and interference from other languages.
A good fulfilment of the task.
Good delivery and ability to engage with questions, but the candidate may occasionally need to ask the examiner to clarify parts of the question.
Low 2:1 62 A mostly good performance.
Mostly good command of the language.
Mostly good performance in terms of grammatical accuracy, pronunciation and vocabulary, although some imprecision may occur.
Occasional grammatical errors and mistakes in pronunciation which for the most part do not compromise clarity of meaning.
Mostly good fulfilment of the task.
Mostly good delivery, with some hesitation.
Mostly good ability to engage with questions, but the candidate may need to ask for some clarification.
Lower second High 2:2 58 A reasonable if rather basic performance.
Reasonable use of the language but uneven performance in terms of grammatical accuracy, pronunciation and use of vocabulary.
Some grammatical errors and mistakes in pronunciation which for the most part do not compromise clarity of meaning.
Some interference from other languages may be present.
A reasonable but basic response to the task.
Reasonable delivery but may be hesitant.
The candidate struggles to engage with more detailed/complex questions but is able to understand and answer basic questions.
Mid 2:2 55 A rather basic performance.
Insecure use of the language, which tends to rely on basic structures.
Basic use of vocabulary and insecure pronunciation.
Grammatical accuracy is often compromised by persistent errors.
Interference from other languages may affect clarity of meaning.
Fairly unconvincing approach to the task.
Insecure delivery.
Communication skills not always effective.
Some questions are not correctly understood or addressed.
Low 2:2 52 A basic performance.
Insecure use of the language, with limited use of vocabulary and insecure pronunciation.
Persistent minor and major grammatical errors.
Frequent interference from other languages.
Insecure delivery.
Communication skills rather ineffective.
Several questions are not correctly understood or addressed.
The interlocutor may occasionally struggle to understand the candidate.
Third High 3rd 48 A fairly limited performance.
Insecure use of language, use of vocabulary and pronunciation.
Frequent minor and major grammatical errors which may impede comprehension.
Fairly limited delivery and unconvincing response to the task.
Rather ineffective communication skills.
The candidate shows persistent difficulty in understanding questions and may be unable to respond.
The interlocutor struggles to understand the candidate.
Mid 3rd 45 A limited performance.
Limited command of the language, use of vocabulary and pronunciation. Persistent minor and major grammatical errors which may impede comprehension.
Limited delivery and unconvincing response to the task.
Ineffective communication skills.
Low 3rd 42 A very limited performance.
Very limited use of language and vocabulary.
The pronunciation impedes comprehension.
Very little knowledge of grammatical rules.
Very limited delivery.
The task is largely unfulfilled.
Little or no engagement with questions.
Fail High Fail 38 An unsatisfactory performance.
Unsatisfactory use of the language, vocabulary and pronunciation.
The task is unfulfilled.
Delivery is unsatisfactory.
The candidate fails to understand questions and may be unable to respond.
Communication breaks down.
Fail 32 25 A wholly inadequate performance.
Little evidence of language competence.
Or not enough language to assess.
Wholly inadequate response to the task.
Unintelligible delivery.
  Low Fail 12 Nothing of merit. Nothing of merit.
Zero Zero 0 Nothing of value. Nothing of value OR Absent