Listening and Speaking Skills (Internal Assessment)
The internal assessment for Listening and Speaking is marked in school, but the descriptors reward observable behaviour: comprehension, fluency, turn-taking and intelligibility. Ask your teacher for the current rubric, then practise against it.
Listening that scores
- Listen for gist on the first hearing; do not stop at unknown words.
- Note specific detail with abbreviations and symbols.
- Distinguish fact from opinion and note the speaker's attitude.
- Check answers against the second hearing, not the first.
Speaking that scores
- Open with a clear position sentence, then give a reason and an example.
- In a group discussion, make one substantive point, then invite another speaker.
- In an interview or presentation, use signposting: 'first', 'however', 'to conclude'.
- Keep intelligibility: word stress and clear consonants matter more than accent.
Worked example
Group discussion turn: 'I take the point that mobile phones help learning, but the evidence from classrooms is mixed. For example, ... Would you agree that ...?' Reasoning: the turn acknowledges the previous speaker, makes a claim, supplies evidence and hands over. That is four descriptors in three sentences.
Traps that cost marks
- Speaking for a minute without inviting anyone.
- Reciting a memorised answer that does not fit the prompt.
- Reading verbatim from notes, which flattens eye contact.
- Letting one speaker dominate the group.
- Treating the listening task as a memory test rather than a note-making task.