SPEAKING: Band Descriptors (public version)

Band Fluency and coherence Lexical resource Grammatical range and accuracy Pronunciation
9 • speaks fluently with only rare repetition or self-correction; • uses vocabulary with full flexibility and precision in all • uses a full range of structures naturally and appropriately • uses a full range of pronunciation features with precision
• any hesitation is content-related rather than to find words topics • produces consistently accurate structures apart from ‘slips’ and subtlety
or grammar • uses idiomatic language naturally and accurately characteristic of native speaker speech • sustains flexible use of features throughout
• speaks coherently with fully appropriate cohesive features • is effortless to understand
• develops topics fully and appropriately
8 • speaks fluently with only occasional repetition or self- • uses a wide vocabulary resource readily and flexibly to • uses a wide range of structures flexibly • uses a wide range of pronunciation features
correction; hesitation is usually content-related and only convey precise meaning • produces a majority of error-free sentences with only very • sustains flexible use of features, with only occasional
rarely to search for language • uses less common and idiomatic vocabulary skilfully, with occasional inappropriacies or basic/non-systematic errors lapses
• develops topics coherently and appropriately occasional inaccuracies • is easy to understand throughout; L1 accent has minimal
• uses paraphrase effectively as required effect on intelligibility
7 • speaks at length without noticeable effort or loss of • uses vocabulary resource flexibly to discuss a variety of • uses a range of complex structures with some flexibility • shows all the positive features of Band 6 and some, but not
coherence topics • frequently produces error-free sentences, though some all, of the positive features of Band 8
• may demonstrate language-related hesitation at times, or • uses some less common and idiomatic vocabulary and grammatical mistakes persist
some repetition and/or self-correction shows some awareness of style and collocation, with some
• uses a range of connectives and discourse markers with inappropriate choices
some flexibility • uses paraphrase effectively
6 • is willing to speak at length, though may lose coherence at • has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length • uses a mix of simple and complex structures, but with • uses a range of pronunciation features with mixed control
times due to occasional repetition, self-correction or and make meaning clear in spite of inappropriacies limited flexibility • shows some effective use of features but this is not
hesitation • generally paraphrases successfully • may make frequent mistakes with complex structures sustained
• uses a range of connectives and discourse markers but not though these rarely cause comprehension problems • can generally be understood throughout, though
always appropriately mispronunciation of individual words or sounds reduces
clarity at times
5 • usually maintains flow of speech but uses repetition, self • manages to talk about familiar and unfamiliar topics but • produces basic sentence forms with reasonable accuracy • shows all the positive features of Band 4 and some, but not
correction and/or slow speech to keep going uses vocabulary with limited flexibility • uses a limited range of more complex structures, but these all, of the positive features of Band 6
• may over-use certain connectives and discourse markers • attempts to use paraphrase but with mixed success usually contain errors and may cause some comprehension
• produces simple speech fluently, but more complex problems
communication causes fluency problems

4 • cannot respond without noticeable pauses and may speak • is able to talk about familiar topics but can only convey • produces basic sentence forms and some correct simple • uses a limited range of pronunciation features
slowly, with frequent repetition and self-correction basic meaning on unfamiliar topics and makes frequent sentences but subordinate structures are rare • attempts to control features but lapses are frequent
• links basic sentences but with repetitious use of simple errors in word choice • errors are frequent and may lead to misunderstanding • mispronunciations are frequent and cause some difficulty
connectives and some breakdowns in coherence • rarely attempts paraphrase for the listener

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