Friday, 22 April 2016

IELTS Speaking - Band descriptors (public version)

BAND 9

Fluency and coherence

  • Speaks fluently with only rare repetition or self correction; any hesitation is content-related rather than to find words or grammar
  • Speaks coherently with fully appropriate features
  • Develops topics fully and appropriately

Lexical resource

  • Uses vocabulary with full flexibility and precision in all topics
  • Uses idiomatic language naturally and accurately

Grammatical range and accuracy

  • Uses a full range of structures naturally and appropriately
  • Produces consistently accurate structures apart from 'slips' characteristic of native speaker speech.

Pronunciation

  • Uses a full range of pronunciation features with precision and subtlety
  • Sustains flexible use of features throughout
  • Is effortless to understand


BAND 8

Fluency and coherence

  • Speaks fluently with only occasional repetition or self-correction; hesitation is usually content related and only rarely to search for language
  • Develops topics coherently and appropriately

Lexical resource

  • Uses a wide vocabulary resource readily and flexibly to convey precise meaning
  • Uses less common and idiomatic vocabulary skilfully, with occasional inaccuracies
  • Uses paraphrase effectively

Grammatical range and accuracy

  • Uses a wide range of structures flexibly
  • Produces a majority of error-free sentences with only very occasional inappropriateness or basic/unsystematic errors

Pronunciation

  • Uses a wide range of pronunciation features
  • Sustains flexible use of features, with only occasional lapses
  • Is easy to understand throughout; accent has minimal effect on intelligibility

BAND 7

Fluency and coherence

  • May demonstrate language-related hesitation at times, or some repetition and/or self-correction
  • Uses a range of connectives and discourse makers with some flexibility

Lexical resource

  • Uses vocabulary resource flexibly to discuss a variety of topics
  • Uses some less common and idiomatic vocabulary and shows some awareness of style and collocation, with some inappropriate choices
  • Uses paraphrase effectively

Grammatical range and accuracy

  • Uses a range of complex structures with some flexibility
  • Frequently produces error-free sentences, though some grammatical mistakes persist

Pronunciation

  • Shows all the positive features of band 6 and some, but not all, of the positive features of band 8

BAND 6

Fluency and coherence

  • Is willing to speak at length, though may lose coherence at times due to occasional repetition, self-correction or hesitation
  • Uses a range of connectives and discourse markers but not always appropriately

Lexical resources

  • Has a wide enough vocabulary to discuss topics at length and make meaning clear in spite of inappropriateness
  • Generally paraphrases successfully

Grammatical range and accuracy

  • Uses a mix of simple and complex structures, but with limited flexibility
  • May make frequent mistakes with complex structures, though these rarely cause comprehension problems

Pronunciation

  • Uses a range of pronunciation features with mixed control
  • Shows some effective use of features but this is not sustained
  • Can generally be understood throughout, though mispronunciation of individual words or sounds reduces clarity at times


BAND 5

Fluency and coherence

  • Usually maintains flow of speech but uses repetition, self-correction and/or slow speech to keep going
  • May over-use certain connectives and discourse markers
  • Produces simple speech fluently, but more complex communication causes fluency problems

Lexical resource

  • Manages to talk about familiar and unfamiliar topics but uses vocabulary with limited flexibility
  • Attempts to use paraphrase but with mixed success

Grammatical range and accuracy

  • Produces basic sentence forms with reasonable accuracy
  • Uses a limited range of more complex structures, but these usually contain errors and may cause some comprehension problems

Pronunciation
Shows all the positive features of band 4 and some, but not all, of the positive features of band 6

BAND 4

Fluency and coherence

  • Cannot respond without noticeable pauses and may speak slowly, with frequent repetition and self-correction
  • Links basic sentences but with repetitious use of simple connectives and some breakdowns in coherence

Lexical resources

  • Is able to talk about familiar topics but can only convey basic meaning on unfamiliar topics and makes frequent errors in word choice
  • Rarely attempts paraphrase

Grammatical range and accuracy

  • Produces basic sentence forms and some correct simple sentences but subordinate structures are rare
  • Errors are frequent and may lead to misunderstanding

Pronunciation

  • Uses a limited range of pronunciation features
  • Attempts to control features but lapses are frequent
  • Mispronunciations are frequent and cause some difficulty for the listener

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