Setting Up HHCL Speaking Exams in Your School: A Comprehensive Guide

As the GCSE speaking exam season approaches, teachers everywhere are preparing their students for the big day. You might already be busy organising one-on-one sessions, helping students memorise their answers and waiting for the pre-release materials. But what happens when your students are taking a community language exam? Do you have an examiner lined up for those languages? What are the costs involved and are your students truly prepared?

No need to panic! Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you navigate these tricky questions and ensure your speaking exams run smoothly.

1. How to Find and Secure Examiners

One of the first things to think about when setting up community language exams is finding an examiner. Here are a few ideas:

• Look within your school or trust: You might be surprised to discover that a staff member is fluent in the language you need. It could be another teacher or even an administrative staff member who speaks the language fluently.
• Examiners don’t have to be teachers: While teachers are often the go-to choice for examiners, someone fluent in the language can be trained to assess students. The exam specification provides all the information they’ll need.
• Share an examiner with other schools: If you can’t find someone within your school, consider working with neighbouring schools or schools within your trust to share an examiner.

2. What About the Cost?

The cost of hiring an examiner can vary depending on several factors like location, experience and the language being examined.

Examiners in Birmingham often charge around £50 per hour. However, some may offer a flat fee examining multiple candidates at the same time.  Some examiners will also request additional travel expenses if they need to travel to your school.

3. How to Prepare the Candidates

Preparation is key to success, especially for speaking exams. Here are a few tips to make sure your students are fully prepared:

a) Provide Questions in Advance

Give students access to a bank of possible general conversation questions before the exam. This helps them to practise and get comfortable with the style of questions they may be asked.  There are also preparation booklets for each language with examples of past paper questions available on the TTLH website.  HHCL: Preparing your students for their speaking exams – Trent and Tame Language Hub

b) Allow Preparation Time

On the exam day, ask students to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to their examination time.  This will give them time to relax and ask any questions about the format of the exam.   Remind the student that they need to use their 12 minute preparation time wisely, preparing their answers for the role play and the photo card.

c) Don’t Worry About Small Mistakes

Remind students that small mistakes, like mispronouncing a word or pausing, are nothing to worry about. Examiners assess the overall performance.

d) Encourage Clear Speech

Students should speak clearly and try to maintain eye contact with the examiner. This helps them feel more connected to the conversation and ensures the examiner can understand them. Encourage students not to look down during their responses, as the recording may not be clear.

4. How to prepare the examiners

As a teacher or examiner, your preparation is just as important as your students’. Here’s what you need to do:

a) Brief the Students

Let your students know the expectations a week in advance. Display the speaking exam timetable around the school and hand out individual slips to students with their specific exam time and location.

b) Prepare the Invigilator

Choose a reliable invigilator and train them in advance. They should ensure the correct role play and photo cards are distributed and supervise students during the 12-minute preparation time.

c) Prepare the Examiner

Ensure the examiner has read the ‘Instructions for the Conduct of Exams’ guide for your exam board so they are fully aware of the requirements.  These guides can be downloaded from the exam boards’ websites. 

For AQA, if a speaking test is to be conducted by someone who is not a member of the school’s teaching staff, permission to do this must be requested from AQA and received in advance of the tests taking place. To request this permission, schools and colleges must contact mfl@aqa.org.uk in advance of the tests taking place.

The examiner should also review the role play and photo card questions before the exam. Your exams officer will let you know when you can access the secure content.  This is typically a few days before the start of the speaking exam window. 

5. On the Day of the Exam

When the exam day arrives, here’s how you can ensure everything goes smoothly:

a) Stay Calm and Professional

Maintain a positive and calm demeanour to set the tone for the exam. Your professional attitude will help students feel more relaxed.

b) Create a Comfortable Environment

Make the exam setting as comfortable as possible. A relaxed atmosphere will help students perform better.  Display the exam regulation poster and ensure that there are no Target Language displays in the room you are using.

c) Have Your Exam Essentials Ready

Make sure you / the examiner has the following items prepared on exam day:

• Teacher booklet.  Consider using post notes to separate the different pages within the booklet to facilitate the transition between the role play and photo card tasks.
• Recording device with new batteries.
• A timer or stopwatch to track speaking time.
• Examiner script in the target language.
• A bottle of water to stay hydrated.

d) Stick to the script! 

Remember, the examiner must ask the questions as they are phrased in the teacher booklet when examining the role play and the photo card.  They can’t simplify the questions or re-word them to support the candidate.

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By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to organising a smooth and successful speaking exam for your students. Remember, preparation is key-not just for the students but for you as the teacher, too. With the right planning, your students will be set up for success and the exam process will run smoothly. Good luck!