GCSE Japanese Speaking Examiner

Finding a speaking examiner is important for candidates who have studied Japanese outside of their schools. Usually, speaking tests are held at the school where the student attends, so it is best if a local Japanese teacher can help. This page provides information I have gathered from the official websites, my own experiences and networking/training events. Please note that I am a private tutor, not a school teacher.

Guide to Speaking Examiner

What's GCSE Speaking Test?

It is a part of GCSE (The General Certificate of Secondary Education) Japanese exams. The speaking exam is conducted at a school or an exam centre during the assessment period set by the exam board called Pearson Edexcel. If the language is taught at school, the school teacher would conduct the exam.

When is the Speaking Test?

There is a Speaking Test period. It's from mid-April to mid-May.

Who can be a Speaking Examiner?

A Japanese speaker who understands GCSE Japanese exam specifications and can come to the school such as a school teacher who speaks Japanese, or a local Japanese tutor. It is up to the school to decide on the suitability of the person for the position. DBS (criminal record check) holders would be preferred for this role; DBS can be applied online.

The speaking Test procedure is specified in detail. The examiner should read through GCSE-MFL-Administrative-Support-Guide. In the test, the examiner makes conversations in Japanese.

Conflict of Interest

Some schools ask about "conflict of interest" because they need to inform the exam board if you are a family member etc. of the candidate. A private tutor should be able to conduct the Speaking Test for the candidate you have tutored if the relationship is purely student/tutor. The school would provide an invigilator in the examination room.

Online Speaking Test

As far as I know, the exam board, Pearson Edexcel, does not allow this for GCSE MFL exams.

Contact Pearson Edexcel

Components of the Speaking Test

The candidate will complete three tasks.

Task 1: Role-play task
Task 2: Picture-based task
Task 3: Conversation task part 1 and 2

Five Themes for GCSE Japanese

The topics for each task are set based on the Five Themes. The theme used for a task will not be used for the other tasks. For example, if Role-play is about a holiday, Theme 2 will not be used for Picture-based or Conversation tasks.

Theme 1: Identity and culture
Theme 2: Local area and holiday
Theme 3: School
Theme 4: Study, work and future
Theme 5: International and global dimensions

How long is the entire exam?

Approximately 30 minutes per candidate for the exam including the preparation time. And the paperwork takes an additional 15-20 minutes.

Speaking Test Procedures

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Task1 and Task 2
Role-play and Picture-based Tasks

When the candidate and the examiner enter the room, the information cards for Role-play and Picture-based Tasks will be provided to both, and then 12 minutes will be given to prepare for these tasks. The Candidate is allowed to take notes.

The information cards will be set up on that day according to the instructions for the examiner issued by Pearson Edexcel. The candidate or the examiner will not know the themes for each task until the test day.

Changes are NOT permitted

With Role-play and Picture-based Tasks, the examiner must read out their cards just as it is. No changes or improvisations are permitted. Questions can be repeated twice at maximum, which means three times in total. If the candidate still cannot answer the question, they should just move on.

Candidate's notes

They are allowed to see the notes that they have written down during the preparation time. The notes should be for reference only. The candidate should not read out whole prepared sentences. The candidate must hand over the note to the examiner before the Conversation Task.

Task 3
Conversation Task

The Conversation task is divided into two parts dealing with two different GCSE themes.

The first part begins with a theme or topic chosen by the candidate. The candidates may speak for up to one minute to give a confident start. The examiner should ask them e.g. "Would you like to talk about your topic?". The examiner asks follow-up questions within the same theme. If the candidate does not look prepared, there's no need to push them, the examiner can start asking questions based on the topic. The school should inform the examiner of the candidate's theme or topic in advance.

After approximately 2.5 minutes, the second part of the conversation begins; another conversation is held on a different theme. The theme for the second part is indicated in the instructions for the examiner given the test day, find the GCSE Themes Sequencing grid in the booklet.

Pearson Edexcel's Speaking Test is slightly different from other exam boards' tests such as AQA. For AQA's conversation task, the candidate does not give a brief speech at the beginning of the conversation task part one, and the candidate is encouraged to ask the examiner a simple question. Schools and examiners should know that it is a Pearson Edexcel exam and ensure that students are prepared accordingly.

Duration of each task

Foundation Tier

Role play : 1-1.5mins

Picture based task : 2.5-3 mins

Conversation : 3.5-4.5 mins

Higher Tier

Role play : 2-2.5 mins

Picture based task : 3-3.5 mins

Conversation : 5-6 mins

The examiner is responsible for timekeeping. I use my mobile phone.

Materials used on the test day

The following items should be provided by the school.

Exam question cards to the candidate
Exam question booklets to the teacher/examiner
CS2: Speaking assessment record form
CN2: Candidate notes form
A recorder

Recordings

The examiner is responsible for recording the entire speaking test. At the start, the examiner records the following information.

GCSE Japanese Summer [ex. 2023]
Foundation or Higher Tier
Teacher-examiner [your name]
Candidate [name]
Candidate number [ex. 1234]

Then the speaking exam begins with a phrase such as below.

Task 1, Role-play. You are in a shop in Japan... (read out the instructions on the teacher's card). "Irasshaimase, nani o kaimasuka?" (the first question)

The school should provide a recorder but occasionally, I was asked to use my recorder or mobile phone as the school had many speaking exams going on at the same time. In that case, I sent the audio file to the school's exam officer right after the test.

Communications with School

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Here is my example.

How it starts

Receiving a request from a school or a candidate's parent to conduct their Speaking Test. Discussing rough schedules and fees with the school.

Date booking (February - April)

The school will contact me again in the spring term to arrange the date and time of the Speaking Test, which will take place in April or May. They will let me know the candidate's name and either Foundation or Higher Tier.

If I don't hear from them until the February Half Term, I would ask the candidate's parent to remind the school. Sometimes I have to contact the school too if they haven't replied to the parent in time. It is rare but I had experiences that a school booked me after the speaking exam period started.

Reminder before the test day

About a week before the speaking test, I exchange emails with the school. At this stage, both the school and the speaking examiner should know the topic that the candidate has chosen for their conversation task. If you are the tutor, make sure that your student informs the school about their topic two weeks before the test.

Fees

Fees are discussed when the school contacts me. I also check with the school's exam officer about the invoice on the test day, after the Speaking Test. Payment is made either by the school or by the parent/guardian. Including travelling time to a local school, I usually charge 2-2.5 hours of my teaching rate.

Supporting Materials

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Useful documents

The following documents have been downloaded from the Pearson Edexcel website in 2022 and 2023 to improve my understanding and confidence. Please visit their website and check the latest ones before the exam.