English Speaking Board (International) Ltd

Category: Speech

  • From ClassROOM to ClassZOOM!

    Embracing the change from pre-Covid assessment to online assessment did not phase the ESB learners at Elms Studio! In fact, they positively shone in their assessments!

    Taking advantage of ESB’s Adapted Assessment, allowing learners to be assessed using online conferencing software, the learners at Elms Studio wowed their assessor and they all achieved excellent results.

    Jenaya Marie, the groups’ teacher at Elms Studio, said:

    “Thank you so much to ESB and especially Assessor Rhydian Morgan for allowing our students to have an air of normality in their lives. They were all able to take their ESB assessments that they had prepared for.
    In line with the closure of the schools, we moved to remote teaching via Zoom and continued to prepare with the hope there would be a way for the sessions to go ahead. We were thrilled to find out via a Centre Update in May that assessing a group live using video conferencing was one of the options being considered and we continued our preparation with this in mind.”

    ESB’s Senior Manager, Educational Delivery, Ben Jackson, said:

    “We have taken a proactive approach to helping our centres during the Covid 19 outbreak, with the clear focus to give as many learners as possible the opportunity to achieve the qualifications they have worked so hard for throughout the academic year.
    In addition to supporting centres with adapted assessments, meaning learners can be assessed in environments outside the classroom, we have also offered calculated results for our ESOL Skills for Life qualifications and Speech qualifications for learners with special educational needs and disabilities.”

     

    So, has the adapted assessment format been beneficial to learners?

    The learners at Elms Studio certainly think so:

    “The students thoroughly enjoyed their virtual examinations and were thrilled that they all received Distinctions along with supportive and positive comments to help them improve. We will definitely be entering our students again next year whether this be via Zoom or in a room,”

    Jenaya Marie laughed.

  • ESB learners reaching their goals

    With Covid-19 still bringing many things to a standstill, we are excited to report that ESB International is open for business!

    Ofqual’s Extraordinary Regulatory Framework is enabling many of our centres to either see through their assessments in a new socially distancing format using technology or have their results calculated.

    Taking the Calculated Results route are many of our ESOL Skills for Life learners and our learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities taking our specifically designed qualifications. Our Speech learners have been offered the opportunity to go ahead with their assessments in an adapted format. Centres can choose to have their learners assessed by video conferencing, giving them the closest experience to their usual assessments. Alternatively, teachers can record their learners’ performances and submit the recordings to be assessed. Finally, learners can record their performances at home with their parents or guardians acting as amateur directors!

    Says ESB International’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw:

    I couldn’t be more pleased that these learners are still getting the opportunity to have their hard work rewarded. We have been in contact with more than 100 of our centres and their responses have been truly heart-warming. We are all finding new skills and new ways of working to make sure that our learners are not disadvantaged and that they receive the credit that they deserve.
    In preparation for our new adapted assessments, our assessors have been taking part in special training (socially distanced, of course!). We now have a team which is ready and raring to go and I am confident that the learners being assessed LIVE by video conference will enjoy the experience almost as much as when we visit them in person. Fortunately, with mobile phone and iPad cameras being so good these days, no special equipment is needed for those wishing to record themselves!
    We love getting out and about around the UK seeing our learners’ endeavour, energy and talent, but until we are able to do that again this is the next best thing and we are looking forward to making a big success of it!

    We would like to give a shout out to the following centres who will be calculating the results of their learners. They are:- Adult Learning Lewisham; Belfast Met; Bromley By Bow; Carwarden House School; City of Bristol College; College of North West London; Gateshead College; Joseph Chamberlain College; Liverpool Adult Learning Service; Sandwell College and Stanmore College.

    Our Speech centres who have elected adapted assessments include Bricklehurst Manor School; Ellowes Hall Sports College, Elms Studio; Queen’s Gate School, Weston College, Wilmslow Prep School, Maidstone Grammar for Girls, The Oratory Prep and private tutors David Purveur and Sally Arnold.

    Looking forward to a great set of results from you all!

  • Centre update 9: guide for adapting Speech assessments – 8th of June, 2020

    COVID-19 restrictions have led to the cancellation of exams and prevented many assessments from being taken as planned this spring and summer.

    Ofqual has designed an approach to ensure, as far as possible, that learners receive results to enable them to progress to the next stage of their lives without further disruption.

    Following consultation, Ofqual has published guidance on its Extraordinary Regulated Framework, which allows ESB International to adapt its Speech assessments for some Speech qualifications.

    This means that ESB International centres can book their adapted Speech assessments from Monday, 15th June.

    ESB International has produced detailed centre guidance and further supporting documentation for teachers and learners to support those who are planning to adapt Speech assessments.

    There are two separate folders to download, depending on which qualifications you are planning to adapt:

    Adapted Speech Assessments under ERF 2020 is for the following qualifications:

    • ESB Level 1 Award in Speech (Grades 1)
    • ESB Level 1 Award in Speech (Grades 2)
    • ESB Level 1 Award in Speech (Grades 3)
    • ESB Level 2 Certificate in Speech (Grades 4)
    • ESB Level 2 Certificate in Speech (Grades 5)
    • ESB Level 3 Certificate in Speech (Grade 6)
    • ESB Level 3 Certificate in Speech (Grade 8)
    • ESB Level 3 Award in Travel and Tourism Oral Communication Skills for Overseas Resort Representatives
    • ESB Level 4 Award in Professional Presentation Skills
    • ESB Level 1 Award in Using Oral Skills for Interviews
    • ESB Level 2 Award in Using Oral Skills for Interviews
    • ESB Entry Level Award in Graded Examinations in Speech (Entry 1) (EAL – A1)
    • ESB Entry Level Award in Graded Examinations in Speech (Entry 2) (EAL – A2)
    • ESB Entry Level Award in Graded Examinations in Speech (Entry 3) (EAL – B1)

    Please download the guidance documentation for adapting these qualifications here:

    Adapted Speech Pre-entry and E1-E3 Speech is for the following qualifications:

    • ESB Pre-Entry Level Award in Speech
    • ESB Entry Level Award in Speech (Entry 1)
    • ESB Entry Level Award in Speech (Entry 2)
    • ESB Entry Level Award in Speech (Entry 3)

    Please download the guidance documentation for adapting these qualifications here:

    Contact

    If centre staff have any questions on the process or the content of this document, they should put these in writing to product@esbuk.org.

  • Centre update 8: FAQs for adapted Speech assessments under the Extraordinary Regulatory Framework – June 1st, 2020

    What assessments are being adapted?

    • ESB Level 1 Award in Speech (Grades 1, 2, 3)
    • ESB Level 2 Certificate in Speech (Grades 4, 5)
    • ESB Level 3 Certificate in Speech (Grade 6, 8)
    • ESB Level 3 Award in Travel and Tourism Oral Communication Skills for Overseas Resort Representatives
    • ESB Level 4 Award in Professional Presentation Skills
    • ESB Level 1, 2, Awards in Using Oral Skills for Interviews
    • ESB Entry Level Award in Graded Examinations in Speech (Entry 1, 2, 3) (EAL-A1, A2, B1)

    The following speech qualifications are not in scope of the Extraordinary Framework and we are seeking clarification to offer them as adapted assessments:

    • ESB Level 1, 2, 3 Awards in Debating
    • ESB Level 1 Award in Group Speaking
    • ESB Level 1 Award in Oral Skills for School Interviews
    • ESB Level 3 Award in Using Oral Skills for Interviews
    • What are the possible adaptations?

    ESB is offering three forms of adaptation:
    1) Synchronous assessment via video conferencing.
    1.1 The assessor is remote, but the learners and teacher are in the centre together, or
    1.2 The learners, teacher and assessor are all remote, in different locations.

    2) Asynchronous assessment. Learners are filmed performing their assessments, with a teacher acting as interlocutor and facilitating the interactive phase of the assessment. Videos are submitted to ESB International for assessment. This could be for a situation when teachers and the learners can be at school together, but an external assessor is not permitted to come in.

    3) Asynchronous assessment for more independent learners who are still based at home. Learners or their parents film the performance and send it to the teacher, who will submit the videos.

    What are the technical requirements for each type of adaptation? Type 1: Synchronous assessment via video conferencing
    We envisage that schools and centres who choose this option will already be using a video conferencing platform with which they are familiar and which is secure and safe. The centre will be responsible for ensuring that all the learners, the teacher and the assessor can access the platform, and that the platform conforms to the centre’s safeguarding, security and privacy policies.

    Type 2: Asynchronous assessment: learners and teacher together and Type 3: learners and teacher are all remote
    Filming can be done using a good quality smartphone or tablet, or any good quality audio-visual recording device (e.g. digital video cameras, laptops) which will allow the assessor to accurately complete the assessment. Centres will be told where to upload the videos to a location will they will be stored securely by ESB and then deleted.

    When can we start to make a booking?
    You can start to make booking for adapted Speech assessments from Monday, June 15th. Please do not attempt to make a booking prior to this date as the system will not yet be live.

    Who will select the extract in the assessments where the learner has to read an extract aloud?
    The teacher can choose the extract.

    What about the discussion parts of the assessments where learners are supposed to show they can listen and ask questions?
    If you are doing asynchronous, filmed assessments, we will ask you to submit a calculated result for the discussion stage, based on the assessment criteria and grading criteria in the Specifications. For the ESB Level 3 Award in Travel and Tourism Oral Communication Skills for Overseas Resort Representatives, the face-to-face complaint will also be a calculated result. ESB International will provide centres with a pro-forma document for the submission of these calculated results.

    Do we need to book an assessment for a specific date?
    Yes, you need to register your learners on the system and book for the day on which you will hold your synchronous assessment, when an assessor will be assessing your learners via video-conferencing. If you are doing an asynchronous assessment and submitting pre-recorded videos to ESB, your booking should be for the date on which you will upload the videos.

    When will we get our results?
    We are working towards the usual time-frames for results and certification.

    What about learners with special educational needs and disabilities?
    Where learners have an agreed reasonable adjustment or an agreed access arrangement, the assessment should be conducted accordingly. If there is a calculated result component, this should take account of their likely achievement with the reasonable adjustment/access arrangement in place.

    There may be an opportunity for learners with significant special educational needs and disabilities – and therefore unable to complete any of the adapted assessment options – to have calculated results using evidence of learning and teacher judgements. This would need to be approved by Ofqual, please contact product@esbuk.org if you wish to discuss further.

    Will there be guidance for parents if they are helping their children with filming?
    Yes, guidance will be provided. Videos should not be edited and should be filmed without pausing or stopping. If the learners make a mistake, they should just carry on, as they would in a live assessment.

    When will there be more guidance?
    ESB will send guidance for centres to share with learners and parents on Monday 8th June.

    Who can I contact if I have any questions?
    For any further information, please contact us at product@esbuk.org and a member of the team will be in touch as soon as possible.