We have amended our ESB Entry Level Award in ESOL Skills for Life (Speaking and Listening) (Entry 3) and ESB Level 1 Award in ESOL Skills for Life (Speaking and Listening) assessments in line with centre feedback.

From Monday 10^th October, the Assessment Criterion 4.3 Plan action with others at Entry 3 and Level 1 is no longer assessed in the Task 4 Discussion. It is only assessed in the Task 3 Role Play, with numerous opportunities for the learners to achieve the criterion in this task.

In the Task 3 Role Play, the role play scenario is followed by the instruction to make a plan. From 10^th October, the assessor will also use an additional prompt (if it is needed) to elicit a plan or arrangement. If the learners have not started to make a plan after 4 minutes, the assessor will then remind them by saying: Please agree on what you will both do next.

The Task 4 Discussion now concludes with a question, or a prompt to discuss, and no longer asks the learners to make an additional arrangement to do something. The assessment will therefore retain its communicative identity, and end with a natural discussion between the assessor and the learners. We have found that the role play task offers ample opportunities to achieve AC4.3 in an authentic context, using appropriate everyday language, and the Task 4 Discussion concludes the assessment by expressing opinions and ideas in a three-way conversation.

Our sample papers are being updated to reflect these changes. If you have any questions, please contact us at product@esbuk.org.