Feedback and evidence

Task information

Comprehensibility

Usable simple language

Information exchange and task result

Initiating and responding

Checking and repair

Understandable turns

Required information and purpose

Understandable meaning

Usable simple language

Readable writing and critical details

Teacher and partner guide

Original course outcome checks informed by A1 descriptors. Forms A and B have parallel intent, not demonstrated statistical equivalence. They are not accredited, validated CEFR examinations and do not certify A1 attainment.

Collect evidence of reading, listening, writing, spoken production and live spoken interaction in new situations after the course. Use the profile to decide what to practise next. Attendance, completed pages and stored recordings are separate from demonstrated performance.

All people, addresses and events in the materials are fictional. Learners may invent personal details in S1. Use the supplied example.com addresses in W1; do not ask for private contact information.

• Select one unseen form. Keep the other form for a later attempt. Do not give learners both answer books in advance of an intended independent check.
• Declare the mode before starting: standard course conditions, additional oral support, or practice-supported. Explain that asking for help is allowed and will be recorded honestly.
• Check the audio and volume with a neutral sound or a different practice sample. Do not use the test recording for equipment practice.
• Explain the task format without explaining test answers. Learner directions are short; optional Vietnamese help can explain the procedure, but translating the test content changes the support condition.
• Prepare blank answer space, the five-field form and a separate message page. Give each participant only the correct role card.
• Suggested section times are 25 minutes reading, 20 listening, 25 writing and 10 speaking. They are course administration guides, not CEFR time requirements. Record extra time and breaks.

• Give the four texts and their questions. Learners may reread the texts during the section.
• Keep keys, explanations, translations and writing/speaking models closed. A supplied answer or translated text changes this to practice-supported evidence.
• Record each item as correct, incorrect, unanswered or needs human review. Preserve the original response before correction.

• Keep the transcript hidden. Let learners read the questions before the recording.
• Play each recording twice initially: once to listen and begin answering, then again to check. Pause between plays so the learner can write.
• Record any additional replay, slower delivery, live repetition, spelling help or technical interruption for that recording.
• An extra replay is additional oral support, not a reason to forbid participation. Keep its result distinguishable from the initial two-play response.
• A transcript, translated content, model or supplied answer makes the affected attempt practice-supported. Do not label that listening score as obtained without text support.
• Synthetic recordings are learning materials. Listen to every released MP3 against its script, especially times, pounds, number contrasts and speaker turns. A missing or faulty file is a technical problem, not a learner error.

• Give W1 and W2 without models. The W1 role card remains visible because the task is to identify and enter information accurately.
• For W2, the task prompt remains visible. Do not provide sentence starters, translation or correction during an intended independent attempt.
• The 25–45-word suggestion supports task planning. Do not fail a clear complete message for being shorter or longer, and do not reward unnecessary length.
• Keep the first version. Feedback and a revised version are valuable learning evidence, but report the revised work separately from the first attempt.
• Do not infer message-writing proficiency solely from correct form copying.

• Allow a short preparation period for S1 with a few keyword notes. Do not allow a complete prepared script or a model response in view during the check.
• Ask two relevant S1 follow-ups the learner has not already answered. Slow repetition and simple rephrasing are allowed; note them.
• For S2, the learner sees only the customer card. The partner keeps the list, correct outcome and intentional error private.
• Give the missing information in response to the learner's questions. If the learner is silent, a neutral prompt such as What would you like to know? is permitted and recorded.
• Use the one intentional confirmation error in the partner card after a choice. Do not add a series of trick questions. Record the exact response to this repair opportunity.
• A partner may speak slowly, pause, repeat and rephrase. A partner must not supply the learner's questions, choose the correct option for them, mouth the answer or silently show the private card.
• If answers or complete sentences are supplied, keep the recording as practice-supported evidence. Do not hide that assistance in a high independent score.
• If no live responsive partner is available, S1 can still be recorded for production. Label S2 solo work rehearsal and record interaction not observed.

• Before an attempt, show only the learner input, questions, blank response areas and learner card.
• Keep listening transcripts, answer keys, models, private partner cards, listener success criteria and annotated examples in review-only or examiner-only sections.
• When review begins, show the full question, every option, the full correct response, accepted short variants and the explanation. Never display only A, B or C as the answer.
• Once a form has been reviewed with answers or models, treat later work on that form as familiar practice, not unseen transfer evidence.

Reading with rereading; listening with two plays per recording; writing without a model or translator; speaking with slow, clear delivery and permitted repetition/rephrasing. The exact support used is recorded even within these conditions.

Extra audio plays, extra slow live repetition or extra neutral prompts are recorded by task. They may be educationally appropriate, but report them so attempts remain interpretable.

Transcripts, translated test content, dictionaries supplying an answer, grammar rewrites, models, private answer cards or partner-supplied answers are practice support. Preserve the work and the help log; do not claim an unsupported score.

If a learner uses translation, grammar correction or an AI assistant, record exactly what it supplied. AI feedback can suggest revision, but it is not an independent assessor and must not invent rubric scores from a completion click.

A1 descriptions allow slow, clear communication and substantial help such as repetition and reformulation. The point is to state the conditions and observe useful communication, not to require effortless natural-speed conversation.

• Reading has 20 items and listening has 20 items. Award one point for a correct response and zero for an incorrect or unanswered item. Report each section separately, with the conditions.
• Choice items have exactly one intended answer. A letter is acceptable on an answer sheet only when it clearly selects an option; the feedback must show the complete answer text.
• Short-answer lists are examples of acceptable forms, not an exhaustive language dictionary. Ignore case and irrelevant final punctuation. Review other semantically correct answers before marking them wrong.
• Accept a minor spelling error in a comprehension answer when its meaning is unambiguous and spelling is not the tested information. Do not accept a wrong time, amount, day, place or person.
• Accepted time variants are written explicitly where useful. The meaning must match the source, including morning/afternoon when the distinction matters.
• Do not use grammar mistakes in a comprehensible short listening answer as a second language-accuracy penalty. The item is measuring the heard detail.

• Report W1 as five fields: correct, incorrect or unclear. Preserve the entered value. Use a separate 0–5 information-accuracy count if useful; do not merge it into a writing-language total.
• Names must be in the intended first-name and family-name fields. Capitalisation differences can receive feedback without changing otherwise accurate information.
• The email must retain the required letters, dot and @ sign. A changed address is not correct information even if it looks like a possible email.
• The session or collection field needs both the day and part of day. Saturday alone does not distinguish morning from afternoon.
• The teacher records corrected fields separately after review. A perfect revised form is not a perfect first attempt.

• Use the three production criteria, four interaction criteria and four message-writing criteria. Keep the criterion scores visible; do not collapse them into a claimed CEFR percentage.
• Use 0 only when the attempt actually provides the described zero-level evidence. Use not observed for missing recordings, no partner, an absent repair opportunity or an unadministered task.
• At anchors 2 and 3, pauses, short phrases, a non-native accent and basic errors can be compatible with successful task communication.
• Record a brief example supporting each judgement. A friendly partner's impression alone is not a validated rating.
• For borderline or important decisions, ask a second experienced teacher to rate the same first-attempt evidence without seeing the first score. Discuss differences using the task criteria and actual response.

Illustrative emerging message — A1-A-W2

June. Library Tuesday. Come. Notebook.

The response mentions a person, place, day and object. It omits the time and does not clearly ask whether June can attend or request that she bring the notebook. The reader must infer several relationships. This is useful diagnostic evidence, not a completed task.

Add the meeting time. Write one clear request for the notebook and one question about coming.

Illustrative task-successful message with errors — A1-A-W2

Hi June. I want study with you next Tuesday at 4:50 in the afternoon at city library. Please bring notebook. Can you come? Thank you, Ari.

The required meeting details, notebook request and attendance question are clear. Missing to after want and missing articles are visible, but they do not obscure the intended action. One reasonable course judgement is strong task communication with developing language control; these are not certified CEFR benchmark scores.

Keep the useful message. Revise want study to want to study, and check a notebook and the city library.

Illustrative emerging spoken description — A1-A-S1

Learner: Home … flat … sister … nice.
Listener: Where do you live?
Learner: …
Listener: What does your sister do?
Learner: Sister.

The listener hears a type of home and a family word, but cannot record a location, room detail or two personal facts. Repeating the family word does not answer the follow-up. The recording is still useful for choosing the next lesson.

Practise three small chunks: I live in …, My kitchen is …, and My sister works …. Then describe a different person without reading the chunks.

Illustrative task-successful spoken description with pauses — A1-A-S1

Learner: I live in Pine Bay … in a flat. My kitchen is small. There is two chairs. My sister, Nia … she work in a shop. She like football.
Listener: What is near your home?
Learner: A shop … and a school.
Listener: When do you see Nia?
Learner: On Monday. We eat together.

The listener can recover the home location, room information and two facts about Nia. Both follow-ups receive relevant answers. Agreement errors and pauses remain. They call for feedback but do not erase the successful communication.

Practise there are two chairs, she works and she likes, then use them with new details.

Illustrative incomplete repair — A1-B-S2

Learner: Sunday, three twenty?
Worker: Yes. It is nine pounds.
Learner: OK.
Worker: Room fourteen. Bring an old shirt. So, thirteen pounds?
Learner: Yes, thirteen.

A suitable time is identified, but the price ends incorrectly and the learner asks for little of the missing information. The repair opportunity was given and the wrong confirmation was accepted. Record this specific gap; do not generalise from it to a whole proficiency level.

Practise confirming a price and saying No, nine pounds. Then use a new booking with a different price.

Illustrative successful short-turn interaction — A1-B-S2

Learner: Sunday class? What time?
Worker: One twenty or three twenty.
Learner: How much, three twenty?
Worker: Nine pounds.
Learner: I want three twenty. Sunday. Which room?
Worker: Fourteen. Bring an old shirt.
Learner: Old shirt. OK.
Worker: So, thirteen pounds?
Learner: No, nine. Nine pounds.
Worker: Yes, nine.

The learner initiates relevant questions, selects a feasible option, receives the room and clothing detail, and repairs the wrong price. Turns are brief and some are fragments, but the shared result is clear. This example illustrates this local rubric, not formal CEFR standard setting.

Keep the successful checking habit. Practise a fuller polite request when ready, without treating longer sentences as necessary for success.

• For reception, compare the original answer with the full key and identify the exact word, time or relationship missed. Replay that part after scoring, then try a different item without the transcript.
• For writing, keep the first message, apply the task checklist, obtain comments from an English-capable partner or teacher, and revise. Label self, partner and teacher judgements separately.
• For speaking, a live online or in-person partner can hold the private card and record the facts they understood. A partner can help document task success without claiming to be a certified examiner.
• Arrange occasional review of stored samples with an experienced English teacher, including a remote teacher if needed. Ask for comments tied to the published task criteria and a specific next task.
• Solo practice remains useful when a partner is unavailable, but keep spoken interaction unobserved until a responsive partner actually takes part.
• If an institution or employer requires independent A1 evidence, check which qualification or assessment it accepts, its adult suitability and which skills it measures. A test covering only listening and speaking cannot by itself document reading and writing.

• Choose one or two concrete targets from the first attempt, such as time contrasts, asking the price, message completeness or correcting a confirmation.
• Practise with different names, times and situations. Do not simply memorise the failed item and count its repeated answer as new transfer.
• After repair and a gap long enough to reduce immediate recall, use the other unseen form under stated conditions. A week or more is a scheduling option, not a CEFR rule.
• Compare skill profiles and error patterns as well as raw scores. Forms A and B have not been equated, so a small score difference may reflect task variation.
• If both forms and their keys are already familiar, use fresh tasks before claiming new transfer evidence.
• Keep previous attempts, support logs and revisions. A learner may move forward in one area while continuing targeted review in another.

• CEFR is a descriptive, non-prescriptive framework. It does not supply a compulsory English grammar syllabus or a universal percentage pass mark for this course.
• These tasks sample selected everyday A1-oriented abilities. Two forms cannot exhaust every domain, and item count is not a reliability or validity study.
• Stronger proficiency claims need documented task specifications, assessor training, standard-setting and validation evidence. Council of Europe branding or accreditation is not implied.
• Cambridge English gives approximately 90–100 cumulative guided learning hours from beginner to A1 as a guideline, with individual variation. This is not a promise about self-study time or attainment.
• All rubrics, examples, item texts and local readiness rules here are original editorial tools. The sources inform scope and interpretation; they do not endorse this material.

Council of Europe (2020): CEFR Companion Volume

A1 activity descriptors and permitted communication conditions; relevant printed pages include 48, 54, 62, 66, 72–89 and 131–136.

Council of Europe: The framework

Non-prescriptive purpose and the limits of Council of Europe validation claims.

Council of Europe: Relating examinations to the CEFR

Transparent procedures for relating assessments to the framework; a local label is not a validated link.

Cambridge English: Guided learning hours

The cumulative A1 guided-hours guideline and factors affecting learning time.

British Council: A1 Elementary

An accessible A1 overview and routes to skills practice.

British Council: A1 writing

Examples of practical short-text and form genres; no texts or exercises were copied.

British Council: A1 speaking

Contextual speaking practice and checking understanding; no scripts were copied.

A profile, not an automatic certificate

• Report Reading /20 and Listening /20 separately with their support conditions.
• Report the W1 field count /5 separately from the W2 writing rubric.
• Report every production, interaction and message-writing criterion separately; add one supporting example per judgement.
• Do not turn a total percentage, completion badge or number of hours into an A1 award.
• Do not automatically grade speech or writing. A recording, submitted message or checked box shows submission, not quality.
• Automatic short-answer matching is provisional. Give a human review route for valid unlisted variants.
• If there is no actual partner, print Interaction not observed. Do not insert zero as if a live interaction had been assessed.
• Label ratings as self, partner or teacher. Keep first-attempt work, feedback and revised work distinguishable.

• Date and form: ____; mode declared before starting: ____.
• Reading: ____ /20; support/extra time: ____.
• Listening: ____ /20; plays for L1/L2/L3/L4: ____ / ____ / ____ / ____; other help: ____.
• Form fields: ____ /5; inaccurate or unclear fields: ____.
• Message profile: information ____; meaning ____; usable language ____; readable details ____.
• Production profile: information ____; comprehensibility ____; usable language ____.
• Interaction profile: exchange ____; initiating/responding ____; repair ____; understandable turns ____.
• Live partner and observation date: ____; or Interaction not observed.
• Evidence: first message ____; revised message ____; S1 recording ____; S2 recording/listener notes ____.
• Self judgement ____; partner judgement ____; teacher judgement ____.
• Next target ____; repair task ____; retest form/date ____; reason for learning decision ____.
• Attendance/completion, recorded separately: ____.

Evidence incomplete

A required section has not been attempted, a first-attempt product is unavailable, no live interaction has occurred, or conditions are unknown.

Collect the missing evidence. Continue useful learning, but do not report a complete skills profile.

An absent skill cannot be inferred from good scores in another skill.

Practise a specific gap

The reviewed evidence shows an essential information problem, such as repeatedly wrong times/prices, an unusable message, an unsuitable booking, or an observed productive criterion at 0 or 1.

Name the exact gap, practise with new details and retest it. Keep successful skills visible.

A task-level problem calls for focused practice, not an unsupported judgement about the learner's whole level.

Try the next stage with review

A reviewer has observed all required areas, the essential message/form/booking information is usable, productive criteria are generally at least 2 under recorded conditions, and the reviewer documents that reception errors do not show a persistent gap in the sampled everyday functions.

Begin the next learning stage while reviewing the named weak points. Keep the evidence and obtain outside assessment if a formal level is needed.

This is a local learning decision. No validated reading/listening cut score or conversion to a CEFR level has been established.

When independent A1 evidence is needed, ask the receiving institution which assessment it recognises. Use a qualified assessor or suitable external examination covering the required skills. These course results can inform that discussion but do not replace the requested evidence.

Here is what you showed in each skill, the help you used, and your next practice target. This course check does not issue a CEFR certificate.