Role-play
A conversation on a card: five prompts set out in English, a question or two of your own to ask and one you cannot prepare, in the polite or the friendly style the card asks for.
Learn
Role-play, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know how the role-play works and is marked
The role-play is the first of the three speaking tasks, worth 10 marks. Your card sets the scene in English with five prompts, and the teacher plays the other person, opening the role-play and asking the first question. Each prompt earns up to 2 marks for communication: 2 if your answer is clear and suits the situation, 1 if it is only partly clear. It lasts 1 to 1.5 minutes at Foundation and 2 to 2.5 minutes at Higher.
Prepare well in the 12 minutes
You get 12 minutes to prepare the role-play and the picture task together, and you can make notes on up to one side of A4. Plan a short answer for each prompt as key words, because you must not read out whole prepared sentences. You can look at your notes during these two tasks, but not in the conversation.
Match the register the card asks for
Each card says whether the situation is formal or familiar. Formal means an adult such as a shop assistant or a teacher: use です and ます, the person's name with さん, すみません and ください. Familiar means a friend, so greetings like おはよう, names with くん or ちゃん and friendly words like オッケー fit, and at Foundation you can keep the です and ます endings you know.
Ask the question on the ? prompt
A ? on the card means you must ask a question: one at Foundation, two at Higher. Prepare it in full, with a question word and か: 何時に はじまりますか。 いくらですか。 A statement in its place cannot earn the marks.
Handle the ! prompt
A ! means the teacher will ask something you haven't seen. Catch the question word and the verb, then answer with the same verb: 何を 食べたいですか。 ラーメンを 食べたいです。 If you need to hear it again, say すみません、 もういちど おねがいします。
Use the right time frame
At Foundation, the role-play is in the present. At Higher, one prompt is asked in the past, so listen for ました or でした in the teacher's question and answer in kind: きのう 何を しましたか。 こうえんに 行きました。
Keep each answer short and clear
The role-play is marked for getting your message across, not for range. One clear sentence with the right verb earns full marks for a prompt, so save longer answers for the picture task and the conversation.
Role-play key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Role-play
- The first speaking task: a short scene from a card, with the teacher as the other person, worth 10 marks.
- Prompt
- One of the five things on the card to say or ask, each worth up to 2 marks.
- The ? prompt
- A prompt marked with a question mark, telling you to ask a question.
- The ! prompt
- A prompt marked with an exclamation mark, where the teacher asks a question you haven't seen.
- Formal register
- The way you speak to adults you don't know well: です and ます, さん, おねがいします.
- Familiar register
- The way you speak to friends: casual greetings like おはよう and names with くん or ちゃん.
- もういちど おねがいします
- Once more, please: a polite way to ask the teacher to repeat something.
- すみません
- Excuse me, or sorry: a polite way to start a question or a request.
Common mistakes in Role-play
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Saying something about yourself on a ? prompt instead of asking a question.
The marks for that prompt are for a question. Prepare it word for word, ending in か: えきは どこですか.
Using a familiar greeting or ちゃん with a shop assistant or a teacher.
Check the card's register before you plan. With an adult, use こんにちは, すみません and the person's name with さん.
Using あなた for you in every question.
Japanese avoids あなた with people you know or respect. Use the person's name with さん, or leave you out altogether: 何が すきですか.
Giving a long answer that loses its meaning in mistakes.
A short, clear sentence earns the full 2 marks. Keep each answer to what the prompt asks.
Staying silent after an unexpected question.
Ask for it again with もういちど おねがいします, or answer using the verb you heard. Saying something always beats saying nothing.