Role-play
A conversation on a card: five prompts, with a question or two of your own to ask, all set out in English so you know what to say.
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
With both boards the role-play is worth 10 marks: the card sets five tasks in English, the teacher plays the other person, and each task earns up to 2 marks, 2 if the message is conveyed without ambiguity and 1 if it is partly conveyed or not quite clear. AQA's opens the speaking test and lasts a minute to a minute and a half. Edexcel's comes second, after the read aloud; one task asks you to ask a question at Foundation and two do at Higher, where one task also needs an answer about the future.
Use your preparation time to plan every task
You have supervised preparation time before the test for the role-play and the other tasks (15 minutes with AQA), and you can take your notes into the room. Write a short answer for each task with a verb in it: for 'Say what you do after school', Después del instituto juego al fútbol. A clear, accurate sentence is all a task needs.
Give every detail the task asks for
Some tasks ask for two things, such as 'Say what you like to eat and why'. If one of them is missing, the message is only partly conveyed and the task drops to 1 mark. Tick off each part of each task on your notes as you plan it.
Ask the question the card asks for
One task tells you to ask a question (two at Edexcel Higher), such as 'Ask your friend about their favourite film'. Make it a real question with a question word or a verb that asks: ¿Cuál es tu película favorita? or ¿Te gustan las películas de miedo?. Practise qué, dónde, cuándo, cuál and cuánto until this task feels routine.
Use tú or usted as the card says
The card tells you whether you are talking to a friend or to an adult such as a shop assistant or a receptionist. With a friend use the tú form (¿Quieres venir?); with an adult use usted, which takes the he and she form of the verb (¿Tiene una habitación libre?). The question task is where the form shows most.
Listen to the teacher's line before you answer
The teacher's Spanish tells you which task comes next and often which tense to use: ¿Qué hiciste ayer? wants a past answer, such as Fui al parque con mi hermano. If you miss a line, ask ¿Puedes repetir, por favor?, or ¿Puede repetir, por favor? to an adult, to hear it again.
Be ready to answer something you have not prepared
Both boards' cards set out all five tasks in English, but you only hear the teacher's exact words in the room, so stay flexible. The practice cards here hold a prompt back until the moment you need it, to build the habit: listen for the question word, reuse its verb and keep it short. ¿Dónde vives? gets Vivo en Leeds.
Role-play key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Role-play
- A short conversation acted out from a card, in which the teacher plays the other person and you complete five tasks.
- Task
- One of the five things the role-play card asks you to say or ask, each worth up to 2 marks.
- Unambiguous
- Clear enough to have only one meaning. A role-play task earns its 2 marks when the message is conveyed without ambiguity.
- Tú
- The informal you, for a friend or someone your age. Its verbs usually end in -s: tienes, quieres, vas.
- Usted
- The polite you, for an adult you do not know well, such as a shop assistant. It takes the he and she form of the verb: tiene, quiere, va.
- Question words
- Qué (what), dónde (where), cuándo (when), cuál (which), cuánto (how much) and por qué (why) begin most questions, including the one you have to ask.
- Unexpected question
- A prompt you have not seen in advance. AQA's and Edexcel's cards both show all five tasks, but some practice cards here hold one back, to build the habit of catching its question word and reusing its verb.
- ¿Puedes repetir, por favor?
- Can you repeat that, please? The tú way to ask for a line again; with usted it is ¿Puede repetir, por favor?.
Common mistakes in Role-play
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Answering only half of a two-part task, such as saying what you like but not why.
A task with two parts drops to 1 mark if one part is missing. Read each task for every detail it asks for, and plan a short sentence for each one.
Saying something about yourself when the task asks you to ask a question.
The marks for that task go on the question. Prepare it word for word with a question word and a verb, such as ¿A qué hora empieza?, and say it clearly.
Mixing up tú and usted, so a question to a hotel receptionist uses tienes.
Check the card for who you are talking to before you prepare. For an adult, use the he and she form of the verb, as in ¿Tiene una habitación libre?, not ¿Tienes...?.
Giving a long, ambitious answer that loses its message in errors.
Role-play marks are for getting the message across, not for range. A short, clear sentence with the right verb earns the full 2 marks, so save complex language for the photo card conversation.
Freezing when the teacher's question is worded differently from your notes, and leaving a silence.
Catch the question word and the verb, then build your answer from them: ¿Qué te gusta hacer? becomes Me gusta nadar. If you missed it, ask the teacher to repeat it (¿Puedes repetir?, or ¿Puede repetir? to an adult) rather than saying nothing.