Speaking Success: Trinity GESE Grade 12

Advanced stage · CEFR C2 — the tasks, themes and language of Grade 12, practised by Philo and Sophia.

•Grade 12, at a glance

Advanced stageCEFR C225 minutesOne-to-one with the examiner

1. Topic presentation

up to 5 min

2. Topic discussion

up to 5 min

3. Interactive task

up to 5 min

4. Listening task

up to 3 min

5. Conversation

up to 6 min

At the Advanced stage you give a formal presentation of up to five minutes, lead a discussion of it, take control of an interactive task, respond to three short listening passages (suggesting endings, or identifying the speakers and context), and discuss two subject areas.

1What you need to do (communicative skills)

Presentation: present a complex topic formally, with a clear logical structure, to an examiner who may not know the subject
Topic discussion: handle in-depth questioning
Interactive task: control and sustain the discussion and lead it to a successful conclusion
Listening: understand abstract and specialist texts at natural speed
Conversation: discuss any subject without linguistic limits

2Themes and topics (subject areas)

Conversation subjects

Topics

There are no fixed subject areas at Grade 12.
The examiner chooses any two subjects suitable for you.
Revise the vocabulary of all previous grades, and keep up with current affairs.

Your own topic must not be taken from this list: choose something personal, which you know well and enjoy talking about.

3Language functions and grammar (what the examiner listens for)

Functions

Asserting
Denying
Softening and downplaying
Contradicting
Implying
Affirming

Grammar and language

Complete and consistent control of highly complex language
Reformulating ideas to convey fine shades of meaning
A very broad vocabulary, including idiom and colloquialism
Unobtrusive substitution when a word escapes you

Worked example — asserting, conceding and contradicting

ExaminerSome would say the Great Library was simply a royal vanity project.

PhiloI’d hardly call it that. Granted, the kings enjoyed the prestige, but to dismiss the scholarship as a by-product of vanity rather downplays what was actually achieved there. Euclid didn’t write the Elements to flatter anyone.

ExaminerStill, funding came with expectations, surely?

PhiloOf course it did, and I wouldn’t deny that. What I’d contest is the implication that the expectations shaped the results.

Tips for Grade 12

Choose a presentation topic complex enough to show C2 range.
Practise softening and contradicting: I’d hardly say…, granted, but…, I’d contest that…
Read widely: Grade 12 conversation can go anywhere.

•How Grade 12 is assessed

The examiner gives a letter grade for each phase, for task fulfilment: how well you use the communicative skills, functions, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation of this grade and all the grades before it, with good fluency.

A · Distinction

An excellent performance.

B · Merit

A good performance.

C · Pass

A satisfactory performance.

D · Fail

Not yet satisfactory: the report shows what to work on.

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Based on Trinity College London’s GESE specifications (from January 2026). Always check trinitycollege.com/GESE for the current version.