Speaking Success: Trinity GESE Grade 3
Initial stage · CEFR A2.1 — the tasks, themes and language of Grade 3, practised by Philo and Sophia.
•Grade 3, at a glance
Initial stageCEFR A2.17 minutesOne-to-one with the examiner
At the Initial stage the examiner leads the whole exam. It is a friendly conversation, often using objects and pictures. You show you understand by speaking and by doing things, such as pointing.
1What you need to do (communicative skills)
- Respond to simple questions and requests
- Use basic sentences to talk about everyday situations
- Exchange information about everyday life by asking and answering simple questions
- Link groups of words with and, and then
- Ask the examiner at least one simple question about everyday life
2Themes and topics (subject areas)
The vocabulary you need
Topics
- Jobs
- Places in your local area
- Your school or place of study
- Home life
- The weather
- Free time
- Times and dates; ordinal numbers up to 31st
3Language functions and grammar (what the examiner listens for)
Functions
- Describing daily routines and times
- Giving dates
- Talking about ability: I can / I can’t
- Giving simple directions and locations
- Describing what people are doing now, or in pictures
- Describing states in the past: I was tired. It was cold.
- Asking simple questions about everyday life
Grammar and language
- Present continuous: She’s reading.
- can / can’t
- Prepositions of movement: from, to, up, down, along, across
- Prepositions of time: on Monday, in May, at six o’clock
- Prepositions of place: near, in front of, behind, opposite
- Past of to be: was / were
- Linking: and, then
Worked example — everyday life
ExaminerWhat time do you get up, Philo?
PhiloI get up at seven o’clock, and then I have breakfast with my brothers.
PhiloYes, I can. I swim in the sea in the summer. I can’t ride a horse.
ExaminerWhat was the weather like yesterday?
PhiloIt was very windy and it was cold.
PhiloWhat do you do at the weekend?
ExaminerI usually go walking.
Tips for Grade 3
- Practise your day as a story: I get up at…, and then I…
- Learn dates properly: the third of May, the twenty-first of June.
- Prepare simple directions from your home to your school: go along…, it’s opposite the…
•How Grade 3 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 · DistinctionAn excellent performance.
B · MeritA good performance.
C · PassA satisfactory performance.
D · FailNot 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.