Speaking Success: Trinity GESE Grade 4
Elementary stage · CEFR A2.2 — the tasks, themes and language of Grade 4, practised by Philo and Sophia.
•Grade 4, at a glance
Elementary stageCEFR A2.210 minutesOne-to-one with the examiner
1. Topic discussion
up to 5 min
2. Conversation
up to 5 min
At the Elementary stage you bring a topic of your own choice, with a topic form listing your discussion points. The examiner discusses at least four of them with you. Then the examiner chooses two subject areas from the list below for a conversation.
1What you need to do (communicative skills)
- Topic: talk about your four discussion points in short turns, answer questions, and ask the examiner one question about your topic
- Conversation: respond to questions and make short contributions on two subject areas
2Themes and topics (subject areas)
Conversation subject areas (the examiner chooses two)
Topics
- Holidays
- Shopping
- School and work
- Hobbies and sports
- Food
- Weekend and seasonal activities
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
- Talking about past events
- Talking about future plans and intentions
- Making simple comparisons
- Saying what you like and dislike
- Describing how and how often you do things
Grammar and language
- Past simple, regular and common irregular verbs
- going to for plans
- like + -ing / to: I like reading, I like to swim
- Adverbs of manner and frequency: quickly, sometimes, every day, once a week
- Comparatives and superlatives
- Linking: but; past time: yesterday, last night
- Pronunciation: the three sounds of -ed: played, walked, wanted
Worked example — the Conversation phase: holidays
ExaminerLet’s talk about holidays. Where did you go last summer?
PhiloI went to Crete with my uncle. We stayed in a small village by the sea.
ExaminerWhat did you like best?
PhiloI liked the beach best, but the food was great too. It was much better than the food in my school!
ExaminerWhat are you going to do next summer?
PhiloI’m going to visit my cousins in Jerusalem. Where do you usually go on holiday?
Tips for Grade 4
- Topic: choose something personal, not from the list of subject areas, and fill in a topic form with four discussion points.
- Don’t write a script: the examiner will pick your points in any order.
- Use your past simple and going to in both phases.
•How Grade 4 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.