Speaking Success: Trinity GESE Grade 9
Intermediate stage · CEFR B2.3 — the tasks, themes and language of Grade 9, practised by Philo and Sophia.
•Grade 9, at a glance
Intermediate stageCEFR B2.315 minutesOne-to-one with the examiner
1. Topic discussion
up to 5 min
2. Interactive task
up to 4 min
3. Conversation
up to 5 min
At the Intermediate stage you lead. You introduce and discuss your own topic (with brief notes or a mind map), then take control of an interactive task from a short prompt, and finally discuss two subject areas chosen by the examiner.
1What you need to do (communicative skills)
- Topic: highlight important points, paraphrase, and recap after interruptions
- Interactive task: expand on the examiner’s answers and develop the discussion
- Conversation: use paraphrase and circumlocution if communication breaks down
2Themes and topics (subject areas)
Conversation subject areas (the examiner chooses two)
Topics
- Dreams and nightmares
- Crime and punishment
- Technology
- Habits and obsessions
- Global environmental issues
- Design
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
- Expressing abstract ideas
- Regrets, wishes and hopes
- Assumptions
- Paraphrasing
- Evaluating options
- Hypothesising
- Evaluating past actions
Grammar and language
- Mixed conditionals
- Verbs + gerund or infinitive: forget, stop, go on, remember
- Complex passives with modals: It should have been done…
- should / must / might / could + have + past participle
- wish and hope patterns
- Keeping your turn: as I was saying, anyway, I mean, let me think…
Worked example — the Conversation phase: crime and punishment
ExaminerLet’s talk about crime and punishment. Should prisons punish or educate?
PhiloLet me think… I’d say both, but if prisons only punished people, they would come out more dangerous than they went in. I wish more prisons taught people a trade.
ExaminerSome people say criminals don’t deserve that.
PhiloI can see why, especially if you’ve been a victim. But surely the authorities should have learned by now that punishment alone doesn’t work. Anyway, as I was saying, the real question is what happens when they leave.
Tips for Grade 9
- Practise should have, might have, must have to evaluate past decisions.
- Learn phrases to keep your turn and recover: as I was saying, anyway, what I mean is…
- Prepare views on all six subject areas, not just your favourites.
•How Grade 9 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.