GCSE GRADES for LANGUAGES @ CGS and how to make PROGRESS
A*
A
B
C
D
SPEAKING
I speak effortlessly, use lots of complex
vocab, advanced grammar & at least 5
tenses & I am always precise & fluent
I have excellent pronunciation
I often use subordinate clauses
I express complex ideas and interesting
opinions fluently & accurately
I always take the initiative
I speak spontaneously & confidently with
good pronunciation & a nice accent
I can talk for a long time using a wide
variety of grammar, vocab (including
connectives) and at least 4 tenses correctly
and I don’t make many errors
I can take the initiative & give lots of
opinions & justifications
I can speak quite a lot about things I know
& like and I give some opinions
I can use 3 tenses and connectives,
generally accurately
My grammar is good & I pronounce words
quite well
A lot of what I say is correct and everything
I say is understood
I can hold a short conversation
I speak reasonably correctly
My accent is not bad & I try to pronounce
words correctly
I can say something about a past & future
event but I make errors
I can answer some questions
I make frequent mistakes
I have difficulties with pronunciation
I don’t give opinions & use few connectives
My grammar & vocab are simple
WRITING
My work is faultless
I have a wealth of interesting
ideas, which are expressed
accurately & succinctly
My vocab is sophisticated & I can
write in different registers
I manipulate grammar & tenses
effortlessly & accurately
I use a wide range of tenses and
structures accurately
My vocab is varied & interesting
& my work is well structured
I express myself well & justify my
opinions accurately
I make very few errors but my
verbs are always correct
My writing is generally correct
I can happily use 3 tenses
including irregular verbs
I do make some mistakes but
none are major
I give some opinions &
justifications
I can use connectives correctly
I can use 3 tenses but there are
mistakes
I don’t always spell correctly
I don’t always get verb endings &
agreements correct
My opinions are quite simple
My writing is very simple & I
don’t write enough
I don’t use tenses correctly
I make lots of spelling & grammar
mistakes
LISTENING
I immediately understand long
passages at normal speed
My answers are 100% accurate &
detailed
I can cope with any topic even ones
with which I’m not familiar
My vocab is excellent and I can cope
with regional accents & slang
I readily understand long passages
at normal speed
I can work out meaning of new
words from context
I give detailed & accurate answers
I have a broad vocab and understand
grammar very well
I can pick out the main points of long
passages
I can cope well with most topics
I don’t know all the words I hear
My answers are generally correct
but I don’t get every detail
I occasionally get confused when I
don’t know the topic well
I get the gist of a lot I hear
I am better are topics I know well
My understanding is not always
accurate
My answers are not very detailed
I often get confused or lost
I can pick out the main ideas in
short, slow passages
There are lots of words I don’t know
My answers are simple or wrong
READING
I can skim a text to pinpoint answers
I am a quick reader & only have to
reread to pick up the finer details &
nuances in a long, complex text
My answers are highly accurate &
detailed
I have a huge vocabulary and
understand both grammar & idioms
I understand very well any topic even
difficult or unfamiliar ones
I can infer answers & work out
meaning of new words in context
My answers are detailed & accurate
I have an in-depth vocab & I
understand even complex grammar
I can cope with idioms & expressions
I understand a lot of what I read
My answers are generally correct but
not always detailed enough
I struggle sometimes with long texts
I’m good at topics I know well but find
new topics a challenge
I have a good range of vocab & I
understand most of the grammar
I understand quite a bit of what I read
I find long, complicated passages or
unfamiliar topics challenging
I am not a very fast reader and I often
have to reread the text to understand
My answers are not detailed
I can cope with short, simple passages
I am a slow reader and always need to
reread
I don’t find it easy to get beyond gist
reading or the main point