Recommended Program: B1.4
Also, the use of advanced vocabulary should be encouraged, followed by tips and tricks on how to avoid using basic vocabulary. In general, all areas could be improved and reading/listening to, certain media types, such as: articles, journals, e-books etc., would help to improve that.
Fluency
xxxxxxx is a confident speaker and is proficient at using the target language. He is talkative and can “hold his own” during a conversation and would try to answer in as much detail as possible, although it is thought that he could have been more informative. The conversation often fell short, with just a few short-phrase answers or awkward silences, between topics. There were some issues when linking sentences to each other with heavy usage of “and” and “but” not using other linking words as often as they could have been used. Passive forms were also ok, but when posed to ask a question in the passive form he had some difficulty. Despite making a few mistakes here and there he tried his best to keep the conversation going and he did not let his mistakes ruin the flow of the conversation. He has limited knowledge on certain topics such as Education, Law and History in terms of vocabulary and his lack of knowledge in these subjects was quite noticeable.
Grammar
xxxxxxx showed a great use of grammatical rules and construction. He has a very good grasp of certain tenses, such as simple present / past perfect and past continuous tenses. Even though he made a few mistakes with the past perfect simple / continuous as he sometimes misused them. He also had some issues with the future continuous tense, not always using it when it was appropriate to do so. In general, he used passive structures correctly and also used inquisitive tags and phrasal verbs properly. In some cases, he did put the pronoun after the verb but once the structure was explained he was always quick to self-correct.
Pronunciation
His pronunciations were great overall, however it should be mentioned that he has a strong accent and this does sometimes affect the clarity of his speech. Even though this was the case, it was not always so noticeable and he did not make many mistakes. The biggest issues are with certain advanced vocabulary related to certain themes and adjectives such as reputable, overshadowed etc. He also had several issues with the pronunciation of the past simple tense, especially with the (t) sound.
Vocabulary
He exhibited a great command of a broad range of vocabulary and its use during a variety of topics. He used extensive words and absolute adjectives although he would more often than not, use more simple vocabulary. The use of advanced adjectives was a little sparse and words like; “very” and “a lot” were used instead of basic adjectives to replace them.
Writing
His writing skills are very good although, as with his speaking assessment, similar mistakes were made. In general tense use was ok, but he was not pressured to use more advanced tenses in writing or speaking, he didn’t use them to their full potential and ended up using more basic tenses instead. The third and second conditional were not used to their full effect, especially considering the easy topic was about where he sees himself in the future.
Suggestions:
Xxxxxxx has a great grasp of the English Language, however there is definitely room for improvement. Specifically, in terms of grammar; some tenses need a brush-up to further emphasise their use and placement within a sentence. Also, the use of advanced vocabulary should be encouraged, followed by tips and tricks on how to avoid using basic vocabulary. In general, all areas could be improved and reading/listening to, certain media types, such as: articles, journals, e-books etc., would help to improve that.
Xxxxxxx has a great grasp of the English Language, however there is definitely room for improvement. Specifically, in terms of grammar; some tenses need a brush-up to further emphasise their use and placement within a sentence. Also, the use of advanced vocabulary should be encouraged, followed by tips and tricks on how to avoid using basic vocabulary. In general, all areas could be improved and reading/listening to, certain media types, such as: articles, journals, e-books etc., would help to improve that.
