Department of European Languages and Cultures

Fourth Year Language Paper 1 and Oral (CEFR: C1+/C2)

Descriptors providing an indication of the passive and productive abilities of students passing Fourth Year Language Paper 1.

‘Can do’ statements

The following descriptors provide an indication of the passive and productive abilities of students passing this course.

Students passing at: Will meet these criteria:
A almost all of the time
B most of the time
C regularly
D some of the time

 ​Listening comprehension

  • Follow extended speech, live or broadcast, on abstract and complex topics.
  • Recognise a wide range of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms, appreciating register shifts.
  • Follow the essentials of lectures, talks and reports and other forms of academic / professional presentations which are propositionally and linguistically complex.

Reading comprehension

  • Understand and critically appraise all forms of the written language including abstract, structurally complex, or highly colloquial literary and non-literary writings and understand cultural nuances.
  • Assess appropriateness of source material quickly and reliably.

Spoken

  • Express him/herself fluently and spontaneously.
  • Easily follow and contribute to complex interactions between third parties in group discussion even on abstract or unfamiliar topics.
  • Give clear, detailed descriptions of complex subjects, integrating sub themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.

Written

  • Write clear, well-structured texts on complex subjects, underlining the relevant salient issues, expanding and supporting points of view at some length with subsidiary points, reasons and relevant examples, and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion
  • Summarise information from different sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation of the overall result.
  • Demonstrate consistent grammatical control of complex language.