Business Result | Speaking test

Use this test to establish which

level of Business Result to use
with your student(s). Note that
this test only indicates the
level of speaking and should
be administered in conjunction
with the written placement
test available on the teachers
website.

How to use the Speaking test

Begin by asking the student questions at elementary level. If the student answers confidently,
move onto the questions or the role-play task at pre-intermediate level (you will need to
participate in the role-play tasks). Continue in this way until the student noticeably finds the
questions or the role-play difficult whichever level this is indicates which book the student
should be using, based on their spoken English.
Level

What a student can do at this level

Questions / role-play tasks for this level

Elementary

A student at this level can

Whats your name?

answer questions about personal

Which country / Where are you
and work-related information
from?
(name, company, nationality, job Whats your job?
title, department, products, services)
What does your company produce /
meet and greet a visitor
provide?
talk about basic topics (work, free What time do you start work? Tell
time activities)
me about your typical day.
talk about events in the past and
future such as basic career history
and plans for future
deal with and share details related
to information on schedules,
projects, timetables, and
correspondence.

A student at this level can

Preintermediate ask and answer questions about
personal and work-related
information
talk about a range of topics
including customers, products,
services, and competition
present key information about his /
her company or area of business
ask a visitor information and make
general conversation
deal with basic telephone calls,
especially when initiating the call.
Intermediate A student at this level can
explain and ask about recent events
and changes

When did you join the company?

What project are you working on at
the moment?
When is your next holiday? Where
are you going to go?
What do you do in your free time?
Tell me about your family/ home/
interests.
Whats your job title? What are your
responsibilities?
Tell me about your products /
services (price, quality). Who buys
them? Who are your competitors?
How big is your company? Tell me
about the companys history and
future plans.
Role-play task
Im a visitor at your company.
Introduce yourself to me and ask me
three questions.
Give a short presentation about
your company. For example, its
history, products, locations, etc.

What have been some of the big

talk about a range of topics
changes at your company recently?
including technology, processes, and
What have been the results? Whats
performance
your opinion on the changes?
participate in meetings and give
How
has technology changed your
reasons, opinions, and plans
life in recent years (at work and at
make quite formal as well as
home)? Do you think its a good
informal presentations and deal
thing?
with straight-forward questions
deal with a variety of situations on
the telephone, including answering
questions or dealing with problems.

Oxford University Press 2009

Role-play task
Im a customer and I telephone you to
complain about a late delivery. I want
you to deal with my complaint.

Business Result

Business Result | Speaking test

Level

What a student can do at this level

A student at this level can

Upperintermediate interact quite fluently and
spontaneously on a variety of
topics, e.g. ethics in business,
motivation, outsourcing, etc.
participate in meetings and
discussions where he / she will
give views, is able to state both
advantages and disadvantages, and
make recommendations
present complex information and
handle difficult questions
summarize key points based on
texts or documentation.

Advanced

Questions / role-play tasks for this level

How important are teams where
you work? What are some ways to
motivate a team?
How much do you deal with
people from other countries (give
examples)? Do different cultures do
business in different ways?
Think of a problem you had to deal
with recently. What happened?
How did you solve it? Do you
think you could have approached it
differently?
Role-play task
Imagine Im a new customer.
Convince me to use your products
or services instead of your main
competitors.

A student at this level can

Note to examiner:

easily interact with both native and

non-native speakers on all topics
of conversation including quite
abstract topics

If a student has successfully answered

the questions and completed the tasks
at all previous levels with no difficulty,
then they can be placed at this level
forspeaking.

initiate repair strategies where

misunderstanding occurs
express him / herself fluently
without much searching for
expressions
formally negotiate aspects of
business, such as contracts
implement managerial initiatives
and leadership in English through
presentations or in meetings.

Oxford University Press 2009

Business Result