About the tasks

The Telephone task
At the start of the examination the candidate enters the telephone room and is given a written prompt, presenting the candidate with a situation which needs to be addressed. This phase of the exam requires the candidate and examiner to have a genuine conversation conducted over the telephone while in different rooms. The prompt gives rise to a telephone conversation which must be initiated by the candidate, leading to a natural interaction between the examiner and the candidate. The examiner will fulfil their role in the interaction, but it is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure a successful outcome to the situation outlined in the prompt. The candidate is free to be themselves but the examiner assumes a role for the duration of the task. Therefore the candidate will need to observe standard conventions of formal and/or informal interaction depending on the situation.

The Interactive task
This task follows directly on from the Telephone task and is also conducted over the telephone. An initial verbal prompt from the examiner gives rise to an interaction maintained and controlled by the candidate. The examiner will remain in role during this task.
All the examination phases are ‘interactive’ but this is the phase in which the candidate’s own initiating skills are of paramount importance in determining the successful outcome of the task.
This phase provides the opportunity for the candidate to demonstrate their ability to take control of the interaction, for example, through the use of questioning techniques, seeking clarification, politely refusing or expressing reservations.
At SEW 2, candidates start to demonstrate their independence as users of English for the workplace. This autonomy is further developed through SEW 3 and SEW 4. The task requires the candidate to initiate ‘turns’ in the conversation and control the direction of the interaction. Tasks require an authentic exchange of information and opinions, with the language functions listed at each level arising naturally out of the task.

The Topic discussion and Topic presentation at SEW 3 and SEW 4
Before the examination the candidate prepares a topic of their choice which must be related to a work situation and correspond to one of the categories provided in this syllabus. The candidate is not assessed on the veracity or accuracy of the information presented in the topic. However, the candidate needs to be familiar with the relevant lexis for their topic. In the examination the topic is used as a basis for the discussion in this phase.
Trinity’s philosophy is that candidates should be given every opportunity to demonstrate to the examiner what they can do in English. This includes giving them the opportunity to talk about a topic in a work context, which is of interest to them and which they feel confident talking about. In this way, candidates have a degree of autonomy and control over this phase of the examination.
This phase allows candidates, at the level they have chosen, to demonstrate the range of structures, functions and lexis at their command. It provides the candidates with the opportunity to show they can link sentences together to talk about a subject at some length.
At all levels candidates must provide the examiner with brief notes, for example bullet points listing areas to be discussed. Clear and simple diagrams or organograms may also be used. At SEW 1 the discussion is initiated by the examiner, and at SEW 2, by the candidate. At SEW 3 the candidate delivers a presentation which is then followed by a discussion, led by the examiner, of points raised during the presentation. At SEW 4 the presentation uses formal language and the post-presentation discussion is led by the candidate.

The Discussion
This is an opportunity for a realistic exchange of information, ideas and opinions which are related to the world of work.
The Discussion phase involves a meaningful and authentic exchange rather than a formal ‘question and answer’ interview. The examiner selects one of the subject areas provided in the syllabus for the particular level. The subject areas have been carefully selected to offer a progression from the familiar to the less familiar and from the ‘concrete’ to the ‘abstract’ as candidates move up through the different levels of the suite.
At each SEW level, the candidate is expected to take more responsibility for initiating and maintaining the discussion. One of the ways in which this is expected to be actioned is by the candidate asking the examiner a number of questions. The assessment of this phase takes into account the ability of the candidate to find out relevant information using the language of the level: for example, fact-finding questions at SEW 1 (How long have you been a sales assistant?), hypothetical questions at SEW 2 (How could your workplace be improved?), and discussion prompts at SEW 4 (What’s your opinion about child labour in the developing world?). These questions are expected to arise naturally out of the conversation and will be used to further the interaction.