Oxford trinity GESE grades 7 9 teachers book

2

des
a
r
G
E
GES

7– 9

Book
s
’
r
e
h
c
Tea
orton
t
S
d
r
a
Rich

7
GRADE
8
GRADE

GRADE

9

© Oxford University Press

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 1

09/02/2018 09:09


1
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, ox2 6dp, United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade
mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© Oxford University Press 2014

The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First published in 2014
2018  2017  2016  2015
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
No unauthorized photocopying
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without
the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly
permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate
reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside
the scope of the above should be sent to the ELT Rights Department, Oxford

University Press, at the address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose
this same condition on any acquirer
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for
information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials
contained in any third party website referenced in this work
isbn: 978 0 19 439794 0
Printed in China
This book is printed on paper from certified and well-managed sources
acknowledgements
Cover illustrations by: Marrs Limited (dance, graduation, actress), Iris Compiet.
Cover photographic images by: Oxford University Press RF, Paul Thompson
Images.
While Trinity College London seeks reasonably to ensure that an
approved publication is accurate and suitable for exam preparation,
Trinity cannot accept any liability for its content.

© Oxford University Press

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 2

09/02/2018 09:09


Contents
Introduction

page 4

Grading tool

page 6

Intro Unit

page 19

Unit 1

page 22

Unit 2

page 27

Unit 3

page 32

Unit 4

page 37

Unit 5

page 40

Unit 6

page 47

Unit 7

page 53

Unit 8

page 58

Unit 9

page 63

Unit 10

page 66

Unit 11

page 72

Unit 12

page 77

Unit 13

page 82

Unit 14

page 87

Unit 15

page 90

© Oxford University Press



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 3

Contents3

09/02/2018 09:09


Introduction
Trinity GESE Grades 7–9 is designed to prepare students for
Grades 7, 8 & 9 of the Trinity exam. It is aimed at the typical age
range of students taking these exams, i.e. 15–18-year-olds. It is a
stand-alone course but would be ideally used as supplementary
exam practice material alongside an elementary general
English course.
The course covers the Trinity GESE exam specifications for these
grades, and more besides, in order to give the course more
variety. Students who work through all the material in the book
should be prepared to meet the demands of the exams.
In order to make the practice genuinely relevant to the Trinity

exams, the material is quite different from general English course
material. The difference is most clearly seen in the fact that
students do almost no written work, as the focus of the exam
is exclusively oral communication. In the exam, students have
to respond to verbal prompts only, and are not required to read
texts or produce written answers. Therefore, reading and writing
is kept to an absolute minimum in the practice activities. The
focus is very much on responding to audio models, prompts,
and discussion questions closely designed to follow the GESE
model. This makes for lively and stimulating practice, ensuring
that there are plenty of opportunities for meaningful interaction
throughout each lesson.

Audio
Due to the focus on oral communication, audio is used as
a prompt for many exercises and activities. Throughout the
Student’s Book candidates are required to:
• analyse model answers for natural usage of Grade 7–9
language
• repeat model answers they hear on the audio
These tasks confirm possible answers, and assist with
pronunciation by providing a model to imitate. They also help
to foreground relevant language functions and consolidate the
patterns of interaction that are key to exam success.
If you do not wish to use the audio so frequently, you could
sometimes read out the prompts yourself, using the transcripts
provided in the Teacher’s Book. However, it is worth noting
that listening to different voices on the audio is a good way to
prepare the students for the actual exam.
Where the audio provides models that have prompts to

respond to, a short pause has been included so that students

4

have enough time to think of a response. Short pauses are also
included when new or useful phrases are modelled for the
students. By listening and repeating in this way, students get
plenty of practice saying phrases fluently, with correct stress
and linking. Prompts can be directed at individual students
around the class, whereas repetition of answers provides a good
opportunity for whole-class response. Varying the dynamic in
this way should keep students attentive and motivated.
If you feel that your students need more time to provide the
answers to prompts, you could pause the audio for longer. As
the course progresses, it would be a good idea to reduce this
time, to more accurately model exam conditions. An exercise
which has provided particular problems – with pronunciation,
fluency, or an appropriate response – can be repeated. Again,
this is an advantage of the material being a series of oral, rather
than written, exercises.
Each student is provided with a copy of the audio CDs, so that
they can further practise on their own.

Pairwork
As well as the constant use of audio input, the material
also focuses on oral communication through frequent use
of pairwork. Pairwork has always been used as a way to
maximise student’s oral production in the classroom, and this
is particularly important for exam preparation. By providing
considerable opportunities for students to exchange ideas,

Trinity GESE Grades 7–9 prepares candidates for the successful
communication required in the exam. Through carefully staged
and scaffolded tasks, students are encouraged to build on both
fluency and accuracy. This controlled approach to pairwork,
with the provision of prompts on page, and clear models, offers
students guidance on what to say, and how to say it. Monitoring
these pairwork exercises will help you to assess whether
students are on track, and how much correction or additional
guidance is required.
The pairwork activities provide a break from teacher-centred
lessons, and focus students on the language requirements
of the level, and how to convey them. An effective way of
providing even more support in pairwork, or learner-generated
content, is to select two able students to give a quick model
of how the activity works before getting the whole class to do
© Oxford University Press

Introduction

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 4

09/02/2018 09:09


The Teacher’s Book

it. The speech bubble examples in the Student’s Book provide
such a model as a rule, but it always helps if students see and
hear a clear example of what is expected of them.

The Teacher’s Book provides detailed notes and guidance on
lesson procedure. It includes all transcripts of the audio, and
answers where relevant. The transcripts for the Aim at the Exam
sections contain suggested responses to the questions, but of
course, alternative responses which are communicatively valid
should also be encouraged.
The teaching notes include suggestions for preparatory work
in setting up some of the activities, and also ideas for Optional
activities, which provide extra practice for when students finish
an activity sooner than expected. These are particularly useful
for classes which need to be stretched further.

Group activities
There are several activities where students are encouraged to
work independently in a group. These activities are designed
for sharing ideas, and asking follow-up questions to naturally
extend the conversation. In this way, they offer a supportive
model of interaction that is similar to the exam, but allows for
peers to work on question formation and fluent answering
in a more relaxed manner. As students work in groups, it is
important to monitor their contributions, and assist where
necessary with vocabulary, grammar, and functions that are
relevant to the Trinity Grade.

Audio CDs
Copies of these are included with each Student’s Book to give
students the option of listening again at home if they wish.

Spotlight
These are very brief aids to key vocabulary and grammar points.

If the grammar has been studied in other general English
classes, they will serve as a quick reminder.

Useful language boxes
This feature is used throughout the Student’s Book when
additional language support may be required for task
completion. Useful language boxes contain Grade-relevant
words and expressions that form a bank of functions
designed to help students achieve exam success. Students are
encouraged to use this language as much as possible when
practising, so they are confident that they can use it both
accurately and fluently during the exam.

Enjoy!
Above all, this material, like the exam it prepares for, aims to
make the idea of being tested in a foreign language both
practical and fun! Success in the exam should naturally be a
by-product of engaging and genuinely communicative practice,
rather than something to strive towards stressfully!
For more information about GESE, including exam specifications
and extra support materials, go to www.trinitycollege.com/GESE
Please refer to www.trinitycollege.com/GESEexaminformation
for the language requirements and assessment criteria of Trinity
GESE exams.

Aim at the Exam
These sections come at the end of each unit, and as reviews
at the end of each grade. They are very closely based on the
actual format of the Trinity exams, though you should point
out to students that this does not mean that the exams follow

a set script. These sections contain relevant questions for the
subject of the unit, and bring together the language that has
been practised throughout it. Students should always be ready
to answer any questions that might be asked of them, and not
expect certain questions to come up in the exam. Nevertheless,
practising these sections will greatly help to give students
an idea of what to expect in the exam, and provide plenty of
practice in responding to relevant questions.

© Oxford University Press



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 5

Introduction5

09/02/2018 09:09


Grading tool
THE GRADING TOOL

HOW TO USE THE GRADING TOOL

When deciding which Trinity Grade your students should take,
you need to consider a few points first. First of all is the role of
the examiner. Remember that all Trinity exams are conversations
and interactions between one candidate and examiner only.
There are no other candidates in the room and no other

examiners. This means that the candidate must understand
the examiner and must be able to respond appropriately. The
examiner can be from anywhere in the English-speaking world,
from Canada to New Zealand. Even British native speakers
will have variations in their accents, so it’s important to think
about giving lots of examples of expert speaker voices to your
students in their preparation classes in order to improve their
listening skills. Be assured, however, that all examiners will speak
slowly and clearly for candidates, moderating their delivery
and content to match the Grade of the candidate. Of course,
the advantage of talking to an examiner is that when a student
passes a Trinity exam, they can say they held a real conversation
with an expert speaker – this boosts their confidence hugely!
A second point to consider in the examination is that your
students will need to ask the examiner questions. Trinity
introduces two-way interaction from A1 (because real life is
interactive!) and by B2 the candidate is expected to maintain
this interaction by engaging the examiner in discussion. In order
to prepare for this, it’s important to get your students to practise
asking each other questions, and sustaining a conversation.
This is important for exam success, but there are other benefits:
if your students practise asking questions they will have a
much better chance of also anticipating and understanding
the examiner’s questions, as they will have already used them
themselves. They will also have a much better understanding of
what the examiner is expecting them to do.
A third and crucial point is to focus on what the students can
actually understand and say, not what they have studied in
books. Remember – this is a speaking and listening exam, not
just a grammar and vocabulary test. There have been many

examples in the past of students who have studied language in
a book but have never practised hearing or saying these words.
The result is that they go into the exam and do not understand
what’s happening. The best approach is to ask yourself: What
have my students heard? What can they actually comfortably
discuss? And then prepare for the exam by continuing to
practise using this language.

Look at the list of language and the example examiner
questions / statements, and the example candidate responses
in the Grade 7 Grading tool. Can your students understand and
use all of these items spontaneously?

Here’s a quick checklist to ask yourself:

• How much of the English in the Grade 7 Grading tool do you

think each student can understand when you are speaking or
when they hear an expert speaker?
• Can they respond appropriately to Grade 7 English being
spoken by giving appropriate responses?
• Which Grade 7 language items have you heard them use in
or out of class?
• Can they orally produce all of the language of Grade 7 when
required?
• Can they accurately use the language of the previous grades
as well as Grade 7?
If you think your students can comfortably meet all of the
requirements on the list, then look at the Grade 8 Grading
tool and consider the points in the checklist against the

requirements provided there (see page 10). If they meet these
criteria, then look at the Grade 9 Grading tool on page 14.
To download a copy of the most recent GESE exam
specifications, go to www.trinitycollege.com/GESE
Mark Griffiths

© Oxford University Press

6

Grading tool

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 6

09/02/2018 09:09


Grade 7

Examiner: I love castles. They’re really interesting.
Student: Then you should definitely go there. And do you like
walking?
Examiner: Yes, I love walking round old cities.
Student: Then I would recommend walking on the old city walls.
You can walk around the whole city and you have a great view
from the top of the walls. Is there anything else you like?
Examiner: Yes, I love trying new foods and drinks.
Student: Then if I were you, I’d go to the special agriturismo. It’s
a place where you can try local wines and other produce. It’s all
really delicious.

Is the student ready for Grade 7? Candidates at this
grade are expected to demonstrate the following …
Use of all the language of Grades 1 to 6 (A1–B1.2)
Understand and respond to basic greetings and
introductions
For example:
Examiner: Hello!
Student: Hello!
Examiner: What’s your name?
Student: My name is Simone.
Examiner: Hello Simone. How are you?
Student: I’m fine, thank you. And you?
Examiner: I’m fine, thank you.
Communication skills
Ask and answer questions about the content of the topic
Communicate facts, ideas and opinions, and account for
them across a series of extended turns
Engage the examiner in discussion of the topic
Take, give up and offer turns when appropriate to do so
Handle interruptions or requests for clarification
Take control of the interaction
Maintain the discourse by asking for information and
making comments
Help the discussion along by inviting comment from
the examiner
Respond appropriately to the examiner’s contributions
and requests for further information, clarifications and
explanations
Share the responsibility for the maintenance of the

interaction with the examiner
Maintain coherence and cohesion throughout the phase by
organising discourse
In case of a breakdown in communication, show awareness
and take basic steps to remedy it
Language items and functions
Ask and answer questions related to Grade 7 language, using
Grade 7 language items
Help the discussion along by inviting comment from the
examiner regarding the language functions
Discuss facts, ideas and opinions related to the language
functions and account for them, in a series of coherent and
cohesive extended turns
Making suggestions and giving advice
For example:
Examiner: I’m thinking about staying here for the weekend, but I’m
not sure what to do or see.
Student: What kind of things are you interested in?
Examiner: Well, I like visiting historic monuments.
Student: There are quite a lot of historic monuments here. You
could go to the castle.

Highlighting advantages and disadvantages
For example:
Examiner: I’ve heard that there are lots of things to see in Madrid,
but I’m not sure when the right time to visit is, summer or autumn.
Student: Well, one of the advantages of going in summer is, of
course, the weather. It’s lovely and sunny most days in summer. But
the disadvantage, of course, is that it can it can get quite hot during
the day.

Examiner: That’s OK, I love the heat.
Student: The other disadvantage of going in summer is the number
of tourists. Madrid is full of tourists in the summer, and it can be
quite difficult to get around the city. However, in autumn, it’s cooler
and there are far fewer tourists. What are the advantages of visiting
your city in summer?
Describing past habits, including used to
For example:
Examiner: When you were little, where did you use to go on holiday
and what did you use to do?
Student: When I was little we always used to go to my auntie’s
house on the beach. We used to arrive at the beginning of July and
stay there until the end of August. It was so much fun. We would
just spend every day on the beach and in the sea. It was great! What
about you? What did you use to do on your summer holidays when
you were little?
Expressing possibility and uncertainty
For example:
Examiner: What do you think you’ll do when you finish school?
Student: I might go to university, I’m not sure yet. Alternatively, I
might try and get a job.
Examiner: What do you think you might study at university?
Student: I may do maths. Or I might do science. I’ve got one year
left to decide!
Examiner: Which university do you think you might go to?
Student: If I go, I’m definitely going to Pisa University. It’s my
favourite city and I know I’ll have a good time there.
Expressing agreement and disagreement
For example:
Examiner: Would you say that languages are easier to study than

sciences?
Student: Definitely not! I think languages can be really complicated
if you want to speak them well, but I find science quite easy to
understand. What about you? Do you agree that languages are
really hard?

© Oxford University Press



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 7

Grading tool7

09/02/2018 09:09


Examiner: I would say I have quite a different opinion. I find
languages really easy and science really hard. But some languages
are more complicated than others.
Student: I agree, some are more complicated – for example,
Chinese is harder than English – but I still think that in general,
languages are harder to study than science.

Examiner: I noticed that lots of the shops and restaurants are closed
at the moment.
Student: Yes, that’s also because of the time of year. Most tourists
find it too hot to visit and so the owners of the restaurants and
shops go on holiday themselves. Do people avoid your city in the
summer because of the weather?

Second conditional
For example:
Examiner: What would you do if you had the chance to study
anything you like?
Student: I think I would probably study design. I would love to be
a designer.
Examiner: What type of things would you like to design?
Student: I would love to design watches and phones, the small
things that we use every day. I think it would be a really satisfying
career. What about you? What would you like to study if you had
the chance?
Examiner: I think I would like to study an exotic language from a
far-away country.
Student: Which one would you study?
Examiner: I’d probably study Thai. It’s a beautiful country and I think
it could be a really lovely language to study.

Subject areas
Use the language items and functions above to communicate
facts, ideas and opinions, about the Grade 7 subject areas, and
account for them across a series of extended turns
Help the discussion about the subject areas along by inviting
comment from the examiner
Respond appropriately to the examiner’s contributions and
requests for further information, clarification and explanation
regarding the subject areas
Share the responsibility for the maintenance of the
interaction with the examiner
Maintain the discourse by asking for information, making

comments about the subject areas
Maintain coherence and cohesion when discussing the
subject areas by organising discourse

Simple passive
For example:
Examiner: Which subjects are taught in your school?
Student: Just the normal traditional subjects: languages, science,
maths and history. I’d love it if drama were taught in my school, as
I’d love to be an actress when I’m older. Which subjects are taught in
the school where you work?
Examiner: The same subjects really, but drama is also offered to
students over 14. Are any new subjects offered in your school when
you’re older?
Student: No, not really. We’re given the choice of English literature or
English language when we’re 16, but that’s the only difference, really.
Relative clauses
For example:
Examiner: Can you suggest a place to go where I can learn more
about the history of this town?
Student: Well, there are some museums, but the place where
you’ll find out most about the city is the City Museum. It’s run by
historians from the university, who also organise the tours around
the museum and around the town. Would you be interested in
going to a place where you join a guided tour, or would you rather
be allowed to look around alone?
Examiner: Well, I like to have a guided tour from someone who
knows what they’re talking about.
Student: Then I’d recommend a tour with one of the historians, who
knows everything about the history of the city.

Discourse connectors, e.g. because of, due to
For example:
Examiner: Why do you think it’s so quiet in the city in the summer
when you have so many monuments to visit?
Student: I think it’s due to the weather. It gets so hot here in August
that people go on their summer holidays, just to escape the sun.

Education
For example:
Examiner: Do you think your school is stricter than it used to be?
Student: I don’t know. I would say probably not. I think when my
parents went to school, it used to be much stricter. My mum and
dad, who went to the same school, didn’t enjoy their school days.
What do you think? Do you think school is stricter than it used to be?
Examiner: I would say in some ways school is probably more
human now, which I think is better. What do you think are the
advantages of coming to this school?
Student: Well, in this school, the main advantage is that we can
study lots of different languages, which I really enjoy.
Examiner: And disadvantages?
Student: I guess the only disadvantage is that it’s not very near
my house.
Examiner: And if you could change anything about your school,
what would you change?
Student: Definitely the timetable! I would love to start school later.
8 o’clock is too early! I’d love to suggest it to my school principal, but
I don’t think she’d be very happy!
National customs
For example:
Examiner: If a British tourist came to your country, what national

customs would they notice?
Student: I think they would notice that we drive on the other side
of the road. And also they would see that we have lots of festivals
through the year from winter to winter.
Examiner: That’s interesting. And what types of things are
celebrated at these festivals?
Student: Well, they’re usually religious festivals, so it’s quite serious
during the processions. But then in the evenings, there are lots of
fireworks and it’s a big party. All over Spain, festivals like this are held
throughout the year.
© Oxford University Press

8

Grading tool

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 8

09/02/2018 09:09


Examiner: Which festival would you recommend me to go to?
Student: Oh, that’s difficult! There are lots of festivals with water
fights and there is one festival which has an enormous tomato
fight. It’s really funny and typically Spanish!
Examiner: Do people throw water and tomatoes to cool down?
Student: Yes, I think it’s because of the weather in summer. It’s so
hot here in Spain in July and August.
Examiner: And are there any customs you’d like to change?
Student: If I could, I would make people more punctual. Here in

Spain, there are lots of people who don’t arrive on time. If you agree
to meet at 12, they’ll arrive at 2. Not everyone does it, but a lot of
people do. I’d love to make them arrive on time.
Examiner: And do you think that one day, Spanish people might be
more punctual?
Student: They might one day. But not yet!
Village and city life
For example:
Examiner: Do you think there are any advantages to living in
a village?
Student: Yes, they’re a lot more peaceful and relaxed. And there’s a
lot less crime. Do you agree?
Examiner: Yes, I think that’s probably true.
Student: But, of course, it’s not always perfect. There are
disadvantages, too. For example, it can be really boring and there
are no shops and there’s not much public transport, so you have to
drive to the next big city. Where would you prefer to live – in a city or
a village?
Examiner: I think I’d prefer to live in a city.
Student: Why?
Examiner: I think I prefer the shops and restaurants and I like the
energy of a city.
Student: Yes, I agree, cities are more lively. And I think people are
better looked after in a city. You have hospitals and important
services which don’t exist in the villages.
Examiner: Where would you like to live in the future?
Student: Well, I used to live in a small village when I was younger, so
I’d really like to see something completely different. If I could, I’d love
to live somewhere like London. I’d like to see how life works in such
a big city.

National and local produce
For example:
Examiner: Are there any special foods or drinks that are made in
your city?
Student: Yes, lots of different types of chocolate are made here
and the shops sell lots of it to tourists. Have you tried any of the
chocolate yet?
Examiner: No, I haven’t. I didn’t know there was any chocolate here.
Student: Oh, you should definitely try it. I recommend the orange
chocolate. It’s delicious. Another thing that is made in my region is
wine, which I think lot of people know about. Have you tried it?
Examiner: Not yet.
Student: Well, I’d recommend the red wine, which my father
really loves.
Examiner: If you went to another country, what national or local
produce would you miss?

Student: I think I’d miss the cheese. I really love Italian cheese,
especially Parmigiano. I don’t know if I would be able to buy it in
London, for example. What about you? What would you miss if you
went to live in another country?
Examiner: Well, I also live in a region where a lot of cheese is
produced. I know I can buy British cheese abroad, but this cheese is
something that you can only buy locally. I would really miss that.
Student: What would you recommend I try if I came to your region?
Examiner: Oh, you should really try some of the vintage Cheddar
cheese. It’s delicious.
Student: So the advantage of living in your region is the cheese?
Examiner: That’s right!
Early memories

For example:
Examiner: Do you remember your first days at school?
Student: Yes, I used to travel to school with my mum and my big
sister. And the school used to feel enormous. But I went back to my
primary school recently, and it was tiny!
Examiner: And do you remember what you used to do there?
Student: Well, I remember that we used to do lots of drawing and
colouring, but I also remember that we used to study maths and
numbers. Oh, and we also used to play outside a lot. One of the
advantages of my school was that it was on a green hill with lots of
space to play in the summer. What about you? Do you remember
your school days?
Examiner: Not very well, they were a long time ago. Do you agree
that your first days at school were the best days?
Student: No, I wouldn’t say that. I was quite lonely in my primary
school, because of the location – it was a long way from my house. I
was much happier when I came to secondary school as I had lots of
new friends and I met my best friend here.
Pollution and recycling
For example:
Examiner: Is all of the rubbish in your house recycled?
Student: No. I’d like to recycle it, but it’s difficult because of the
location of the recycling bins. It’s better than it used to be. Five years
ago, we couldn’t recycle anything. Now we have to drive 3km to the
recycling point, which seems crazy.
Examiner: What should be done to improve the situation?
Student: Well, in my opinion, there should be recycling points in
every street, so that we can take our rubbish to be recycled on foot.
If the government did that, we might be able to reduce the amount
of pollution in the air. I would also suggest that the government

do more to encourage people to recycle. They could offer people
money to recycle, for example. What’s it like in your town?
Examiner: Well, it’s a bit better, I guess. All of our rubbish is collected
every week from our house. And most of it is recycled.
Student: The only thing that’s collected from our house is the
normal rubbish, not the recycling, which I think is terrible. Maybe
the government should be punished if it doesn’t recycle enough
rubbish?
Examiner: Well, that’s an interesting idea.
Student: It might work! And the other advantage is that the fine
could be recycled into more recycling facilities!

© Oxford University Press



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 9

Grading tool9

09/02/2018 09:09


Pronunciation
Understand and use the correct pronunciation of all of
the above
Rising intonation to indicate interest and surprise as
appropriate
Falling intonation to indicate the end of a turn
Intonation and features of connected speech beyond

sentence level

Grade 8
Is the student ready for Grade 8? Candidates at this
grade are expected to demonstrate the following …
Use all of the language of Grades 1–7 (A1–B2.1)
Understand and respond to basic greetings and
introductions
For example:
Examiner: Hello!
Student: Hello!
Examiner: What’s your name?
Student: My name is Nicola.
Examiner: Hello Nicola. How are you?
Student: I’m fine, thank you. And you?
Examiner: I’m fine, thank you.
Communication skills
Ask and answer questions about the content of the topic
and examiner’s views
Communicate facts, ideas and opinions, and explain
viewpoints, linked across a series of extended turns
Engage the examiner in discussion of the topic
Take, give up and offer turns when appropriate to do so
Handle interruptions by using recovery strategies
Take control of the interaction
Maintain the discourse by asking for information and
commenting on the responses obtained
Help the discussion along by encouraging comment and
opinion from the examiner
Respond appropriately to the examiner’s contributions

and requests for further information, clarifications and
explanations
Follow up on comments from the examiner in order to
develop the conversation
Maintain coherence and cohesion throughout the phase by
organising discourse
Take more responsibility for the maintenance of the
interaction with the examiner
In case of a breakdown in communication, take steps to
repair it
Language items and functions
Ask and answer questions related to the Grade 8 language
items and functions, using Grade 8 language items
Help the discussion along by encouraging comment
and opinion on Grade 8 language from the examiner

and requesting further information, clarifications and
explanations
Discuss facts, ideas and opinions related to Grade 8
language, following up on comments from the examiner in
a series of coherent and cohesive extended turns
Expressing feelings and emotions
For example:
Examiner: What makes you angry?
Student: I get angry when I see homeless people living in the streets.
It upsets me that people are living without anywhere to sleep
and eat.
Examiner: And when was the last time you saw that happen?
Student: When I visited London. I was walking through the city
centre in the evening and there were lots of homeless people

sleeping in the shop doorways.
Examiner: And how did that make you feel?
Student: I was really surprised but also confused about how a
wealthy country can have so many homeless people. How do you
feel about it?
Examiner: Well, I agree, it’s very sad and quite confusing. What
about pleasure? What makes you feel good?
Student: I love being outdoors in the countryside or at the beach. It
really puts me in a good mood knowing that I can be outside in the
fresh air on sunny days. What about you? What makes you happy?
Examiner: I think I love being in my garden. I didn’t use to have a
garden in my old house, but I’ve lived in my new house for two years
and I love my garden.
Student: Even in winter?
Examiner: Yes, even in winter. I have flowers that come out all
year round.
Student: Well, that sounds very nice.
Examiner: Yeah, it really makes me happy.
Express impossibility
For example:
Examiner: What do you think you might do when you finish school?
Do you think you might go to university?
Student: I don’t think so. Going to university is not going to improve
my chances of getting a good job.
Examiner: But some people think that you if you don’t go to
university, you’ll never have any chance of getting a good job.
Student: Well, both my mum and dad have really good jobs and
they never went to university, so that can’t be completely true. What
do you think? Do you think you have to go to university to get a
good job?

Examiner: No, not necessarily, but I think it can improve your
chances.
Student: And did you go to university? Would you have got this job
if you hadn’t gone to university?
Examiner: Yes, I did. And it’s true, I wouldn’t have got this job if I
hadn’t been to university.
Student: But do you think I need to go?
Examiner: Well, I don’t think everyone needs to go. You have to
decide what you want to do in life.
© Oxford University Press

10

Grading tool

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 10

09/02/2018 09:09


Reporting the conversation of others
For example:
Examiner: Has anyone told you about what life was like before the
mobile phone?
Student: Yeah, I asked my mum what it was like and she told me
that you used to have to go to a phone box on the street and queue!
I thought she was joking when she told me that.
Examiner: And have you heard anything about how those phones
used to work?
Student: Yeah, my mum said that you had to insert a coin and you

only had 3 minutes to talk. She said that if you wanted to talk for
longer you would hear a sound and you had to put another coin in
quickly or the call would end!
Examiner: So what do your parents think about modern mobile
phones?
Student: Well, my mum really likes them. She says that next year
she’s going to get a new iPhone. And she’s promised me that I can
have a new smartphone too. My dad always says that he hates
them, though. He says he’ll never have one! What about you? Do
you remember these old-style phones?
Examiner: Yes, I remember them very well. But I recently bought a
mobile phone and I much prefer this one.
Student: You mean this is your first mobile phone?
Examiner: Yes, it is. I wasn’t sure about getting it at first, but now I
love it.
Student: And what had you heard about mobile phones before you
got this one?
Examiner: Well, I’d heard that they were really complex and
expensive. But this one’s quite cheap and really easy to use.
Speculating
For example:
Examiner: You said you think that more and more young people
are using social media. What do you think the reason might be
for this?
Student: I think there might be a few reasons. On the one hand,
I think young people are probably more comfortable with
technology nowadays than they used to be.
Examiner: But isn’t that true of older people as well?
Student: Yes, but I think one of the most important factors is
probably that young people have grown up with technology. It’s all

they’ve ever known. And another factor might be that young people
have been taught that it’s OK to start a conversation online and
finish it on your phone, for example. I would say they’re more flexible
than older people in the way they communicate. What do you think
the reason might be?
Examiner: Well, I think you’re probably right that young people are
generally more comfortable with technology. But I would guess that
another reason for their use of social media might be that they’re
losing the art of face-to-face conversation.
Student: I’m not sure I would agree with you there. I think young
people can still do face-to-face conversation, but they can do online
conversation as well.

Persuading and discouraging
For example:
Examiner: I’m not sure about buying music online.
Student: What are you worried about?
Examiner: Well, it concerns me that if I only have an electronic copy
of my music, all it takes is to lose my computer and my whole music
collection is gone. I think I might stick to CDs.
Student: If I were you, I wouldn’t keep buying CDs. They really aren’t
going to be around for much longer, they’re going to get more
expensive, and fewer artists will be releasing CDs in future. You’re
going to need electronic copies of everything soon.
Examiner: I don’t know. I feel more secure when I have a physical
copy of a CD in my hand. And they’re still making them today.
Student: But if you looked into electronic versions of music, you’d
see that it’s very exciting. For example, you can get really highquality downloaded versions of songs, which are much better than
on a CD. Why don’t you give downloading a chance? Go on, you
might enjoy it!

Examiner: Well, maybe.
Student: OK, what could I do to persuade you that downloading
electronic versions of music is safe, reliable, cheap and convenient?
Examiner: Well, I guess if I could just have a go at downloading with
someone who knows what they’re doing, that would help.
Student: OK, so maybe ask some of your friends and see who already
downloads and if they would be able to show you how to do it.
Third conditional
For example:
Examiner: Would your language skills have been different if you’d
been to an English-speaking country when you were young?
Student: I think so. If I’d had the opportunity to hear English being
spoken in everyday life, I think my pronunciation would have been
more natural and I probably would have learnt more vocabulary
and grammar.
Examiner: Where would you like to have gone?
Student: I think I would have had really benefited from staying
in the UK, if I’d had the chance. I probably would have wanted to
stay in England to learn an English accent, but I’m sure I would
have learnt a lot if I’d been to Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Would you like to have studied or lived in another country when you
were young?
Examiner: Yes, I probably would.
Student: And where would you have studied if you’d had the chance?
Examiner: I think I would have gone to Berlin, if I’d been able to. I
would love to have learnt German in such an amazing city.
Present perfect continuous
For example:
Examiner: So how long have you been living in Rome?
Student: I’ve been living here since I started high school, so five

years. How long have you been living in your home town?
Examiner: I’ve only been living there for two years. Before then, I was
in Manchester.
Student: I think a lot of people in my country have been talking
about Manchester recently because of the two football teams.
Examiner: Yes, they’re now both really famous.

© Oxford University Press



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 11

Grading tool11

09/02/2018 09:09


Past perfect
For example:
Examiner: What had you heard about Rome before you moved here?
Student: I’d heard that it was really noisy and expensive. I’d been told
about the crime and to watch out for the pickpockets as well. But it
turned out that what I’d been told was an exaggeration. It’s not full
of criminals and I don’t think it’s really much noisier than anywhere
else in Italy. It is expensive, though! What about you? Had you heard
any stereotypical reports before you came to Rome the first time?
Examiner: Oh yes. But mostly positive. I’d studied ancient history
at university and so I’d learnt all about the old artefacts and
monuments and I’d always had this idea that Rome would be

romantic and sunny and full of cool people.
Student: And was it?
Examiner: Well, not exactly! It’s a real city, and like any city, it has its
problems. And it rains!
Student: So what you’d heard was a bit of a simplification?
Examiner: Yes, you could say that!
Linking expressions and cohesive devices
For example:
Student: So even though Rome was not what you were expecting
when you arrived here, do you still enjoy coming here?
Examiner: Yes, absolutely!
Student: Despite the rain and the crime, etc?
Examiner: Yes, it doesn’t bother me. As I said, all cities have
some problems.
Student: In other words, you like visiting cities, even though
you know there might be problems, for example pickpockets or
homeless people sleeping on the streets?
Examiner: Yes, I think it’s probably something we now expect to see
in Western countries.
Subject areas
Use the language items and functions above to
communicate facts, ideas and opinions about the Grade 8
subject areas, across a series of extended turns
Respond appropriately to the examiner’s questions on
the subject areas and requests for further information,
clarifications and explanations
Encourage comment and opinion from the examiner on the
subject areas
Follow up appropriately on the examiner’s contributions on
the subject areas in order to develop the conversation

Take more responsibility for the maintenance of the
interaction with the examiner when discussing the
subject areas
Maintain coherence and cohesion throughout the
discussion on the subject areas by organising discourse
appropriately
Society and living standards
For example:
Examiner: Do you think the quality of life has changed in the last
100 years?
Student: Yes, I think it probably has. Even though we still have lots
of poverty in the world, I think overall there are fewer hungry people

than before, the world is a fairer place than it was and people are
better educated.
Examiner: What do you mean by ‘a fairer place’?
Student: Well, I think if I’d been born 100 years ago, as a woman
in a working class family, my life would’ve been very different. For
example, I probably wouldn’t have gone to school.
Examiner: So what would you have been doing now if you’d been
born 100 years ago?
Student: I probably would’ve been working in a factory.
Examiner: Have you ever had the opportunity to discuss living
standards in the past with your grandparents?
Student: Yes, for example, my grandmother told me how she used
to work in two different jobs when she was just 10. She said that life
was incredibly hard, but to them, it was normal.
Examiner: How does it make you feel to know that life is better for
you than it was for your grandparents and great-grandparents?
Student: Well, I guess it’s a mixture of sadness and relief. It’s sad to

think that until I went to England on a school trip, no-one in my
family had ever been abroad before. But I’m also relieved to know
that life for me is probably going to be better than it was for my
ancestors. I will never have to go through what my grandparents
experienced when they were my age. What about you? Do you feel
you have had better opportunities than your grandparents?
Examiner: Yes, absolutely.
Student: In what way?
Examiner: Well, I was the first person in my family to go to university,
which was something my family had never dreamed of doing.
Personal values and ideals
For example:
Examiner: What’s important to you?
Student: I guess my family and my friends are the most important
things in my life. What about you?
Examiner: I’d say the same. But I’d also add my career and my free time.
Student: Yes, I can imagine that my career will be important to me
one day. And I do think free time is important, too.
Examiner: How do you prioritise what’s important to you?
Student: Well, I think my family is my number one priority. And then
probably my school work, followed by my friends.
Examiner: And could anyone persuade you to put your friends first?
Student: No, even though my friends and school work are
important, my family will always be the most important thing in
my life. I can’t imagine what I would have done if they hadn’t been
there to help me while I was growing up. And could I persuade you
to put work or friends before your family?
Examiner: No, like you, I’d always put my family first. And what
makes you angry?
Student: Well, we’ve been studying poverty around the world at

school recently, for example, seeing the conditions that children
around the world grow up in and the number of children that die
unnecessarily. That really upsets me. What upsets you?
The world of work
For example:
Examiner: Have you thought about your future career and what
you might do?
© Oxford University Press

12

Grading tool

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 12

09/02/2018 09:09


Student: Yes, even though I’m still young, I need to plan ahead, so
I’ve been talking to my parents about what I might do.
Examiner: And what do they think?
Student: Well, my dad advised me to go to university and train
to become a doctor. My mum thinks I should study to become a
teacher. But I think I’d rather go travelling for a year to get some life
experience and then go to university when I’ve seen the world.
Examiner: Why do you think your mum wants you to become
a teacher?
Student: Because of her dream when she was my age. She had
always wanted to be a teacher but was never able to because she
couldn’t go to university.

Examiner: So what do you think you might do?
Student: At the moment, I’m not sure. I think that travelling would
be a great experience, and it might help me to decide what I really
want to do in life, as I’m not sure at the moment. But then, the
sooner I go to university, the sooner I can finish. And then I can start
earning some money! Did you know what you wanted to do when
you were my age?
Examiner: Well, I had an idea, but it wasn’t what I ended up doing.
Student: What had you planned to do?
Examiner: Well, when I was 14 I had decided I was going to be a bus
driver. But that didn’t happen!
Student: Do you think you would have been a good bus driver?
Examiner: No! I’m not actually a very patient driver!
Public figures past and present
For example:
Examiner: Who has the media in your country been discussing
recently?
Student: Well, they seem to be obsessed with celebrities and football
players. I have no idea why, but I guess it’s because people want to be
like the people they see on TV. Is it the same in your country?
Examiner: Yes, it’s very similar. Everyone seems to be obsessed with
being famous, including lots of talent show TV programmes.
Student: I think it’s because of Big Brother and reality TV. Before
then, I don’t think people had really ever thought about being
famous. I think if Big Brother hadn’t been invented, people would
never have become so obsessed with celebrity and fame. No-one
could ever persuade me to watch reality TV programmes.
Examiner: So do you think public figures can or should be role
models?
Student: I don’t know. I think they probably are role models, even

though they may not want to be. Young people see them on TV
and copy what they do and what they say. For example, every time
a famous footballer gets a new haircut, all the boys do the same.
And the girls see their favourite pop star saying she hates another
pop star and the teenagers start to copy what she says. I find it all
incredibly boring.
Unexplained phenomena and events
For example:
Examiner: What do you think people mean when they talk about
unexplained phenomena?
Student: Well, I would imagine that they’re either talking about
ghosts or talking about UFOs. Do you believe in ghosts or UFOs?

Examiner: Personally, no, I don’t believe in either of them. What
about you?
Student: Well, I think if I had actually seen a ghost or a UFO with
my own eyes, I might have believed in them. But I’ve never seen
anything myself, so I don’t really believe in them. Although, I have
heard stories …
Examiner: Stories from friends, relatives, or on TV?
Student: No, stories from friends. One of my friends told me that
she’d woken up in the middle of the night because she’d heard a
sound downstairs. And when she walked in the kitchen, the window
was open and there was a strange smell in the room.
Examiner: And what do you think the explanation might have been?
Student: Well, I imagine it was more likely to be a burglar than a ghost!
Examiner: So how do you feel about ghosts? Are you scared of them?
Student: Not really. I think I’m more scared of the dark than ghosts. I
really doubt I will ever see a real ghost. Or a UFO!
National environmental concerns

For example:
Examiner: Are national environmental concerns a worry for you?
Student: I think for people of my generation, it’s something we
really care about. Much more than older generations.
Examiner: Why do you say that?
Student: I think young people nowadays grow up with a better
understanding of how climate change is going to affect our
country. We’ve already seen changes. Our summers have been
getting hotter and our winters have been getting colder.
Examiner: Do you mean it’s too late to do anything?
Student: No, but I do think that if my parents’ and my
grandparents’ generation had known more about climate change
when they were younger, my country wouldn’t be having some of
the problems with drought and rain that it has. Have you noticed
any changes in your country?
Examiner: Yes. Like in your country, the summers have been more
extreme. But in my country, the summers have been getting wetter
and wetter, with more and more rain. What do you think we should
do to encourage people to take action on the environment?
Student: I think we need more TV programmes explaining how
climate change has affected our country and our city and our
houses. If people could see how much difference it makes to their
lives personally, they might do something about it. For example,
we saw a TV programme recently, which explained to us how the
change in the weather patterns had made fuel more expensive.
It talked about how our lives are directly affected by national
environmental concerns.
Pronunciation
Understand and use the correct pronunciation of all of
the above

Rising and falling intonation to indicate giving up and
offering turns
Use stress, intonation and pitch relevant to the language
functions, including to indicate emotion

© Oxford University Press



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 13

Grading tool13

09/02/2018 09:09


Grade 9
Is the student ready for Grade 9? Candidates at this
grade are expected to demonstrate the following …
Use all of the language of Grades 1–8 (A1–B2.2)
Understand and respond to basic greetings and
introductions
For example:
Examiner: Hello!
Student: Hello!
Examiner: What’s your name?
Student: My name is Manuela.
Examiner: Hello Manuela. How are you?
Student: I’m fine, thank you. And you?
Examiner: I’m fine, thank you.

Communication skills
Communicate facts, ideas, opinions and attitudes, sustained
across a series of extended turns
Highlight significant points
Engage the examiner in discussion of the topic
Take, give up and offer turns when appropriate to do so
Handle interruptions without undue effort by recapping and
recovering
Take control of the interaction
Maintain the discourse by asking for information and
commenting on the responses obtained
Develop the discussion by encouraging comment and
opinion from the examiner
Respond appropriately to the examiner’s contributions
and requests for further information, clarifications and
explanations
Follow up on comments from the examiner in order to
develop the conversation
Maintain coherence and cohesion throughout the phase by
organising discourse
Take more responsibility for the maintenance of the
interaction with the examiner
Paraphrase where necessary in order to maintain the
discourse
In case of a breakdown in communication, use paraphrasing
and circumlocution
Language items and functions
Discuss facts, ideas, opinions and attitudes related to
the Grade 9 language, using Grade 9 language items,
highlighting significant points and paraphrasing where

necessary
Help the discussion along by encouraging comment
and opinion on the Grade 9 language from the examiner
and requesting further information, clarifications and
explanations
Following up on comments from the examiner regarding
the Grade 9 language in a series of coherent and cohesive
extended turns

Expressing abstract ideas
For example:
Examiner: Lots of romantic films show examples of it, but do you
believe in love at first sight?
Student: Me? I guess in theory, yes. Theoretically, you could see
someone and immediately find them attractive. But is that love? I
think there’s a difference between finding someone attractive and
falling in love. And how do you know it’s love, not just physical
attraction?
Examiner: Well, that’s a good point. So what do you understand by
‘love at first sight’?
Student: I think for me, it means you have to find someone both
physically and emotionally attractive. And it’s pretty hard to find
someone emotionally attractive if you’ve never actually spoken to
them before! Wouldn’t you agree?
Examiner: Yes, that’s a good point!
Student: I think the most important point in the beginning is that
you find someone physically attractive and then you get to know
their personality by going on a date or something like that.
Expressing regrets
For example:

Examiner: Do you believe we should ever regret what we have or
haven’t done?
Student: Well, I think it’s normal to have regrets, but I don’t think
they should stop you thinking about the future. Have you ever done
anything you’ve regretted?
Examiner: Many things!
Student: Can you give me an example?
Examiner: Well, I regret not having learnt to drive when I was
young. And you?
Student: I regret not having seen my dog before he died. I wish
I could’ve said goodbye. But I had decided to go out to a friend’s
birthday party. I would’ve stayed at home if I’d known what was
going to happen.
Examiner: That’s sad. What about at school? Have you ever done
anything you regret?
Student: Well, I wish I’d done all of my homework on time last year!
I always forget to do everything and by the time I remember, it’s too
late! That would probably be my most significant regret.
Expressing wishes
For example:
Examiner: Do you ever wish for things to be true or for things
to happen?
Student: Yes, I’m quite a daydreamer. I often wish I could be on a
beautiful tropical island, on the beach, eating ice cream with my
feet in the warm sea.
Examiner: So that’s a personal wish for you. What about wishes for
other people?
Student: Mmmm, let me think. Obviously I wish I could end all war
and create world peace. And I wish we could find a cure for cancer.
What about you? What would your number one wish be?

Examiner: Well, I wish I could see my friends and family who
live around the world more often. I miss them a lot, although
communication is a lot easier nowadays with online social media.
© Oxford University Press

14

Grading tool

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 14

09/02/2018 09:09


Student: I can imagine that must be quite difficult if you don’t live
anywhere near them. Is there anything you wish you could have
done but you never had the chance?
Examiner: I wish I could have learnt to ski when I was young. It
would have been easier back then, but I’m sure it would be a lot
harder now at my age!
Student: Me too. I wish I could’ve learnt to ski and also to swim
when I was younger. I only learnt to swim when I was 12. I
remember looking at all my friends when I was a child and thinking,
‘Oh, I wish I could come and play in the sea with you!’
Expressing hopes
For example:
Examiner: What do you hope to do when you’re older?
Student: Well, of course, I have lots of hopes and dreams for the
future, but one of my biggest hopes is to become a professional
musician. I’m hoping to form a band when I go to university and to

get a recording contract after I’ve finished my studies.
Examiner: Wow, that’s quite an ambition.
Student: Yes, I know it might be quite ambitious, but if you don’t
have a dream, you’ll never achieve anything. Dreams are what
makes us want to get up in the morning, and so for me, I need to set
my sights on something really ambitious that I can work towards.
Examiner: And what else are you hoping to do?
Student: Well, I’m really hoping to learn to drive before I go to
university. That would be great. I mean, if I could learn to drive
before going, then I could borrow my parents’ car during the
holidays and I would be free to go anywhere I like. Anyway, what do
you hope to do in the future?
Examiner: Well, I’m hoping to pass my driving test too!
Student: Really? I assume you’ve never tried before?
Examiner: Well, I did when I was 18, but that was a long time ago.
But I’ve decided that it’s one of my ambitions, and I’m hoping to
pass my driving test before the end of the year.
Expressing assumptions
For example:
Examiner: Lots of people think that fame is something to aspire to.
Why do you think that is?
Student: I don’t know, but I would assume it’s because of the media
and the way they represent rich and famous people. I think we can
assume that if TV only ever shows images of rich celebrities having
fantastic lives and living in luxury, young people will see that and
want the same thing. Wouldn’t you say?
Examiner: Yes, I think that’s probably true.
Student: And I think that young people just assume that if you’re
rich you will always be happy. But they’re not really seeing the whole
picture. Rich people can be very unhappy, too. Do you have any

other thoughts?
Examiner: Well, I would say that I agree with you. Although I
wouldn’t say that all young people assume that being rich makes
you happy.
Student: Yes, you’re probably right that you can’t say that about
all young people, but I think you can say that about the majority of
young people.

Evaluating options
For example:
Examiner: So have you considered what you might do when you
leave school?
Student: At the moment, I’m not sure. I have a number of options
open to me. For example, I could go and work in my parents’
restaurant. The major advantages to me would be that it’s an easy
job, it’s guaranteed money and I know the bosses!
Examiner: And what other options do you have?
Student: Well, I could go to university, which would of course be
good for my long-term career. Those are the two major options I
have. And whilst I can see the easy money of my parents’ restaurant
as tempting, I should also be thinking about what I want to be
doing in 10 years’ time.
Examiner: Yes, that’s always the most important part. Thinking
further ahead than today.
Student: However, there is also the expense of going to university
to consider. It won’t be cheap and I’ll have to study for years before I
get a qualification.
Hypothesising
For example:
Examiner: Lots of people are choosing to live with their parents for

longer. Why do you suppose that is?
Student: Well, I’m not sure, but a number of possible explanations
spring to mind. It might be simply a case of economics. Life is
cheaper when you live with your parents and you can save money
to eventually go and live by yourself. Alternatively, it might be
that children just get used to the good life. I mean, mum and
dad do everything for them. Why would they want to go and live
somewhere else, where they would have to do their own washing,
cooking and cleaning? What would you say the main reason
might be?
Examiner: Well, I think you’ve identified two good theories there. I
would probably add that it’s not just that it’s cheaper to live with
mum and dad, but also that it’s become too expensive to leave. I
would say that many children are actually trapped with mum and
dad, as they can’t afford to leave, even if they want to.
Student: That’s a good point. In theory, they may want to leave, but
in reality, they simply can’t afford to.
Evaluating past actions or course of events
For example:
Examiner: You said that you went to London to study in the
summer, despite having already accepted an offer to go on holiday
with your parents. Do you think you did the right thing?
Student: I don’t know. I was really unsure about whether I was
doing the right thing at the time. On the one hand I was really
looking forward to going on the holiday with my family to the
Caribbean. It was such an exciting destination and it would have
been a wonderful holiday. But on the other hand, there was an
opportunity to go and study in London and live with English people
for 6 weeks. I kept thinking about my career and decided that going
to London would be the best decision.

Examiner: And do you regret your decision?
Student: Overall, no. I think it was the right thing to do. I wish I
could have done both, but I think it was better to have studied and

© Oxford University Press



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 15

Grading tool15

09/02/2018 09:09


improved my English. I can have another holiday with my family in
the future. Would you have done the same thing in my shoes?
Examiner: It’s hard for me to say, but the way you explained it, it
does sound like you made a very sensible decision.
Paraphrasing
For example:
Examiner: You said you were interested in musicianship. I’m not
quite sure what you mean by that.
Student: What I mean is that I’m interested in the composing,
conducting, or performing of music and generally training my ear
to be more sensitive to a range of musical genres and instruments.
Examiner: You mean you want to do everything?
Student: Not exactly! I mean that I want to be more aware of the
range of skills involved in working with music. That way, I can make
a better decision about my future career.

Mixed conditionals
For example:
Examiner: You said that you went to London to study in the
summer. What would have happened if you’d made a different
decision? Would you still be doing this exam?
Student: That’s a good question. I think if I had gone on holiday
with my parents, it would be harder now to do this exam.
Examiner: What do you mean? Don’t you think you would have
practised your English in the Caribbean?
Student: Yes, but what I mean is, if you’re living in a country and
studying the language, you study more than if you went on holiday
and just ate nice food! I would find it hard to talk so fluently today if
I’d missed the opportunity to live in London for six weeks.
Verbs followed by gerund and / or infinitive
For example:
Examiner: Do you remember your first Trinity exam?
Student: Yes, really well! It was Grade 2 and I was really nervous! I
remember sitting outside the exam room and being really terrified,
thinking that the examiner was going to be horrible and I wouldn’t
understand anything. But actually it was really good. I understood
everything and the examiner was lovely! Do you remember taking
any language exams when you were at school?
Examiner: Yes, I remember my first French interview. It didn’t go
very well!
Student: When did you start learning French?
Examiner: When I was 7. But we didn’t have our first exam until we
were 16.
Student: And did you carry on studying French after that?
Examiner: No, I stopped studying French the following week! Well, it
was the last week of the school year!

Complex forms of the passive with modals
For example:
Examiner: Have you ever been given a difficult choice to make?
Student: Oh yes. Once I was given the option of having a birthday
party with my friends or having a holiday. The party would have
been held on my birthday, but because we were going to be on
holiday at the same time, I was told that either I could have the
holiday or the party, but not both. I wish they hadn’t given me
the choice!

Examiner: Why, what happened?
Student: Well, because I had been told about both options, I
couldn’t decide what to do. If I’d just been told what was happening,
I would’ve have just accepted my parents’ decision. But because I’d
been given a choice, I couldn’t decide!
Should / must / might / could + perfect infinitive
For example:
Examiner: You said that you regretted not joining a sports club
when you were younger. Why?
Student: Well, when I was younger, I was a bit fat and I wanted to
do some exercise, to make myself a bit healthier. I wasn’t unhappy,
but I knew that I should have been exercising when actually I was
eating ice cream.
Examiner: So what type of sports club do you think you should
have joined?
Student: Well, I think a swimming club would have been the best
option. In the end I started doing swimming when I was much older
and I really like it now. But if I’d joined a club sooner I’m sure I would
have benefited.
Examiner: How do you think you would have benefited?

Student: I think I would have lost weight and had more energy.
I might even have entered some competitions. Have you ever
regretted not doing something that you should have done when
you were younger?
Examiner: Yes, I really should have continued playing football when
I was 16. I was busy with exams, etc, and thought I didn’t have the
time. But actually, it was just an excuse. I should have carried on
playing. I might even have become a professional player!
Subject areas
Use the Grade 9 language items and functions to
communicate facts, ideas, opinions and attitudes, sustained
across a series of extended turns
Highlight significant points
Respond appropriately to the examiner’s questions on
the subject areas and requests for further information,
clarifications and explanations
Develop the discussion by encouraging comment and
opinion from the examiner
Follow up appropriately on the examiner’s contributions
on the subject areas, asking for further information and
commenting on the responses obtained
Take more responsibility for the maintenance of the
interaction with the examiner when discussing the
subject areas and take control over the interaction where
appropriate
Maintain coherence and cohesion throughout the
discussion on the subject areas by organising discourse
appropriately
Paraphrase and use circumlocution where necessary in order
to maintain the discourse

Handle interruptions without undue effort by recapping and
recovering

© Oxford University Press

16

Grading tool

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 16

09/02/2018 09:09


Dreams and nightmares
For example:
Examiner: Do you ever remember your dreams?
Student: Occasionally. But most significantly, I only remember the
good ones.
Examiner: What do you mean?
Student: Well, like everyone, I do have recurring dreams, and I know
I have some bad ones, but I never seem to remember them. But I
do wake up remembering what I was dreaming about it if it was a
good dream.
Examiner: What’s the last good dream you remember?
Student: Well, the last dream was when I was on holiday in Brazil
and I had the ability to fly! I remember flying all around the famous
statue of Christ. It was great! I wish it could come true!
Examiner: Do you think we can interpret dreams?
Student: I’m not sure about that. Do you?

Examiner: Not really. Although I think they can tell us if we’re
stressed or anxious about something.
Student: I know what you mean. Sometimes, dreams can just be
an indicator that you’re not very calm. I wouldn’t like to hypothesise
about what my flying in Brazil dream means. I assume it’s just lots of
thoughts randomly colliding in my head!
Crime and punishment
For example:
Examiner: What types of crimes are common among young people
in your city?
Student: That’s an interesting question. Do you think that young
people are affected by different crimes from older people?
Examiner: Yes, I do. For example, mobile phone theft in my country
is extremely common among young people, unlike for older people.
Student: Ah, yes, that’s a good example. Quite a few of my friends
have been robbed in the last year, and it’s always the mobile phone
rather than the money that gets stolen. But I’m not sure how we can
stop people being robbed. Would you have any ideas?
Examiner: Well, I’m not sure, but maybe tougher punishments
would help.
Student: You mean that if a robber knew that the punishment for
stealing a phone was severe, they wouldn’t steal them?
Examiner: Yes.
Student: I think in theory that might help, but in practice that’s
not what they’re thinking of. I think if more criminals were
caught, robbers would be less likely to steal. I’d assume that if they
know they won’t get caught, they don’t care about the possible
punishment.
Examiner: What do you hope they’ll do in future to reduce mobile
phone theft?

Student: Well, as I say, I hope they catch more criminals, because
if the criminals know they’ll get caught, they might be less likely to
commit the crime. But then also, I don’t have much sympathy with
young people who are desperate for the latest smartphone, take it
to school to show it off and then get robbed. They shouldn’t have
been showing it off in the first place.

Technology
For example:
Examiner: Some people are big fans of tablets, but others prefer to
have a smartphone or a laptop. What about you?
Student: Well, at the moment I have a PC in my bedroom and a
mobile phone, but it’s quite old. I really wish I could update it.
Examiner: So if you had the choice of the latest smartphone or a
tablet, which option would you choose?
Student: Oh, that’s a difficult one. I’d have to think carefully about
that. I wouldn’t want to regret it. I think on the one hand, it would
be great to have the latest smartphone. I mean, I’ve always wished
I had an iPhone, but I know they’re really expensive. On the other
hand, a tablet like an iPad would be so much more fun to use.
Especially for playing games or doing research for my school
projects. What would you choose?
Examiner: Well, for my job, I do have to write a lot of emails and I
rely on my smartphone for that.
Student: So you have a smartphone and you don’t regret buying it?
Examiner: That’s right. But then I also bought a tablet as well, for
me to use when I’m travelling.
Student: I wish I had both of them! I assume you use the phone
more often, though?
Examiner: Well, in the beginning, yes. But now I only use the phone

when I have to. The rest of the time, I use my tablet.
Student: So what you’re saying is, overall, the tablet was what you
needed and you didn’t really need to buy the smartphone?
Examiner: Well, a bit, yes! I do regret paying so much for my
smartphone, now that I have a tablet.
Habits and obsessions
For example:
Examiner: Do you have any habits that might annoy other people?
Student: Yes, I’m always moving. When I’m sitting, I move my legs.
When I’m standing, I always walk about. It really annoys my mum!
What about you? Do you have any annoying habits?
Examiner: Well, I do bite my fingernails.
Student: And do you wish you could stop?
Examiner: Oh yes. I do it without thinking!
Student: My sister does the same thing. I really wish she wouldn’t
because it’s really annoying hearing her chewing and biting all
the time.
Examiner: And do you have any obsessions?
Student: Well, I guess I’m quite obsessed with the Star Wars films. I
must have seen each of them more than ten times.
Examiner: Ten times? Wow. That’s quite an obsession.
Student: Yes, I know! I wish I could stop watching them! But they’re
just so good. It’s my big brother’s fault! He used to play them all the
time when I was little. I’m sure if he hadn’t played them so much I
wouldn’t be so obsessed with them now.

© Oxford University Press

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 17

Grading tool17

09/02/2018 09:09


Global environmental issues
For example:
Examiner: What are the biggest environmental threats facing
the planet?
Student: Well, I guess the most famous one is global warming. Lots
of countries around the world are concerned about rising sea levels
and changes to weather patterns.
Examiner: What do you think should have been done sooner?
Student: Well, I wish older generations had known about global
warming when they were young. We might have been able to
do something about it earlier, for example, reducing pollution,
investing in research, etc. But it’s only recently that we’ve started to
understand global warming. Are people in your country worried
about global environmental issues?
Examiner: Yes, but in my opinion, not as worried as they should be.
What do you think should be done now?
Student: I think we have a few options. Firstly, we could just invest
in green technologies and make dirty polluting technologies illegal.
But I think that would be too severe. So I think instead, we should
look back at what we should have done and could have done
30 or 40 years ago and try to do all of the things that were never
done then. I think we’re starting to regret not having done many of
these things at the time. For example, governments could give their

subsidies only to green research rather than research into drilling for
oil. That should have happened long ago.

Pronunciation
Understand and use the correct pronunciation of all of
the above
Rising and falling intonation to indicate giving up and
offering turns
Use stress, intonation and pitch relevant to the language
functions, including to indicate emotion

Design
For example:
Examiner: Are there any new or famous buildings in your town that
stand out because of their design?
Student: Yes, there’s a new museum in the city centre, which I think
is great. There was some controversy about where to build it. Some
people think that it should have been built outside the centre, to
reduce city centre traffic. And theoretically, it would have. But I think
they would have regretted building it in the suburbs as it would
have been difficult for many people to access.
Examiner: So you think it was the right thing to do to build it
where it is?
Student: Well, there is another place in the city centre that they
could have built it in. It’s over near the station and I think that would
have been better. But where it was built, the building before it had
been demolished 15 years ago, so they did fill a space. What about
in your city?
Examiner: Well, my city was largely destroyed in the war, so the
architecture there is pretty ugly. But there are some nice new

buildings, and there’s a fantastic new shop, which looks like a
modern art gallery from the outside. It’s really beautiful.
Student: And what about in future? What do you hope they’ll build?
Examiner: I hope they’ll build a new theatre. Our current theatre
closed last year. The nearest one now is 40 km away.
Student: I bet you wish it were closer!
Examiner: I do!

© Oxford University Press

18

Grading tool

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 18

09/02/2018 09:09


GRADE

7, 8, 9

n
o
i
t
c
u
d

Intro

Transcript (and answers)

Lesson objectives

The second part of the exam is the Interactive phase. In this
part, the examiner will begin by telling you about a problem or
a situation. It’s your job to continue the conversation and to ask
questions to find out more information and maybe even give some
advice. This part of the exam is up to 4 minutes long.

Introduction to the exam phases

• Draw students’ attention to the exam overview. Explain that

•

in this short introductory unit you will be looking briefly at
each area of the exam before going on to explore them in
more detail in the main body of the book.
Ask students to read through the introductory paragraph.
Explain that throughout Trinity GESE Grades 7–9 there is
continual supportive presentation and practice of the five
areas of language that candidates are assessed in. Explain
that as they use the Student’s Book material they will
have the opportunity to interact using example examiner
questions, and be guided through key strategies to ensure
exam success.

3  $ 0.3

• Ask students to work in pairs. Ask them to read through

•

Transcript (and answers)

The third and final part of the exam is the Conversation phase.
In this part, the examiner will choose something to talk about.
There are six possible subjects to talk about in each Grade, and
the examiner will choose two to discuss. It’s important to remember
that your Topic in the first part of the exam must not be the same
as the possible subjects in the last part of the exam. This part is up
to 5 minutes long.

The 3 phases of the Exam
1  $ 0.1

• Ask students to work in pairs. Ask them to read through

•

questions 1–5, sharing their ideas. Monitor this stage to
ensure students are using full sentences, and expanding
on answers.
Play the recording, and ask students to check their
predictions.

• Explain to students that you are now going to look at each

phase of the exam in a bit more detail.

The Topic phase

• Refer students to the exam tip box. Explain that this feature

Transcript (and answers)

occurs throughout the Student’s Book, and offers practical
advice, exam skills and strategies. Explain that this short
section looks at suitable Topics for the Topic phase, and
that within each Grade of Trinity GESE 7–9 there are more
extensive overviews of the exam phase which go into greater
detail about planning, evaluating, and eventually presenting
your own Topics. Remind students that the Topic phase is
designed to give candidates the opportunity to talk about a
self-selected and personally relevant topic.

The first part of the exam is called the Topic phase. During this
phase we discuss what you choose to talk about. It can be anything,
from a city, to a club you’re part of, to a favourite activity. Anything you
like. In Grades 4–6, candidates have to complete a Topic form. But at
Grades 7, 8 and 9, there is no Topic form to complete. You can just
bring some notes. If you want, you can also bring some pictures or
objects that help you to talk about your Topic. This part of the exam
is up to 5 minutes long.

2  $ 0.2

• Again, ask students to work in pairs. Ask them to read

•

questions 1–6, sharing their ideas. Monitor this stage to
ensure students are using full sentences, and expanding
on answers.
Play the recording, and ask students to check their
predictions.

through questions 1–4, sharing their ideas. Monitor this stage
to ensure students are using full sentences, and expanding
on answers.
Play the recording, and ask students to check their
predictions.

1

• Tell students to work in pairs, reading through the five
•

•

potential Topics, and to give reasons for their choices.
Ask pairs to form small groups of between four and six
students. Ask them to explain which Topics they have decided
against, and which they have decided for, giving examples
of discussion points or talking points that they could bring in
during the Topic phase. Explain that during the B2 Topic phase
they should aim to discuss four points with the examiner.
Open this up to the whole class, and note down ideas.

© Oxford University Press



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 19

Introduction19

09/02/2018 09:09


2  $ 0.4

• Play the recording. Ask students to compare the examiner’s
ideas with their own.

Transcript (and answers)

Examiner  This is an interesting selection of Topics. I have to say that
some of them are better than others. The important thing is that the
Topic needs to help you to use the language of your Grade, so you
shouldn’t choose a really simple Topic. For example, ‘my family’ is
not a great idea. It just makes you give a list of people with their
names and ages. It’s not very sophisticated. It’s the same problem
with ‘my dog’. ‘Pets’ are not a good idea at this level. ‘My dream job’
is a great idea for, for example, Grade 9, because you can use it to use
the grammar and functions of Grade 9. ‘My best friend’ is the same
problem as ‘my family’ and ‘my dog’. Usually a bad idea. ‘Playing the
guitar’ could be good, if you use it to demonstrate the language of

your Grade. The most important thing to do when choosing your Topic
is to look at the possible grammar and functions you can use.

The Interactive phase

• During this section, students have the opportunity to

critically evaluate several candidates taking the Interactive
phase of the exam. Remind students that the Interactive
phase is designed to give candidates the opportunity to
demonstrate their ability to take control over and maintain
interaction, while expressing the language of their grade.
Remind students that although occasionally the interaction
may involve the examiner role-playing, candidates are
encouraged to ‘be themselves’, creating an authentic
exchange with an expert speaker.

Examiner  Ooh, I’m not sure. I know she has a new house and a new
kitchen, and I don’t think she has many things in it at the moment.
Candidate  Well, that could be a good idea, then. Why not have a think
about some kitchen gadgets to help her with her cooking?
Examiner  Ahh! That’s a good idea!
Candidate  Yes, maybe something to help her prepare her food, or even
something to cook with?
Examiner  Yes, that could work. I know she doesn’t have many things to
cook with at the moment, and she does love gadgets as well.
Candidate  Maybe that’s what you should do then. Buy her something
technological for the kitchen.
Examiner  Great. Now I know she’s interested in …

2  $ 0.6

• Play the examiner’s evaluation, and ask students to compare
their ideas.

Transcript (and answers)

Examiner  Isabel did very well at this task because she listened to what
the examiner said and asked relevant questions. She also asked
for more information. And she also made some suggestions,
which is what the examiner was looking for. It was like playing
conversation tennis!

3  $ 0.7

• Ask students to work in pairs. Set a short time limit and ask

•

1  $ 0.5

• Ask students to work in pairs. Set a short time limit and ask

•

students to discuss what they think makes a good Interactive
phase. Then ask students to give their answers, and note
these on the board. As a class, decide which are the best
suggestions, giving reasons why.
Ask students to note down what Isabel does well. Play the

recording, then check ideas as a whole class.

Transcript

Examiner  Now I’d like to get my female friend a present for a special
occasion, but I’m not sure what to buy.
Candidate  What’s your friend interested in? Does she have any hobbies?
Examiner  Yes, she’s very interested in technology and she also loves
cooking.
Candidate  That’s interesting. And what type of food does she like
to cook?
Examiner  Well, she’s very interested in Asian food. She loves making
curries and experimenting with different ingredients.
Candidate  I see. So, is she a professional chef?
Examiner  No, but she does like to play in the kitchen!
Candidate  What do you mean?
Examiner  Well, she likes to experiment with her cooking – trying new
recipes and ingredients.
Candidate  OK. And you said that she also likes technology?
Examiner  Yes, that’s right.
Candidate  Does she have any gadgets in her kitchen?

•

students to think about ways in which a candidate could do
badly in the Interactive phase. Then ask students to give their
answers, with reasons, and note these on the board.
Play the recording of candidates 1–5. Pause after each
candidate to give students time to note down their ideas.
When the audio has finished, ask students to discuss their

notes. Encourage students to ask each other questions for
further information or expansion of ideas and opinions.
Monitor, noting down any interesting examples or common
errors for a whole-class follow-up stage.

Transcript

1
Examiner  Now I’d like to get my friend a present for a special occasion,
but I’m not sure what to buy.
Candidate  What’s your friend’s name?
Examiner  Her name’s Barbara.
Candidate  Where does she live?
Examiner  In England.
Candidate  Is she friendly?
Examiner  Yes, she is.
Candidate  What are her hobbies?
Examiner  She likes cooking and technology.
Candidate  What does she look like?
Examiner  She’s tall, with dark curly hair.
Candidate  Is she married?
Examiner  Yes, she is …
2
Examiner  Now I’d like to get my friend a present for a special occasion,
but I’m not sure what to buy.
Candidate  Buy her some clothes. And a hat. People like hats. And you
should also give her a big cake. And a party. And you should invite all
of her friends and her family.

© Oxford University Press

20

Introduction

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 20

09/02/2018 09:09


3
Examiner  Now I’d like to get my friend a present for a special occasion,
but I’m not sure what to buy.
Candidate  What you should do is ask her what she wants for the special
occasion and buy it for her. If it’s too expensive, then maybe you can
ask a friend to help pay for it as well. People love receiving presents,
and I’m guessing this is for her birthday? People love receiving birthday
presents and I’m sure she will as well. Maybe you could think about
organising a special event for her, as well.
4
Examiner  Now I’d like to get my friend a present for a special occasion,
but I’m not sure what to buy.
Candidate  I love special occasions. I love birthdays and Christmas. I think
I prefer Christmas more as I get lots of presents. Presents are great. I
like big presents and small presents. I like expensive presents and l like
cheap presents. The most important thing about presents is …
5
Examiner  Now I’d like to get my friend a present for a special occasion,
but I’m not sure what to buy.
Candidate  Why?

Examiner  Because there are many different things you can buy.
Candidate  What things?
Examiner  Different presents and gifts.
Candidate  For example?
Examiner  Well, you can buy someone gifts that are personal, or maybe
a souvenir from a place.
Candidate  Why?
Examiner  Because there’s a lot of choice in the world!
Candidate  Why?

4  $ 0.8

• Play the examiner’s evaluation, and ask students to compare
their ideas.

Transcript (and answers)

Examiner  In the first example, the candidate just keeps asking
questions again and again, but the questions are not relevant. They’re
too general and not talking about the examiner’s situation.
In the second example, the candidate makes suggestions without
asking any questions to find out more information.
In the third example, the candidate doesn’t ask any questions, it’s just
a monologue!
In the fourth example, the candidate doesn’t talk about the examiner’s
situation or his friend. He’s talking about himself!
In the fifth example, the candidate just asks one-word questions. It’s
not very helpful!

The Conversation phase

• Remind students that the Conversation phase is designed

to give candidates the opportunity to participate in a
genuine exchange of information, ideas and opinions,
while demonstrating their ability to use the language of
the Grade. Explain that Trinity GESE Grades 7–9 has carefully
selected, scaffolded and supported tasks that practise all
the skills and strategies required in the Conversation phase.
Each unit covers two subject areas, and at the end of a unit
there is a model exam provided to practise this content. The
Conversation phase is further practised in Grade Reviews,
using example examiner questions.

1

• Ask students to read through the subject areas for each B2
Grade, and match the examiner prompts and questions.

ANSWERS

Grade 7
1 Pollution and recycling
2 Education
3 Early memories
4 National and local produce and products
5 Village and city life
6 National customs
Grade 8
1 Public figures past and present

2 The world of work
3 Society and living standards
4 Personal values and ideals
5 National environmental concerns
6 Unexplained phenomena and events
Grade 9
1 Dreams and nightmares
2 Global environmental issues
3 Habits and obsessions
4 Crime and punishment
5 Technology
6 Design
• Ask students to work in pairs, discussing the questions
for each Grade. As they do so, monitor, noting down use
of language. Use your notes as a diagnostic tool to help
students decide which Grade they want to sit. By referring to
the summary of language requirements in the Trinity exam
specifications, available at www.trinitycollege.co.uk/esol, you
should have a clear picture of which Grade your students
should be comfortable sitting.

© Oxford University Press



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 21

Introduction21

09/02/2018 09:09

GRADE

7

unit 01

Early memories
Education
Lesson objectives
Discussing past experiences
Discussing educational experiences

Language
Grammar
Using used to, remember / forget + -ing to discuss past
habits
Simple passive
Functions
Expressing possibility and uncertainty
Agreeing and disagreeing
Talking about advantages and disadvantages
Vocabulary
Early memories and experiences, Education

   ​page 6 
Early memories
1

• Write Memory on the board, and ask a few students what

they associate with the word. Explain that generating lexical
sets around the Trinity subject areas helps exam preparation.
Encourage them to note down key vocabulary.

• Ensure that students use full sentences, and give logically and
grammatically sound reasons to justify their choices.

4  $ 1.1

• Direct students to the four photographs. Before listening, ask

•

Transcript

Karen  Where did you use to live when you were younger, Marc?
Marc  I grew up in Paris … we used to live near the city centre.
Karen  Did you use to play football as a child?
Marc  Yes! I used to play football with friends in the park near my house.
Karen  And did you use to have long hair when you were young?
Marc  No, I used to have really short hair – that’s why I like it long now!
What about you? Where did you use to live?
Karen  I used to live on a farm, near Cambridge in England.
Marc  Did you have any pets?
Karen  I didn’t have any pets, but we used to love feeding the chickens.
Marc  Living on a farm must have been great. Tell me about the school
you used to go to.
Karen  There was a school in the local village, so I went there.

Marc  Did you use to wear a school uniform?
Karen  Yes. We had to wear a red jumper and a blue skirt.
ANSWERS

Photo A, B – Marc; Photo C, D – Karen

5

• Remind students that used to is a key language requirement

2

• Direct students to the pictures of Marc and Karen. Remind
•

them to work in pairs, describing the images to one another.
Instruct students to make suggestions about which photo
matches each person during this stage.
Play the recording, asking students to note down key ideas
under the headings Marc and Karen.

students that expressing possibility and uncertainty is a key
language requirement at Grade 7.
Elicit from the whole class examples of language that
conveys possibility or uncertainty, e.g. the modals may, might,
could. Remind students that in the Grade 7 exam they are
expected to use language requirements from earlier grades.
Draw attention to the fact that when discussing possibility
and uncertainty they will need Grade 6 exponents such as
must, has to be, etc.

•

at Grade 7. Elicit the positive, negative, and question forms
from separate students by providing the phrases study history,
when I was younger.
Draw students’ attention to the spotlight box. Explain that
spotlight boxes provide additional information on the B2
functional language and grammar.

6  $ 1.2

• Note that while the Trinity exam doesn’t require students to
take on roles, role-playing can benefit the less confident.

Transcript (and answers)

3

• Remind students that at Grade 7 they should be practising
expressing opinions and justifying choices (revising key
Grade 5 and 6 language requirements).

Karen  Where did you use to live when you were younger, Marc?
Karen  Did you use to play football as a child?
Karen  And did you use to have long hair when you were young?
Marc  What about you, where did you use to live?
© Oxford University Press

22

Unit 01

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 22

09/02/2018 09:09


• Remind students that maintaining a conversation is a key

Marc  Did you have any pets?
Marc  Tell me about the school you used to go to.
Marc  Did you use to wear a school uniform?

communicative skill, so where possible they should ask
follow-up questions, e.g.

• Check 1–6 for understanding, then play the recording.

A 
What did you use to do in winter?
B 
When I was a child, I went skiing.
A 
Really? Where did you go?

Transcript (and answers)

11  $ 1.4

7  $ 1.3

Karen  What books do you remember reading when you were young?
Marc  As a child I didn’t use to read books that much. I remember
reading a lot of comics, though. In those days I was more active
generally, more into sport. What about you?
Karen  I was a very active child too. I never used to watch TV much, I
preferred playing outside. I used to do karate.
Marc  Really?!
Karen  Yes, I was pretty good at it. I’ll never forget breaking someone’s
leg in a fight once – I fought a bit too hard sometimes! I used to scare
my dog – Oh, big old Ruff – I can see him now!
Marc  I never had any pets. I always wanted a dog but my sister was
allergic to them.
Karen  That’s a shame. Did you get on well with your sister?
Marc  Yes, pretty well. One of my earliest memories is of taking part in
a talent competition with her, singing. I can’t remember a thing about
what we sang, but I know it was terrible! I don’t really know why I did
it – I hated music at school.
Karen  I used to hate maths. Which is odd, ’cos I love it now. It’s funny
how when we’re older we often like the things we used to hate.
Marc  Yes, I didn’t use to like a lot of vegetables, like broccoli and
spinach, but I love them now! It’s not true for boiled eggs, though.
They used to give us boiled eggs for breakfast at the holiday camp we
went to when we were at school. Boiled eggs always remind me
of what a miserable time I had there, even just the smell of them, so
I never eat them.

   ​page 7 
8  $ 1.3

• Ask students to work in pairs, reading through extracts 1–4
and deciding on appropriate expressions for each gap.

• Play the recording again, pausing after each answer to give

When I was a child, we used to live near the beach. In summer,
I used to go there every day, even when it wasn’t sunny. I can
remember it like it was yesterday. If I had the chance, I’d love to live by
the sea again.
In the winter, my parents used to take us into the mountains – for
the views, and the exercise. But it was always raining and pretty
boring for kids. I’ve never wanted to go walking in the mountains since.
If I had the chance to do anything from my childhood again, it
would be to go sailing. My dad used to have a boat and we would
go out around the coast and find little secret beaches and have picnics
there. But I never want to go fishing again – that was really boring! I’ll
never forget how cold it got out on the sea. And I don’t recall catching
anything, either …
ANSWERS

1 She used to go to the beach every day in summer. In
winter, her parents used to take her to the mountains.
2 She would like to go sailing again because she used to
have picnics with her dad.
If I had the chance to do anything from my childhood
again, it would be to go sailing.
I never want to go fishing again.

past experiences, using second conditionals.

3 earliest; a thing
4 remind

   ​page 8 

9

• Draw students’ attention to images A–E. Elicit ideas on the

•

Transcript (and answers)

• Ask students to work in pairs, expressing their wishes about

ANSWERS

•

•

that Sara talks about. Ask students to speculate on what
someone might do during these seasons as a child.
Draw attention to the two gapped sentences about past
experiences. Elicit which Grade 7 grammar is being used
here (second conditional and past simple for habits) and their
functions (to express a hypothetical wish).

12

students time to check their suggestions.

1 a child; reading; those
2 never; can; now

• Before playing the recording, draw attention to the seasons

Education 

early memories that they are going to discuss, e.g. toys and
games, comics and books, TV programmes, music, food.
Once you have elicited a category for each image, ask
students to work in a small group, discussing memorable
examples from their childhood for each section.
Note examples on the board for use in exercise 10.

1

• Write the word School on the board. Elicit from students

10

• Draw students’ attention to the useful language box. Explain

that these occur throughout the book and provide examples
of functional language that can be transferred to an exam
situation. Encourage students to think of personalised ways
in which
they could

© Oxford
University
Press complete each sentence stem.

•
•

words that they associate with school. Ask them to then
divide the list into different categories, e.g. subjects, people,
experiences, positives, negatives. Explain that this is a useful
way of organising subject area vocabulary.
Direct students to the photos. Ask them to describe the
images, comparing the images to their own experiences.
Ask students to look at the vocabulary list. In new pairs, ask
them to use their choice of given words to talk about their
first day of school.



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 23

Unit 0123

09/02/2018 09:09


2

• Refer students to the table, and go through each option.
• Ask students to complete the table with their own opinions.

4  $ 1.6

• Explain that students are going to listen to the recording

again, this time focussing on specific expressions which
convey agreement and disagreement. Ask students to work
in pairs, completing sentences 1–6. Explain that they can use
the useful language box and the table in 2 to help them.

3  $ 1.5

• Before listening to the recording, direct students to the useful
•

language box. Explain that the phrases are on a scale ranging
from strong agreement to strong disagreement.
Drill the expressions individually or chorally to ensure
accurate pronunciation. You could extend the drill by asking
students to provide a follow-up sentence, justifying their
choice. Remind students that asking follow-up questions
is a useful exam strategy as it shows they can maintain
interaction. Explain that they can use Grade 7 opinion
language and discourse connectors to do this, e.g.

A 
I think that sports stars are paid too much money.
B 
I totally agree.
A 

Why?
B  Well, because nobody needs that much money to live on, even if
they do have short careers.

Transcript (and answers)

Gary  I don’t think schools are strict enough these days. I remember
school being much stricter when I was little.
Paula  I totally agree. My cousin’s a primary school teacher and she
says that the children are allowed to behave really badly a lot of
the time.
Gary  I don’t think it helps that so few schools make pupils wear
school uniforms these days. They did in my day – if you came to
school wearing the wrong clothes, they would send you home. It was a
good way to show that discipline was taken seriously.
Paula  I don’t think that’s true. I think having to wear exactly the right
school uniform gives students the idea that discipline is about being
made to do things without any good reason – I mean, what difference
does it make if a student wears a different colour shirt?
Gary  I’m not sure about that. I think there are good reasons for making
students wear a school uniform, and if you believe that, then you
have to make sure that they follow those rules. I think it’s just another
example of standards in schools getting lower – and you see that with
the exam results these days. It’s obvious that the exams are much
easier than they used to be.
Paula  I wouldn’t agree at all! There’s no evidence for that, and I think
it’s terrible to suggest that students who get good grades in their
exams these days don’t deserve it. I don’t think exams are any easier
now and students work really hard before their exams – in fact, they
should spend much less time doing that and more time learning

interesting and useful things about the world.
Gary  I think that’s partly true, but we all know that passing exams
is considered to be the main purpose of school, so we just have to
accept it, even if it seems wrong. I think it all comes from the fact that
class sizes used to be so big that it was easier to teach students a
fixed exam syllabus, instead of trying to do more spontaneous and
individualised teaching.
Paula  Absolutely! But class sizes have come down quite a lot, so
that should provide more opportunities to teach things that particular
groups of students are interested in.

Transcript (and answers)

1G  I remember school being much stricter when I was little.
P I totally agree.
2G  It was a good way to show that discipline was taken seriously.
P I don’t think that’s true.
3P  I mean, what difference does it make if a student wears a different
colour shirt?
G I’m not sure about that.
4G  It’s obvious that the exams are much easier than they used to be.
P I wouldn’t agree at all!
5P  … they should spend much less time doing that and more time
learning interesting and useful things about the world.
G I think that’s partly true, but we all know that passing exams is
considered to be the main purpose of school, so we just have to
accept it, …
6G  I think it all comes from the fact that class sizes used to be so big
that it was easier to teach students a fixed exam syllabus, instead of
trying to do more spontaneous and individualised teaching.

P  Absolutely!

    page 9 
5

• Ask students to work with new partners. Monitor and note
down examples for whole-class feedback.

6

• Encourage students to use a range of Grade 7 language, as
well as the useful language for agreeing and disagreeing.

7

• Refer students to the example sentences in the spotlight box
•

on the passive, and explain that this will be covered in more
detail in the following unit.
Ask students to complete sentences 1–4.

ANSWERS

1  are taught   ​2  are spoken   ​3  are you given   ​
4  Are you allowed

8  $ 1.7

• Explain that students are going to listen to three different

people taking about education in their country. The focus is
to tune in to the first speaker, and confirm the answers in 7.

Transcript (and answers)

Examiner  Which languages are taught in your school?
Matias  The two languages that are taught in my school are English
and Swedish – English because it’s an international language, and
Swedish because there is a large Swedish-speaking community in
my country.
Examiner  Really? I didn’t know that. What languages are spoken in
your English class? Mainly English?
© Oxford University Press

24

Unit 01

Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 24

09/02/2018 09:09


Matias  English is the only language that’s used, apart from very
occasionally when a really difficult word is translated. It’s not a problem
for us, because there are a lot of programmes on TV in English, so we’re
used to hearing it.
Examiner  Do you have to wear a school uniform?
Matias  No, we don’t. School is very informal and we’re not even

allowed to wear shoes inside the school buildings – everyone walks
around in their socks!
Examiner  How amazing! How many hours’ homework are you given
every day?
Matias  Younger students are given around 30 minutes a day, but
even the older ones don’t get more than an hour.
Examiner  That sounds reasonable. And are you allowed to use your
mobile phone in the classroom?
Matias  We’re not allowed to use them for chatting and sending
each other texts, but in some classes we’re expected to use
mobile phones during the lesson. Last week in geography we had
to go out and take some photos to find evidence that spring was
happening much later than usual.

4
A school day is 6 hours, and then we’re given 2 or 3 hours’
homework every day.
5
Of course, we’re not allowed to use our mobile phones in class. Our
teachers would be very angry.

11

• Monitor to ensure students are using full sentences, correct
intonation, and appropriate Grade 7 language.

12

• Remind students to ask follow-up questions where
appropriate to maintain interaction.

13

• Elicit from students the meaning of improve (make better).

9  $ 1.7

• Refer students to the table, and go through each option. Ask
•

students if they can remember Matias’s answers.
Play the recording again to confirm answers.

•

10  $ 1.8

• Direct students to the pictures of Kyung Mi and Suresh. Refer

•

students to the table in 9, and ask them to work in pairs,
predicting answers based on their guesses about the two
students. Elicit examples of Grade 7 language to do this, i.e.
the language of possibility and uncertainty.
Play the recording, then check answers and guesses.

Transcript (and answers)

Ask students to think about who would be affected by these

changes, e.g. students, teachers, parents. Ask them to work in
pairs, completing options 1–6 with their own ideas.
Draw attention to the modal verbs in options 1–4. Explain
that making suggestions is a key language requirement in
Grade 7, so they should be using modal verbs where possible
to do this. Explain that there will be further focus on this in
following units.

14

• Write the following phrase on the board: Start the school day

•

Kyung Mi, 1
In my school, both English and Chinese are taught. English because
of its importance in the world, and Chinese because it’s very close to
my country, and because it’s an important language for business.
2
In my English classes, English is used, but we can also use our own
language if we have questions or problems.
3
School uniform is compulsory in most secondary schools – usually
a shirt, blazer and tie, with skirts for girls and long grey trousers for
boys. School uniform is often worn by pop stars that appeal to young
people, so it’s actually become quite fashionable!
4
Our school day is very long – 7 hours – and then we’re given around
4 hours of homework every day.
5

We’re allowed to bring mobile phones to school, but we’re not
allowed to use them in lessons.
Suresh, 1
We all speak Hindi at school, but the other language that’s taught
is English.
2
In my English class, we only speak English and we aren’t allowed to
speak Hindi at all.
3
In my school, it’s very important for everyone to look the same, whether
you’re rich or poor, so we’re required to wear school uniform.

at 11 a.m. Ask students to think of any advantages to doing
this. Note these on the board. Draw attention to the phrases
for expressing advantages. 
Ask students to generate advantages for their ideas in pairs.

15

• Encourage students to use Grade-relevant language to elicit

further information and expansion of ideas and opinions. Ask
a couple of stronger students for their initial ideas, then using
a phrase such as Really, why do you think that?

    pages 10 and 11 
Aim at the Exam 1
This is a short introduction to the format of the Conversation
phase of the Trinity exam. In these sections in the Student
Book, students are initially given prompts – either examiner

questions or candidate responses – and are asked to complete
the dialogue. The rationale behind this is that students will
be exposed to short examples of useful model language,
and will be comfortable responding to an examiner during
exam conditions. This scaffolded approach leads to a stage
of controlled practice, where students use the content of the
dialogue in 1 to facilitate a student-student question and
answer activity. After working through this stage, students
role-play the Conversation phase of the exam. Students are
provided with a range of possible exam questions, and given
the opportunity to add their own questions, based on their
knowledge of Grade 7 language.

© Oxford University Press



Trinity GESE7to9 TB.indb 25

Unit 0125

09/02/2018 09:09