EXAVER Examiner Refresher Course

1. Rationale

This module strengthens examiners’ ability to evaluate candidates’ A2-level speaking performance accurately, consistently, and in accordance with EXAVER standardized marking criteria. By revisiting the structure of the EXAVER 1 Speaking test, examining A2 performance expectations, and practicing grading using authentic and benchmarked recordings, participants will refine their judgment, increase scoring consistency, and contribute to inter-rater and intra-rater reliability.

2. Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, participants will be able to:

1. Identify and interpret A2-level performance features according to the EXAVER 1 marking criteria.
2. Apply the five EXAVER Speaking criteria (Global Impression, Pronunciation, Vocabulary Range, Grammatical Accuracy, Effectiveness in Communication) consistently across performances.
3. Recognize and explain rating differences between bands using concrete performance evidence.
4. Evaluate EXAVER 1 candidate performance and practice grading.
5. Reflect critically on their grading accuracy and identify areas for improvement to enhance intra- and inter-rater reliability.

Content:

EXAVER 1 is the first level of the Exámenes de Certificación de Lengua Inglesa EXAVER developed by the Universidad Veracruzana. It is aligned with international standards of language proficiency, corresponding to:

• Level 1 of ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe)
• Level A2 of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
• The Waystage 1990 level specifications (van Ek & Trim, Council of Europe 1991)
• The Key English Test (KET) by Cambridge (UCLES)

A candidate who passes EXAVER 1 demonstrates a basic knowledge of English—the ability to communicate in familiar and routine situations using simple structures ansd vocabulary.

EXAVER 1 is a paper-based exam delivered through printed booklets. It consists of three parts called Papers, plus a short preliminary test called the Anchor Test. Read the information for each of the EXAVER 1 sections:

 Anchor Test

Before starting Paper One, all candidates must complete a 10-minute Anchor Test. This test ensures the quality, comparability, and equivalence of results across exam versions and with the CEFR A1 level.

 Paper One

Length: 60 minutes
Items: 38
This paper assesses
Reading and Writing. At A2 level, candidates should be able to:

• Understand short, simple texts using frequent vocabulary.
• Comprehend personal messages such as emails or postcards about everyday topics.
• Identify main ideas in short texts about daily life, hobbies, or weather.
• Recognize brief narratives and descriptions in simple language.
• Write short notes or messages on familiar matters using basic grammar and vocabulary, even with limited accuracy and fluency.

Section	Questions	Task Type
1	1–6	Multiple choice
2	7–14	Matching
3	15–22	Multiple choice
4	23–30	Multiple choice
5	31–38	Gap fill

 Paper Two

Length: ≈ 30 minutes
Items: 20
This paper assesses
Listening. An A2 candidate can:

• Understand phrases and expressions related to immediate needs or familiar topics when speech is clear and slow.
• Identify the topic of a short conversation.
• Follow simple instructions or directions.
• Extract specific information from short, predictable recordings or announcements.

Section	Questions	Task Type
1	1–5	Multiple choice
2	6–10	Matching
3	11–15	Multiple choice
4	16–20	Gap fill

 Paper Three

Length: 6–9 minutes
Format: Pairs or trios
This paper assesses Speaking through a face-to-face interview. At A2 level, candidates are expected to:

• Interact in structured, short conversations on familiar topics.
• Exchange basic information (e.g., preferences, routines, plans).
• Use simple expressions for social contact—greetings, thanks, introductions.
• Ask and answer questions about everyday activities and preferences.

Part	Task Type	Description
1	Greetings and Introductions	Short warm-up between interlocutor and candidates
2	Extended Responses	Individual questions requiring longer answers
3	Communicative Activity	Interactive task between candidates

EXAVER 1 is fully aligned to Level A2 of the CEFR. This means that candidates who pass EXAVER 1 show the same general abilities as those who pass other recognized A2-level exams. They can handle short exchanges about everyday topics, but still depend on their interlocutor to maintain interaction and clarify meaning.

Below are selected A2 descriptors adapted from the CEFR (2020, Council of Europe):

Understanding the CEFR alignment allows examiners to:

• Identify what counts as sufficient evidence of A2 performance.
• Avoid judging candidates by higher-level expectations.
• Maintain standardization across exam sessions.
• Ensure that EXAVER results are valid and comparable nationally and internationally.

Most EXAVER 1 candidates are between 16 and 20 years old. They are usually students from the Universidad Veracruzana (UV) or other higher education institutions who are completing the basic stages of their English studies. At the UV, passing EXAVER 1 has an important academic function:

1. It can exempt students from taking the mandatory English courses included in their university curriculum.
2. It provides an official certification of A2-level proficiency, valid both within UV and in external academic contexts.

For this reason, examiners must ensure that all scoring decisions are accurate and reliable, since they directly affect students’ academic progress.

An A2 candidate is an early independent user of English who can manage short, simple conversations about familiar topics. They can answer direct questions and express basic information but still rely on the interlocutor to keep the interaction going. During the EXAVER 1 Speaking test, a typical A2 candidate demonstrates the following pattern:

Try to see how much you know about EXAVER 1 and the A2 Level by thinking of words to complete the following paragraph.

Genially fill in the blanks

5. Stages of the EXAVER 1 Speaking Test

Purpose To review the structure, objectives, and examiner roles during each part of the test, ensuring familiarity with task flow and expected candidate output.

1. Part One: Greetings and Introductions

1. Purpose: To warm up candidates and elicit simple personal information.This section is not evaluated.
2. Expected language: Greetings, basic personal questions (age, studies, hobbies).
3. Duration: 1 to 2 minutes total per pair.

2. Part Two: Extended Responses

1. Purpose: To assess the ability to provide longer individual responses to personal or general questions.
2. Expected interaction pattern: Candidate–interlocutor exchanges; short monologues.
3. Duration: 1 minute to 1 minute & 30 seconds per candidate

3. Part Three: Communicative Activities

1. Purpose: To evaluate interactive communication between candidates in a task-based scenario (e.g., choosing an activity, making plans).
2. Expected interaction: Negotiation, turn-taking, expressing preferences.
3. Duration: 1 minute & 30 seconds to 2 minutes total for each ACTIVITY (ONE and TWO).

If a candidate asks for clarification or says they don’t understand a question, which examiner support is allowed?

Genially multiple choice

6. Explanation of EXAVER 1 Marking Criteria

Purpose To deepen examiners’ understanding of each criterion, their operational definitions, and how global and analytical scores interact.

6.1 Global Impression Mark

1. Given by: Interlocutor only.
2. Focus: Overall ability to understand and convey messages throughout the test.
3. Band scale (0–4): From “Unable to understand and convey messages” to “Almost always able to understand and convey messages”, as you can observe:

	0	1	2	3	4
Global Impression Mark Interlocutor only	Unable to understand and convey messages	Often unable to understand and convey messages	Sometimes able to understand and convey messages	Often able to understand and convey messages, though with some hesitation	Almost always able to understand and convey messages, though with very occasional hesitation

6.1.1 What’s the difference between the bands?

0 and 1	2	3	4
At Band 0 and 1 the candidate is unable or often unable to understand and produce.	At Band 2 the candidate produces short phrases or isolated words with frequent hesitation and pauses.	At Band 3 the candidate produces utterances which tend to be very short with frequent hesitation and pauses.	At Band 4, the candidate can construct longer utterances despite hesitation.
	Example:  Yes ... er... like eat... errr... the park.	Example:  I don’t like mmm... eating... at home.	Example:  I like eat in the park because it’s... outside.

6.1.2 Understanding the Global Impression Mark

This is a general mark given by the interlocutor. This interlocutor speaks to the candidates and manages the timing of the test.

Band: 4

Descriptor: Almost always able to understand and convey messages, though with very occasional hesitation

What this means: Can understand and speak about the topics and tasks in the test.

Band: 3

Descriptor: Often able to understand and convey messages, though with some hesitation

What this means: Says more than a one-sentence or yes/no answer.

Band: 2

Descriptor: Sometimes able to understand and convey a message

What this means: Gives very short answers: yes/no or a short phrase.

Band: 1

Descriptor: Often unable to understand and convey messages

What this means: Finds it difficult to talk about the topics in the test. Pauses and stops a lot.

Band: 0

Descriptor: Unable to understand and convey messages

What this means: Answers in words or phrases rather than sentences.

When you assess candidates for Global Impression Mark, try to think of the ‘big picture’ rather than counting the number of pauses or the mistakes they make.

Analytical Marks (Examiner only)

1. Given by: Examiner only.
2. Focus: Specific abilities to understand and convey messages throughout the test.
3. Band scale (0–4): Each analytical criterion is scored separately, as you can observe:

	Unable to convey messages intelligibly	Often unable to convey messages intelligibly	Sometimes able to convey messages intelligibly	Often able to convey messages intelligibly	Almost always able to convey messages intelligibly
Pronunciation Individual sounds, stress, intonation (Examiner only)	Unable to convey messages intelligibly	Often unable to convey messages intelligibly	Sometimes able to convey messages intelligibly	Often able to convey messages intelligibly	Almost always able to convey messages intelligibly
Vocabulary range (Examiner only)	Unable to understand and produce adequately	Often unable to understand and produce adequately	Sometimes able to understand and produce adequately	Often able to understand and produce adequately	Almost always Able to understand and produce adequately, and to expand
Grammatical Accuracy (Examiner only)	Unable to understand and produce basic grammatical forms	Often unable to understand and produce basic grammatical forms	Sometimes able to understand and produce basic grammatical forms	Often able to understand and produce basic grammatical forms	Almost always able to understand and produce basic grammatical forms
Effectiveness in Communication (Examiner only)	Unable to understand and convey messages	Often unable to understand and convey messages effectively	Sometimes able to understand and convey messages effectively	Often able to understand and convey messages effectively	Almost always able to understand and convey messages effectively

6.2.1 Understanding Pronunciation

6.2.1.1 What is Pronunciation?

The main focus at EXAVER 1 is whether it is possible to understand the candidate. Pronunciation includes things like word stress, sentence stress, intonation as well as the individual sounds within words, but at A2 level ‘intelligibility’ is crucial.

6.2.1.2 Pronunciation in practice

Band: 4

Descriptor: Almost always able to convey messages intelligibly

Easy to understand most of the time.

Band: 3

Descriptor: Sometimes able to convey messages intelligibly

Sometimes uses pronunciation features (intonation, individual sounds, word and sentence stress) accurately.

Band: 2

Descriptor: Sometimes able to convey messages intelligibly

Can occasionally use the pronunciation features accurately.

Band: 1

Descriptor: Often unable to convey messages intelligibly

Has very limited control of phonological features and is often unintelligible.

Band: 0

Descriptor: Unable to convey messages intelligibly

Difficult to understand and unintelligible.

Is accent important in the speaking test?

The focus is on being easy to understand (intelligibility) so don’t expect perfect pronunciation or an accent which is like someone whose first language is English. Notice the common problems, for example, at A2 level the difference between can and can’t must be clear.

6.2.2 Understanding Vocabulary range

6.2.2.1 What is Vocabulary range?

This covers the words and phrases that candidates use in the test.

6.2.2.2 Vocabulary range in practice

Band: 4

Descriptor: Almost always able to understand and produce adequately, and to expand

What this means : Uses a variety of words and phrases which are relevant to the topics. Uses different forms of words, phrases, basic tenses and simple clauses.

Band: 3

Descriptor: Often able to understand and produce adequately

What this means : Frequently uses a range of appropriate vocabulary when talking about everyday situations.

|

Band: 2

Descriptor: Sometimes able to understand and produce adequately

What this means : Occasionally uses appropriate vocabulary to talk about everyday situations.

Band: 1

Descriptor: Often unable to understand and produce adequately

What this means : Shows only limited control of a few words and phrases.

Band: 0

Descriptor: Unable to understand and produce adequately

What this means : Uses a vocabulary of isolated words and phrases.

6.2.3 Understanding Grammatical Accuracy

6.2.3.1 What is Grammatical Accuracy?

This covers the grammatical structures that candidates use in the test. Accuracy refers to how correct a candidate’s grammar is when they are speaking. Accuracy can be compared to fluency. Fluency refers to how well a candidate communicates meaning and can say what they want to say.

6.2.3.2 Grammatical Accuracy in practice

Band: 4

Descriptor: Almost always able to understand and produce basic grammatical forms

What this means : Shows a good degree of control of simple grammatical forms.

Band: 3

Descriptor: Often able to understand and produce basic grammatical forms

What this means : Shows sufficient control of simple grammatical forms.

Band: 2

Descriptor: Sometimes able to understand and produce basic grammatical forms

What this means : Rarely uses grammatical forms accurately.

Band: 1

Descriptor: Often unable to understand and produce basic grammatical forms

What this means : Shows only limited control of a few grammatical forms.

Band: 0

Descriptor: Unable to understand and produce basic grammatical forms

What this means : Shows no control of grammatical forms.

Remember when assessing candidates on grammar and vocabulary you are not looking for perfect accuracy.

6.2.4 Understanding Effectiveness in Communication

6.2.4.1 What is Effectiveness in Communication?

This assesses how well candidates interact with each other and the examiner. It includes things like being able to keep a conversation going and how much support is needed from the examiner or the other candidate.

6.2.4.2 Effectiveness in Communication in practice

Band: 4

Descriptor: Almost always able to understand and convey messages effectively

What this means : Maintains simple exchanges. Can have a simple conversation of question and answer, for example.

Band: 3

Descriptor: Often able to understand and convey messages effectively

What this means : Maintains simple exchanges, despite some difficulty.

Band: 2

Descriptor: Sometimes able to understand and convey messages effectively

What this means : Has difficulty maintaining simple exchanges.

Band: 1

Descriptor: Often unable to understand and convey messages effectively

What this means : Has considerable difficulty answering questions or replying to their partner.

Band: 0

Descriptor: Unable to understand and convey messages

What this means : The examiner may need to help a lot to keep the test going.

Should I penalize candidates if they make mistakes in the speaking test?

Candidates will always make mistakes, and this is normal but, as you can see from the explanations, examiners are looking for sufficient control or a good degree of control, this does not mean “perfect”.

7. Practice Grading for the EXAVER 1 Speaking Test

This section provides hands-on practice rating authentic EXAVER 1 Speaking performances. You will evaluate four recorded videos (three pair interviews and one trio interview), each displaying distinct A2 performance profiles aligned with EXAVER Level 1 criteria. You will:

1. Apply the official EXAVER 1 Marking Criteria to each candidate independently
2. Submit two full rating cycles per video (one per candidate; three in the trio)
3. Receive expert textual commentary after submission
4. Compare your ratings with the expert benchmark
5. View reliability indicators (agreement, deviation patterns, criterion-level alignment)
6. Complete micro-teaching moments to reinforce crucial examiner principles
7. Participate in peer comparison for the trio video in the Forum