How is the B1 speaking test marked?

Published 31 August 2026

The two B1 speaking tests most commonly used for UK settlement and citizenship applications — Trinity GESE Grade 5 and LanguageCert ESOL SELT B1 — mark your performance in completely different ways. This article explains what the examiner is recording in each one, and what actually affects your result.

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GESE Grade 5: one criterion, two separate grades

GESE Grade 5 has two assessed phases: the Topic phase (up to 5 minutes) and the Conversation (up to 5 minutes). Each phase receives its own grade.

There is a single marking criterion: task fulfilment. This covers four things together: your communicative skills, the language functions you use, the accuracy and range of your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, and your fluency. The examiner judges everything as a whole — one grade per phase, not a separate score for each area.

The four grades are:

• A — Distinction
• B — Merit
• C — Pass
• D — Fail

Trinity’s official performance descriptors describe the at-pass standard (band C) as contributions that are “moderately effective, comprehensible and appropriate and partially fulfil the task.” The A band — Distinction — describes contributions that “obviously fulfil the task… with a high level of accuracy and appropriacy… the candidate contributes promptly and fluently.”

The two phase grades are combined to give your certificate level — Pass, Pass with Merit, or Pass with Distinction — using Trinity’s official conversion tables. The only two ways to fail GESE Grade 5 overall are:

• Receiving D in both phases (called DD)
• Arriving without your topic form — the Topic phase is then voided, which is an automatic fail regardless of how well you do in the Conversation

Any other grade combination produces a pass certificate.

One behaviour is explicitly marked in each phase: you must ask the examiner at least one question. The Topic phase requires one question; the Conversation requires a separate one. This is a marked requirement, not optional.

LanguageCert ESOL SELT B1: five criteria, a score out of 30

LanguageCert marks across five separate criteria. Your total is out of 30.

• Listening and Responding — up to 10 marks
• Interactive Communication and Task Fulfilment — up to 5 marks
• Accuracy and Range of Grammar — up to 5 marks
• Accuracy and Range of Vocabulary — up to 5 marks
• Pronunciation, Intonation and Fluency — up to 5 marks

According to LanguageCert’s published qualification information, the pass threshold is 18 out of 30. Confirm this directly with LanguageCert before you rely on it — pass marks are theirs to set, and they can change. There is one certificate level: Pass. There is no Merit or Distinction.

The official marking descriptors describe the at-level standard for B1 as tasks “mostly fulfilled with a degree of independence. Interaction is maintained most of the time. Turn taking is mostly natural.” On grammar: “major errors may occur, but the message is always communicated.” On pronunciation: “First language influences on stress and intonation are noticeable, but meaning remains clear.”

The phrase “a degree of independence” matters in practice. The exam records how much the interlocutor needs to prompt and support you. B1 expects you to keep the conversation going without the examiner constantly stepping in. Heavy reliance on examiner support is reflected in the Interactive Communication and Task Fulfilment score.

What both exams share: accent is not a fault

Neither exam expects you to sound like a native speaker.

The GESE descriptors assess whether your contributions are “clearly comprehensible” — not whether you have a particular accent. The LanguageCert descriptors for pronunciation and fluency state explicitly that first-language influences on stress and intonation are “noticeable, but meaning remains clear” at the B1 at-level standard. Both descriptions are from the official published rubrics of each provider.

What matters in both exams is whether you can be understood and whether you complete the task. Fluency and task fulfilment are what is marked. Your accent is not.

The practical difference between the two systems

GESE Grade 5 gives you two separate assessed chances — one per phase. A weaker Topic phase and a stronger Conversation can still produce a pass certificate. But the question requirement is strict: if you forget to ask the examiner a question in a phase, it is noted in the assessment. Sounding rehearsed or reciting from a script is also specifically penalised under the phonology part of the criterion.

LanguageCert ESOL SELT B1 adds everything into one total out of 30. The listening section — Part 4A — accounts for up to 10 of those 30 marks. That is a third of your total from a single part of the exam. If you are preparing for LanguageCert, Part 4A deserves specific attention: the examiner reads a short text twice, and you answer three questions aloud from memory or notes.

Want to practise before you sit?

UK SELT Simulator runs spoken mock sessions in both formats — GESE Grade 5 (Topic phase, then Conversation) and LanguageCert SELT B1 (all four parts, in order) — with an AI examiner and a short report after each session. See how it works.

UK SELT Simulator is independent practice software. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by UKVI, the Home Office, Trinity College London, or LanguageCert.

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