National 5 English: spoken language performance

Spoken language carries no marks in National 5 English, but without it there is no course award. The performance is judged as achieved or not achieved by your teacher or lecturer, using a detailed checklist, and the awarding body samples and checks centres' judgements. The National 5 English course specification sets out four aspects, and you must achieve all four: detailed and relevant ideas with a structure suited to purpose and audience; meaning communicated through detailed spoken language, with appropriate vocabulary and register and enough clarity; non-verbal communication; and listening, shown by relevant responses to others.

The evidence can come from a group discussion or discussion-based activity, or from a presentation followed by questions from the audience. A group discussion needs only you and one other person, who can be the teacher, and a judgement can be made across a series of activities rather than on a single occasion. This material explains these rules and then practises the skills behind each aspect.

The quiz uses an everyday discussion topic – whether phones should be handed in at the start of the school day – to show what detailed ideas, active listening and polite disagreement sound like, and covers register, non-verbal communication, the structure a presentation needs, the audience questions that show listening, and the holistic judgement across several activities.

The flashcards summarise the rules and the four aspects.

The written work prepares you to speak: plan three detailed points for a discussion, collect phrases for building on and challenging others, plan a four-minute presentation, answer an audience question, explain the four aspects, describe non-verbal techniques, adapt register from a relaxed discussion to a formal presentation, and diagnose a candidate who dominates a discussion.

The oral exam is a practice discussion. The examiner takes part as the other member of a two-person discussion, makes short contributions, disagrees with you at least once so that you have to listen and respond, and then gives feedback against the aspects. Because the chat is written, non-verbal communication cannot be judged there; practise it aloud with classmates.

Use the material to rehearse before your class discussions or presentation, so that your teacher sees all four aspects clearly.

• Explain how spoken language is assessed and why it is required for the award
• Describe the four aspects of performance and the activities that can provide evidence
• Contribute detailed, relevant ideas to a discussion
• Show listening by building on and challenging others' points politely
• Plan a structured presentation and answer audience questions
• Choose a suitable register and use non-verbal communication

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the National 5 English course specification (Qualifications Scotland, formerly SQA, version 6.0, September 2025): performance–spoken language, its assessment conditions and marking instructions. The discussion topic and examples are original.