Complete English Speaking Board (International) Ltd Other Life Skills Qualification Foundations for Learning specification revision resources. Tailored syllabus coverage with topic breakdowns, quizzes, and practice questions.
Specification Topics
- Communicating with Music
- ESOL Skills for Life Speaking and Listening
- ESOL Skills for Life Reading
- Communicating Within a Team in the Community
- Developing Independent Communication Skills
- ESOL Skills for Life Reading
- Oral Communication in the Community
- Oral Interview Skills
- ESOL Skills for Life Writing
- Using Oral Skills for Interviews
- Being Healthy – Eating Well
- Oral Communication with Others
- Developing Oral Interview Skills
- Communicating with Others
- Independent Communication Skills
- First Steps in Communicating with Others
- Preparing for Performing Within a Team
- Communicating with Art
- Communicating with Drama
- Reading to a Child
- Handling Money
- Introducing Oral Skills for Interview
- Health and Safety in the Workplace
- Handling Stock
- Knowing Goals
- Personal Health and Hygiene
- Plan a Journey
- Housekeeping - Making a Bed
- Plan an Enterprise
- Housekeeping - Working as a Cleaner
- Housekeeping - Working as a Domestic
- Planning a Journey to the Workplace
- Preparing a CV
- Knowing their Goals
- Preparing for the Workplace
- Making Employment Choices
- Problem Solving at Work
- Using Money at Work
- Being Healthy – Keeping Fit
- Talking in a Team
- Using Number at Work
- Using the Telephone
- Word Processing
- Working with Others
- Workplace Signs and Symbols
- Reading Words, Signs and Symbols
- Writing Workplace Notes and Messages
- Writing to Communicate
- Solving a Problem in the Workplace
- Telephone Skills
- Using Number to Support Employability
- Communicating with ICT
- Choosing a Job
- Working as a Volunteer
- Working in a Beauty Salon
- Working in a Children’s Nursery
- Working in a Garden
- Working in a Hairdressing Salon
- Working in a Kitchen – Baking a Cake
- Working in a Laundry
- Working in a Leisure Club
- Working in a Library
- Complete a Workplace Diary
- Working in an Office
- Working in Maintenance
- Customer Service
- Complete a Workplace Log/Diary
- Employment Skills
- Enterprise – Planning a Cake Business
- Enterprise – Sweet Bags
- Food Preparation – Preparing Vegetables or Fruit
- Food Service – Serving Food and Drink
Top Exam Board Tips
- Set up a predictable routine with clear, consistent musical cues to support the learner's anticipation and ability to demonstrate responses.
- Use a 'total communication' approach, combining music with gestures, objects of reference, or pictures to aid understanding of instructions.
- Record observations over several sessions to capture subtle and inconsistent but valid responses, building a portfolio of video evidence if possible.
- Work closely with familiar support staff who can interpret the learner's unique communication signals and facilitate their engagement within the musical activity.
- In the speaking assessment, always expand on answers with reasons or examples to demonstrate language range
- For listening tasks, read questions beforehand to predict the type of information needed
- Practise with a partner to simulate realistic discussion, focusing on maintaining a natural flow of conversation
- Use a variety of question forms to show interactive ability, not just 'Can you repeat that?'
- Pay attention to non-verbal cues from the examiner or interlocutor to gauge when to speak or clarify
- Read the question carefully before reading the text to know what information you need.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming the learner must sing the words to the greeting song rather than accepting any vocalisation, sound, or consistent movement as participation.
- Overlooking subtle responses such as a glance, change in breathing, or stilling as indicators of audience awareness, expecting overt clapping or dancing.
- Failing to give sufficient processing time for the learner to respond to instructions to select or play an instrument, leading to missed evidence.
- Interpreting a lack of immediate reaction to the musical 'Goodbye' as a failure, rather than considering delayed processing or alternative forms of communication.
- Over-reliance on single-word answers instead of extended responses
- Failing to listen for specific information due to focusing on unfamiliar vocabulary
- Using overly formal language in informal discussion scenarios
- Interrupting or not allowing the speaker to finish before responding
Key Terminology & Definitions
- Be able to participate in a greeting song, Be able to follow instructions to select and play, or to respond to a percussion instrument, Be part of an audience/band and show awareness of a musical activity, Be able to indicate that they are aware that someone has said a musical “Goodbye” to them
- Active listening and comprehension
- Clear verbal expression
- Information exchange strategies
- Interactive discussion techniques
- Non-verbal communication awareness
- Reading comprehension strategies
- Text purpose identification
- Information retrieval skills
- Alphabetical ordering and reference skills
- Be able to share a topic, Be able to read a short extract, Be able to take part in a group performance, Be able to show support as a listener
- Personal Presentation
- Telephone Etiquette
- Group Discussion Skills
- Verbal Clarity