Skills for Life: International Language: Communicating Personal Information (Spoken)
International language (spoken): communicating personal information is a 10 hour Skills for Life unit, from Entry 1 to Level 2, offered in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish. It is one unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Life, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma. Literacy is the whole unit: learners listen for personal details and speak about themselves, from single words at Entry 1 to a short conversation with open questions at Level 2, often translating into English or Cymraeg. Numeracy is light, limited to saying numbers, dates and times.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 10
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Two learning outcomes (understand basic spoken personal information, give basic personal information orally), with separate assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 10 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Two learning outcomes (understand spoken personal information, engage in a conversation relating to personal information), with separate assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 10 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Questioning
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Asking and answering questions in a conversation
At Level 1 learners use predictable questions to clarify basic personal information, and at Level 2 they take part in a short conversation, adding relevant details and appropriate responses, and use open questions to find out specific information. Phrases such as asking someone to repeat or speak more slowly are listed in the amplification. The conversation and questions are required by the Level 1 and Level 2 assessment criteria.
Literacy: Questioning, Collaborative talk, Listening as part of collaborative talk
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils ask a partner three set questions, such as what is your name and how old are you, and write down the answers.
- Year 8
- Pupils carry out a class survey in the language asking where people live and what they do in their free time, using please repeat that when they do not understand.
- Year 9
- Pupils hold a two minute conversation with a partner using open questions about jobs, school and future plans, adding a reason or extra detail to each answer.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2.1 and 2.2, page 6; Amplification, page 11
“Use open questions to find out specific personal information.”
Progression step 3
I can ask and answer questions, building on and developing the ideas of others in group discussions.
I can respond to others’ points of view by seeking clarity, summarising and explaining what I have heard, read or seen.
I have experienced speaking with different people in a variety of authentic contexts.
Progression step 4
I have experienced speaking with different people in a variety of authentic contexts.
I can listen to and respond to others with questions, comments and suggestions in order to develop collaborative talk and reach compromise/consensus.
Good to know
- There is one unit for each language. The title is "available in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish", and for unit codes the pack says "Please refer to the Skills for Life and Work qualifications specification." (Unit overview, page 3), where every code is still listed as TBC (section 3.1, page 13).
- Literacy is the integral skill named for the unit: "Learners will have opportunities to develop their literacy skills, with an emphasis on speaking and listening." (Unit overview, page 4). Appendix A of the specification has no row for this unit.
- Spoken work can be evidenced without writing: sources include "audio recording of candidate", "video recording of role-play" and "teacher observation notes", and "extended written work is not required unless appropriate" (Sources of evidence, page 14).
- Judgements are on the criteria, not accuracy of writing: "Assessor judgements should focus on meeting the standard, not spelling or presentation unless specifically assessed." (Sources of evidence, page 14).
- Suggested assessment tasks are optional: "These tasks are not mandatory." (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18).
- AI use must be acknowledged. Properly referenced AI use "can be acceptable", but "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information" is malpractice (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.6, page 21).
- The unit starts from scratch: the units "assume that learners have no previous experience of the language being learnt" (Planning courses, page 7), with Entry Level pitched at CEFR pre-A1 to A1 and Levels 1 and 2 at A2 to B1 (page 8). Staff should have "subject-specific expertise in language teaching" (page 14).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names VCSE Travel and Tourism and GCSE Business as qualifications the international language units can complement, and greetings, nationality, travel and talk about where people live and work fit both. Learners already taking GCSE French, GCSE German or GCSE Spanish are pointed towards a new language rather than the same one. Within the Skills Suite the unit pairs with International language (written): communicating personal information, the Social activities units and the Skills for Work Education and employment units, which share vocabulary for school, work and hobbies. Translating answers into English or Cymraeg draws on GCSE English Language and Literature, GCSE Cymraeg Language and Literature and GCSE Core Cymraeg, and the Level 2 questions about skills and future jobs echo the Interview and confidence techniques unit.
Source: WJEC International language (spoken) - communicating personal information unit delivery and assessment pack, read with the WJEC Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life and Skills for Work specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).