Grade 7 is the first exam in Trinity’s Intermediate stage. It is a 15-minute speaking and listening exam with three parts: a prepared topic discussion, an interactive task, and a conversation. The interactive task is new at this grade. Candidates take responsibility for moving the exchange forward by deciding what to ask, listening to the answer, and following up.

The candidate chooses a topic of personal interest outside the six conversation subjects and leads a discussion about it. A topic that invites an opinion gives both speakers something to explore. For example, a candidate who chooses Starting a community choir could explain why they started it, describe a decision the group faced, and ask, “Do you think we should hold auditions or let everyone join?” The candidate can then respond to the examiner’s view, drawing on their own experience to explain where they agree or disagree.

The examiner introduces a situation with a short prompt. The candidate takes the initiative, asks for details, and uses what they hear to develop the discussion. For example, the examiner might say, “I’ve been offered a place on a course, but I’m unsure whether to accept it.” A candidate could ask, “What’s making you hesitate?” If the concern is time, a useful follow-up would be, “Could you take the course part-time?” This exchange shows how listening shapes the advice the candidate gives.

The examiner chooses two of six subject areas: education, national customs, village and city life, national and local produce and products, early memories, and pollution and recycling. Candidates exchange opinions, compare experiences, and invite the examiner to expand on an idea. In a conversation about village and city life, for example, a candidate might say, “I used to live in a village where I knew most of my neighbours. What do you think makes it easier to get to know people in a city?”

Grade 7 language helps candidates weigh choices and explain their thinking. They use used to for past habits, the second conditional for imagined situations, and words such as might, could, and should to distinguish a possibility from a suggestion or advice. Other areas include the simple passive, relative clauses, and intonation that signals interest or shows when a speaker has finished. For example, “If rehearsals started later, more people might come, but parents with young children could find it harder” gives the examiner both a proposal and a reason to question it.