Professionally proud - speaking examiners recognised

I'm really pleased to be able to share that no less than four Cambridge Speaking Examiners have been awarded with Certificates of Excellence. These awards are very well-deserved, and are in recognition of availability & dedication to turning up to 'unfashionable' exam sessions...the mid-week ones in the middle of nowhere; the awkward ones with long lunch breaks and not allowed to step out to get lunch; the full-on ones when it's almost dark by the time you notice; the ones with the students who do not know what to do or the ones with the chemistry lab layout!

Jim with Gavin Addison

I'm pretty sure, between, them, these four champions have been there, and done that, and got the t-shirt!

Jim with Colin Malaney

I met both Gavin & Colin in 2016, at their first training session with a Centre called Z-Kai (no longer offering Cambridge exams, unfortunately). I remember one of those training sessions vividly, as I was not able to connect my laptop to the big screen as we were stuck in a hallway, and I could not grab an HDMI cable from any of the locked rooms. Awkward.

Claire Jansen & Toni O'Connor with JP026
SE Personnel Manager, Keiko Ohashi

Claire Jansen has been associated with Kawaijuku probably longer than I have - we have been working together since 2018, and was also awarded a Bronze Certificate for long service (to be honest, several other SEs deserve this recognition!). Toni O'Connor joined the team in 2020 and has been very busy ever since.

I am really proud of all the hard-working Speaking Examiners across the country, some obviously busier than others but each & every one a valued member of the team. It was very nice indeed to be able to be able to demonstrate to the team that we do notice, and we do care!

Revisiting Sapporo - a Cambridge weekend

It's been quite a while since I last visited Sapporo for work, and many things have changed - Centres have openned (and closed), people have moved on - physically and/or professionally. 

So quite a bit of trepidation 'going back', as a lot of water has passed under the proverbial bridge, and an existing team of Speaking Examiners were probably not too excited about the organisational changes that have taken place. Maybe so, but I was relieved to meet a really nice team of  really 'can do' teachers who obviously care about the bigger picture of delivering Cambridge exams in Sapporo, and not carrying any grudges - just getting on with things.

Some of this group I have come across online through zoom certification meetings during covid, so this was a welcome opportunity to actually meet & get to know people, find the rugby/BBQ fans, establish who knows who & for how long, what the various hierarchies are & the employment faultlines etc.

I was very grateful to be accepted into the general flow of things, with JP026 Kawaijuku/Keiko Ohashi integral to making things go smoothly. We added new members to the team as well as re-certifying existing SEs across a number of levels - in all we tackled Young Learners Starters & Movers, A2:Key, B1:Preliminary, B2:First and C1:Advanced over the weekend, with folks coming & going like musical chairs.By the end, a bit of a blur, but a very good one. A number of new friendships established, I hope, and one in particulr rekindled.

Last of the Summer Wine - Tokyo training

Two clocks, two scales...two candidates

I ran my final 2025 Speaking Examiner training session for Kawaijuku (JP026) recently in Tokyo, for B1:Preliminary and B2:First levels. 

Some of the trainees were completely new to Cambridge Assessment, so it was a balancing act with other recruits familiar to another level 'joining in'. Although the exams are similar in design and task types, each level is unique and needs to be administered in its own way - to script, within time parameters and levels of examiner participation (or not!).

Practicing with fellow teachers is somewhat unrealistic, but a necessary short-cut given the time & logistal issues of going to a school, for example & using 'real' students. The main focus is on making sure procedures are standardised, and that interlocutors realise they have to pay attention to what is, or what is not, happening bewteen the two (occassionally three) candidates in front of them. Must be familiar with the speaking test process to recognise & react to non-verbal clues across the table. Need to encourage? Need to provide support? Need to prevent collusion?..and need to consider overall candidate performance as well. Remember names? Watching the clock (only need one, by the way!)...

What do you think? Why?!

Every single recruit comes to training with unique teaching experiences and in-work roles. Only through open, honest and varied discussions with peers and (some gentle guidance from the side) can we all align our assessing around Cambridge's criteria. Everyone tunes in to different "bits"...its making sure we tune in to 'all the bits' without comparing or applying personal bias which is the learning!

It's always a professional pleasure to meet so many English language teachers who are keen to deliver, and assess, globally recognised standardised speaking tests - and who after a long weekend "Can Do". I love the diversity of our team, the camaraderie & trust established....and adding to SE Team a fresh group of enthusiastic 'newbies'!

Applying the Standard

I'm already looking forward to enhancing my training sessions in 2026 with lessons learnt this year. Stay tuned ;)

Jim's weekend on the job - Tokyo

Delighted to report that I was involved with another training session for Cambridge Assessment English last weekend, as Team Leader for Kawaijuku JP026. On this occasion I was looking after A2:Key & B1:Preliminary levels

Speaking Examiner training team, July 2025 

I was annoyed that a couple of applicants didn't bother turning up (nor contacting us with an excuse/apology) as that robbed other people of the chance to join this otherwise fully booked event.

As it was, we had a very mixed group of English language teaching professonals join the team. Language school teachers,high school teachers, dispatch/ALTs, freelancers & directors of studies. Some people very new to the country, and other old-hands; some dedicated Tokyo-dwellers and others more transient - one participant actually living in Osaka made the trip especially. And six nationalities; more folks from Singapore & Atlanta Georgia than Yorkshire!

As ever, the various experiences of such a group only adds to the eventual outcome, with voices considering how to assess speaking tests vs standardised criteria; noticing different aspects of candidate output, removing personal bias/preferences; gaining exposure to other approaches & ideas...and also picking up best practice off each other in the interlocutor role, learning off each other & giving/recieving feedback.

It is never possible to cover everything an examiner needs to learn in the limited time available to us - a weekend seems like a long time, right? It isn't...Hence the very real need for all Speaking Examiners, globally, to recertify annually in order to build up layers or professional ability, fine tune perfomances and focus in more detail on certain aspects of interlocutor & assessor roles.

My next training session for Kanto area teachers will be Sept 20th, at B1:Preliminary & B2:First, which I'm really looking forward to!