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. Learners listen to and give personal details such as name, age, home, school, family and hobbies, from single words at Entry 1 to a short conversation at Level 2. It is one unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Life, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma. Digital demand is low. No assessment criterion asks for digital work; digital skills sit in recording spoken evidence and suggested online quizzes, dictionaries and partner school links.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 10
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital 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 Collaboration
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Exchanging personal information with a partner school online
The pack suggests linking with a partner centre to communicate via the internet, contacting learners in a partner school about topics studied, and writing a short email about personal information. These are suggested experiences rather than assessment requirements. Because the unit is about giving details such as an email address and mobile number, a real online exchange is a natural point to agree what is safe to share, although the pack does not cover online safety.
DCF: Communication, Identity, image and reputation, Collaboration, Online behaviour and online bullying
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils write a three line class email in the language to a partner class giving first names and favourite hobbies, and talk about which details should not go in it.
- Year 8
- Pupils prepare five questions in the language for a video call with a partner school and decide with the teacher whether a call or an email suits each question better.
- Year 9
- Pupils work with partner school pupils on a shared slide deck comparing their schools in both languages, setting comment rights and leaving out personal contact details.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Experiences, page 14; Suggested activities, Development Activities, page 13
“create a link with a partner centre to communicate via the internet”
Progression step 3
I can exchange online communications, making use of a growing range of available features, e.g. add attachments or hyperlinks, change formatting.
I can show an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of communication and when it is appropriate to use each, e.g. explain when video conferencing may be more appropriate than e-mail, and vice versa; explain the pros and cons of using instant messaging in social contexts; talk about purpose and audience.
I can identify the benefits and risks of giving personal information and device access to different software.
Progression step 4
I can independently select and use a range of online collaboration tools to create a project with others in one or more languages, e.g. making use of online technology to share and present ideas to others.
I can act appropriately online, keeping myself safe and behaving in a responsible manner.
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).
- Specialist staff are expected: "assessors should have subject-specific expertise in language teaching and assessment" (Resources required for assessment, page 16). Devices help but are optional: "it would be beneficial to have access to computers, tablets, or mobile devices for digital activities and research" (page 14).
- Spoken evidence can be recorded. Sources include "audio recording of candidate" and "video recording of role-play", as well as "teacher observation notes" (Sources of evidence, page 14), and a portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18).
- Sampling is remote: "all evidence submitted for sampling must be provided digitally by the centre" (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 5.2, page 23), so spoken work assessed by observation needs notes or recordings that can be uploaded.
- Suggested assessment tasks are optional: "These tasks are not mandatory." (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18). Every digital tool named in the pack, such as Blooket, Quizlet, Kahoot and Canva, appears only in suggested activities.
- 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 pack carries a note that "The UK Government has announced plans to restrict social media use by children under 16" (page 2), which matters for any online contact with a partner school.
- 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).
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).