Skills for Life: International Language: Social Activities (Spoken)
International language (spoken): social activities 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 talk about leisure activities, places, transport, food and drink, from single words at Entry 1 to a short conversation at Level 2. It is one unit that learners combine with other 10 or 20 hour units 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 in suggested activities.
- 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 information relating to social activities, give basic information orally about social activities), with separate assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3, including clear pronunciation. 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 information relating to social activities, engage in a conversation relating to social activities), 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 Identity, image and reputation
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Recording spoken evidence for the portfolio
The sources of evidence for this unit include audio recordings of the learner, recorded dialogues and video of role-plays and presentations, alongside teacher observation notes. Recording is one way to evidence the listening and speaking criteria at every level, but the recording itself is not assessed and observation notes can be used instead.
DCF: Creating digital content, Storing and sharing, Identity, image and reputation, Evaluating and improving digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils record themselves saying five hobby words on an iPad voice recorder, listen back and re-record any word they mispronounced.
- Year 8
- Pupils film a 30 second café ordering role-play in pairs and save it with their names and the date in a class folder that only the teacher can see.
- Year 9
- Pupils film a role-play booking a table, watch it back with a checklist for pronunciation and questions asked, then film an improved version and label both files.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Sources of evidence, page 14; Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 4.1, pages 18 and 19
“recording of practical demonstrations of evidence, such as dialogues”
Progression step 3
I can use a range of software to select, produce and edit a range of multimedia components for a purpose, such as:
- text and images, e.g. format text (bold, underline, italics, highlight); insert and edit text boxes; columns; use refine tools (spellchecker, find and replace); word wrap; crop; alter size and shape; alter images; add effects; trim and split sound and video clips; transitions; onion skin
- presentation, e.g. page orientation; animations; transitions; remove and alter images; use background; use action buttons to create hyperlink; embed objects.
I can manage files and folders locally or online, e.g. move files to a folder.
I can think critically about information shared online, e.g. the impact of sharing images and videos, metadata of images and videos.
Progression step 4
I can select and use a variety of appropriate software, tools and techniques to create, modify and combine multimedia components for a range of audiences and purposes, such as:
- text and images, e.g. explore and use effectively image manipulation techniques; explore and use appropriately the many aspects of document layout; use animation, video and audio effects such as echo, tempo, envelope, layering, frame rate, key frames
- presentation, e.g. use design tools; adapt themes and colours to suit the purpose; create master templates.
I can suggest and make improvements that are relevant for audience and purpose, based on feedback and self-evaluation of my digital work.
Good to know
- The unit page gives no code: "Please refer to the Skills for Life and Work qualifications specification." (Unit overview, page 3), and the specification lists each language version of the unit with the code "TBC" (Section 3.1, page 13).
- The unit is offered in six languages: "This unit is available in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish." and "The unit title awarded to the learner will indicate the language that has been achieved." (Unit overview, page 3).
- No digital equipment is required. The unit is "designed to be delivered using standard classroom environments", though "it would be beneficial to have access to computers, tablets, or mobile devices for digital activities and research" (Resources required for delivery, page 14).
- Speaking can be evidenced by recording: the sources of evidence include "audio recording of candidate", "video recording of role-play" and "teacher observation notes" (Sources of evidence, page 14), and the portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (Specification, Section 4.1, page 18).
- Suggested activities and tasks are optional: "These tasks are not mandatory." Teachers "may choose to use these suggestions, adapt them, or develop their own alternatives" (Specification, Section 4.1, page 18).
- AI tools: misuse includes "Using AI to complete parts of the assessment so that the work does not reflect the learner's own work" and "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information" (Specification, Section 4.6, page 21).
- The pack opens with a warning that "The UK Government has announced plans to restrict social media use by children under 16, which may impact some of our qualifications." (page 2), which matters for any online contact with a partner school.
- Staffing: "it is preferential that teachers have subject-specific expertise in language teaching" (page 14) and assessors "should have subject-specific expertise in language teaching and assessment" (page 16).
- Learners can take the unit at several levels, but "only the highest level of the unit achieved will count towards the GLH required for a qualification" (Specification, Section 2.2, page 10).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names VCSE Travel and Tourism and GCSE Business as qualifications this unit could complement, and the café, menu, booking and car hire contexts also fit VCSE Hospitality and Catering. It sits alongside GCSE French, GCSE German and GCSE Spanish, but the pack says learners already taking one of those GCSEs "may not benefit" from this unit in the same language and may prefer a new one, such as Italian, Japanese or Mandarin. Within the Skills Suite it pairs with International language (written): social activities and with the communicating personal information and education and employment units, spoken and written. The digital work, such as online quizzes, a Canva menu and partner school emails, is light and links only loosely with GCSE Digital Technology.
Source: WJEC International language (spoken) - social activities 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).