A transparent checklist is a short list of visible criteria you tick while listening to your own recording. It turns “that was bad” into “I gave no example and ended without a close”. Whether speaking applies to your entry route is covered in the final lesson, and the habit is useful for practice either way.
This lesson follows responding to a follow-up question and belongs to spoken expression where applicable.
Why use a checklist instead of a feeling?
Listening to your own voice feels strange for almost everyone. That strangeness is not information about quality. A checklist directs your attention to what a listener needs: the answer, the reasons, the example and the close.
The checklist is also transparent. You can see every criterion, tick it yourself and show it to a teacher. Nothing is hidden or scored by a method you cannot inspect.
How do you run a review, step by step?
- Record one short answer, thirty to sixty seconds, on your own device. The private speaking recorder and review keeps the recording local.
- Listen once without the checklist. Just notice your first reaction, then set it aside.
- Listen again and tick each criterion: yes, partly or no.
- Write one line of evidence for each “no” or “partly”, such as the second you noticed it.
- Choose one change for the next recording. Only one.
- Delete the recording when you are done, unless you want to compare it with a later one.
A checklist you can use
| Criterion | What to listen for |
|---|---|
| Answer first | Is the view clear in the first sentence? |
| Two signposted reasons | Can you hear “First” and “Second”? |
| Concrete example | Is there a who, where or what happened? |
| Close | Does the last sentence return to the answer? |
| Pace | Can every word be followed? |
| Fillers | Are “um” and “like” frequent enough to distract? |
Worked example
A student records an answer to “Should school canteens sell fewer sweet drinks?” The transcript has 110 words and the recording lasts 50 seconds.
Step 1, pace. 110 words in 50 seconds is 110 ÷ 50 × 60 = 132 words per minute. That is a comfortable pace for clear speech, so pace is ticked.
Step 2, checklist.
- Answer first: no. The view appears at 0:18, after background about the canteen.
- Two signposted reasons: partly. Two reasons, but no “First” or “Second”.
- Concrete example: yes. A named class and a week of tracking.
- Close: no. The answer ends with “so, yeah”.
- Fillers: partly. Six “um” in 50 seconds.
Step 3, one change. Start with the view. Cut the background and begin with “Yes, the canteen should sell fewer sweet drinks.”
The next recording tests only that one change. If the answer now comes at 0:03, the change worked.
The mistake to watch for
A common slip is to fix everything at once.
Mistaken plan: “Next time I will speak slower, louder, add more examples, stop saying um, and use better vocabulary.”
Five changes at once cannot be checked, and you will probably manage none of them. The correction is to choose the criterion that affects the listener most, which is usually whether the answer comes first, and to repeat the same task until that one is ticked.
Check yourself
1. A 45-word answer takes 30 seconds. What is the pace in words per minute?
Show answer
45 ÷ 30 × 60 = 90 words per minute. That is on the slow side for conversation, which can be fine for a careful answer. Check whether the pauses help the listener or break the thought.
2. You tick “no” for four criteria. How many should you try to change in the next recording?
Show answer
One. Pick the criterion that most affects the listener, such as giving the answer first, and leave the others for later recordings.
3. Your recording includes your friend talking in the background. What should you do before keeping it?
Show answer
Ask your friend’s permission, or re-record without them. Otherwise delete it after reviewing. Keep recordings private and on your device.
Where this leads next
The last lesson in this module, checking whether speaking belongs to your actual entry route, helps you decide how much of this you need. You can also test yourself with the mixed practice set. The writing revision compare view works for comparing a first and second transcript.
Some students listen back and cannot tell which habit to change first. A teacher can help with that in online one-to-one English First Language tuition.