SL AO9 — Use of Spoken Standard English

AO9 assesses whether you use spoken Standard English effectively in your presentation and Q&A responses.

What is Standard English?

Standard English is the form of English that uses standardised grammatical structures — used in formal written and spoken contexts in the UK. It is the variety taught in schools, used in formal settings (court, parliament, professional meetings) and assessed in formal examinations.

Standard English does NOT mean:

• A particular accent (Received Pronunciation is not required — regional accents are absolutely acceptable)
• Eliminating all regional vocabulary (though very strong regional dialect in a formal setting may be noted)

Standard English DOES mean:

• Standard grammatical forms: "I was" (not "I were"); "We don't" (not "We ain't"); "She did" (not "She done")
• No double negatives: "I didn't do anything" (not "I never done nothing")
• Consistent verb tenses: "I argued... I then discussed..." (not randomly switching)
• Appropriate vocabulary for a formal context

Why AO9 matters

Speaking in Standard English in formal contexts is a real-world skill. Employers, universities and professional settings expect it in formal contexts (though not in casual conversation). AO9 recognises this as a distinct skill.

AO9 in the Q&A

AO9 applies to your prepared presentation AND your spontaneous Q&A responses. This is harder — when responding off the cuff, it is easy to slip into informal dialect. Practise using Standard English naturally in everyday speech to make it habitual.

Distinction level AO9

At Distinction: Standard English is used consistently and effectively throughout both the prepared presentation and the Q&A. No significant non-standard grammatical forms appear.

Common non-standard forms to avoid

Non-standard	Standard
I were	I was
We ain't / We're not	We are not / We aren't
She done it	She did it
I never done nothing	I didn't do anything
Them questions	Those questions
Could of	Could have

Exam tip

If you naturally use non-standard forms in speech (which is common and nothing to be ashamed of), focus on the specific forms above and practise using standard versions during rehearsal.