malcolm mann: effective ways of teaching grammar and vocabulary for the russian state exams

Effective ways of teaching grammar and

vocabulary for the Russian State Exams

March 2015

blurb

In this session, we'll explore what different kinds of grammar and vocabulary are explicitly tested in the GIA and EGE exams. We'll look at some of the more effective ways to prepare students for the 'use of English' aspect of the exams and develop their grammatical, lexical and lexico-grammatical skills. We'll also ask the question: does developing these skills inevitably have to be dry and boring, or can we bring some fun and enjoyment into our grammar and vocabulary work?

title

Effective ways of teaching grammar and vocabulary for

the Russian State Exams

alternative title

Teaching grammar and vocabulary systematically for

the Russian State Exams – what’s the point?

PowerPoint slides

There’s no point writing everything down.

PDFs available on Macmillan Russia website.

You don’t even need a ball***** pen!

At this ***** , …

Russian State Exams – use of English tasks

Grammar

transformation Word formation Gap fill – 4-option

multiple choice GIA 1 text – 9 items

A1+ to A2 1 text – 6 items A1+ to A2

-------

EGE 2 texts – 7 items (usually one narrative, one factual) A2-B1

1 text – 6 items B1 to B1+

1 text – 7 items B1+ to B2

Grammar transformation

Grammar transformation

* pronoun change (I to MY/ME/MINE/MYSELF) * tense change (THINK to THOUGHT, HAVE to HAD) * person change (HAVE to HAS) * regular or irregular comparatives and superlatives (STRANGE to STRANGEST, BAD to WORST) * modal changes (CAN to COULD) * cardinal to ordinal numbers (ONE to FIRST, TWO to SECOND) * irregular plurals (MOUSE to MICE, TOOTH to TEETH)

Based on the grammar syllabus for the level (provided by Ministry of Education in a bullet ….)

Word formation

Word formation

X irregular plurals X tense changes (eg past simple / past participles) ✓ Ministry specifies acceptable word formation types at each level

GIA word formation

Verb affixes: re-, dis-, mis-, -ize/ise Noun affixes: -er/or, -ness, -ist, -ship, -ing, -sion/tion, -ance/ence, -ment, -ity Adjective affixes: -y, -ic, -ful, -al, -ly, -ian/an, -ing, -ous, -ible/able, -less, -ive, inter-, un-, in-/im- Adverb suffix: -ly Number suffixes: -teen, -ty, -th  

EGE 3rd task

EGE 3rd task

X Straight/traditional grammar

Example: It would never test a verb in 4 different tenses.

EGE 3rd task

Lexis and lexico-grammar

Confusable words

The scoring system of tennis is complicated, but basically a player is trying to get more ___ than his/her opponent. A goals B tries C runs D ???

EGE 3rd task

Lexis and lexico-grammar

Collocations

The focal ___ of the room is a big painting on the wall. A spot B mark C place D ???

EGE 3rd task

Lexis and lexico-grammar

Patterns (colligations)

There’s no ___ in asking Don. He won’t know! A reason B idea C aim D ???

Compare: It’s pointless asking…

EGE 3rd task

Lexis and lexico-grammar

Prepositional phrases

Stop waffling! Get ___ the point! A on B to C at D in

EGE 3rd task

Lexis and lexico-grammar

Other phrases, expressions, idioms

We’ve ____ the point of no return. A arrived B achieved C reached D made

EGE 3rd task

Lexis and lexico-grammar

Phrasal verbs

I’d just like to ____ out that you’ve made a mistake. A state B tell C mention D ???

Key principles - 1

We cannot just do exam practice.

Exam practice doesn’t develop grammar, lexis and lexico-grammar systematically.

In the years before the exam, we have to make a p**** of developing grammar, lexis and lexico-grammar systematically and methodically.

A2 grammar and vocabulary

A2 grammar and vocabulary

A2 grammar and vocabulary

A2 grammar and vocabulary

B1 grammar and vocabulary

Controlled exam practice as

consolidation

Key principles - 2

Teaching is not the same as testing.

•  Focus on students’ existing knowledge and skills

•  Students work individually

•  Silence •  No teacher input •  Boring!

Testing •  Focus on increasing

students’ knowledge and skills

•  Students can work together

•  Lively atmosphere •  Teacher input •  Fun and motivating!

Teaching

Key principles - 2

Teaching is not the same as testing.

e.g. phrasal verbs

Testing: fine to contrast 4 verbs with ‘set’ or ‘get’ or ‘take’ etc Teaching: not a good idea to group phrasal verbs by main verb

See my ‘Phrasal verbs’ webinar for more info.

Top Tip

Allow – and encourage! – students in the classroom (and at home) to refer to reference materials if required.

Exam practice

Task-based language and exam skills development (non-

systematic)

í î Pre-task Post-task

EGE grammar pre-task

EGE word formation pre-task

EGE gap-fill pre-task

Could also be done post-task instead (before or after going through the answers to the exam practice task).

Exam practice Task-based language and exam skills development

* Understanding gist * Understanding text logic * Gap analysis * Analysing textual clues * Suggesting possible correct/incorrect answers for gaps * Giving clues regarding the gaps/answers * Language development (eg irregular plurals, negative prefixes, collocations, patterns, etc)

Etc etc etc…

Exam practice – Top Tip

Students read the text quickly in order to get a general understanding. Test their understanding in a variety of fun ways.

Example 1: You read out a short summary, containing factual mistakes. Every time there’s a mistake, they shout out the correction. Teacher: It’s about a film called ‘Game Point’… Students: ‘Match Point’!

Exam practice – Top Tip

They read the text quickly in order to get a general understanding. Test their understanding in a variety of fun ways.

Example 2: The students come up with a summary. Each student can only say three words. Student 1: It’s about a… Student 2: kind of dog… Student 3: called an English… Student 4: Pointer. … etc

Exam practice – Top Tip

* Giving clues regarding the gaps/answers Vary the way you do this:

“No, I will not tell you the answer,” she said _____. POINT POEYDINTL

Anagram

Exam practice – Top Tip

* Giving clues regarding the gaps/answers Vary the way you do this:

“No, I will not tell you the answer,” she said _____. POINT (9 letters)

How many letters

Exam practice – Top Tip

* Giving clues regarding the gaps/answers Vary the way you do this:

“No, I will not tell you the answer,” she said _____. POINT Easier: PNTDLY More difficult: OIE

Only consonants or vowels

In the exam, they’re on their own – with no help or guidance from the teacher or materials.

Question: If a student does badly in one or more of these GIA/EGE tasks, what have they probably done wrong?

In the actual exam

Fundamental exam skills for GIA/EGE use of English tasks

Quickly read the text to get a general understanding before you try to fill any gaps.

Fundamental exam skills for GIA/EGE use of English tasks

Do the easiest ones first – the ones you're absolutely sure about.

Fundamental exam skills for GIA/EGE use of English tasks

Don't leave any blanks. You don't get any points for a blank answer.

Fundamental exam skills for GIA/EGE use of English tasks

Make an educated guess even if you aren't sure. Look for clues. Ask yourself key questions about: * text logic (are we talking about something positive or negative?) * surrounding text (if I need a comparative, where's than?).

Fundamental exam skills for GIA/EGE use of English tasks

With EGE multiple choice gap fill, don’t chose an option ‘randomly’. Discard the obviously wrong ones. Ask sensible questions about each of the remaining options to make an ‘educated’ guess.

Fundamental exam skills for GIA/EGE use of English tasks

When you've filled every gap, read through the whole text again inserting the answers. Does it sound right? Does it make sense? If not, think further about answers that are clearly wrong.

Fundamental exam skills for GIA/EGE use of English tasks

Be very careful transferring answers to the answer sheet.

Key principles - 3

The more we can get students to understand the fundamental principles behind the language, the better they’ll be able to make an educated guess if they’re not sure of the answer (particularly in EGE gap-fill task).

See my ‘Metaphor’ and ‘Phrasal verbs’ webinars for more info.

Example of a fundamental principle

up = positive (emotion) down = negative (emotion)

Feel down (in the dumps) Feel high (as a kite) Under the weather Down and out Things are on the up Do up a house

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PDF of all the slides

Macmillan Russia website