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Delta Module One

Understanding language, methodology and resources for teaching

Examination Report

June 2012

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Contents 1 Comments on Overall Performance ............................................................................................... 4

2 Delta Module One Markscheme ..................................................................................................... 6

2.1 Distribution of marks .............................................................................................................. 6

2.2 Markscheme for each task ..................................................................................................... 6

2.3 Grading................................................................................................................................... 7

3 Paper 1 Task 1................................................................................................................................ 9

4 Paper 1 Task 2.............................................................................................................................. 10

5 Paper 1 Task 3.............................................................................................................................. 11

5.1 Guideline Answer ................................................................................................................. 11

Candidate performance ....................................................................................................... 11

5.2 Sample Answers .................................................................................................................. 12

6 Paper 1 Task 4.............................................................................................................................. 15


6.2 Candidate performance........................................................................................................ 19

6.3 Sample Answers .................................................................................................................. 22

7 Paper 1 Task 5.............................................................................................................................. 30



7.3 Sample Answers .................................................................................................................. 34

8 Paper 2 Task 1.............................................................................................................................. 38



8.3 Sample Answers .................................................................................................................. 41

9 Paper 2 Task 2.............................................................................................................................. 45



9.3 Sample Answers .................................................................................................................. 49

10 Paper 2 Task 3.............................................................................................................................. 54



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10.3 Sample Answers .................................................................................................................. 55

11 Paper 2 Task 4.............................................................................................................................. 58



11.3 Sample Answers .................................................................................................................. 60

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1 Comments on Overall Performance

The Delta Module One examination was taken by over 550 candidates from 64 centres in a wide range of countries. As in previous sessions mean scores were above half the marks available for the exam for the candidature as a whole. Percentages of candidates achieving both Merit and Distinction were up on June 2011. More than 67% of candidates achieved a Pass. Key reasons why candidates may not achieve pass standard are as follows:

The most common reason is that they do not possess sufficient knowledge and experience to be able to address the different tasks and are therefore unable to perform at Delta standard.

A large majority of candidates have a very poor knowledge of phonology which can result in a significant loss of marks in, for example, Paper One, Task 4. Candidates and centres alike need to increase / improve their level of phonological input.

Some candidates who enter the examination without having taken a preparation course may have insufficient awareness of task requirements. Candidates should refer to the previous Module One examination reports. These give clear guidance as to what candidates have to do in order to increase their chances of success in the examination.

Some candidates who follow a preparation course may have received inadequate or inaccurate centre guidance. From Examiner comments this year, this seems to have been less of a problem than in previous sessions although some lack of accurate guidance is still evident.

Some candidates do not manage their time effectively. As stated in the June 2011 report, Task 4 in both Papers One and Two and Task 5 in Paper One carry a large number of marks and candidates are strongly advised to allow adequate time for these tasks. Candidates are free to attempt the tasks in the order of their choosing and of course should not spend so much time on the tasks indicated above to the detriment of the other ones. This session there were fewer unattempted and incomplete tasks than in previous sessions.

The mean score for Paper One was higher than for Paper Two although the overall mean score was entirely in line with previous sessions. In Paper One, Task 1 candidate performance was very strong, with almost 60% of candidates achieving 5 or 6 marks (see page 6 below for marks allocation by task). Performance in Task Two also showed improvement over the past two sessions with the average number of marks achieved being 6. Task 3 performance was well in line with previous sessions with an average of 9 marks achieved. The mean score for Task 4 was the second highest since the introduction of the new scheme at almost 25. Candidates also performed well in Task 5 with an average score of almost 12 marks. Overall, performance on Paper One was the highest since June 2010. In Paper Two, Task 1 generated the highest marks ever with more than half the candidates achieving at least 12 marks. Examiners noted that candidates appeared to be more confident in terms of how to approach the task. The mean score for Task 2 was 16. However, some candidates struggled to identify a sufficient number of purposes in part (a) and accompanying assumptions in part (b); candidates may need more training in how to approach this task and also need to explore in greater depth the principles behind the design of teaching material. Candidate performance in Task 3, however, was the highest since June 2009. Task 4 continued to challenge candidates and the mean score was lower than half the marks available for the task. Examiners noted that many candidates struggled with the topic of approaches to teaching lexical and functional language and interpreted the rubric in a variety of different ways. Overall, Paper Two scored slightly lower than in previous sessions but this was balanced by the higher scores achieved in Paper One. Task-level performance was considered in the application of grade boundaries and, overall, candidate achievement for the June 2012 cohort was entirely in line with previous sessions. Layout of answers shows improvement although weaker candidates continue to lay their answers out in a disorderly fashion and provide information not required in the rubrics. Please see each task for examiner comments on individual task performance.

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General advice Candidates are strongly advised to do the following in order to maximise their performance in the examination:

read the previous Examination Reports in detail to ensure that they understand how to approach each task and how the marks are allocated

make use of the suggested times given on the question papers to complete each task - the times relate to the number of marks available for the questions. Candidates are not penalised if they outline more features than asked for in Paper One, Tasks 3 and 5, and in Paper Two, Tasks 1 and 2b but they should note that this is a dangerous strategy as providing more features than asked for takes away time from other tasks. Adding one more feature in these tasks may be a useful safety net but doing more than this can jeopardise other tasks

read question rubrics very carefully, underlining or highlighting key points they contain. It is essential that candidates provide the information asked for and do not provide unrequested information. While no marks are deducted for wrong or irrelevant information, candidate time is wasted and no marks are gained by providing unrequested information

plan the order in which they are going to answer the tasks and complete at least two full mock examinations in timed conditions to get used to the exam format and time requirements

do not waste time making rough notes – there is no time available for this. Instead candidates should do what is suggested in the above bullet point and do more tasks under timed conditions to get used to the requirements and formats of the different tasks

follow the layout as suggested in each task. Use bullet points to organise their answers and save time

start each task on a new page and clearly label their answers, showing what task or part of a task they are answering

lay their answers out with plenty of space – candidates might find it easier to write their answers on every other line in the answer booklet. Many answers were very cramped and written in the margins, making it very difficult for Examiners to mark the tasks. One candidate completed all five tasks on four sides of paper with the result that the answers were so cramped that they were almost impossible to read. Candidates need to consider their audience and by leaving extra space, they can include more points later in the exam if they realise that they have something more to add

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2 Delta Module One Markscheme

2.1 Distribution of marks

In Delta Module One, candidates accumulate marks across questions and it is the total number of marks obtained across the two papers that determine which grade a candidate is awarded. Candidates do not therefore gain a grade for each task. Answers are marked against a detailed markscheme containing guideline answers, with candidates being awarded marks for each correct answer given. The number of marks available for each task is as follows:

Paper 1

Task 1 6

Task 2 12

Task 3 15

Task 4 40

Task 5 27

Total 100

Paper 2

Task 1 20

Task 2 30

Task 3 10

Task 4 40

Total 100

Grand Total

200

Points made twice within an answer are not credited twice and no marks are deducted for wrong answers. Please note that relevant alternative wordings and examples are accepted.

2.2 Markscheme for each task

Paper 1 Task 1 One mark is awarded for each correct answer.

Paper 1 Task 2 A total of three marks are available per answer: one mark for the basic definition one mark for a further point made one mark for a correct example

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Note: The further point is only awarded if the basic definition is correct; only one further point is allowed per question; the example can be awarded a point, even if the definition is not correct.

Paper 1 Task 3 One mark is awarded for each language feature correctly identified. A further two marks are awarded for each correct example / illustration. An example cannot be

awarded marks if the feature is not identified.

Paper 1 Task 4 One mark is awarded for each point correctly made up to a maximum of 40. Note: in a, there is a maximum of five marks available and a mark is only awarded if a correct example is given.

Paper 1 Task 5 a One mark is awarded for each strength correctly identified up to a maximum of three marks. One mark is awarded for each example from the text illustrating the strength identified, up to a

maximum of three marks. Note: no mark can be given for an example if its accompanying strength has not been correctly identified

One mark is awarded for each weakness correctly identified up to a maximum of three marks. One mark is awarded for each example from the text illustrating the weakness identified, up to a

maximum of three marks. Note: no mark can be given for an example if its accompanying weakness has not been correctly identified

Additional marks may be awarded for knowledge and insight into why and how the strengths and weaknesses aid or negate the effectiveness of the text. b

One mark is awarded for each justification given for the weakness prioritised, up to three marks. One additional mark is awarded for each justification that is fully developed.

Paper 2 Task 1 One mark is awarded for each positive / negative feature identified. An additional mark is awarded

for each positive / negative feature identified if its application to the learner is also identified. Up to two additional marks are awarded for accurate use of four testing terms throughout the

answer. However these additional marks cannot be awarded if more than two terms are used inaccurately and the use of the terms must occur in valid points.

Paper 2 Task 2 Two marks are awarded for each purpose correctly identified. One mark is awarded for each assumption listed. Two additional marks are awarded for two reasons given for an assumption.

Paper 2 Task 3 One mark is awarded for each correct point made, up to a maximum of 10.

Paper 2 Task 4 Two marks are awarded for each correct point made, up to a maximum of 40.

2.3 Grading

Results are recorded as three passing grades (Pass with Distinction, Pass with Merit, Pass) and one failing grade (Fail). At the end of the marking process, there is a grading meeting to determine precisely how many marks are required to obtain each of the passing grades. The grade boundaries are set in a way that ensures that the level of knowledge required to obtain the three passing grades: is consistent with the band descriptors on page 7 of the Delta Modules Handbook is the same from one session to the next does not vary as a result of slight variations in the difficulty of the papers The following information is used in the grading process:

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statistics on the candidature comparison with statistics from previous years’ examination performance and candidature recommendations of examiners, based on the performance of candidates The marks required to obtain each grade are: Pass approximately 50% Pass with Merit approximately 65% Pass with Distinction approximately 75%

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3 Paper 1 Task 1

For examples of Task 1 questions, and comments on sample answers, see previous Examination Reports. As in previous sessions, candidates are recommended to: only write the required term, not giving an example or any extra information not provide alternative answers spell terms correctly; a very limited number of alternative spellings are accepted lay out their answers clearly using the sub-headings of Point, Further Point, Example see previous examination reports on the Cambridge ESOL website for detailed feedback on how

to approach this task

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4 Paper 1 Task 2

For examples of Task 2 questions, and comments on sample answers, see previous Examination Reports. As in previous sessions, candidates are recommended to: only write about four terms give a basic definition, an example and one item of further information for each term lay out their answers clearly using the sub-headings of Point, Further Point, Example see previous examination reports on the Cambridge ESOL website for detailed feedback on how

to approach this task

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5 Paper 1 Task 3

The extract for this task is a writing activity for intermediate (CEFR level B1) learners. Identify a total of five key language features learners at this level would need in order to complete the activity successfully. Provide an example specific to this activity to support each choice. Phrases for beginning and ending a story are provided in the extract. Do not write about phrases for beginning and ending a story in your answer.

5.1 Guideline Answer

Organisation of content / paragraphing

Example 1 background and description of main character/setting, 2 (bad) event, 3 (overcoming bad) event, 4 resolution OR equilibrium – disequilibrium – re-equilibrium (NB: candidates had to mention a minimum of two) Narrative tenses AND/OR past simple, past continuous, past perfect (NB: candidates had to mention a minimum of two of these) Example The old lady lived alone in a cottage. She had never met a dwarf before. Direct/indirect speech Example The little girl said, ‘What big teeth you have’. The little girl told her granny what big teeth she had. Sequencers / time related linkers Example then she ran all the way home, after that the witch made new plans to kill her, before long the news of their marriage spread through the kingdom Relative clauses / participle clauses Example the princess who lived in ..., The forest which he passed through ..., Passing through the forest, he saw …, Adjectives / adjective + noun collocations / adverbs / adverbial phrases Example the cruel old man, handsome prince, wicked witch, lucky charm, She tried again and again, to her surprise, the frog turned into a prince. Lexis relevant to genre of folk tales/fairy stories Example witch, broomstick, forest, magic, make a wish Substitution / use of synonyms (to avoid repetition / to create interest) Example the dark wood – the frightening forest, the prince – the kindly young man

Candidate performance

The genre of a fairy/folk tale generated interest and most candidates could identify 2 or 3 features with appropriate exemplification. Some candidates included too many examples which Examiners noted was not a productive use of time. The most common features identified were the use of narrative tenses, lexis related to fairy tales, adjectives & adverbs, and the organisational structure of the text. Weaker candidates were unable to identify the grammatical features of direct/indirect speech and participle/relative clauses. The least common feature identified was the use of synonyms to avoid repetition. Instead, candidates cited the use of pronouns to substitute for nouns which is not specific to this text type. Few candidates specified the type of linking devices required: they listed a range of cohesive devices (e.g. however, so etc) rather than highlighting the importance of ones for sequencing/time. Two other features which were frequently cited were an informal style suitable for children which was not appropriate as the style of a folk take can range from the very informal/simple, as if read to a child, to a quite formal and complex style. The other feature which was not accepted on its own was the use of the past simple, which at this level and for this genre, was too limited.

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Candidates needed to choose at least two past verb forms or refer to ‘narrative tenses’ to be awarded this feature. As was written in the June 2011 report, accurate and full exemplification is key to this task because candidates are awarded 1 point for the feature and 2 points for the example. Many candidates had clearly taken this suggestion on board and provided full examples rather than just single items at an appropriate level. They generally did this well for all the language features apart from adjectives which they listed without giving them the noun (and therefore context) that they would accompany and for time discourse markers which they did not put into a sentence. Exemplification for the feature of organisation of content/paragraphing was not done well with weaker candidates simply giving pre-learnt labels such as introduce the background, main events, conclusion. Candidates must remember that they need to give an example appropriate to the genre as indicated in the Guideline Answers. Others simply wrote the paragraphs for a specific fairy story, e.g. Cinderella, rather than extrapolating the basic framework of the genre. Some candidates continue to lose marks because they do not include an example – this is very poor exam technique as there are a potential 10 marks available for exemplification. Other candidates wasted time providing too many examples or other extra/unasked for information on why the feature was included. Candidates should note that it is only necessary to include one full example for each feature, apart from organisational features and that including more is not a good idea in terms of time efficiency. Candidates are recommended to: read the rubric carefully only discuss what the rubric requires outline no more than six features (five as the task requires and a maximum of one extra one for

‘insurance’) make sure their answers cover a range of relevant subskills and discourse features make sure their answers, including examples, are specific to the activity described in the task always give examples and avoid repeating any one example provide one example for each feature provide full language examples, not just sentence stems avoid repeating any of the wording of the extract in their answers list the points they wish to make, avoiding any introduction, summary or conclusion use a bullet point or similar format when answering the task lay their answer out using the headings of Feature and Example to ensure that they include both

requirements

5.2 Sample Answers

5.2.1 The following sample answer gained full marks

3. 1. Use of past tenses such as past continuous and past simple for narration : e.g. While the man was walking through the forest, he saw a bear. 2. Am a pha Referencing for text cohesion, most likely anaphoring: e.g. The bear was big. It growled. 3. Organisation : the text should be divided into clear paragraphs which are logically ordered: introduction : introduces the theme, catches reader’s attention main body : 2 – 3 paragraphs which develop the story conclusion : summarises the story, delivers the resolution 4. Time expressions for linking: e.g. After that, the bear charged at the man. 5. A range of adjectives to describe the characters and the setting: e.g. The tall and young man was walking through a dark and scary forest. Accurate use of regular and 6. Adjective to describe irregular past endings The man entered the forest and saw a bear.

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7. Relative clauses to des to describe places and characters : The main, who was tall, saw a bear which was enormous. Examiner’s comments on sample answer This is a good example of an answer which is succinct and very clearly laid out. Out of the seven features that the candidate lists, five are accurate and are accompanied by very clear exemplification. There is one example at an appropriate level for each feature which is a full exponent with the key feature underlined. She includes grammatical, lexical, discoursal and organisational features which provides a good range to her answer. She has included two features which were not credited, i.e. the use of pronouns for anaphoric reference and the use of the past simple: the former is not a feature specific to this particular genre and the latter is already included under her first point about narrative tenses. However, she was not penalised for this.

5.2.2 The following sample answer gained just over half the marks available for this task

1) organisation

Student must be able to use write paragraphs with a topic sentence

Student must be able to write paragraphs which follow each other in a chr fairly chronological sequence.

2) Tenses Grammar: the use of narrative tenses like:

tenses: Students must be in control of the form regular t irregular simple past s verbs; he/she must be familiar with the use and meaning of many simple past verbs and he/she must

for example: The princess lost her ball in the fountain but he/she must also be in control of the past continuous: she had been looking for her ball when She saw a frog.

She/he must know how to use direct and reported speech to make the text more

immediate: For example: “give Please get my ball”, the princess said. and later that day

reported speech the princess had forgotten that the frog had told her he would come to the castle.

3) lexis: descriptive vocabulary describing the scene: the princess was s playing with her ball in the beautiful gardens behind the castle 4) Cohesion con he/she must use cohesive devices to make the text flow and to avoid repetition s substitution to avoid repetition the princess ran after the ball and then she elision leaving words out because the meaning is clear The 5) Structure of narrative The story needs

a beginning (setting the scene) Wha a series a events leading to a climax (the ball falls in the fountain)

A resel resolution to the climax and a happy ending ie, the frog turns the Frog turns into a prince (happy ending).

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Examiner’s comments on sample answer This answer lists five features but the first one (organisation) is a repetition of the fifth one (structure of narrative) and so overall for this feature the candidate only gains three marks: one for the feature and two for the exemplification which was credited under ‘structure of narrative’. The other two features which were credited are the use of narrative tenses and direct/reported speech. The lexical feature could not be credited because it is not specific enough: rather than write descriptive vocabulary the candidate needed to identify the feature as being adjectives or adjective + noun collocations or adverbs. The other features which could not be awarded any marks were those under the heading of cohesion. The first one of substitution was not accepted as it relates to pronoun referencing rather than the use of synonyms to avoid repetition and the second one of ellipsis (which the candidate misidentified as the phonological feature of elision) is a general feature of most texts and not specific to the genre of fairy tales. The candidate’s answer could be expressed more concisely by giving the feature and one example and whilst the layout of the answer is reasonably clear, the candidate cramped some of her answer into the margins which made it difficult for the Examiners to mark it.

5.2.3 The following sample answer obtained under half the marks available

3. Feature 1. The use of Narative tenses Example: Past Perfect (Simple & continuos)

Past Simple, past continuos - to talk about what happened in the Story

Feature 2. use of genre specific lexis Example – to do with fairy stories i.e. elf/goblin

Feature 3. The use of lexical chunks, Pre fabricated pieces of lexis that can be Used when telling Stories

e.g. “There have been many stories like this” “… Which is unheard of in many cultures” Feature 4. The use of the Passive for giving other

People’s opinion, common in folk tales: Example: i.e. It has been heard that… People have been known to…

Feature 5: The use of superlatives to exagerate in fairy stories, for impact on reader: Example: Extremly ugly very handsome fabulously rich Terribly evil Examiner’s comments on sample answer This answer also contains five features but only two of them could be credited: the use of narrative tenses and the use of lexis related to the genre of fairy tales. Of these two features, only the second one gained three marks (one for the feature and two for the example) because there was no example given of a sentence containing any of the three narrative tenses. This candidate, like many others, appears to believe that the name of the tense is the example but this is the feature and the example requires a full sentence as illustrated in the Guideline Answers. None of the other three features listed could be credited. The use of lexical chunks relates to the oration of the story rather than the lexis which would feature in the genre; the use of the passive is not a feature of fairy tales; and it is not the use of superlatives which is the feature but rather the use of adverbs which is what her examples illustrate. However, without an accurate naming of the feature, the examples cannot be awarded any marks. Again, the layout of the task is reasonable although it would be helpful for the Examiner if each feature could be separated by one or two lines as this answer is rather cramped.

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6 Paper 1 Task 4

a The text is a celebrity interview in a popular magazine. Identify five features of the text that are

characteristic of its genre. Give one example of each feature you identify.

Do not include more than one feature of layout. b Look at the extracts from the text.

i. Comment on the question forms in bold. ii. Comment on the features of connected speech in the phrases in bold.

Do you enjoy cooking? (line 5) it’s all showbiz isn’t it? (line 8) What food reminds you of your childhood? (lines 59-60)

c Comment on the form and use of the phrases in bold as they are used in the text.

It’s a bit artistic (line 6) I’m a pretty good dessert guy (line 25) It’s really kinda weird (lines 28-29)

d Look at the three relative clauses in bold in the following sentences from the text. Comment on

the use of the relative pronoun and the relative clause in each case.

There are desserts that my mum used to make that take me back, like tapioca pudding, which is yummy. (lines 61-64)

The first thing I think when I have guests is “What can I fix them?” (lines 74-76)


a features of a celebrity interview in a popular magazine Layout (NB: only one of these was allowed)

Picture Title/heading Different fonts / bolding for questions/non-bold for answers

Organisation

Organisation structure i.e. Brief introduction (who Jimmy Osmond is) followed by rest of article, with promotion at end (for Jimmy’s show)

Question and answer format e.g. Do you enjoy cooking? I do Content

Preferences / experiences e.g. What food reminds you of your childhood? [...] desserts that my mum used to make [...]

Humorous anecdote e.g. eating white mouse Lack of controversial content / positive content (to promote Jimmy Osmond) e.g. food / family /

family man Tidied up (spoken) language e.g. no hesitations devices / no repetition / no rephrasing

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Style Informal/semi-formal/spoken style / colloquial lexis e.g. Yummy, it’s fun, crunched up, so sick!

/ would take a year to explain Lexical/grammatical

Direct speech e.g. What’s your favourite recipe? Pun in the title i.e. CelebrityBites (what the celebrity eats vs. sound-bites) Expressions/adverbs/adjectives to express attitude/feelings/opinions e.g. it’s fun,

unfortunately, it’s so yummy, it’s amazing Person reference e.g. you in questions and I in answers Short answers / question tags e.g. I do, isn’t it?

Discourse

Contractions / ungrammatical sentences / vague language / fillers e.g. it's like a big art project, that's totally my mum, stuff, and boy

Short sentences / simple linking devices / parataxis e.g. and Graphological

Punctuation e.g. exclamation marks / dashes

b Question forms and features of connected speech in phrases in bold Do you enjoy cooking? (line 5) Question Form

Auxiliary / dummy auxiliary / operator / do Second person singular Subject pronoun (you) Base form / bare infinitive / infinitive without to of main verb (enjoy) Regular Transitive Present simple Yes/no question / closed question + gerund To ask about permanent states / something which is always true / stative verb

Features of connected speech

Weak form of you /jW/or /j ʊ/ or do/dW/

Coalescence/assimilation of do you /dΩW/ or /dΩ ʊ / or /dΩ ʊ:/

Intrusive /w/ between you and enjoy /dju:wˆndΩøˆ/

Stress is likely to be on enjoy

… it’s all showbiz isn’t it? (line 8) Question Form

Third person singular Present simple Subject pronoun Question tag / tag question Main verb be inverted with the subject/pronoun Negative because main clause is affirmative Contracted Anaphoric reference to Presentation / cooking To involve the listener / ask for confirmation

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Features of connected speech Consonant + vowel linking/liaison/catenation isn’t it Elision of first /t/ in /ˆzWnˆt/

Glottalisation/elision of second /t/ in /ˆzWnˆ÷/

insertion of a schwa /W/ between /z/ and /n/ Stress is likely to be on isn’t

What food reminds you of your childhood? (lines 59-60) Question Form

Interrogative determiner / question word What Uncountable Noun Subject Third person singular Regular Transitive Main verb Present simple No auxiliary Object pronoun you Wh /open question Subject question To ask about permanent states / something which is always true/stative verb

Features of connected speech Glottalisation/elision of /t/ in what /wÅ÷/ Glottalisation/elision /d/ in food /fuːd/

Assimilation between reminds you /rˆmaˆnʒjW/

Weak form of you /jW/OR /jʊ/ Stress likely to be on food, reminds (One example of stress is sufficient)

C Form and use of phrases in bold It’s a bit artistic (line 6) Form

Adverbial phrase / adverb Indefinite article a + (countable) noun bit Quantifier

Use Informal/colloquial/spoken Qualifying/modifying adjective artistic Weakens the adjective / hedges / non-boastful / non-proud

I’m a pretty good dessert guy (line 25) Form

Adverb

Use Informal/colloquial/spoken Qualifying/modifying adjective good Intensifier not as strong as very

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Makes Jimmy sound modest OR boastful

It’s really kinda weird (lines 28-29) Form

Reduced/contracted/abbreviated/clipped/shortened kind of Noun kind Preposition of Acts as an adverb

Use Informal/colloquial/spoken Common in American English Filler / vague language Qualifying/modifying adjective weird Weakens the adjective / hedges / implies not weird in a bad way

d Use of relative pronoun and relative clauses in bold that my mum used to make…(lines 61-64) Relative pronoun

That is used for things Anaphoric reference to the desserts That can be replaced by which but that is more common in spoken English That can be omitted because it is the object of the verb

Relative clause Defining Gives essential information about / specifies/identifies which desserts No comma is used

which is yummy… (lines 61-64) Relative pronoun

which is used to refer to things Anaphoric reference to the pudding which cannot be omitted because it is the subject of the clause that cannot be used instead of which

Relative clause

Non-defining Gives extra/non-essential/additional information about the pudding Comma precedes the clause

…I think …(lines 74-76) Relative pronoun

Ellipsis / omission of that /which because it is the objet of the verb Anaphoric reference to the first thing

Relative clause

Defining Gives essential information about / specifies The first thing No comma is used

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6.2 Candidate performance

As in previous sessions, the quality of answers to this task varied widely with some candidates scoring fewer than 10 marks over the four sections and others scoring the maximum of 40 marks which are available for this task, thus reflecting the fact that this task discriminates well between those candidates who have real insight into language and those who are not close to Delta standard. Adequate training was evident on the whole although some candidates still seem unsure as to how to proceed and do not put enough down on paper to accumulate marks. It was very encouraging to see some very high scores and that more than 30% of the cohort obtained more than 50% of the total marks. Those candidates who gained fewer than half the marks did so because of inaccurate or incomplete answers. Answers were inaccurate particularly in the area of connected speech in part (b) and in analysing the form and use of the adverbials in part (c). Many candidates lost marks because they did not describe grammatical form accurately, or with a correct use or spelling of terminology, or with enough precision, or in enough detail. Some also wasted time by not reading the rubric carefully enough and including information which was not required: for example, in part (a) where they explained why the features were part of the genre; in part (b) where they discussed intonation features which are not part of connected speech; in part (c) where they discussed the meaning rather than the use of the adverbials; and in parts (c) and (d) where they included phonological analysis of the items. A significant number analysed the unbolded items which was not required in the rubric – candidates should read the rubrics carefully before answering the questions. Others automatically lost marks when they omitted sections or abandoned the task. They should note that this is a dangerous strategy to adopt because this task carries a maximum of 40% of the total number of marks for Paper 1. Candidates are advised to make as many points as possible (within the time available) as succinctly as possible. Most answers were presented in note form, using bullet points, which made for a good use of time although candidates frequently squashed their answers into an inadequate amount of space. In relation to specific points on content: a features of the text characteristic of a celebrity interview in a popular magazine

Most candidates identified an average of three features with stronger candidates citing four or five. The most common features which were identified were the informal style of the interview in terms of lexis and discourse (generally contractions) and a feature of layout, usually the photo

However, a significant number of candidates gave more than one example for each feature and gave reasons for the features, which is not a requirement. Candidates should note that a maximum of 5 marks is available for this section and that they are only required to list the feature and give an appropriate example from the text provided

Appropriate exemplification continued to be a problem. Quite a few candidates lost marks because they did not give an example for the feature, especially for the question / answer format – they only gave an example of a question without its answer and so could not be awarded a mark. Others gave numerous examples when only one is needed

As was noted in last year’s report, candidates highlighted features which are specific to this particular example of the genre. For example, they cited lexis related to the topic of food/cooking because this was largely the topic of the interview. However, this is not a feature of the genre as it would not appear in all celebrity interviews in a popular magazine. Again, when analysing the organisation or content of the genre, candidates frequently identified the ending with contact details and booking information as being a feature; again, this is a feature of this particular celebrity interview and not celebrity interviews in general. Candidates could have included the promotional part of the interview as part of the overall organisation of the interview but not as a separate feature of its own

Few candidates identified the more sophisticated points relating to the pun in the title, the inclusion of positive content, or the use of punctuation

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b Do you enjoy / isn’t it? / What food reminds you There were a high number of marks available for this part of Task 4 and most candidates were

able to amass a reasonable count. Well-trained candidates analysed the form in detail which shows good improvement on last June’s session and there were no features of form that remained unidentified across the whole cohort

In some cases, candidates covered the form very minimally, making only a single point and it seemed they had not studied the previous examination reports or had training in the level of detail required

Others made several points for each item but lost marks because they wrote partial descriptions. This was most common in the following examples: they wrote second person rather than second person singular; subject rather than subject pronoun (many appear to think that subject and pronoun are synonyms which is not the case); infinitive rather than bare infinitive / base form / infinitive without ‘to’; present instead of present simple

In other cases, the analysis was incorrect, for example, candidates stated that is in isn’t it was an auxiliary verb when it is the main verb; they identified you in reminds you as a subject when it is an object

In a few cases, candidates did not address the form at all and went straight to the phonological analysis or vice versa. It was unclear whether this was lack of training, a misreading of the question, or in the case of phonology, a lack of knowledge. Whatever the reason, it resulted in a loss of marks

In terms of describing the use of the question forms, most candidates identified the use of the question tag but not the use of the present simple to talk about permanent states. Where they did refer to the use of the present simple, they often stated incorrectly that it was to do with routines and habits

Performance in the pronunciation part of the task was generally disappointing. As noted in the June 2011 report, a large number of candidates do not seem to be trained to describe features of connected speech. This needs urgent attention on the part of centres and candidates as many marks for phonology may be lost in this part

The most common phonological features to be identified and exemplified were the weak forms in you and do and the intrusive /w/ in do you enjoy

Many candidates did not use the phonemic script or if they did, did not use a symbol to highlight the features, e.g. / through the omitted sound to indicate elision, H to show a link or a box / circle above the stressed syllable to indicate sentence stress. They also lost marks because they simply said that the stress would fall on enjoy without indicating which syllable

A significant number of candidates did not use terminology correctly. They either gave a lay description, e.g. words glide together rather than elision, linking or assimilation; or they used the wrong term, e.g. ellipsis for elision; or they mis-spelt the term, e.g. *ellison, *glotalisation, *liason

Other candidates did not give an example to illustrate the term used, or gave a wrongly transcribed example, e.g. they referred to the elision of /t/ in isn’t but either did not use a symbol to show that the /t/ was not pronounced or did not transcribe how isn’t would be said with an elided /t/. The same problem applies to candidates’ analysis of glottalisation when they did not use the phonemic symbol for this sound. Without the use of phonemic transcription, Examiners cannot assess whether the candidates understand the term they have used or not

Some candidates discussed intonation patterns which was not required in the rubric. If candidates are expected to discuss intonation, this will be stated explicitly in the rubric for the task. Others referred to features within a word, e.g. the elision of /d/ or the assimilation of s to /z/ in reminds rather than referring to features of connected speech.

There was some inaccuracy of analysis, e.g. referring to an intrusive /j/ rather than /w/ between you and enjoy in Do you enjoy.

To summarise, as has been stated in all the previous examination reports, candidates must use phonological terms to describe features and be able to use the phonemic script accurately to illustrate them.

c a bit / pretty / kinda

Candidates performed least confidently in this part of the task and many candidates failed to recognise that the three forms were all adverbial in nature – instead they mis-identified them as being adjectives. As has been noted in previous reports, adverbials is a useful area for candidates to research in more depth as they are wide-ranging in their use

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Candidates were also frequently unable to analyse the individual parts of a bit and kinda. They did not recognise that the grammatical form of a bit was the indefinite article + noun and also wrote that bit was a quantifier rather than a bit. They also did not identify kind of as being a noun + preposition and weaker candidates frequently wrote that kind and pretty were adjectives. This lack of analytical precision and accuracy suggests that centres still need to train candidates in identifying the form as well as the use of language items

Under use, marks were frequently lost because candidates were vague in their description of the use of the adverb with the adjective and wrote things such as ‘a bit describes artistic’ rather than ‘a bit modifies the adjective artistic’

Only stronger candidates recognised how the items were used in terms of weakening the adjective and/or making Jimmy Osmond sound modest. This reflects the weakness mentioned under Part (a) where candidates could not identify the subtleties of use

A proportion of weaker candidates identified the meaning of the phrases rather than their use, e.g. kinda weird means a little bit strange or discussed the phonological features of the items or analysed the unbolded items. These three examples reflect the fact that some candidates are not reading the rubric carefully enough before starting the task and therefore are wasting time providing information which is not required and does not carry any marks

d use of relative pronoun / relative clause

Part (d) was a good discriminator between those candidates who had a good knowledge of relative clauses and those who did not. Those who did have the knowledge, were able to identify whether the clauses were defining or non-defining, whether the pronoun could be omitted or replaced by which or that, and whether a comma was required or not. Those who did not have the knowledge were unable to state very much that was accurate about the pronouns or the clauses.

Again as in Parts (b) and (c), candidates lost marks because of a lack of precision in their analysis, e.g. they wrote that the relative clause gave essential or non-essential information but did not say in terms of what, i.e. which desserts, the pudding and the first thing so lost marks. They also did not recognise the anaphoric reference (or did not use the term) to the same items so again lost marks

Some candidates also analysed the unbolded items, e.g. the meaning of yummy and used to make which are neither relative pronouns nor clauses. Again, this indicates that candidates should read the rubric for the task very carefully

Candidates are recommended to: in Part (a), only state five features and give one example for each as only a maximum of 5 marks

are available in this section not to spend time saying why the features have been included as no marks are allocated for this

beyond what is stated in the Guideline Answers in Parts (b)–(d), make their answers as detailed as is required, making as many points as

possible, as indicated in the Guideline Answer read the rubric carefully to see exactly what they are required to discuss pay attention to words given in bold and only comment on them in the way required, not on

accompanying or surrounding words make sure they consistently provide the full information required, including giving examples when

asked for make use of precise linguistic / technical terms rather than the more simplified terms they might

use with students spell these terms correctly: marks will not be awarded if terms are incorrectly spelt use the phonemic script / phonological symbols where appropriate: candidates will not be awarded

marks if this is not used where required or used accurately only comment on pronunciation/phonology in sections where it is specifically mentioned lay out their answers in list form, and make it clear what part of the answer they are writing about use plenty of space/paper to write out their answers, writing on every other line if possible to

ensure that they do not write in the margins or make it difficult for the Examiners to locate their answers

make as many points as possible in Task 4 (within the time available) as it carries almost half the marks available in Paper One

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6.3 Sample Answers

6.3.1 The following sample answer gained a high number of the points available

4a)

1. Photo of celebrity - in top right. 2. Informal le style lexis → e.g. L10 – we do stuff together, L25 pretty good 3. Question and answer form organisation. e.g. L5 – 6 Q L6 – 13 A 4. Information relating to associated current production / release given at end of piece including

booking details + website. After L77 – Jimmy is …

5. Contractions (e.g. What’s – L24 I’m – L53 4b) i) F Do you enjoy - do – auxiliary verb you – 2nd person subject pronoun. enjoy – bare infinitive of verb - present simple → verb transitive isn’t it? → negative tag question. →goes with positive statement – it’s all showbiz. →‘is not’ contracted to ‘isn’t’ → present simple →it – 3rd person singular / impersonal pronoun. What food reminds you What → question word – pronoun What → subject informal form → formal – ‘which food’ reminds → 3rd person form of present simple Food – uncountable noun reminds → regular verb. ii) Do you enjoy. → weak forms /dəj/ → possible elision - /dʒəuːw/ of ‘o’ and coalescence of /d/ and /j/ to give /dʒ/ /dʒ/ Do you you enjoy intrusive /w/ /w/ → prominence of on enjoy isn’t it - elision of /t/ - Final consonant – initial vowel linking isn’t it

- prominence on ‘it’ – tonic syllable

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/What/ food /reminds you - elision of /t/ - tonic syllable – food – /fuː/ - prominence on ‘what’ and ‘reminds’ take - elision of ‘d’ in reminds you

rə'maɪnzjuː - consonant cluster n&j ‘nzj’ 4c) a bit F ‘a’ – indefinite article quan ‘bit’ – quantifier premodify – artistic – adjective. U - informal - means ‘somewhat’ - gives relaxed, friendly tone. ‘pretty’ F - adverb → comes after indefinite article – usually adverb is before. - premodifies adjective ‘good’ which modifies compound noun ‘dessert guy’ U - means ‘quite’ - informal word - informal position after article. - used to be modest here. Kinda F - short form of ‘kind of’ - reflects pronunciation in connected speech - kind = ad noun – Fi chunk - of = preposition U - means ‘somewhat’ literally - informal - Functions as a Filler - gives impression of friendly speech. 4d) Use that my mum used to make that - defe relative pronoun - used with objects - here post modifies refers anaphorically to deserts. - defining relative clause - post-modifies desserts to identify which ones we are talking about. - no comma. - Emphasis is on desserts - past simple used to + verb → refers to habitual past action now no longer carried out. - desserts are object of verb ‘make’. Which is yummy. which - relative pronoun

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- refers anaphorically to ‘tapioca pudding’. - non-defining relative clause - with a comma - acts as a comment on the preceding noun. - yummy means delicious - informal. I think

- no ellipted relative pronoun - ‘that’ or ‘which’

- full form - ‘that I think when I have guests’ is full relative clause

- relative clause is defining relative clause - that refers anaphorically back to ‘the first thing’ - post-modifies ‘the first thing’ - relative clause is complex - subordinating conjunction ‘when’ - Noun phrase including relative clause is subject of ‘is’ main verb. - ‘that’ is ellipted for brevity.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer Part a This part of the answer is clear and accurate, with each feature backed up by one relevant example, which shows a good use of time. The candidate describes a range of features which relate to layout, content, lexis and spoken discourse. However, she only gains four marks here because the feature relating to content associated to the current production and booking details is not specific to the genre of a celebrity interview in a popular magazine – this feature needed to be included as a part of the organisation structure, not as a separate point. The layout of this part of the task is clear. Part b The candidate is very detailed and accurate in her answer and she gains over twenty marks in this section which reflects the fact that she provides an excellent amount of detail in terms of form and phonology. In terms of the latter, her answer has the benefit of clear exemplification with an accurate use of the phonemic script and also symbols to indicate where linking and elision occur. There are a couple of instances when she identifies features which are not related to connected speech, namely the elision of ‘d’ and consonant cluster in reminds but otherwise her answer is focussed on what is asked for in the rubric. Her style is succinct, the layout is neat and the answer does not contain any repetition. Part c Here the candidate gains eleven out of a possible twenty marks, an indication that this part of the task is more difficult than part (b). She does not state that bit is a noun or that it is a bit which acts as a quantifier rather than bit and does not recognise that it weakens the adjective artistic. In terms of pretty, she does not recognise that it is used as an intensifier. However, here she does recognise that it is being used to make Jimmy Osmond sound modest. Regarding her analysis of kinda, she does not recognise that it acts as an adverb, that it is common in American English, that it modifies the adjective weird, or that it weakens the adjective. For each item, she states their meaning which is not required. The task is clearly laid out and labelled and as in the other sections, she does not waste time using a discursive style to make her points but makes good use of bullet points. However, whilst it is clear that she is a strong candidate, her performance in this part of the task supports the point made above that the area of adverbials and their use is one that needs to be given more attention during examination preparation.

Part d The candidate’s response to this part of the task is generally strong and she gains more than half the marks available. However, she also provides some unnecessary detail, e.g. she states the meaning of yummy, the use of used to make, and moves beyond the analysis of I think in the third example. Her analysis is accurate in terms of form and pronunciation and she uses the phonemic script accurately to illustrate her points. She is more confident in her analysis of the relative clauses rather than the relative pronouns and does not state basic points such as that that can be replaced by which in the first example or that which cannot be omitted in the second example or that I think gives essential

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information about The first thing and that no comma is needed in this example. Overall, a little more precision would have been beneficial in this part of the task but by this stage, the candidate may have been pressed for time as her answer to Task 4 is unusually full.

6.3.2 The following sample answer gained just over half the marks available for this task

4) A) LAYOUT – visual stimuli – (two) pictures and title banner to catch readers attention. It engages reader, enhances meaning Example – picture of the interviewee ORGANISATION – interview format; question in bold writing followed by answer in a short paragraph. ‘Do you enjoy cooking? I do…’ STYLE – informal, use of contractions ‘it’s’ ‘what’s’ ‘she’d’ ‘there’s’ LEXIS – lexical field a on popular topic which readers can relate to: “cooking → recipe, good food, sauce, dessert’ GRAMMAR – present simple for general description and information “I have four kids” - Simple past for factual information about past “I was in Japan” ‘it made me sick” - present perfect to talk about life experience with no specific time ‘Has it been important…’ ‘What’s the strangest food…’ B) Question Forms i) “Do you enjoy…

closed question (yes/no answer) question without question word formed by auxiliary do + subject pronoun you + information auxiliary do – simple present → general information enjoy + verb(ing) to follow auxiliary do for 2nd person singular

‘Isn’t it?’

question tag goes at the end of the question it’s the opposite (negative -) of main verb in question “it is” used to ask for confirmation of opinion: ‘presentation’s everything’

“What food reminds you”

question with question word ‘what’ open question, Jimmy needs to think about the answer formed by question word (what) + object + verb + subj. pronoun

ii) Connected speech Do you enjoy – ellission + assimilation Duː juː→ /dʒə/

isn’t it first ‘t’ dissapears /ɪsənɪt/ (ellission) What Foods remind s you

intrusion ɪ /rəmaɪnsɪuː/ glottal stop ‘d’ dissapears

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C)

FORM USE A BIT indefinite article + singular countable

noun quantifier

quantifies the adjective artistic referring to cooking

PRETTY quantifier a + pretty + adjective indefinite article

Refers to liking desserts a lot and making them well

Kinda transcripted connected speech because of colloquial speech kind + OF quantifier qu kind + of + adjective

To quantify adjective weird refering to dish called ‘opulent chicken’

D)

USE OF RELATIVE PRONOUN USE OF RELATIVE CLAUSE that my mum used to make refers to desserts, adds information

which is yummy refers to tapioca pudding anaphoric reference

describes the pudding adds more information

I think (that) optional left out refers to the thought “What can I…” cataphoric reference

Examiner’s comments on sample answer Part a The candidate identifies three features with an example for each one: the use of a picture, the question and answer organisation and the use of contractions. However, the remaining two features (lexis related to food/cooking and the present simple/present perfect) could not be credited because neither of these features is specific to the genre of a celebrity interview in a popular magazine; rather they are specific to this particular interview. The organisation and layout of the answer is clear and it is succinctly expressed. Part b The candidate’s analysis is accurate but does not contain enough points about the form, and use of pronunciation. The point about the intonation pattern of the question tag is not relevant as intonation is not part of connected speech and the point about the elision of /t/ in isn’t it could not be credited because elision is mis-spelt. The candidate gains less than half the marks available for this section, reflecting the fact that he needs to include more detail about the question forms. Part c Again, the answer to this part needs more detail both in terms of form and use to maximise the number of marks available. For example, he needs to state the form of the items (adverbial), specify the part of speech of kind and of, and discuss the use of all of the items in more depth in terms of how they are used in this particular text. Future candidates should also note that this candidate loses two marks because he writes quantifies rather than qualifies the adjectives artistic and weird. An accurate use of terminology is therefore very important. Part d This part of the task is also weak because it is too short and therefore only provides very limited detail on the relative pronouns and clauses. For example, there is no mention of what type of clauses they are, what the pronouns are generally used for, and no information on punctuation. The analysis here is at a very basic level although again what is written is not inaccurate, just insufficient.

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6.3.3 The following sample answer gained fewer than half the marks available for this task

4a)

a) layout visuals a photograph (visual) of the celebrity + a photograph of bold the cast b) Col register: informal a lot of colloquial language and rhetorical question at the beginning to make text immediate contractions “Do you enjoy cooking” Contractions: it’s a bit artistic draws the reader in c) Grammar – A lot written in the present tense for in on to make interview format gives the text immediate appeal: It’s all show biz, isn’t it? I have four kids and …. d) lexis: lexical fields used – here having to do with cooking: good food, a cooking is a big process, an art to it, feed, healthy recipe e) organisation: interviewer asks a question + the interviewee answers: Do you enjoy cooking? Question Yes, I do …. Answer 4b) Do you enjoy cooking (line 5) Form aux Do – auxiliary you – per 2nd person singular personal pronoun enjoy – verb in the f infinitive cooking – verb infinitive + pa present participle ending ing Connected speech: Do you enjoy cooking dʒuː The here I The do you are elided to /dzuː/

enjoy becomes a schwa /əndʒɔː/

to cooking: kukɒn - the final g is assimilated kukon it’s all show biz isn’t it? isn’t it is a question tag said to show interest isn’t it in connected speech becomes /iz in/ /it/ elided assimilated

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/izin/ the 4c) a bit lne 6 a: indefinite article used before an uncountable noun bit: adjective meaning somewhat actually elision occurring here a little has been left out me prett form pretty in this case a a graded qua qualifier meaning meaning: mean qualifying good and meaning fairly Kinda elided Form of Kind of used as a quantifier meaning sort of 4d) that my Mum used to make Use: no comma used to define what k refers back to desserts that could be substituted by which Which is yummy

Non defining, so separated by comma says how the subject of the relative clause is

Examiner’s comments on sample answer Part a The candidate gains three marks in this part of the task: one for the inclusion of a photograph under layout, one for the use of contractions, and one for the question/answer format under organisation. Unfortunately, whilst she recognises the feature of colloquial language, she does not provide an accurate example and so cannot be credited a mark. She also cannot receive any marks for the use of the present simple or lexis related to food and cooking as these are not features related to the genre of a celebrity interview but rather specific to the content/interviewee in this particular context. The length and layout of the task are appropriate. Part b The candidate’s response to this part of the task is very short and she only gains four marks. In addition, some of her analysis of form is incorrect or imprecise: in terms of enjoy she needed to be precise in terms of the type of infinitive it is, i.e. the bare infinitive, and cooking is a gerund, not a present participle. There is no discussion of use. Her phonological analysis is generally inaccurate: do you are not elided but assimilated to /dzuː/ , there is no schwa in enjoy, there is no /g/ sound at the end of cooking and it therefore cannot be assimilated and the same level of confusion is evident in her discussion of isn’t it. Part c The candidate’s answer to this part is also very brief and is mostly inaccurate: bit is a countable (not uncountable) noun and it is not an adjective; elision is a phonological term – presumably the candidate means that a little has been elipted but there is no evidence to assume that this is the case. It is unclear what the candidate means by pretty being a graded qualifier – presumably she means an adjective which is not the case. Kinda is not an example of elision and the meaning of this item as well as bit and pretty is not asked for in the rubric. Overall, the candidate scores one mark in this section for identifying that bit is a noun.

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Part d The candidate’s response to this part of the task is minimal and she only gains three marks, one for the fact that that can be substituted by which in the first example, and that which is yummy is a non-defining clause which contains a comma. Overall, the candidate’s performance in Parts (b) to (d) indicate that her language awareness is not at Delta standard as it contains a high level of inaccuracy. She also appears to mis-manage her time as she does not complete any of the three tasks.

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7 Paper 1 Task 5

The text (245 words) for this task is reproduced on the opposite page. It was written by a learner in an upper-intermediate (CEFR level B2) class in response to the following task:

Write an essay for the class magazine describing a person you particularly admire. Say why you particularly admire them.

a Identify three key strengths and three key weaknesses of the text. Provide an example of each

strength and each weakness. Your answer should focus on some or all of the areas listed below:

Organisation Accuracy of grammar Accuracy and range of lexis Punctuation Task achievement

b Which one of the weaknesses identified above would you choose to prioritise to help this learner?

Give three reasons for your choice.


Key strengths and weaknesses Key strengths Task achievement

The learner achieves the task fully by describing a person he admires (his mother) and saying why he admires her Example description he says where she was born / what her background was / describes how she managed to get to university / what she did once she had graduated (NB: candidates must mention a minimum of one of these) AND reasons he admires her because she has reached all her goals / she has strong principles / a good sense of humour / a positive attitude/is hardworking / she has fought against troubles (NB: candidates had to mention a minimum of one of these)

Organisation The information is in a logical order Example he describes his mother's background, her life from past to now and then he gives his reasons for admiring her (NB: candidates had to mention a minimum of two topics)

Accuracy and range of lexis

Some accurate and sophisticated phrases / collocations are used Example very successful woman, reached all her goals, very strong principles, good sense of humour, a positive attitude

Accuracy of grammar Some accurate use of complex sentences Example After she spent some time teaching ... she had a great offer, The person that I particularly admire, is my mother.

Accuracy of grammar

Accurate use of present perfect OR present perfect and past simple Example When my mother finished ..., he wanted to study ... but her parent didn’t have..., when she found the job she started her degree. ... she had one of the best marks..., she got Economics

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degree ..., After she spent time teaching in the University she had a great offer, ... she has reached all her goals, ... and she has always followed

Key weaknesses

Organisation

Poor paragraphing / one-sentence paragraphs Example paragraphs could be between lines 1-5 (background); lines 6-9 or 6-18 (how she got to university & her subsequent career); lines 9-18 (her subsequent career); lines 19-25 (reasons why he admires her) NB: candidates had to mention a minimum of one possible paragraph which was wrong or a corrected version)

Accuracy of grammar

Use of articles Example finished the High School, the University, when she found the job, She never defaulted in the life, She got Economics degree, great offer of one bank, she is a Manager of one Office Bank, she is very successful woman, she has a very strong principles

Accuracy of grammar

Use of prepositions Example Study a degree, to pay the University, searching a job, of her university, a great offer of one bank

Range of lexis Overuse/repetition of after / after that Example lines 10, 11, 13, 15

Accuracy of grammar Use of past continuous Example Then, we was searching a job, She was studying and working at the same time, She was teaching in a High School

Punctuation

Capitalisation of ordinary nouns and pronouns Example in the North-West of Spain, When my mother finished the High School He wanted to Study a Degree but. After that She was studying, Now She ... Office Bank, For me She is

Punctuation Inaccurate use/omission of commas OR use of full stops instead of commas Example The person that I particularly admire, is my mother; In this place, the most part of the people; Then. We was searching; Now. She is; incredible person. no because

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Which weakness to prioritise Candidates may choose any of the key weaknesses listed in part a. They should provide three reasons for their choice from the list below: the learner’s level the learner’s exams and future study needs the learner’s job needs fossilization of error transfer to other genres transfer to other skills specific to the learner’s context the learner will get his essay published in the class magazine the effect on the reader easy to rectify, therefore motivating


Performance in this task showed an improvement on the last three sessions with the average mark achieved being 12 which is the highest score since June 2010. There were also fewer candidates who did not attempt this task or failed to complete it and this suggests that they have taken on board feedback from last year’s report and allocated a good amount of time to complete the task. A large number of candidates attempted the task first or second in the examination which may have helped to ensure that they had time to to gain as many marks as possible, as long as their language awareness was accurate. However, some candidates continued to attempt it last and after they had run short of time which meant that they lost marks. Overall, the task acted as a good discriminator between strong and weak candidates a

Most candidates were able to identify at least one strength and two weaknesses accurately. The strengths which were most commonly identified were task achievement and organisation of content (but see below) and poor paragraphing, misuse of articles and the inaccurate use of commas were the most frequent weaknesses cited

A lot of candidates struggled with task achievement in that whilst they recognised it was a strength, they were not specific in how the task was achieved, i.e. to get a mark they had to say that the task was achieved because the student had described the person he admired AND given reasons as to why he admired her. Saying this gained the candidates one mark. In order to get the second point available for the example, they then had to give a direct example taken from the text – one of a description and one of a reason. Often candidates only addressed and exemplified one part of the rubric and therefore did not get any marks for identifying this strength

Candidates frequently recognised that range of lexis was a strength but did not get a mark because the strength lay in the learner’s use of collocations and phrases rather than their range of lexis in general. Again, candidates need to be more specific in their analysis

Exemplification was problematic at times. In order to get a mark for the example of the information being in a logical order, they needed to mention two topics – candidates often only restricted their example to one topic but two were needed in order to show the logic of the order of the text’s context. When giving an example for the overuse of after/after that, candidates frequently lost a mark for the example because they did not cite the line number where the example occurred or did not write the co-text in which it occurred

Very few candidates identified the accurate use of complex sentences or present perfect as strengths or the misuse of prepositions or the past continuous as weaknesses. This suggests that candidates need to be more thorough when analysing the learner’s writing in terms of the use of grammatical items. This inadequacy in language analysis was also frequently evident when candidates selected minor areas such as pronoun displacement or use of passives as weaknesses, when these were not major problems in the learner’s writing. Weaker candidates also listed tenses as an area of weakness under Accuracy of Grammar without specifying which ones

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Some weaker candidates hedged their bets by citing the learner’s use of paragraphing or the past continuous as a strength and a weaknesses. Candidates should note that this is not a productive use of time

As noted in the last examination report, a large number of candidates lost marks because they did not include any comments regarding the effect of the strengths or weaknesses on the overall effectiveness of the text in terms of the reader. There are marks available for two comments over the whole answer. Some candidates included comments but unfortunately, marks for these comments could not be given because they had not identified a minimum of five strengths/weaknesses

There were fewer instances of candidates including more than one example for each strength or weakness cited which was positive and there were almost no candidates who evaluated the text in terms of criteria which were not listed in the rubric.

Layout of answers was also generally clear with the majority of candidates using the headings of strengths and weaknesses to organise their answer and then the sub-headings of the criteria listed in the rubric, e.g. Task Achievement, with another sub-heading of example to provide clear signposting for the reader.

b

The improvement in the analysis in part (a) meant that more candidates identified an appropriate area to work on in part (b) and were therefore able to gain marks for their justification of the area. Candidates had also clearly taken on board comments made in the previous examination report and were specific in the area that they chose to work on, e.g. prepositions as opposed to accuracy of grammar which would have been too vague. However, there were still some candidates who outlined an inappropriate area of weakness or who were vague in terms of what they had chosen which meant that they lost a potential 6 marks because in part (a), they had included prepositions and then inaccurate analysis under accuracy of grammar so it was unclear to Examiners which area of grammar the candidate intended to work on. Candidates should note that they must mention the specific weakness rather than the criterion as listed in the rubric

Justifications were adequate but perhaps pre-learnt from previous examination reports. Most candidates gained three marks for part (b) but very few expanded their rationale in order to get the full six marks available for this part of the task

Some candidates reproduced a long list of justifications from previous examination reports which was not a productive use of time as only the first three justifications could be credited.

Candidates are recommended to: only give one example for each strength and each weakness only discuss in part (a) the areas given in the rubric give both strengths and weaknesses as required only discuss three key strengths and three key weaknesses; marks are not given for more than

three of either. However, if candidates outline more than three strengths or weaknesses, they will not be penalised but they should be aware that this will impact on timing over the whole paper

bear in mind the learner’s level when commenting in part a on the text’s strengths and weaknesses

include two comments in part a on the effect the particular strengths and weaknesses have on the effectiveness of the text

use a bullet point layout for the strengths and weaknesses organise their answer under the headings of strengths and weaknesses and then use sub-

headings of criterion and example to ensure that they address both parts of rubric. They can also add an extra sub-heading of comment for two of their criteria to ensure that they provide information on the effect that the strength or weakness has on the text

only discuss in b a weakness mentioned in a only discuss one area of weakness in part b be specific in b on the exact weakness to be worked on limit answers in b to reasons for prioritising an area make sure they allow themselves enough time to complete this task; 25 minutes is recommended

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7.3 Sample Answers

7.3.1 The following sample answer gained most of the marks available for this task

5 a + Task achievement: Task has been achieved because learner has described the person and said why they admire them. e.g ls 1-9: background info ls 10-14: university ls 15-18: career ls 19-25: why they admires her - Organization: Despite logical sequencing of ideas, learner has not organized them effectively into paragraphs. e.g l 13-14 – ‘After that she was teaching in a high school and later in the university.’ This could form part of the previous paragraph. This Lack of paragraph could have a negative effect on the reader as it makes It more difficult to read. - Range of lexis: Learner doesn’t use a wide range of discourse markers / time markers. Repel e.g. repetition of after / after that in ls 10, 13, 15. This as a negative effect on the reader as it doesn’t and doesn’t allow the learner to show their level or abilities. - Accuracy of grammar: Learner makes frequent errors with articles / determiners and singular / plural nouns. e.g. l. 21 ‘She has a very strong principles.’ 1. 6 ‘ she fa when my mother finished ‘the’ the High School’. and collocations, and fixed expressions + Range of lexis for describing people. e.g. l 21-22 ‘ strong principles’. ‘good sense of humour’, ‘positive attitude’, ‘hard-working This has a positive effect on the reader as it shows good knowledge of natural expressions. + Accuracy of grammar: Learner uses past tenses eg. past simple, past continuous, and present perfect accurately. eg. l 10 ‘she was studying and working at the same time’. l. 7 ‘her parents didn’t have enough money’ l. 20 ‘She has reached all her goals’.

b. I would prioritise accuracy of grammar: articles, for these reasons:

Learners linguistic knowledge otherwise is of a good level but this problem may hold he them back from progressing to higher levels.

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Learner may have learnt rules in the past but not studied recently or at this level -

should be a reminder so easily rectifiable.

If learner wants to study formal qualifications in the future eg. FCE/CAE, they will need better grammatical accuracy so this will be useful for them.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer The answer is focussed on the criteria outlined in the rubric. It clearly cites three key strengths and three key weaknesses of the text and gives clear examples, although there could be fewer given for articles, collocations/fixed expressions, and repetition of after that. It also includes three comments as to how the features impact on the effectiveness of the text, e.g. regarding the lack of paragraphs, this could have a negative effect on the reader as it makes it more difficult to read. However, it is only useful to include two reasons because the four extra marks will only be awarded for two comments and no more. The answer could also be improved by being organised more clearly, i.e. with the three strengths listed in a group and then the three weaknesses in another group. However, it is helpful that she uses the sub-heading e.g. to indicate where the examples are, and separates each strength/weakness into three parts so that it is also clear where the comments are. In terms of part b, she correctly identifies an area of weakness to work on which she clearly stated in part a. She provides three justifications, the first two of which are fully developed and therefore gain two marks each. In order for the third justification to be fully developed, the candidate needed to specify which part of the FCE or CAE, an accurate use of articles is particularly important for, e.g. in the writing paper in order to fulfil the criterion of grammatical accuracy.

7.3.2 The following sample answer gained over half the marks available for this task

5 Organisation + us paragraphs are well – formed. This makes it easier for the reader to follow Each paragraph contains one idea. Accuracy of grammar + - lots of inaccuracies. e.g when “we was searching for paying her degree” “ She never defeated in the life” These may have a negative effect on the reader. + Some Phrases Accuracy and range of lexis + Good range e.g. particularly with collocations eg “Searching for a Job” “Spent some time” “reached all the goals” - Not enough range of linking devices. “After that” is used too often making the text feel repitive, the reader may bec become bored Punctuation - misplaces commas eg _ that particularly adjective “ In this place, the most part…” and full stops

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eg. . Then. We was searching…. Overuses capital letters “because they They are farves” The reader could be quite confused. Task achievement + Completes the task successfully. reader The reader would be well informed about the person and why the writer admires them b I would focus on Punctuation because: it’s transferable to all writing genres it will be useful if the learner wishes to study for an exam eg FCE or IELTS. it’s easy to fix. A small punctuation slot can be add punctuation slot can be added to each lesson it will have a positive effect on the reader as the text would be easier to understand. Examiner’s comments on sample answer The candidate identifies five strengths and weaknesses but the strength relating to task achievement could not be awarded a mark for an example because the candidate does not include a specific example which describes the person or outlines a reason for admiring them. There was also no mark given for the repetition of after that because the candidate does not cite a line number or provide any co-text. The other three points regarding the learner’s use of collocations and two weaknesses concerning punctuation were awarded marks for examples because the candidate includes these. The candidate makes two other points, neither of which could be credited because the first one is inaccurate (the paragraphs are well formed) and the second one is too vague. The candidate writes lots of inaccuracies and although the example contains a misuse of the past continuous, she needs to explicitly state that the weakness is with this particular verb form in order to be awarded a mark. The Examiner noted that it is positive that the candidate has included comments on the effect that the weaknesses could have on the reader, i.e. they could become bored (lack of range of collocations) or confused (overuse of capitals and misuse of commas) but no marks could be awarded for these comments because the candidate has not identified a minimum of five strengths / weaknesses with an example for each one. It is therefore important that candidates remember that they must provide an accurate example for each strength and weakness they identify. In terms of part (b), the area of pronunciation was accepted because both weaknesses cited in part (a) were accurate. The candidate gains three marks in this section for the first three basic justifications that she gives. The fourth one of a positive effect on the reader was not credited as only three justifications are required in this part of the task.

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7.3.3 The following sample answer gained fewer than half the marks available for this task

5)

StrengthS + Weakness - Organisation

Good conclusion and introduction

Task achievement; describes mother and explains why s admires her

Chronolical and biographical information childhood / studies / university / working as a teacher / current job in bank - WEAKNESS grammar accuracy in biographical info ‘was borned’ ‘after she was teaching in a High School’ - WEAKNESS limited ability to express own opinion ‘For me’ (twice) For the student’s level ‘I can certainly say,’ ‘I am convinced’’

good Organisation: lack of paragraphing

grammar accuracy - masculine / femenine ‘when he…’ - singular / plural “we was” “people haven’t” - limited connectors ‘after’

B) I would focus on the organisation of the writing, because it has a negative effect on the reader it is not cohesive and flowing and it can impede communication. Correct use of paragraphing will help organise ideas clearly which will enhance writing abilities in future texts which the student needs to produce. it is also an easy to fix weak area which can be adressed in class with model texts and focusing on structure, having an organised piece of writing can transfer to having organised ideas, cohesive and mu easier to understand also for speaking.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer In terms of strengths, the candidate identifies two strengths (task achievement and logical organisation of information) but does not provide clear exemplification for either of them. For task achievement, he needs to give a specific example from the learner’s description of his mother and a reason why he admires her, and for organisation, he needs to give an example which shows how the ideas follow a logical order in terms of the time frame of his mother’s life. In terms of weaknesses, again he identifies two (lack of paragraphing and an overuse of after) but again, he does not give a clear example of either. In terms of the first weakness, he needs to give an example of one paragraph which is wrong or a corrected version of one, and for the repetition of after, he needs to give a line number or the co-text which surrounds one of the uses of after. In part (a), this lack of exemplification means that he loses a potential four marks which would have made a significant difference to the overall marks gained in this section. This candidate does not attempt to include any comments on the effect of these strengths or weaknesses on the overall effectiveness of the text, again losing a potential four marks. His answer is also too brief as he only attempts to identify one strength and two weaknesses rather than the required three as stated in the rubric. This indicates that either the candidate did not allow enough time to complete this task or did not have the required level of language awareness. The fact that he also identifies two minor areas of grammatical weakness (pronoun use and singular/plurals) suggests that part of the weakness in this sample answer stems from poor language analysis. In terms of part (b), he identifies the lack of paragraphs as an appropriate area to work on and gives three basic justifications: effect on the reader, transfer to other written texts and the fact that it is an easy area to rectify. He therefore gains three marks for this part of the task but again loses another three because of a lack of fully developed justifications. In terms of layout, it is poor and it would appear that the candidate needed to give more thought as to how he was going to organise it before he started writing.

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8 Paper 2 Task 1

The text for this task is reproduced on the opposite page. It is being used in the following situation.

S is a Sales Representative for a Travel company. He is at Intermediate (CEFR B1) level and his company has booked him on a short one-to-one English course to help him improve his speaking skills. The teacher administered this test to help her plan S’s course.

Using your knowledge of relevant testing concepts, evaluate the effectiveness of the test for this learner in this situation. Make a total of six points. You must include both positive and negative points.


Positive points Content It is on a business topic / it has valid professional content Direct / integrative test It tests the learner’s ability to speak / does not test any other skills / it tests

language and speaking Ideas provided / choice of topics There is an appropriate range of topics to choose from / the

topics are general/familiar/personal Level Appropriate for the learner’s level / achievable / sufficiently challenging Assessment mode Monologue so teacher does not need to act as interlocutor and assess his

speaking at the same time Style Semi-formal – neutral style is appropriate and so has validity as a test Language Replicates authentic language use e.g. describing, giving information so has face

validity / allows learner to demonstrate language OR grammatical OR lexical OR pronunciation OR discourse skills (a minimum of 1)

Rubric Clear and simple instructions and prompts. This helps reliability. Task type A monologue is relevant to a business context as it is similar to giving a presentation /

doing ‘small talk’ with clients. Positive Applications Learner reaction The learner will find the task motivating / will have something to say / will have

faith/confidence in the test Relevance The test is relevant to the learner Evidence / diagnostic test The teacher should get a clearer picture of what the learner can do / the

task provides useful data of what the learner can do / the learner will be able to perform to the best of his abilities

Test content / course content / task type The test indicates to the learner that the course will be relevant to his professional needs / the test contains content which he might say when socialising in a work context

Format The learner will know what to do in the task, even though he may not be familiar with this test format

Appropriate style The learner will see the test as valid as he uses a semi-formal neutral style with his customers at work

Ideas provided The learner does not have to think of ideas / ideas and language at the same time. He won’t do badly because he lacks ideas

Negative points Language avoidance In an integrative test like this, the learner can avoid language he finds

difficult / the learner is directed towards the use of certain language because it is embedded in the prompts / the learner may choose one of the topics because he feels confident using the language needed to talk about it

Limited range of language The learner is tested on a limited range of language (e.g. not tested on future verb forms, conditional forms, modals, functions of persuading / negotiating)

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Topic / Lexis related to the topic of travel It is a general business topic / there is no opportunity to assess the learner’s use of specific travel topic-related lexis

Speaking sub-skills The task does not test speaking management skills (turn taking, interrupting etc)

Appropriateness of task / type of interaction The task is a monologue and there is no interactive conversation and discussion / no test of ability to understand and respond appropriately to oral prompts (all test prompts are written) / no test of face-to-face or on the phone skills

Limitation of Task There are no fresh starts / the learner is only given one opportunity to speak / short or limited task.

Negative applications Needs / lack of relevance The test is not entirely relevant to learner’s needs regarding types of

speaking he needs to do in his work (i.e. face-to-face interaction / speaking on the phone) Evidence for the teacher of language abilities / speaking skills The teacher may not have a full

picture of the learner’s language abilities / speaking abilities / has poor predictive validity / does not generate much data

Evidence for the teacher of listening skills The lack of a listening element reduces useful data for the teacher / lowers validity

Impact on course design It may be difficult for the teacher to design an appropriate course to meet the learner’s needs

Lack of reliability There may be a lack of reliability. Learner performance The learner may not show his real abilities Learner reaction The learner may not be motivated by the test / interested in the topic because

they are not directly related to his field of work, i.e. sales / not have faith in the test / not have faith in the course that the teacher is going to design / not have faith in the teacher


Task One scored the highest in the history of the Delta exam with the average mark achieved being 12. It is clear from Examiners’ comments that more candidates understand what is required in this task and how to best approach it. Appropriate centre training has clearly had a positive outcome. The most commonly identified points that candidates made were that it was a direct test of the learner’s speaking skills and that whilst the content was appropriate in that it was work related, the topic/lexis was not because it was not related to travel. Other positive points which were identified less frequently were that there was a choice of topics to choose from, that the level was appropriate, that the test allowed the learner to demonstrate their language use, that the instructions were clear, and that the task type was relevant to a business context. In terms of negative points, some candidates recognised that the learner could avoid using difficult language, that there was no test of face to face or phone skills, and that the task was short with only one opportunity to speak. Very few candidates recognised that the teacher could easily assess the learner’s speaking, that the semi-formal/neutral style was appropriate, that the task did not test speaking management skills and that the learner was not tested on a range of language. This inability to identify specifics related to speaking sub-skills, style or language use suggests that centres still need to train candidates to look at the detail of the actual language and skills content of the test more closely. A large number of candidates recognised that it was a diagnostic test but did not attach a point to this, e.g. It is a diagnostic test so the teacher will get useful information it to design the course without talking about what was in the test that made it a good tool for diagnostic purposes. Some candidates commented on the fact that it was from a BULATS test. Future candidates should note that the source of the test is not relevant and that no points will be given for commenting on its source. Other candidates commented on the amount of preparation time given to the learner, either as a positive (i.e. good to be given time) or as a negative (the amount of time is unrealistic to student needs and is therefore not enough). That the point can be made as a positive or negative reflects the fact that the nature of the preparation time is not a significant issue and there is no information given in the rubric which makes this relevant. As in previous sessions, it was clear that candidates are still over-relying on pre-learnt generic points taken from previous GLAs rather than developing their ability to evaluate the appropriateness of a test with a particular learner in mind. This was particularly evident in this session with a large number of candidates citing subjective marking as a potential weakness which is not a problem when it is a diagnostic test for a student who is going to take a 1-1 course. Poor layout continued to be a problem

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with many answers suffering from a cramped or confusing layout. Rather than using columns, better answers were laid out under the headings of Point and Application, which meant that candidates did not forget to include both elements. However, unfortunately, a few candidates laid their answers out as per the Guideline Answers in the last report, i.e. they listed points and then listed applications separately which meant that they lost marks because the points and applications have to be clearly linked. For example, sometimes there would be four positive points followed by five positive applications so that it was clear that the candidates were not trying to match them up. They therefore automatically lost four potential points for four applications. Some candidates identified the key points but then lost marks because they did not include applications or repeated them – this continues to be the major problem with this task and is the main reason why candidates lose marks. Stronger answers clearly state a point and then include an application which makes clear reference to the learner and their stated needs/goals and how this test meets/doesn’t meet them. The use of relevant testing concepts also continues to be a weakness. Some candidates are still using testing concepts as headings and therefore not getting any points for the use of terminology as this has to be integrated into the points made, E.G. The test has face validity – student wants to improve her speaking skills. Others use relevant testing concepts in terms of this particular test but still continue to misuse backwash with a large number saying that the test would create a positive backwash on the course but there is no information provided about the course and it has not yet taken place.

Weaker answers:

repeated the same point, particularly that it was a direct test or repeated the same application, particularly that the test would be relevant or not relevant to the learner

linked to the above point, did not use a wide enough range of criteria with which to evaluate the test

still continued to use testing terms such as content validity as the headings for their points which resulted in the terminology not being related sufficiently to the point being made

did not refer to relevant testing concepts in terms of this particular test or used terminology inaccurately to describe the test

repeated pre-learnt points that they had seen in previous Guideline answers, particularly with reference to subjective marking which was not relevant to this particular test

identified key points but then lost marks because they did not include applications repeated the same application for different points (an application is only credited once) or

included more than one application for a point which resulted in repetition of applications over the whole answer

did not refer explicitly to the learner and their stated needs/goals and how the test met or did not meet these needs and goals

stated the source of the test Stronger answers (did the opposite of the above PLUS)

applied the use of terminology to the test as appropriate so that it was clear that they understood the meaning of the terms

recognised the purpose of the test, i.e. that it was a diagnostic test used testing terms judiciously, i.e. they did not use them for the sake of including them in their

answer but used them where appropriate evaluated the test in detail in terms of its content with reference to speaking sub-skills, its style

and the language required to complete it combined the points and applications well so that it was clear that they were evaluating the

effectiveness of the test with this particular learner in mind Candidates are recommended to: explicitly state what kind of test it is which will help them to use the correct terminology relevant to

that type of testing avoid approaching their evaluation through assessing the test against testing concepts such as

validity, reliability, backwash etc. read the situation in the rubric carefully, seeing how each part of it can be relevant to the test and to the specified learner make sure their answers are specifically about the particular test make sure they always show how the points they make about the test’s effectiveness apply to the

particular learner cover a wide range of points relating to the test’s effectiveness in their answers

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use terminology only when relevant and use it accurately avoid repeating the same application to the learner under different points use clear layout that shows which points are intended as positive and which as negative make sure they include both positive and negative points make sure they make six points, including both positive and negative ones

8.3 Sample Answers

8.3.1 The following sample answer gained almost all the marks available for this task

+

Instructions for the task are clear so S should be able to understand what he has to do easily. This will help to make the test more accurate. It is a test of the speaking skill, and obus (this is the skill which is evaluated ) even if the learner does make notes) and as such may make the S feel that it is relevant to his needs. Furthermore if he requires presentation skills, it becomes a direct test of this speaking subskill.

-

It requires subjective marking which will reduce the scorer reliability and possibly make the learner S have less faith in it. – reducing and the subsequent course. It may not appear like a test to S, reducing face validity, which could mean that he underperforms thus not reflecting his ability. the content validity is questionable as it mainly talks about business and the workplace (in terms of lexis) and using past tenses (in terms of grammar). This may not fit with S’s needs as if he is involved with sales in the travel industry, lexis regarding travel and leisure, and grammar including future plans may be more relevant. This makes the test less useful when planning course content as language pertaining to his needs may be avoided. There are no interactive elements to this test which would be useful to for S a in his job. This means that the teacher will not have diagnosed this aspect of the speaking skill and will not be informaled as to S’s proficiency in conversation.

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Examiner’s comments on sample answer This answer is above average because the candidate considers the types of tasks included in the test and how these are or aren’t pertinent to the learner. She identifies three positive aspects of the test with different applications for the learner for two of them, and three negative aspects, all with a different application. In terms of the positive point without an application, the candidate writes Furthermore if he requires presentation skills, it becomes a direct test of this speaking subskill but does not say what the learner’s reaction would be, e.g. the learner would find the task motivating or that the content of the test indicates to the learner that the course will be relevant to his professional needs etc. If the answer had been laid out using the headings of Point / Application, perhaps the candidate would have remembered to provide the missing application. In addition to these five points, she includes two points which are inaccurate and therefore could not be awarded any marks: the use of subjective marking which is not relevant for a test leading to a 1-1 course and the fact that the test does not look like a test which is not the case. In terms of her use of terminology, the candidate integrates direct test and content validity well into her answer, thereby gaining one mark for the use of testing terms. In order to achieve full marks for her use of terminology, she would need to integrate another two testing terms in her answer.

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8.3.2 The following sample answer gained just over half of the marks available for this task

Positive

1

2 3 4 4

The test has content validity because it asks the S to talk about issues relevant to his job and reason for studying. speaking It is a direct test which and it is integrative which it makes it so it should give a true reflection of S’s speaking as well as knowledge of language skills josh gvon and systems in order to find out his weaknesses, It’s a good diagnostic test. He is It has face validity and is similar to exams such as FCE, which S may consider doing in the future. The test allows the S to use his personal experience to formulate the content, as opposed to being more abstract. The test is set at an appropriate level which in that it is achievable achieveable for weaker intermediate learners but also provides stronger learners an opportunity to impress the tester.

Negative 1

2

As a sub test which requires subjective scoring, it requires the tester to be knowledgable and the its subjectivity may lead to a may make it less reliable. The test puts the S in an uncomfortable and stressful situation which may make him nervous and underperform leading to less reliable results.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer This answer contains four positive points but no valid negative ones and of the four points, only two of them are accompanied by a clear application to the learner. In terms of the positive points, there are two clearly stated applications related to two points, i.e. the test has appropriate content which is relevant to the learner’s job and it is a direct test of speaking skills and so will provide clear evidence of the learner’s speaking skills. The other two points of it testing language systems and it being at an appropriate level were accurate but the application included was a repetition of the second one above, i.e. it will provide diagnostic data. If the candidate had laid out her answer under the main headings of Positive Points and Negative Points as she does but then with the sub-headings of Point and Application, she might have ensured that she included a different application for each point that she makes. In terms of the two negative points included, neither could be accepted because subjective scoring is not relevant to this test and there is no reason given in the rubric as to why the learner might find the test stressful and so under-perform. There is also one inaccurate positive point in the candidate’s answer which is that the test has face validity and is similar to exams such as FCE, which S may consider doing in the future. This is a general comment which could be made about most tests at this level and there is no suggestion that the learner intends to take the FCE in the rubric. The candidate’s use of terminology is good and she integrates four testing terms into her answer (content validity, direct test, integrative, diagnostic test) and so gains the full two marks for this part of the task.

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8.3.3 The following sample answer gained only a few of the marks available for this task

S = Student

This is a direct test in the sense that the student is being tested for a skill he actually needs: speaking. It is an assement diagnostic test to see how well the S speaks. The teacher will have a good idea of how fluent and accurate the student is so the test has good content validity but because it is not designed specifically to utilizes “Sales talk” ie. Being persuasive, phatic language, use of politeness it’s construct validity is not perfect. However, because it is a speaking skills the student will feel motivated and regard it as a useful assement tool and so it will have a good degree of Face Value. the teacher will be able to use this information to asses student’s weaknesses and strengths and so it also has a good predictive value: The test will provide evidence of the students current ability. The test however, does limit the student to talking about past events and so its range is somewhat limited. There is nothing in the test related to sales and as already mentions the language of persuasion. Conditionals: If you bough X it would improve your life – 2nd example. Modals, You will need this product as it can really help you. The test does allow personal expression and so it is PERSONALIZED increasing the students MOTIVATION.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer The candidate makes three valid points but only the first one has a clearly stated application, i.e. that it is a direct speaking test which will provide useful diagnostic data. Later in her answer, she states that the learner will find this direct test motivating: this is not necessary as only one application can be credited for a point. The other two points that the topic is not relevant and that it tests a limited range of language are both valid but are not accompanied by applications. For example, the candidate could have written that the learner will be demotivated because the topic is not relevant or that the learner may not show their true linguistic abilities. This answer received one mark for the use of testing terms direct test and diagnostic test. The other terms of content validity and predictive validity could not be awarded a mark because they are not linked to a specific point. There is one instance of inaccurate terminology when she writes face value as opposed to face validity. Again, this candidate would benefit from thinking more carefully about layout with the use of the sub-headings Point and Application to guide her answer as this answer was too wordy, contains some repetition and is poorly structured.

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9 Paper 2 Task 2

The purpose of the extract as a whole is to review and extend learners’ language for asking and talking about plans. a Identify the purpose of the exercises listed in the box below in relation to the purpose of the

extract as a whole. Do not refer to the pronunciation box on p 54 or the ‘Did you notice’ box on p 55.

Exercises for Task Two Listening Exercise 1 Listening Exercise 2 English in Use Exercise 1

b Identify a total of six key assumptions about language learning that are evident in the exercises

listed in the box above and explain why the authors might consider these assumptions to be important for language learning. State which exercise or exercises each assumption refers to.


Purpose of the exercises Exercise Intended Purpose Listening Exercise 1

to introduce / familiarise the learners with the topic of the text / activate schemata

to expose learners to natural language in a (semi)-authentic text to personalise the topic of the text to expose learners to the TL (i.e. expressions to talk about plans) to check understanding of the context of the TL to contextualise the TL (NB: awarded for either exercise 1 or 2)

Listening Exercise 2

to present the target expressions in context (NB: awarded for either exercise 1 or 2)

to focus on / introduce / notice / the form or pronunciation of the TL to give intensive listening practice to focus on the TL / listen for detail of TL /

listen for specific language to provide learners with written examples/models/record of the TL

English in Use Exercise 1

to review and extend expressions of the TL / to provide additional models of the TL to those introduced in the listening text

to show that one function has several different exponents / one meaning expressed by different forms / a variety of ways for expressing plans

to focus on question forms to focus on / check learners’ understanding of the use / meaning / function of

the TL to encourage students to use the context to work out the functions / meaning /

use to encourage students to record expressions according to function/

meaning/use / to provide a written record of the TL

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Assumptions and reasons Advanced learners need to extend their lexical repertoire / learners need to have a range of

functional exponents at their disposal (Listening Exercise 2, English in Use Exercise 1) So that they can express themselves more concisely and with more variety / to sound more like a native speaker / they need to understand a range of speakers

Learners should learn lexical chunks/phrases/idiomatic language especially in spoken

functional language (All exercises) Because it helps them to retrieve language more easily/quickly / it has high surrender value outside the classroom

Advanced learners benefit from focussing on many different future forms together (English in Use Exercise 1) Presenting the future forms together helps learners notice own weaknesses / presents a motivating challenge / allows the teacher to notice the learners’ weaknesses

Form and meaning cannot be separated so it is useful to present both together / it is not

necessary to focus explicitly on the form of this TL at an advanced level (English in Use Exercise 1) Advanced learners will feel patronised if the material focuses on the form / they will have learnt the form at previous levels / it is the subtle differences in use which are the key problems with this area of language

Learners need to understand the meaning / gist of a text before focusing on language (Listening Exercise 1) Because this will help them to understand the meaning of the language / because this helps to develop the listening skill they need for much of real life listening

Learners need a task to focus them on the overall meaning of the text (Listening Exercise 1)

To prevent them from trying to understand every word / this mirrors real life use as we usually listen to something for a specific purpose

Learners should be encouraged to respond personally to texts (Listening Exercise 1)

Because this generates interest / because listening is an interactive process

Learners need to hear / see the language in context (Listening Exercises 1 & 2) So that they can see how it is used / it mirrors how the L1 is learnt

Listening texts are a good way of presenting functional language (Listening Exercises 1 & 2)

Because this reflects what happens in real life / may encourage learners to become ‘language detectives’ outside the classroom

Learners should be exposed to natural features of spoken discourse (e.g. false starts / (semi) authentic texts) (Listening Exercises 1 & 2) Because they may not have exposure to these features if they are not learning in an L1 environment / they provide good models for learners whose use of the L2 sounds a little unnatural

Learners need a task to help extract language examples from a text / notice the language

(Listening Exercise 2) Because otherwise they won’t know which part of the text to focus on / it ensures that they identify the correct TL quickly

Learners benefit from categorising language / cognitively engaging tasks are useful

(English in Use Exercise 1) Because it helps them to see similarities and differences / recording lexis in this way may make it easier for them to retrieve / because learners are motivated by such tasks / because cognitive engagement encourages them to process the language forms and leads to greater retention / helps learners to notice the language

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Providing prompts/examples of language / a written record is helpful (English in Use Exercise 1) Because it provides scaffolding during activities / it allows learners to revise what they have learnt

Learners should be encouraged to work out language use themselves / use guided discovery (English in Use Exercise 1) Because they can utilise the knowledge that they already have which is motivating / it allows learners to see where the gaps in their knowledge are


Examiners commented that the task differentiated well between stronger and weaker candidates in terms of their knowledge of the principles which inform the design of teaching material. As in previous sessions, the candidates scored higher on part (a) than on part (b) where many struggled to identify the assumptions that lay behind the design of these particular exercises. It is therefore clear that centres need to do a lot more work on this area of the syllabus. Whilst the task had the benefit of a familiar sequence of coursebook material, it was evident that many candidates did not know what functions were and they did not think about the nature of the listening text itself, i.e. that it was semi-authentic, and they did not look at the language in the transcript of the listening. This lack of knowledge and analysis impacted on candidate performance in both parts of the task. Part (a) Most candidates gave three or four purposes per exercise which was an improvement on previous sessions. Candidates should note that there are a maximum of sixteen points to be gained in this section of the task (two points are allocated for each purpose) so in this examination, they needed to write down at least eight purposes over the three exercises. There were two key weaknesses in the way that candidates approached this part of the task: they over-relied on pre-learnt purposes and did not pay attention to the language included in the exercises and listening transcript. In terms of an over-reliance on pre-learnt purposes, when discussing Listening Exercise 1, candidates frequently wrote that listening for gist was a purpose but this could not be credited because it is not relevant to the overall purpose of the material. In Listening Exercise 2, they stated that the purpose of the exercise was to listen for specific information but did not say what this specific information was, i.e. that learners had to listen for specific language items. In English in Use Exercise 1, a large number of candidates wrote that a purpose of this exercise is to encourage learners to work out the rules of the target language which has been included in previous Guideline Answers. However, when the focus of the material is to teach functions, rather than grammar, learners have to work out the use of the functional exponents not the rules so again, candidates lost marks here. These three examples demonstrate the fact that some candidates rely on repeating pre-learnt purposes without really thinking about the nature of the target language or the overall purpose of the extract as detailed in the rubric. There were also quite a few candidates who included generic purposes, e.g. that the exercises prepare the students for the next one, which could apply to most exercises in a sequence of material. In terms of the second key weakness when attempting part (a) of a lack of attention to language items, this was particularly apparent when discussing English in Use Exercise 1, where very few candidates looked at the language items in the exercise and so did not recognise that the purpose of this exercise was to review and extend expressions for the target language, to provide additional models to the ones in the listening text or that another purpose was to show that one function has several different exponents. They also did not identify that the exercise focuses on question forms. This lack of specificity suggests that candidates are not being trained to look carefully at the language in the exercises. In terms of approaching the task, some weaker candidates described what learners had to do in the exercises rather than stated their purposes and laid their answers out in a very cramped fashion or without using the exercises as headings which meant that it was problematic for examiners to decode their answers.

Part (b) The majority of candidates struggled to identify five accurate assumptions and were generally over-reliant on pre-learnt assumptions from previous Guideline Answers. For example, they cited assumptions such as the importance of scaffolding learning, moving from receptive to productive work, the value of activating schemata, the need to cater for a variety of learner styles, the importance of integrating skills or language and skills, the need to include collaborative learning, and the development of listening skills. None of these assumptions could be credited because they are not

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evident in the exercises cited in the rubric. Most candidates identified the importance of learning lexical chunks, the usefulness of learners having a task to focus them on the overall meaning of the text, the value of personalisation, the importance of hearing/seeing language in context, the value of having a written record of the target language, the usefulness of using guided discovery to focus on language use, and the benefit of cognitively challenging tasks/categorising language. Stronger candidates identified the importance of learners needing to understand the meaning of a text before focussing on language but very few candidates identified assumptions which were specific to this particular sequence of published material. For example, it was rare that a candidate recognised the fact that advanced learners need to extend their lexical repertoire, that they benefit from focussing on many different future forms at the same time or that they do not need to focus explicitly on the form of the target language at this level. Very few candidates also appeared to know what functional language is (this depended on whether the centre has focussed on this in their exam preparation) or that listening texts are a good way of presenting functional language. They also did not consider the fact that learners should be exposed to natural features of spoken discourse or that they need a task to help them extract language examples from a text. These omissions reflect the fact that the candidates did not think about the level of the learners which the material is aimed at, or the nature of the specific language, or the content of listening text. Those candidates who identified four or five assumptions still lost marks because they did not address the second part of the rubric in sufficient detail, i.e. explain why the authors might consider these assumptions to be important for language learning. The rationale that they provided was often very limited and was restricted to reasons such as it is motivating / relevant to real life needs / good for learner autonomy etc. The Guideline Answers in this report and previous ones provide a good range of reasons which candidates could usefully consider. However, they should note that the reasons are not confined to the assumptions that they are linked to in this particular report and that they can be applied to a range of assumptions. Another reason that candidates lost marks in this section was that they either repeated reasons for the assumptions or did not give two reasons for each assumption. Candidates should note that a maximum of fifteen marks is available in part (b) with three for each assumption: one for the assumption and exercise, and two for two different reasons for the assumption. A reason can only be credited once. The final reason that candidates lost marks in part (b) was that they sometimes forgot to explicitly refer to an exercise where the assumption is evident which meant that they were unable to get a mark for the assumption or the reasons for its inclusion. Candidates are recommended to: read the rubric carefully to ensure that they discuss only those exercises specified in the task

rubric write several relevant purposes for each exercise in part (a) and produce a minimum of eight

purposes in total note that in part (a) they should discuss the purpose of the exercises in relation to the purpose of

the extract as a whole look at the language included a text (written or spoken) and within the different exercises cited in

the rubric research in more detail the principles behind the design of material give two reasons for each assumption to maximise their chances of gaining three marks for each

assumption and rationale outlined as indicated in the Guideline Answer group their answers together as indicated by the task rubric sections i.e. discuss only purposes in

part (a), and only assumptions and reasons for them in part (b) use headings to organise their answers, e.g. assumption, reasons, exercise which means that

they ensure that they provide all the information required in the rubric

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9.3 Sample Answers

9.3.1 The following sample answer gained a large number of marks for this task

2 a) 1 LE1 to expose Ss to the target language

(TL) – asking for and talking about plans in context LE1 to provide a gist task for listening to practice the sub-skill of listening for gist. LE1: to activate Ss’ schemata about asking for and taking about plans LE1: to create interest in the topic and then make S motivated to learn the TL 2 LE2: to practice the sub-skill of listening for details to call Ss’ attention to the target language by asking them to write them down to provide practice in bottom-up listening strategies (listening for individual words/chunks) 3 EiU1: to focus on the meaning of the different functional exponants of the TL to focus the Ss’ attention of the form of the functional exponants of the TL b) 1 LE1: It is valuable to give SS a listening for gist task before focusing on language. R1: If Ss don’t have a task, they might focus on unknown language and experience an emotional block. R2: It is important to practice listening skills in general, even in a lesson, where the main focus is of functional language, because integrating skills and language work adds to the variety motivating. 2 LE1: It is beneficial to personalise tasks. R1: When the Ss can talk about themselves, they are more motivated to communicate genuine communicative situation. R2: Personalising a topic creates the interest to go deeper and ‘notice’ the features of the language. 3 LE2: It is valuable to improve SS’ bottom-up listening strategies. R1: It is an approach that helps Ss understand the listening text when they don’t have background knowledge and therefore they can’t use top-down processing. R2: In this case, writing down the functional exponants after hearing will help Ss to notice the form of them.

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4 EiU 1 It is valuable to categorise language into functional units. R1: It shousl Ss that there is not one way to express a message which helps marks It also helps Ss to have a wider range. R2: It helps especially analytical Ss remember and store language in a systematic way. EiU 2: It is valuable to provide Ss with a written record of all the functions they looked at in class. R1: It helps Ss keep track of what they have learnt and it is easy to find for future reference and practice. R2: It helps reminds Ss in later stages when they want to experiment with new language to that there are many expressions they can use.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer The candidate identifies eight purposes over the three exercises but only five of these are valid: to expose the learners to the target language (which she states) and to activate schemata/create interest in the topic in Listening Exercise 1; to focus on target language and to listen for specific language items in Listening Exercise 2; and to focus on the meaning of the functional exponents in English in Use Exercise 1. The other purposes stated which could not be credited are to practise listening for gist in the first listening exercise and to focus on the form of the target language which is not a feature of English in Use Exercise 1. In part (b), the candidate identifies five accurate assumptions which lie behind the design of the material. These are the importance of learners understanding the meaning of a text before they focus on the language within it; the value of personalisation; the benefit of learners categorising language; the need to teach functional language; and the usefulness of providing learners with a written record of the language. There is a sixth assumption of the value of improving learners’ bottom-up listening strategies which cannot be credited because there is no explicit focus on developing learners’ listening skills in either of the listening exercises. The candidate provides fully developed rationale for all of the assumptions – this part of her answer is particularly impressive and means that she attains full marks for this part of the task, i.e. fifteen marks. In terms of the organisation of the answer, it has the benefit of a very clear layout and use of headings for both parts. This is particularly important in part (b) because it is very clear which exercises the assumptions are attached to and the use of R1 / R2 ensures that she provides two reasons for each assumption.

9.3.2 The following sample answer gained just under two thirds of the marks available for this task

Exercise

Purpose

Listening ex. 1 Listening ex. 2

Personalise the topic create a relaxed atmosphere have SS listen for specific info that contains focus language for later stages expose SS to future focus language (In an idirect way) have ss listen for specific info that contains focus language make ss aware of expressions

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English in Use ex. 1 b.

KEY ASSUMPTION

Personalistion: T thinks that Ss learn better when their opinions/ personal experience are involved Written record: the T thinks that Ss should have a written record of what they’ve learnt Spoken language: T has SS listen to focus language before reading having them read it. Use of chunks Colligations. Ss should be aware of these. Bottom-up listening is important PPP T think that items are first to be presented to worked on Ss an then practised by them.

to of for asking about plans and talking about plans. to check Ss’ knowledge and understanding of focus language to make Ss aware of correlation between grammar and attitude (what chunks match what feelings). teach to make SS aware of SSs different ways to talk about one’s plans. to give SS a written record of useful expressions to make S aware teach Ss colligations related to focus language “I’m thinking of +ing”

REASON

Ss are more engaged and motivated. It creates a nice balance of communication and analysis. (List. ex 1) T thinks that this will help them retain and revise language in the future. (English in Use ex 2) Spoken language will help Ss get accustomed to the way fint source most important source of language. (List ex. 2, 7) T thinks these have high surrender value and thus are more rapidly usable by Ss. (English in Use ex 1) Coligations are parts of chunks and as such help combine communication with accuracy (English in use ex 1) Helps Ss notice focus language (list ex 2) T thinks that only through earlie exposure exposure and presentation can Ss effectively practice work on language. Also, they will feel more confident because how they practiced are aware of them have been made aware of it.

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Examiner’s comments on sample answer In part (a), the candidate does well and identifies six accurate purposes: to personalise the topic and expose the learners to the target language/future forms in Listening Exercise 1; to listen for specific language items and focus the learners on this language in Listening Exercise 2; and to check learner understanding of the target language (stated twice) and to provide a written record of it in English in Use Exercise 1. He also includes one inaccurate purpose with regards to Listening Exercise 2 when he states that it aims to check learner understanding of the target language which is not the case as there is no explicit focus on this until English in Use Exercise 1. Unfortunately, the candidate’s response to part (b) of the task is less convincing and he only manages to identify three appropriate assumptions. These are the importance of personalisation; the usefulness of a written record of the target language; and the value of teaching lexical chunks (stated twice). The other assumptions of a focus on spoken language and bottom-up listening skills are not pertinent to this particular sequence of exercises as the focus is on functional rather than just spoken language, and as stated above, there is no explicit focus on developing listening skills in the material. In terms of reasons for the three credited assumptions, the candidate states two different reasons for a focus on lexical chunks but only includes one reason for each of the other two, i.e. personalisation motivates learners and a written record helps learners to revise and retain language. In order to maximise his marks for these two assumptions, he needs to include another explicit reason for each one. The layout of the task is reasonable and he includes reference to an exercise for each assumption.

9.3.3 The following sample answer obtained under a third of the marks available for this task

Exercise Intended purpose of exercise Listening ex. 1

________________________ Listening ex. 2 ________________________ English in use ex.1

Intensive listening to activate schemata. Retention of knowledge is necessary to judge ‘most interesting’. Generates idea, provides lexis relating to ‘weekend plans’. Repetition of key phrases and forms encourages memorisation. _____________________________________ Intensive listening for key information. tests comprehension Scaffolding provides some of the words of the discourse key to making plans. Lexical chunks are introduced such as “lazy weekend.” and phrasal verbs “coming back” Motivates the student to listen by giving clues about weekends and plans Combines different skills for different types of learner

_____________________________________ Reinforces use of continuous tenses in making plans. “I was going…” and present perfect for asking about plans. “Have you got…” recycles shares information Recycles lexis already introduced for making plans. Encourage student to work autonomously.

b (i)

There is a high transactional/surrender value to such lexis as it will be used by the student. (all exercises) It introduces The use of modals for making

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(ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vi)

arrangements of any kind are essential (Did you notice The conversation uses false starts and repairs which is true of real conversation (Exercises 1,2 3) and English in use (It appears authentic.) These are useful for students to be aware of to conduct conversation naturally. Key lexis about plans and weekends as is introduced (all exercises). This helps to develop the and build on the student’s existing language. It is informal in style and the use of adajency pairs reflects this. Knowing how to use such language is essential to conversation. (exercises 1&2) Discourse markers are used to keep the conversation going. Pause fillers “Yeah, Yeah “ to encourage others to continue talking. Developing such skills are key to maintaining conversation, allowing time to think. Turn – taking is essential. Question and answers both written and spoken reinforce learning not only of vocabulary, but intonation suprasegmental features, such as intonation.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer The candidate’s performance in both parts of this answer is poor. In part (a), he identifies three valid purposes: to activate schemata/generate ideas in Listening Exercise 1; to focus on the target language which he names in Listening Exercise 2; and to focus on the use of the target language in English in Use Exercise 1. There are some comments which are unclear (e.g. retention of knowledge is necessary to judge ‘most interesting’), vague (e.g. encourages students to work autonomously), inaccurate (e.g. intensive listening for key information tests comprehension), or descriptive (e.g. motivates the student to listen by giving clues about weekends and plans). In part (b), the candidate struggles to identify accurate assumptions and out of the four that he lists, only one is clearly stated enough to be credited, i.e. the usefulness of focussing learners on natural features of spoken discourse. He provides one reason for this assumption, that it is helpful for learners to be aware of these features for real communication. The other points that he outlines show some potential but need to be more clearly stated. The first point could be hinting at a belief in the value of teaching functional language and the third one could be referring to the usefulness of focusing on lexical chunks but neither point is made clearly enough to be credited. If the candidate had begun each assumption with The author believes in the value of ..., he might have been able to marshall his thoughts more effectively. The point about style is not pertinent to this particular extract as there is no explicit focus on the differences between informal and formal styles. A clearer layout of the answer to part (b) with the use of sub-headings might also have helped the candidate to address the rubric fully. The examiners concluded that the candidate lacked sufficient knowledge of the principles behind the design of material and how to approach this task.

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10 Paper 2 Task 3

Comment on the ways in which Speak for Yourself and Speak out (Exercise 1) combine with the exercises discussed in Task Two. Do not refer to the ‘Remember’ box on p 55.


Exercise How exercise combines with exercises in Task Two Speak for yourself Generates interest in / introduces the topic / activates schemata /

prepare learners for the listening To check key vocabulary (for the listening) (via the use of visuals) Helps learners to see any gaps in their knowledge / to give the

teacher the opportunity to find out what the learners already know Provides a variety of skills (speaking before listening) (awarded for

either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1) To activate / use language that they know / which may be in the

listening Challenges the learners to activate their knowledge within a time

frame before they focus on the TL in Listening Exercise 1 / to motivate the learners by giving them a time limit.

Provides a fun activity to allow for a change of pace / to balance the more analytical work in Listening Exercise 1 / English in Use 1 (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)

Provides a variety of interaction as the exercises in Task Two are done individually (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)

Speak out Exercise 1 Provides a fun activity to allow for a change of pace / to balance the more analytical work in Listening Exercise 1 / English in Use 1 (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)

Appeals to a different type of learner i.e. kinaesthetic To extend the practice to include time expressions (awarded for

either Speak for yourself or Speak out exercise 1) Provides a variety of interaction as the exercises in Task Two are

done individually (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)

Gives the learners the chance to use the language presented in the previous exercises / provides freer practice

Makes the language relevant to the students through personalisation Provides a focus on oral fluency after some quite intensive /

analytical work / moves the learners from receptive to productive work

Gives the learners / teacher the chance to see progress / recognise the learner’s improved ability to talk about plans

Maintains the context of talking about plans / extends the topic from discussing plans for the weekend to short and long-term plans

Provides a variety of skills (speaking after listening) (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)


Examiners commented that candidates now generally appear to know how to approach the task, with very few describing what the learners have to do in the exercises, which shows good improvement on previous sessions. As was stated in the June 2011 report, those candidates who had spent a few minutes actually doing the exercises for themselves were able to see what they generated in terms of language or activity

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and were then able to refer this back to what had gone before or came after. It therefore appears that more candidates and centres have taken this advice on board with the result that candidate performance has improved. The most frequent points identified were that Speak for yourself introduces the topic, acts as a diagnostic exercise and activates language that the learners may already know and Speak Out Exercise 1 allows for personalisation and provides an opportunity for practice. Weaker candidates

discussed both exercises together which made it difficult for the examiners to pinpoint which exercises they were referring to and also meant that they described the purposes of the individual exercises in insufficient detail

described the purpose of the exercises without saying how they combined with one of the exercises in Task Two

described what the learners had to do in the exercises described how the exercises within Task Three combined with each other discussed Speak Out Exercises 1 and 2 rather than Speak for Yourself and Speak Out, a sign

that they have not read the rubric carefully enough inaccurately described Speak for yourself as a personalisation exercise included generic points such as to prepare for the next task

Stronger candidates made at least five points per exercise, or more identified the fact that Speak for yourself checks lexis for the listening, provides a variety of

skills (both exercises), challenges learners to activate their knowledge within a time frame, balances the more analytical work in Listening Ex 1 or English in Use 1, and provides a variety of interaction (both exercises). These candidates have taken on board the advice in the previous report to look for patterns that the exercises share

identified the fact that Speak out Exercise 1 extends the practice to time expressions, provides a focus on oral fluency after the analytical work, allows the learners to review their progress and maintains the context of talking about plans. Again this precision in their analysis of materials design reflects the fact that these stronger candidates look for patterns in terms of interaction groupings, the type of practice, the balance between accuracy and fluency, the context, the variety/type of activities, the target language itself and how it is developed

Candidates are recommended to: read the rubric carefully and only discuss the exercises they are asked to discuss approach this task by discussing each exercise on its own so that they maximise the number of

points that they make make a minimum of twelve points about the different exercises make sure they discuss how the specific exercises combine with the exercises in Task Two, and

do not discuss anything else do the exercises themselves so that they can see how the exercises link with the ones in Task

Two consider a range of ways exercises can combine, e.g. in terms of language, type of practice,

presentation to practice, student interaction patterns, opportunities for personalisation, progression, recycling, the balance between accuracy and fluency, the topic/context etc

10.3 Sample Answers

10.3.1 The following sample answer obtained a high number of marks available for this task

Speak for yourself

Use of visual stimuli helps introduce context warms Schemata helpful for visual learner initiates parader procedure predictive processes Instant personalisation of task therefore increase motivation

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Collaborative task reduces affective filter + generates lexis for follow up Ex’s Time limit focuses Sts on task. Speak Out Consolidates T.L developed throughout activity Practises collocations from previous Ex’s Introduces time clauses for inclusion in T.L to under applications Freer practice after controlled UoE and vocab stages in safe environment. Completes cycle of personalisation Completes general trend of using receptive productive skills as replicated in real life.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer This answer identifies three accurate points for Speak for yourself and four for Speak Out. In terms of the first exercise, these are that it activates schemata (stated twice), encourages learners to use lexis that may be in the listening and focuses them on the task by using a time limit. The points made relating to visuals/visual learners and personalisation could not be credited because they are not relevant in terms of exercise progression. In terms of Speak Out, the candidate identifies that the practice is extended to include time expressions, the learners are provided with the opportunity for freer practice (stated twice), it completes the cycle of personalisation and moves the learners from receptive to productive practice. This answer therefore reflects a good range of points in terms of the ways that the material combines in terms of language work, the type of practice done, the shift from receptive to productive work, and the opportunities for personalisation. It also explicitly refers back to the exercises discussed in Task 2.

10.3.2 The following sample answer obtained half the marks available for this task

Speak for yourself Speak Out

It’s a personalisation activity, just like List ex.1 helps introduce topic can be useful to elict language that will come of later. can help helps ss predict what they’ll be listening to in later stages. helps make ss feel comfortable for a more analytical task later ( List ex.2) a perfect follow-up for the presentation and practice of previous stages botto top-down offers ss furter listening practice helps ss use written record for Use English ex 1. helps create a communicative conclusion to the lesson (freer practice) It’s a personalisation activity, just like list ex1.

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Examiner’s comments on sample answer Out of the ten points that the candidate makes, five can be credited as being accurate: three in Speak for yourself and two in Speak Out. With regards to the first exercise, these are that it introduces the topic, it activates language that learners might be able to use later and it balances the later more analytical work. The points regarding personalisation and predictive listening could not be credited because they are not accurate. In terms of Speak Out, the candidate recognises it provides the opportunity for freer practice and that it mirrors the personalisation evident in Listening Exercise 1. However, this part of the candidate’s answer also contains a generic/vague comment that it is a perfect follow up for the presentation and practice of the previous stages without saying exactly how this is the case, and it also contains an inaccurate point in that the exercise provides further listening practice. Overall, it is clear that this candidate understands how to approach the task and as with the previous sample answer makes clear reference to previous exercises. However, the candidate needs to include a greater range of ways that the exercises combine, the type of language focussed on, the variety interaction patterns etc, as the candidate in Sample One does. 10.3.3 The following sample answer obtained very few marks available for this task 3D Task 3

Speak for yourself and Speak out (Exercise 1) combine with the exercise in Task 2 by personalizing the concept and allowing for interpersonal dialogue to activate the lesson learned from reception in Task 2 which had scaffolded the target lexis and discourse. “speak for yourself” has used a Communicative language approach that was inductive and integrated well with the deductive aspect of Task 2. “Speak out” served to be a concept checking activity and one that extended the lesson on asking and discussing plans with a wide spectrum of repeated hevasion to operationalize the lesson objective. Chunking and collocation elements were brought in to the mix of spoken discourse development to add useful phrase of time effective and connecting to time and planning-sequencing

Examiner’s comments on sample answer The candidate’s response to this task is poor partly because of a lack of clarity and partly because he discusses both exercises at the same time and so does not make enough points. In addition, his handwriting was poor which made it very difficult for the Examiner to decode what he had actually written as indicated in the typed version of his answer. His answer contains two valid points regarding Speak Out Exercise 1: that it provides practice of the target language and extends the language use to time expressions. The points that he makes about personalisation and activation of ideas at the beginning of the answer could not be credited because he references them to both exercises when activation of schemata only applies to Speak for yourself and personalisation is only relevant to Speak Out Exercise 1. The point about inductive and deductive approaches is inaccurate. Overall, a significant lack of experience and training of how to approach this task is evident in this answer.

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11 Paper 2 Task 4

Below are two selections of language items for teaching an intermediate (CEFR level B1) lesson:

Selection A Selection B be in debt pay off a credit card get a pay rise take out a loan save up for a holiday

That’ll be £30. How would you like to pay? I don’t have cash on me. No problem.

a Identify (i) the similarities (ii) the differences in the approaches informing the selections. b What criticisms could be made of each approach to language selection?


A Similarities Topic/semantic field this is the organising principle for lesson rather than a grammatical structure Language chunks / no analysis at word level these are the basis for language acquisition Memorisation teaching language in chunks helps learners to remember them / aids fluency Ungraded they both contain mixed grammatical patterns / the language items are not graded Idiomatic / formulaic language they both focus on idiomatic language / formulaic language High frequency / real language they both focus on high frequency / realistic language Spoken language they both focus on informal / colloquial / spoken language Designated language both focus on teacher pre-selected items rather than language emerging

from the classroom Restricted number of items both focus on a small number of items each

A Differences Lexical approach Selection A focuses on verb + noun collocations / verbs, which relates to Lewis’s

‘The Lexical Approach’ in which he says verbs are a neglected word class Analytical Selection A reflects a more analytical/academic approach to language selection Base form in Selection A, the language items are in their base / infinitive form / the language items

need to be manipulated before the learners can use them Topic Selection A is related to the general topic of money / is topic based Sense relations In Selection A, lexical items are from a lexical set / lexical field Functional / situational approach Selection B focuses on language in use, i.e. shopping reflects

influence of audio-lingualism Contextualisation Selection B language contextualised in extracts from a dialogue Communicative purpose / activity Selection B reflects the influence of the Communicative

Approach where the emphasis is on situation- based teaching Full exponents In Selection B, the language items are already in a form where they can be used /

the learners can use them immediately Pronunciation it could be easier to focus on features of pronunciation, e.g. intonation, sentence

stress in Selection B

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B Criticisms Learner expectations learners often expect language learning to be the study of grammar EIL/ELF according to EIL/ELF, idiomatic language is not useful Difficulties it is difficult to remember / cope with different patterns, especially in one class / they

are daunting Variety of language patterns the language items do not contain one grammatical structure /

generalisable patterns Lack of creativity/cognitive challenge there is no opportunity for learners to choose their own

language / demotivating Learner needs learners may not relate to / have experience of the topic / need this language Lack of context the items in Selection A are unlikely to all occur in one text / the items are

uncontextualised Opportunities for practice it would be more difficult to find a way to practise the items in

Selection A Manipulation of language In Selection A, learners may not be able to manipulate the language OR

in Selection B, learners may not learn to manipulate the language / apply the language to different situations

Real Life B not good preparation for real life – conversation is less predictable Limited use items selected on situations (Selection B) have a limited use because they can only

be used in one situation / do not allow for differences in style (formal / informal) Types of learners items selected on situation (Selection B) ignore the needs of analytical learners

/ caters for some learning styles only Teachability / syllabus some teachers may find it difficult to teach at phrase level as opposed to

word level / to design a syllabus Usefulness the approach of selecting a group of collocations / topic vocabulary can result in the

inclusion of some low frequency items


Task 4 continues to be challenging for weaker candidates. In general, poor performance in this session was due either to lack of sufficient knowledge of the topic area or to the fact that candidates did not realise what was required in the rubric ; it was not due primarily to pressure of time resulting in incomplete or skimpy answers. In terms of a lack of knowledge, a large number of candidates could not correctly identify what the two approaches were, particularly in terms of selection B being an example from a Functional approach to teaching language. Many candidates stated that B was an example of Lexical Approach or that A was an example of Dogme, thereby suggesting that they have not given enough thought to different ways of teaching language. Many candidates picked up on the fact that this material was for intermediate learners and made comments about the relative level of difficulty of each extract for the level (A would be too difficult / B would be too easy) but this was not the case as both selections were appropriate to the level. These weaker candidates generally approached this task in descriptive mode rather than being able to look at the principles behind the selections. The most common point that was made in terms of similarities was that language chunks are very important in learning a language and in terms of differences that selection A focuses on verb + noun collocations on the topic of money in their base form whilst selection B focuses on language in use/functional language in context with full utterances. In part (b) the most frequent points to be made were that it could be difficult for learners to remember the different patterns in selection A; that they are decontextualised in selection A; that learners may not be able to manipulate them or learn to manipulate them in selection A or B; that the items might have limited use in selection B; and that in both selections the learners might not need the items. On a more positive note, answers were generally well organised and the task discriminated well at the top end of the cohort with stronger candidates having the chance to display their knowledge of approaches to teaching language. There were also fewer instances of candidates losing marks by spending too long outlining one point. In terms of the reading of the rubric, some candidates did not notice that the rubric talked about approaches informing the selection / approach to language selection rather than approaches to teaching language or the language forms themselves which meant that a lot of them moved off task and made comments about this being part of a series of coursework exercises and how they could be used depending on the teacher’s approach. Candidates often made points about how to

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teach the items, including comments such as that both selections are based on the fact that the materials writers do not believe in the use of L1 in the classroom; that the role of the teacher is different (in A it’s a facilitator and in B it’s as instructor); that one selection is student centred and the other is teacher centred; that one selection is focussed on accuracy and the other is focussed on fluency; that students are led to notice the language; and that one selection is based on PPP and the other TTT. In a few extreme cases, candidates assumed that selections meant lesson plan and outlined how their approaches would differ in terms of teaching the two sets of items. A large number of candidates discussed the language which was included in the two boxes. Some stated what it was (they frequently wrote that all the examples in selection A were phrasal verbs which was inaccurate), how it was formed, and what its use was, e.g. selection A was more formal and would be more likely to occur in a written form and that selection B was more informal and would be spoken. Others compared and contrasted the specific items in the boxes. In part (b), some candidates thought that ‘criticisms’ were not only negatives whilst others criticised the approach to language teaching and not the approach to the selection of lexis. Candidate feedback and task-level performance was taken into account in the application of grade boundaries as a normal part of the grading process. Candidates are recommended to: read the rubric very carefully only provide the information they are asked for about a topic, i.e. keep to the point make as many relevant different points, up to a maximum of twenty over the two sections not learn points from previous Guideline Answers which they then repeat as each Task Four has a different focus and set of requirements prepare for this task by reading a methodology book which covers a range of topics, e.g.

Learning Teaching (Scrivener) or The Practice of English Language Teaching (Harmer) allow themselves enough time for both parts of the task refer, where appropriate, to a range of learners and contexts

11.3 Sample Answers

11.3.1 The following sample answer obtained two thirds of the number of marks available for this task

4a (i) Similarities

both selections show an approach to teaching lexis in which language is taught in chunks rather than individual vocabulary words (as recommended by the Lexical Approach.

both selections include informal/colloquial/spoken language, implying a communicative approach to teaching in which spoken language is prioritized.

both selections are grouped by theme-selection A is all words related to saving/borrowing money and B phrases related to paying at a cash register. This shows reflects an approach of teaching vocabulary by theme/topic.

both selections are grouped by type of lexis-selection A is all phrasal verbs, and B is functional language – so this reflects an approach in which language items should be taught in grouped of a similar by type

both selections reflect the teacher’s focus on teachability: the lexis chosen is relatively transparent & teachable.

both selections include language which is high-frequency language – very commonly used, so both selections reflect a focus on teaching higher frequency language because of its higher surrender value.

(ii) differences

Selection A is a selection of verbs, while Selection B is a group of functional exponents.

informed by This might reflect that Selection A is being taught through a Lexical Approach,

while Selection B is informed by a communicative approach. Selection A might be included on a course guided by a topic-based syllabus,

while Selection b reflects a functional syllabus.

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lexis Selection A focuses on language that might be used in a conversation-phatic or

social communication, while Selection B is transactional language. Selection B includes grammatical structures (clauses) taught as lexis, while

Selection A is just verb phrases. Selection A would likely be taught through a text-based approach, while

Selection B would likely be taught through role-plays & communication activities. a classroom in an In English-speaking country, Selection B would show an approach to

teaching focused on the communicative competence because of the high surrender value of the lexis, while Selection B would show a focus on range of lexis.

4b Criticisms of Selection A Teaching phrasal verbs by theme can confuse learners because, since the verbs

themselves do not have a transparent meaning, they mean very little to learners, so if they’re grouped by theme maybe they may be mixed up easily.

This language might not have high surrender value for certain learners, for example younger learners, who are likely not in a position to be thinking or talking about debt/ credit cards/saving up, etc.

This selection might not be appropriate for lower levels, as phrasal verbs are particularly tricky for them.

Criticisms of Selection B

This selection might not be useful in a course being taught outside an English-speaking country because learners would not need this language in their context.

This is a very limited selection of exponents for the situation of paying for something at a shop, which means learners would not have a good range of language for this situation, and would also be thrown off if the cashier used another of the many other possible exponents (e.g. ‘That comes to £30)

This selection might be very tricky for lower levels because of its highly colloquial nature.

Some learners might not feel that they need transactional language – analytical learners or learners accustomed to a more traditional language learning approach.

Some might agree with the implied lack of focus on the grammatical form – analytical learners might prefer to learn the different exponents as grammatical structures rather than chunks.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer Part a The candidate makes eight valid points with an appropriate amount of detail. She identifies key points such as the different approaches and the organising principle of a semantic field behind the two selections. However, she also moves off task when she discusses the nature of the language, i.e. that the lexis chosen is relatively transparent and teachable and how the language would be taught, i.e. through a text-based approach etc. This part of her answer also contains an inaccurate point, i.e. that Selection A is all phrasal verbs, and some repetition, particularly the fact that the language is high frequency. Part b Here the candidate makes four points: the fact that learners may not need this language (repeated three times); Selection B has a limited use; it may not appeal to analytical learners; and some learners prefer to learn grammar. However, there were also some irrelevant points in terms of phrasal verbs and also the level of the learners.

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11.3.2 The following sample answer obtained just over half the number of marks available for this task

a)

1) ii) A B A B A B B A

Similarities Both are based on a lexical syllabus. Grammar is not featured. Both reflect the idea that lexis can be broken down into topic areas (in this case ‘money’) choose to Both focus on high-frequency items of language. Both teach ite language items as lexical chunks Both believe that grammar becomes lexis as the event becomes more probably as both language items items chosen are very common Both teach the language items as fixed expressions. There are no removable slots. Eg I don’t have cash eg I don’t have cash on me my card The idea that ‘cash’ can be replaced by another word isn’t mentioned both believe in teaching a narrow range of lexis. Differences believes that teaching collocation is important believes that focussing on phrases used real life communicative situations is important. lexical focuses on a broader area area lexical has a narrower focus (in a shop) shop) takes a notional approach (money) takes a functional approach (shopping) only focusses on speaking. A potentially focusses on speaking and writing. Grammar is not dealt with in A or B so students will may be restricted in communicative situations if they are unable to manipulate to gur forms the structure of the language. If no learner training is given on how to record the lexis, students will not be able to retrieve it later on.

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The focus of the language may be too restrictive. eg in A “Pay off a credit card” is mentioned but not “Pay off a loan” In A no clear context is given in how it fits the items fit in to discourse. Both approaches imply that most English speakers are restricted in the the language most English speakers use is predictable. Some may consider this approach as belatourist to be untrue as English speakers use a wide range of language Students can not master a language on lexis alone. They need grammar as well More semi-fixed expressions should Only teaching fixed expressions is not enough. Semi-fixed expressions need to be taught as well.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer Part a The candidate makes a large number of points in this section but only six valid ones. In terms of similarities, he recognises that a semantic field is the organising principle for both and that they focus on high frequency lexical chunks. However, the remaining points made regarding similarities are either repetition of these points, unclear (e.g. grammar becomes lexis as the event become more probable), or move into an analysis of the language items themselves (e.g. The idea that ‘cash’ can be replaced by another word isn’t mentioned). In terms of differences, the candidate identifies the importance of collocation in selection A and the functional approach using complete phrases in selection B. However, this section of the candidate’s answer also contains discussion of the actual language (i.e. A has a broader lexical area. B has a narrower lexical focus (in a shop); an inaccuracy (i.e. A takes a notional approach); and a comment for which there is no evidence (i.e. B focuses only on speaking. A potentially focuses on speaking and writing.). Part b The candidate makes five valid points in this section: learners may not learn to manipulate the language; they may not need the language; there is no context in selection A; language is not so predictable; and learners need knowledge about grammar as well as lexis. Again, there are two points made which could not be credited, one because there is no evidence for it (only teaching fixed expressions is not enough. Semi-fixed expressions need to be taught as well) and the other because it is outside the rubric (if no learner training is given on how to record the lexis, students will not be able to retrieve it later on).

11.3.3 The following sample answer obtained very few of the marks available for this task

a) i)

Similarities Both A and B refer to financial transactions. Both introduce lexis related to paying, receiving and handling money for different purposes Both A and B introduce everyday lexical items and lexical chunks that could be useful for learners to know. Learners will almost definitely need to use all or many of these form if they travel to English speaking countries.

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ii)

Differences Selection A contains phrasal verbs and lexical chunks: The teacher would base a lesson around the use of the verbs: pay off, be in debt, get a (…) rise, take out (a loan), save up for. Multi-word verbs would be unpacked: Examples: indefinite (to) get a pay rise = base verb + article + noun phrase Pay is used as an adjective Rise is used to mean increase in informal/semi-formal language. (to) pay off = base verb + preposition meaning to honour a debt The approach in Selection A is Lexical/grammatical. Teaching ways of describing the actions related to financial transactions.

4 ii) b)

Selection B Here the teacher teaches functional language related to financial transactions in the form of spoken phrases. The approach would necessarily require some interaction among the students, perhaps a shopping role –play. Here the assumption that learners need to know chunks that can be used in determined situations is more important than they know the verbs related to these situations (as in A). This approach would involve the teaching of features of connected speech: Examples: Glottal slop in “that’ll be” Linking in “How would you..”

/wʊdʒu:/ The danger of teaching a selection of verbs that are closely-related in context is that learners may have difficulty distinguishing their meaning in future. (A) Cultural factors may also come into play if students come from a background where debt is equated with disgrace, therefore not discussed openly. (A) Younger learners may have no real experience of credit card activity, loans and being in debt. (A) So this lexis would be less useful for them. Although the verbs/verb phrases are useful language they are not really connected as they include verbs to do with receiving money, being in debt, saving money and payment. It could be preferable to distinguish the areas individually over several lessons (A) In (B) the language is generally more useful to both younger and adult learners. Verbal transactions such as these are common to everyone. These phrases are again unconnected in some respects, and are a little too formulaic to be really useful. They could be better incorporated into a speaking skills lesson using the verbs in (A) “How would you like to pay?” is useful for recognition, but would not be uttered by most learners unless they were working in a shop/ restaurant etc. “No problem” is so well-known as a response that it is debatable if learners need to be taught it at B1 level.

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In conclusion, both approaches contain useful functional language, but would have to be carefully incorporated into a more general context to be really useful.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer Part a In terms of similarities, the candidate makes two valid points, i.e. that both selections focus on everyday lexical items and lexical chunks. The point about the topic itself (financial transactions) is not relevant because this relates to the language items themselves rather than the importance of topic as an organising principle. There is only one point that can be awarded in terms of differences in that the approach in selection B is functional. The other points cannot be credited because the candidate analyses the language in selection A and discusses how to teach the language in selection B. Part b Whilst the candidate’s response to this section is full, there is only one point which could be credited, i.e. the language may not be useful for younger learners. The point relating to cultural factors is not relevant; the comment that the items in selection A and B are not connected via topic is inaccurate; the idea that the items in selection A and B could be incorporated in a speaking skills lesson moves into how they can be taught and the comments relating to How would you like to pay? and No Problem focus on the language items themselves.

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