KEY TO LAST WEEK'S EXERCISES:
3.
CAMBRIDGE ESOL EXAMS
ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages, so you are an ESOL student. It’s aimed at non-native English speakers looking to validate their skills.
The communication barrier can often make things difficult, leading to misunderstanding. Therefore, an ESOL course is often perceived as more than just an education because it can help with people’s quality of life and their ability to carry out everyday tasks.
From today onwards we will revise this new model of exam, very similar to the one we are used to seeing. You will take more than one sample exam throughout the week to get familiar with the mechanics of each part. All of you are entitled to do it whether or not you are taking the exam:
The WRITTEN EXAM will be divided into skills:
Listening
Reading
Writing
A. You will ONLY take the exam (listening, reading and writing) that corresponds to the level you are applying for. Once you have finished, please, send it to me. The key will be given in class the following day:
B1 Achiever (PET) Written Exam: Paper 1
B1 Communicator (FCE) Written Exam: Paper 1
The ORAL exam will take between 12 and 13 minutes and it has four different parts. You will take this part in pairs and you are allowed to choose your partner, if you haven't yet, please, do it ASAP. Here is the outline :
B. Choose a partner, the one you will be taking the exam with and practice the different parts. Please, record your conversation and send it to me.
B1 Achiever (PET) Oral Exam:
B2 Communicator (FCE) Oral Exam:
IMPORTANT!!!
YOU WILL HAVE 2 DAYS TO FINISH PAPER 1
USEFUL INFORMATION:
YOU NEED TO BRING YOUR DNIs. Nobody without identification will be allowed to take the exam.
PUNCTUALITY IS A MUST. NO DELAYS POSSIBLE. IF YOU ARRIVE WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED AND THE EXAM HAS ALREADY STARTED, YOU WILL NOT TAKE THE EXAM.
SOME ASPECTS OF THE EXAM I HAVE JUST LEARNT IN TODAY'S WEBINAR:
SPEAKING:
THE SPEAKING TEST WILL BE TAKEN ONE BY ONE, NO PAIRS NEEDED. Surprise!!!!!
YOU WILL HAVE TO INTERACT WITH YOUR INTERLOCUTOR (THE EXAMINER) IN THE FOUR PARTS.
YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL BE RECORDED AND SENT IMMEDIATELY TO THE EXAM CENTRE TO BE ASSESSED.
YOU CAN ALWAYS ASK FOR REPETITION AND CLARIFICATION. YOU WILL NOT BE PENALIZED FOR THAT.
THE FOUR CRITERIA FOR THE SPOKEN EXAM ARE:
Fulfillment and Coherence, in other words, did you do what you were supposed to do? did it make sense for the interlocutor? (0-1-2-3 marks)
Grammar Accuracy (0-1-2-3 marks)
Vocabulary Accuracy (0-1-2-3 marks)
Pronunciation-Intonation-Fluency (0-1-2-3 marks)
SO THE SPEAKING TEST WILL HAVE UP TO 12 MARKS MAXIMUM AND YOU NEED AT LEAST HALF OF THE MARKS TO PASS. NO HALF POINTS.
LISTENING, READING & WRITING:
IMPORTANT!!!! YOU NEED TO BRING A PENCIL, ERASER AND SHARPENER. YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO WRITE WITH A PEN.
THERE WILL BE NO BREAKS BETWEEN LISTENING AND READING & WRITING PARTS SO USE THE TOILET BEFORE TAKING THE TEST.
IN THE LISTENING TEST PART 3 AND READING TEST PART 4 YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO WRITE MORE THAN 5 WORDS. NO FULL SENTENCES.
IN THE WRITING PART YOU WILL HAVE TWO PARTS. BOTH ARE MANDATORY.
TEXT TYPES:
PART 1: MORE NEUTRAL FORMAL STYLE. SPECIFIC PUBLIC AUDIENCE.
PART 2: MORE INFORMAL, LESS SPECIFIC PUBLIC AUDIENCE.
YOU WILL NOT HAVE TIME FOR A DRAFT. YOU WILL NOT BE GIVEN EXTRA PAPER FOR IT BUT YOU CAN WRITE YOUR THOUGHTS AND ORGANIZE THEM BRIEFLY SOMEWHERE IN THE EXAM BOOKLET. NEVER IN THE ANSWER SHEET.
FINAL PUNCTUATION GRID WRITTEN PART:
MARKS SCALES TOTAL
LISTENING 26 50 FAIL: 0-74
READING 26 50 150 PASS: 75-100
WRITING 24 50 HIGH PASS: 101-150
ONCE YOU FINISH THE EXAM, YOU WILL RECEIVE TWO CERTIFICATES. ONE FOR THE ORAL PART (LISTENING, READING AND WRITING) AND ONE FOR THE WRITTEN PART.
SESSION 2:
(WEDNESDAY! Remember you have two days to do Paper 1)
USA REGIONS AND STATES
Diego, our language assistant, has prepared an amazing presentation about something he knows very well, his country. For some weeks we will focus on the different regions and their landscapes. Today we will start with THE WEST.
SESSION 3:
WRITING PART OF THE EXAM
When you are preparing for a language exam, it is important to familiarise yourself with the structure of the exam, so let’s have a look at some of the things you can expect when taking a B1, B2 or IESOL exam.
You will have 2 hours and 10 minutes for BOTH the reading and writing sections at B1 and B2 level, so you’ll need to plan your time wisely. Make sure you leave ample time for the writing section (approximately 60 minutes at B1 and B2 level).
These are the types of writing you need to produce and the criteria you will be measured against.
Here you have some tips. Please, read them carefully, understanding what they mean, always trying to improve your performance:
Make sure you understand the instructions and then carefully follow them. Do not write about topics or ideas that were not presented in the rubric, because you may end up going off topic without even noticing and will lose marks for Task Fulfilment.
Make sure you write in the genre indicated in bold in the instructions: letter, article, review, etc.
If your task is a letter or an email, start with Dear.... If your task is an article, start with the title. If the instructions give you a sentence to start with, start with that.
Make sure you adequately cover all the 3 content points or functions given in the instructions. Don’t just copy them into your text word for word, but write 2 or 3 sentences or a paragraph about each of them. That’s also the easiest way to write a text matching the word count.
Imagine there are no bullet points. You can still find the key words in the instructions. Example:
You’ve recently celebrated a significant birthday. Write a letter to a friend expressing how you feel about being this age. What’s good and bad about it?
Write between 150 and 200 words.
Write the required amount as you may end up losing marks if your writing is shorter or longer than the word count. If you write more words, you will not be penalized.
The most common text types you’ll have to produce are short stories, articles, reports, emails, essays, formal letters and informal letters. Familiarise yourself with these genres simply by reading them regularly and, whilst reading, making a note of the stylistic features of each.
Read! Read! Read! People who read regularly are generally better at writing and have a distinct writing style. If you don’t like long novels, you can read short stories or articles on the Internet. The more you read, the more familiar you will become with the style of real writers and the more you can learn from them.
Don’t jump into writing. Dedicate some time to planning. First, write a short plan of each paragraph listing ideas that you would like to cover in the paragraph. Secondly, write a list of ‘high impact’ grammar that you can use to describe that particular task or topic.
Make sure your handwriting is legible.
Remember who the intended audience is, who you are directing your message to:
Always proofread! Make a list of your most common mistakes (check my mails) and go through it after writing the text.
Form is important. Use paragraphs, punctuation. Don't overcomplicate sentences, keep them simple, no more than three clauses.
Use synonyms to avoid repetition.
Example of a satisfactory piece of writing:
SESSION 4:
PAPER 2 ESOL EXAM
Please, all of you, do this paper regardless of your level. On Monday we will start correcting it:
LISTENING PART AUDIOS:
KEY TO PAPER 1 WRITTEN TEST B2:
KEY TO PAPER 1 WRITTEN TEST B1:
Comentários