Pre-Exam Weekly Questions - Week Nine

 

The final fortnight before the Delta Module One exam. Below, you'll find a question relevant to each task on the two papers. Scroll down past the questions and you'll find the suggested answers.

And if you want to see the questions from the last eight weeks - see here (scroll down for the complete list).

The Questions

Paper 1/1 

How would you have done in past exams? Could you give the term for each of the following definitions, all of which have been on past papers? Click on the links for the answers.

a)  A term used to describe a verb form which is not marked for tense or person, eg On hearing the news he fainted/. / Turn left to get to the shops.

b) A term that means using different, explanatory language to say or write something with the same meaning, eg the paper they give you when you pay (a receipt)

c) This term indicates how, in a verb phrase, the speaker or writer sees an event (representing, for example, degree of completeness or duration) regardless of the time of the event itself

d) The unifying of individual sentences or utterances into a connected text through the use of grammatical or lexical devices such as referencing, connectives and lexical chains. Eg John felt ill so he took the day off. As a result he lost a day’s pay.

e) Words that have the same or similar form and identical meaning in two different languages due to the fact that they come from the same underlying root – eg Haus (German) house (English)

f) A group of words that relate to the same topic or situation. Eg, room, check in, reservation, reception, check out, concierge are all associated with hotels.

Paper 1/2

Could you distinguish between these frequently confused terms ? Try, and then click on the links to check your answers.

Progress testing   and    Achievement testing

Formative testing    and    Summative testing

Criterion referenced testing    and    Norm referenced testing

A corpus, a concordancer and a concordance

A homophone, and a homonym

A fricative and an affricate

Stress timing and Syllable timing

Contrastive stress and Emphatic stress

Paper 1/3

This task is for advanced (CEFR C2) learners. The learners are asked to discuss, in groups of 3, the advantages and disadvantages of the following forms of occupation, which are given to the learners in the form of a mind-map (so no indication of topic order): working for a large company; working for a small company; self-employment; voluntary work; part-time work.

Can you identify a key feature of the discourse that the learners would need to use to complete the task successfully for each of the following areas:

Lexical field - function - discourse structure - turn-taking

Paper 1/4

Look at the text which you'll find here. It was spoken by an upper intermediate (CEFR B2) learner.  Can you find three key strengths or weaknesses (at least one of each among your three) in the areas of:

• Accuracy of Grammar
• Range and accuracy of lexis

Paper 1/5

Comment on the form and word stress of the highlighted words in the following sentences.

1.   She’s studying economics at university.

2.   The election campaign is liable to focus on the state of the economy.    

3.  There’s a toolkit in the garage.       

4.   Improvement of the health service will involve multisectoral collaboration.    

Paper 2/1

See here for the test which is being used in the following situation. 

G wants to enrol on an advanced (CEFR C1) Business English course to improve her writing skills. She needs to be able to write emails to customers dealing with complaints regarding the gardening equipment (tools such as spades, trowels and secateurs, machinery such as lawnmowers, growlights and heated propagators, sundries such as gloves, compost and fertiliser etc)  sold by her company. G is given this task to confirm that she is at the correct level for the course.

Evaluate the effectiveness of the task for the learner in this situation. Make at least three points, of which at least one must be positive and one negative, using the following headings:

• Test appearance 
• Format and content of the information provided
• Test type
• Marking
• Communication vs Imagination

Paper 2/2

Look at the materials which you will find here. They are a unit with the overall aim of teaching learners to read and write customer reviews of places tourists are likely to visit - historic sites, museums, restaurants etc.

For the activities listed, can you state an assumption about effective language learning and the reasons behind it for each of the following activities, based on the topic indicated.

• Activity One - emergent language
• Activity 2a - balance of already known and new items
• Activity 3 -  avoiding overload
• Activity 4b - the order of parts 1 and 2.
• Activity 5 - scaffolding
• Activity 6c - peer correction

Paper 2/3

Last week we looked at potential topics for tasks focusing on skills development. This week we're finishing off this series by looking at topics related to teaching the language systems. Look at the Articles - Index page (top menu of the site) for the full list of articles on these topics, but those listed below may be particularly relevant. 

Grammar: See here, here, here and here

Lexis: See here, here, here  and here

Phonology: See here, here, here  here  and  here

Discourse: See here, here and here

In addition, you should also look at the following articles dealing with second language acquisition in general: See  here, and here

The Suggested Answers

Paper 1/1

Click on the letters a-f for the answers, and also for further information on each topic - which may be necessary for other tasks in the exam. Note the link to the article on teaching circumlocution - which contains information and examples you could use if another task on the paper focused on circumlocution specifically or communication strategies in general.

Paper 1/2

Click on the links for the answers and further information on each term. Remember that only the definition and one example should be given in this task in the exam, but, again, the extra information included may be necessary for other tasks in the exam.

Paper 1/3

Any of the following would gain marks, but Cambridge advise focusing on different categories (as the question asked you to do) in order to avoid overlap - which would lose you marks. Notice how the examples use language (underlined) that is clearly at C2 level. For an indication of the language expected to be taught at each CEFR level see here.

1. The learners would need to use lexis in the field of financial retribution. Example: Would the income from a part-time job give you an adequate salary to make a living, or provide enough contributions for your health care and pension?  

2. The learners would need to use lexis in the field of advantages and disadvantages. Example: There are certainly drawbacks as far as part-time work is concerned, but I think the biggest plus point is the free time it gives you.

3.  The learners would need to be able to give opinions, agree and disagree. Example: Yeah, that's a good point - I guess you're right. But, to be honest, I'm still convinced that the financial considerations outweigh all the rest. I'd still go for the most lucrative option.

4. The learners would need to be able to create a logical structure for the discourse - for example: 1. Decision of which topic to discuss first; 2. Discussion of that topic; 3. Move to the next topic and discussion of that (repeated until all topics have been discussed); 4. Summary and conclusion. 

5. The learners would need to be able to "signal" changes in discourse topic. Example: I think that just about covers working for a large company. Shall we move on now to small companies?

6. Learners would need to signpost relationships between ideas in their own arguments using connective expressions. Example: The lack of payment is obviously an important disadvantage. But be that as it may, I still think that voluntary work would give you the most satisfaction.

7. Learners would need to be able to self-select for a turn without appearing to interrupt. Example:  Joan, before you go on, can I just point out that self-employment can also mean working much longer hours.

8. Learners would need to be able to bring others into the conversation when necessary. Example: David, what's your take on Joan's comment on financial security versus free time ?

Paper 1/4

1. Strength:  Accuracy of grammar - verb forms (simple present, present continuous, past simple, past continuous, present perfect) are generally used accurately in terms of their form and use. Example: present continuous, lines 10-11 "The time is passing. I'm getting older..."

2. Strength: Range and accuracy of lexis. The learner demonstrates a good range and accurate use of lexis associated with academic subjects and study. Example: line 7 - "I graduated as a teacher". (Alternative example: line 11: My favourite area is politics, international relations. That's why I studied history.)

3. Weakness: Range and accuracy of lexis. The word "business" is overused showing little range or accuracy in this field. It is once used (apparently) instead of "trade" (line 7), while in line 14 "I'm doing business" is confusing for the listener. As it comes after a discussion of academic studies, it would initially be interpreted as meaning "I'm studying business". However, the learner then says they are not studying at all, so it is clearly intended (inaccurately) as a synonym for "I'm working".

For an indication of the language expected to be taught at each CEFR level see here.

Paper 1/5

economics = uncountable (therefore singular) noun ending in suffix –ics. Primary stress on third syllable, secondary stress on the first : /ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪks/

economy = singular countable noun; primary stress on second syllable :                 /iːˈkɒnəmiː/  (or  /eˈkɒnəmiː/)

toolkit : compound singular countable noun composed of noun (tool) plus noun (kit). Like all compound nouns, is stressed on the stressed syllable of the first part (here the only syllable of that part) : /ˈtuːlkɪt/

multisectoral : adjective - bound morpheme (prefix) multi, plus singular countable noun (free morpheme) sector  with adjective suffix -al added. Word stress – secondary stress on the first syllable, primary stress on the third : /ˌmʌltiːˈsektərəl/

NB: Note that the question only asked for the form and word stress. If you mentioned use or meaning, the points would not have gained marks and in the exam would have wasted time. Read every quNB: Rrmember that you are expected to use technical terms in the exam. If there are any here (or anywhere else in this set of questions) that you don't understand or couldn't use spontaneously. look them up in An ELT Glossary.

If you want to work on more tasks for Paper 1/5 (recommended as it carries a large number of marks) you'll find them in the Genre Analysis and Input and Tasks sections on the Language Matters page of the Notebook.

Paper 2/1

1. Positive: Test appearance - the task is (and looks like) a genuine task from a Business English exam. This will increase its face validity for the learner: Effect on the learner - she is more likely to be motivated to complete the test effectively in order to follow the course.

2. Positive: Format and content of the information provided - the information is provided in graphic form, as a bar chart. As she works in sales she will almost certainly be familiar with this form of presentation of information. Effect on the learner: She is not likely to have difficulty interpreting the information and will know what she has to write.

3. Positive: Format and content of the information provided - Although photocopiers are irrelevant to her field, the information given (purchase price, running costs, warranty) is relevant to some or all of the products her company sells - eg the heated propagators. Effect on the learner: Especially if this is pointed out to her, the learner will see the relevance of the test, and potentially the course, to her needs. 

4. Positive: Test type - this is a direct test of the learner's writing skills. Effect on the learner: The learner will see the relevance of the test to the course aims.

NB: Notice the problem of overlap in the "Effects" for points 3 and 4. They would be considered as repeating the same point, and would therefore would not get the marks the second time.

5. Positive: Communication vs Imagination - all the information the learner needs for the task is provided in the graphic. She will therefore not need to waste time or do badly because of an inability to "invent" something to write about.  Effect on the learner: The result will give the teacher a more reliable view of her writing ability.

6. Negative: Marking practicality - as this is an admissions test for a course, there may be a large number of learners to be tested. A direct test of this type takes a relatively long time to mark effectively. Effect on the learner: G may have to wait until all the applicants have been tested and all their scripts have been marked before she knows if she has been accepted for the course.

7. Negative: Marking criteria - no indication of the marking criteria is given. If there are none, the test will be marked subjectively and the results may be skewed (and therefore be less reliable) by the marker's "hobby horses" - eg emphasis on grammatical accuracy but downplaying of effective organisation or lexical range.  Effect on the learner: In this case, G might be accepted or refused for the course because of a weakness or strength in a single area. If, on the other hand, the criteria do exist and G. is refused, she will not know why or which areas of her writing need improvement.

8. Negative: Format and content of the information provided. G has to write emails, but this test is in the format of a report, and it may well be that she has never had to write a report in English and may never have to.  Effect on the learner: This may lower the face validity of the test for G, who will not see the task as directly reflecting her needs. Or: if she is unaware of the layout, style etc conventions of report writing in English, she may do badly and give the T. an inaccurate view of her writing ability, leading her to be excluded from the course.  Or: This means the T will have no evidence of her ability to use the layout, style and other conventions of business emails and necessary content may be omitted from the course or time spent on things which she already knows.

NB: Notice that the first reason given overlaps with the effect in point 1 and the second with the effect in point 7. If you had used either of them there, it would therefore be better to choose one of the other reasons given. Remember - you must give one reason only for eah positive/negative point, and they must be clearly different from each other to gain full marks. As you'll see below, this is the same for the next task too.

Paper 2/2

Activity One 
Assumption: It is important that Ls "notice"any  emergent language  occurring in a discussion activity. One way to ensure this happens is to encourage them to keep a written record of the items focused on.  

Reason: The act of writing down the language item means that depth of cognitive processing is likely to be deeper, and the items are more likely to be retained. (Or:  The written record means that the learners will see the items again when revising the unit and they will be reactivated.)

Activity 2a
Assumption: When the target language (TL) is a lexical set, items the learners already know should be mixed in with the new items.

Reason: This combination is likely to be motivating as it both shows them that they already know much of the TL as well as extending their knowledge, thus making them feel they have learnt something new.  (Or: This reactivates the already known items, ensuring that they are not forgotten).

Activity 3
Assumption: When a lesson includes a large amount of target language it should not all be presented together, but divided so that learners have the chance to fully understand and practice part of it (here the general evaluative adjectives) before moving on to the next part (here the specific collocations found in activity 3). 

Reason: Presenting all the language together could cause overload, increase the possibility of confusion and decrease the likelihood of retention.

Activity 4b
Assumption:  When a reading text is used, gist comprehension (part 1) should precede detailed comprehension (part 2).

Reason: The overview gained during the gist reading stage prepares the learners for the deeper analysis needed at the second stage.

Activity 5
Assumption: When learners are focusing on a new feature of language, early activities need to be scaffolded (in part 1 learners are shown where the words are ellipted and how many are missing) before this support is withdrawn and they are expected to identify and understand the feature without it (part 2).

Reason: Without the early scaffolding, the activity would be too difficult, and learners would learn little and become demotivated by the failure. 

NB: if you had used demotivation as your reason for activity two - see above - you would not gain marks for repeating it here. All the assumptions and reasons you state must be different. Notice that an alternative reason was given for activity two.

Activity 6c

Assumption: Learners can benefit from suggestions for improvement (whether correction, additions, changes or whatever) from their peers. However, this has to be scaffolded by prompts.

Reason: Without these prompts, learners would not know what to look for and the discussion would be ineffective.

Remember: if you do not state clearly which activity your assumption and reason refer to, you will not be awarded marks.

Paper 2/3

See the links in the question.