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Exam teacher roles

Portugal 2014 Bob Obee

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I, the exam teacher, shall do my utmost to engage you with language through and around the exam and to train you in all its aspects, shedding light into its darker corners ... and thereby enhancing your accuracy, dexterity and fluency in English..and above all I shall do no harm

Doctors in a sense …..…

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….and above all I shall do no harm

Slavish ‘exam practice’ can potentially do harm in terms of ..

- demotivation

- not optimising opportunities for language

development

- potential re-enforcement of poor strategies

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Exam practice [full specification, comprehensive ]

Exam Training [ modified tasks , task platform ]

Exam awareness-raising

[familiarisation , post-task review and reflection ]

Exam Teaching Mix

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Exam Practice and above all I shall do no harm

Authentic Genuine

looks like the test

no modification of test feature e.g. text length

full range of test item difficulty

requires total strategy engagement

is just there

looks like some of the testsome modification of test feature

e.g. text lengthpart range of test item difficultycan prioritise/delimit strategy

engagement can be used within a progressive

cycle

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Authentic v Genuine1 You only get depressed because you worry. 0 1 2 3

If you _______ not get so depressed NOT

2 You’re always blaming me for things that go wrong. 0 1 2 3

Whenever _____________ me ANYTHING

3 I didn’t phone because I didn’t know you were back 0 1 2 3

I _____________ I’d known you were back. IF

FCE Reading and USE

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One day : One focus poss - access-

comprehens- afford- sustain- flex-

biodegrad- fashion-

valu- respons- suit- profit- exhaust- vis-

renew- feas-

revers- desir- compat- reus-

-able

-ible

CAE Reading and Use

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One day : One focus [or maybe 2]

poss - access- comprehens- afford-

sustain- flex-

biodegrad- fashion-

valu- respons-

suit- profit-

exhaust- vis-

renew- feas-

revers- desir-

compat- reus-

un –

im –

ir –

non-

in-

CAE Reading and Use

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Exam Practice CAE Reading and Use

Tidal Energy

Based in Sheffield [UK] Pulse Tidal is a company

that has developed an 1 ______ machine that AFFORD

generates electrical power from the ocean tides;

providing electricity that is clean and 2 ______ VISION

and unlike other 3 ______ energy sources totally NEW

4 _________. PREDICT

Our power comes from the current created as the

tides ebb and flow, a motion as 5 _______ as the RELY

rising and setting of the sun

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provide a task and interactive class platform

..that allows you to explore with students the discreet target skills implied by the different test tasks ...

..that allows you to meaningfully explore student current skills and strategies and engage them cognitively and affectively with the content.

Exam Training

...train you in all its aspects

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Multiple-choice elimination

I shifted uncomfortably inside my best suit and eased a finger inside the tight white collar. It was hot in the little bus and I had taken a seat on the wrong side where the summer sun beat on the windows. It was a strange outfit for the weather, but a few miles ahead my future employer might be waiting for me and I had to make a good impression.

There was a lot depending on this interview. Many friends who had qualified with me were unemployed or working in shops or as labourers in the shipyards. So many that I had almost given up hope of any future for myself as a veterinary surgeon.

1 As he travelled, the writer regretted his choice ofA B clothes.C career.D means of transport. FCE Reading and Use

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FCE Writing[communicative achievement register]

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Listening - PredictionSUMMER CAMPS Helen says that people taking part in the summer

camp usually sleep in a 9 ______

The summer camp is a chance for teenagers to meet people and learn 10 ______

As an example of a practical activity, Helen tells

us about a team which built a 11 ______

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Listening – Prediction Part of Speech

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Listening – Prediction Paraphrases you’ll hear

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Using tapescriptsInterviewer: I see. And what did you do when you left school?

Ruth:

Well, for me staying at home and being a farmer, as my grandmotherhoped, wasn’t an option, but I didn’t have the qualifications to be anengineer, which was what I wanted. I tried being a journalist because Ithought it might give me opportunities for adventure, but I didn’t make avery good one, I’m afraid! The only other work I’ve ever done has beensomething temporary as a volunteer to raise funds for an expedition.

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Multiple-choice : attitude CAE

Writer attitude/emotion

He talked down to me constantly as though..

The film did drag a bit and I caught my mind wandering ..

I’m pretty thick-skinned these days and don’t let it get to me.

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Grammaticisation [optimising training]

The Jules Rimmet trophy, great prize PROFESSION soccer, is better known as

the world cup

Think Cambridge FCE : Word Formation

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Exam awareness : deeper familiarity with test

Completing mark sheets

Using/allocating time

Assessment and weighting

Awareness of question shape

Awareness of question focus

Effective test strategies for question

shedding light into its darker corners....

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Lack of test awareness may lead a candidate to …

overlook required and/or possible feature of an answer

use an ineffective or less effective strategy

wander off-task

spend too long on one part of a paper or not make effective use of time

shedding light into its darker corners....

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Familiarisation44 Do you think you could help me to fill in this

application form? WONDERING +

I ………………..……………….. me a hand filling in this application form.

48 Unless the weather improves, they will have to stop the tennis match. +MEAN+

If the weather doesn’t get …………………….. ……… the tennis match.

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Answer Awareness

44 was wondering if/_____ ][ you could/____/might ___/give

48 (___) better ][ it will mean stopping

][ shows where the answer issplit into two parts for markingpurposes.

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Multiple- choice : Question analysis

Time

find pass waste fly have make spend drag go take

1

A took B went C flew D passed

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Utilising

The local market it is outdoors so that it is exposed to the elements. [org]

As

Being

Many cloths shops are expencieve, because there are brands [accuracy and range]

Brands

Such shops can

On the hole it is recomented that tourists should visit the local market. [register]

I would

On the whole, tourists

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Dear Visitor,

Thank you for you interest in visiting our country . And you are welcome to visit our city, Trieste and all its surroundings. Trieste is a city with old traditions and a long history that begins in the distant years of the Roman Empire. The city centre is worth a deeper visit, thanks to its unique buildings and old-fashioned cafes - not to mention all the places not in the tourist guides. Do not get surprised if, round the corner, you discover something you didn’t expect.

To come to know Trieste then you need to make a walk through its streets where you will find peaceful parks which are considered an oasis of peace.

© UCLES 2013

I, the exam teacher, shall do my utmost to engage you with language through and around the exam and to train you in all its aspects, shedding light into its darker corners ... and thereby enhancing your accuracy, dexterity and fluency in English..and above all I shall do no harm

Doctors in a sense …..…