OralLanguageModifier
Handbook
2–OLMHandbook
Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................3Purposeanduse............................................................................................................3Expectationsandchallenges..........................................................................................3
DefinitionofanOralLanguageModifier........................................................4WhatisanOralLanguageModifier(OLM)?....................................................................4WhatistheroleofanOLM?..........................................................................................4Languagemodifiedversionofexaminationpapers........................................................5WhatanOLMisnot.......................................................................................................5
WhocanactasanOLM?...............................................................................6
ProcessFlowchart.........................................................................................7
Preparingforassessment..............................................................................8Teachingrolevsmodifyingrole.....................................................................................8TheOLMandotherstaffshould:...................................................................................8Modificationfunctions..................................................................................................8
Howthingsaredifferentatexamtime..........................................................9Thecandidateshouldhavebeentaughtrelevantsubject-specificvocabulary:...............9
ApplyingtotheAwardingBody...................................................................10Contributetothediscussionofthecandidate’sneeds.................................................10Collect,collateandstoreevidence...............................................................................10TheOLMneedstounderstand:....................................................................................10Knowledgeofthesystem.............................................................................................10
Makingtheapplicationintime....................................................................12
ConductingAssessment...............................................................................12Carrierlanguageandtechnicallanguage......................................................................12TheOLMneedstobeableto:......................................................................................13Modifyinstructionallanguage/commandwordsandphrases......................................14
Summaryofexaminationissues..................................................................15Forthecandidateatexamtime...................................................................................15FortheOLMatexamtime...........................................................................................15Considerthefollowing:................................................................................................15
FeedingBackafterAssessment....................................................................16CompleteModification:Coversheet............................................................................16
3–OLMHandbook
Introduction
Purposeanduse
1. ThisdocumentisdesignedforusebyOralLanguageModifiers(OLMs)whoareworkingwiththeawardingbodiesinEngland,WalesandNorthernIrelandwhoofferGeneralQualifications(e.g.GCSEandGCE)
2. Thisdocumentdoesnothavestatutorystatus.Rather,itprovidespracticalguidanceonhowthelanguageofexaminationscanbemodifiedtogiveallcandidatesthefairestpossibleopportunitiestodemonstratesubjectattainment.
3. ThisdocumentgivessomeadviceontheprocessesinvolvedinOralLanguageModification.ItisintendedtobeusedwiththedocumententitledOLMGuidanceExamples.
4. Thisdocumentoffersaresourcetoreinforcegoodpracticeandsupportcontinuingprofessionaldevelopment.IndividualscanusethematerialinthisdocumentandintheOLMGuidanceExamplestorefinetheirownskills.Buildinguptheknowledgeandskillsrequiredtobeabletoadaptmanydifferentformsofexaminationwilltakesometime.Maintainingtheintegrityoftheexaminationwhilehelpingcandidateswithlanguagedifficultiesachievethebesttheycanisadelicatebalance.ThissetofdocumentsisdesignedtohelpOLMstofindandkeepthisbalance.
Expectationsandchallenges
5. ItisexpectedthattheroleoftheOLMwilldevelopovertimeandthattheprofessionaldevelopmentoftheOLMwillsupporttheneedsofanincreasinglywiderangeofcandidateswhowouldotherwisefindthelanguageofexaminationabarrier.
6. TheOLMwillbeexpectedtodemonstratethehighestprofessionalstandardswhenworkingwithcandidates.TheOLMshouldbeawareofanychangesmadeintheregulationsoftheJointCouncilforQualifications(JCQ)‘AccessArrangementsandReasonableAdjustments’.
4–OLMHandbook
DefinitionofanOralLanguageModifier
WhatisanOralLanguageModifier(OLM)?
TheOralLanguageModifier(OLM)isarolecreatedtoprovideareasonableadjustmentinexaminationsforcandidateswhorequirealeveloflanguagesupportbeyondthatprovidedbyareader.
ThisrolewasoriginallyprovidedfordeafcandidateswhosepreferredlanguagewasEnglish.(Youmightknowthisrolebyitsformertitleof“OralCommunicator”)
Ithassincebeenextendedtoprovideforothercandidateswhohaveaspecificreadingcomprehensionorlanguagedifficulty.
Forexaminations,JCQregulationsallowanOLMtobeprovidedforcandidatesinGCSE,GCE,FunctionalSkills,EntryLevelassessmentsandotherslistedonthefirstpageoftheregulations.
“AnOralLanguageModifierisaresponsibleadultwhomayclarifythecarrierlanguageusedintheexaminationpaperwhenrequestedtodosobyacandidate.
TheOralLanguageModifiermustnotexplaintechnicaltermsorsubject-specificterms.Theabilitytounderstandthesetermsispartoftheassessment.”
Theseregulationsmaychangeforfutureexaminations.
WhatistheroleofanOLM?
TheOLMisallowedtoexplainorre-phrasethecarrierlanguageinanexaminationpapertoclarifythemeaningforthecandidate.
TheOLMcancheckthatthecandidatehasunderstoodtherubricandcanrespondifthecandidateisconfusedbythemeaningofaparticularquestion.
TheOLMmustnotre-phraseorexplainanysubject-specificortechnicalterm.Equally,theOLMshouldnotchangecommandwordsorsourcematerial.(SeeAppendix1oftheOLMGuidanceExamples)
CandidatesusinganOLMmustbeabletodemonstratethesamesubjectskills,knowledgeandconceptsasothercandidates.Explainingsubject-specificortechnicalvocabularywouldthereforecompromisethedemandsofthequestionandmayconstitutemalpractice.
5–OLMHandbook
Languagemodifiedversionofexaminationpapers
AlanguagemodifiedpapershouldberequestedforcandidatesrequiringanOLM.Usuallypapersaremodifiedatsourcebytheawardingbody.Inmostcases,thismeansthataspecialistinmodificationwillhavemadesuggestionsaboutlanguagebeforethepaperisfinalised.Suchapaperisthusmodifiedforallcandidates.
Ifsuchapaperisnotavailablewhenamodifiedpaperisrequested,theawardingbodywillusuallyarrangeforateacherqualifiedinlanguagemodificationtomodifythespecificpapersrequested.LanguagemodifiedpapersshouldreducetheincidenceofacandidateaskinganOLMforclarification,althoughevenawellmodifiedpapermaycontaincarrierlanguagethatthecandidatefindsinaccessible.
WhatanOLMisnot
TheroleofanOLMisdifferentfromthatofareader.Areadercanonlyreadthequestionsandcannotre-phraseorexplainthecarrierlanguage.AnOLMshouldonlyberequestedifthecarrierlanguageofexaminationsislikelytobeinaccessibleevenifthequestionsarereadoutaloud.
AnOLMmayactasareaderifthecandidaterequestsit.
AnOLMisdifferentfromaSignLanguageInterpreter.
ASignLanguageInterpreter’staskistopresentwritteninformationinsignlanguagewithoutmodificationorexplanation.DeafcandidateswhouseEnglishastheirpreferredlanguagewouldnotusuallybenefitfromaSignLanguageInterpreter.Manydeafcandidates,however,havelanguagedifficultiesandanOLMwouldbeappropriate.TheOLMappointedshouldspeakclearlyandtheirlipsmustbevisible.TheOLMshouldbesomeonefamiliartothecandidate.
IfusingmanuallycodedEnglish,anOLMmustrecordthemeansofcommunicationonthecoversheet.ThiswouldincludefingerspellingorSignSupportedEnglish,butitmustreflectthewaythatthecandidateisnormallytaught.
6–OLMHandbook
WhocanactasanOLM?
- TheOLMmustbeappointedbythecentre- TheOLMmustbeabletodistinguishbetweencarrierlanguageandsubject-specific
language- TheOLMmustbeabletoexplainandre-phrasethecarrierlanguageofaparticular
question- TheOLMmustbeawareoftheregulationsandproceduresrelatingtoOLM- TheOLMshouldbefamiliartothecandidate.Insomecasesthismaybeessential.
Forexample,adeafcandidatewhoreliesonlip-readingafamiliarfaceoracandidatewithanautisticspectrumdisorderwhomightbedisturbedbyanunfamiliarhelper.(IftheOLMisnotfamiliartothecandidate,thecandidateshouldhavetheopportunityofatrialpresentationtogettoknowtheappointedOLM)
- TheOLMshouldhavehadtrainingandgainedaccreditationinlanguagemodification.Theyshouldhavesomeknowledgeofthetheoriesunderpinningthelanguagemodificationprocessandthestrategiesinvolved
- TheOralLanguageModifiershouldhaveaLevel3qualificationinEnglish,ClassicsorModernLanguages.Changingexaminationwording“onthespot”canbechallengingandtheOLMmusthavethepersonalskillstodothis
- TheOLMshouldhavesomeknowledgeorexperienceofthesubjectmatterbeingassessedintheexamination.ThismightbedifficultbuttheOLMdoesneedtoknowwhichwordsaresubject-specific.Papersmayopenedupto1hourearlyforsubject-specificwordstobehighlighted.
7–OLMHandbook
PreparingforAssessment
ConductingAssessment
Feeding backafterAssessment
ProcessFlowchart
Workingwithotherstaff
Workingwiththecandidate
Preparingthecandidate
Guidingthecandidatesunderstanding
Originalsourcematerialorquestion
Whataretheproblems?
Couldmaterialbemoreclearlywritten?
Howmightyourephrasethings?
Willthisworkinanoral/signingcontext?
Whoneedstoknow?
Usingfeedbacktoinformprepararation
8–OLMHandbook
Preparingforassessment
Teachingrolevsmodifyingrole
Itisexpectedthatthecandidatewillbepreparedinadvanceoftheexaminationsothatthecandidateisawareofthedifferentrolesperformedbyteacher,supportworkerandOLM.TheOLMmaybeinvolvedinhelpingwiththispreparation.
MostOLMswillbefamiliartothecandidateastheyalreadyrelatetoher/himinateachingorsupportrole.Itcouldbeunsettlingforacandidatewhoisusedtobeingdirectedtoananswerinclasstobetoldinanexaminationthathelpcan’tbegiven(excepttore-phraseaparticularquestion).Itishelpfulforacandidatetoknowwhattoexpectintheexamination,andhowsupportintheseconditionswillbedifferent.
Itisveryimportantthatthecandidateknowsthatthesamepersonmighthavedifferentroles.TheOLMmightbesomeonewhoworkswiththelearneronadailybasis.Thecandidateneedstounderstandthatinexamconditionsthisrelationshipwillbedifferentfromtherelationshipinclass.
TheOLMandotherstaffshould:
- Preparethecandidatetoexpectchangeintheroleandfunctionofsupportstaff- Preparethecandidatetoactasacandidateaswellasalearner
Modificationfunctions
- Preparethecandidatetodiscriminatebetweensupportfunctionsandmodificationfunctions
- Guidethecandidatetounderstandtheimpactofinstructionalverbsandfrequentlyusedexaminationwords.Helpthemtoidentifycommonsubject-specificvocabulary.
- Encouragethecandidatetoindicatespecificallywhathelptheyneed- Makethecandidatemoreawareoftheroleofsourcematerials.(e.g.abookletof
sourcesforahistorypapermightbeconfusingtoacandidatewhoisnotfamiliarwiththatparticularformat)
9–OLMHandbook
Howthingsaredifferentatexamtime
Iamadifferentpersoninexams(theOLM)
- Icanonlyhelpincertainways- Ican’tgiveyouclueslikeIdoinlessons- Ican’tgiveyouexampleslikeIdoinlessons- Ican’ttellyouifyouranswersarerightorwrong- Ican’tcheckyourworktoseeifyouhaveunderstood- Icansaythequestionsadifferentwayifyouareconfused,buttherearesomewords
Ican’tchange
Youareadifferentpersoninexams(thecandidate)
- Youcan’twalkaround- Youcan’tusethecomputertolookthingsup- Youhavetoleaveyourbagoutside.Youcanonlytakewhatyouneedfortheexam
(suchasapenandpencil).Nobooksormobilephone- Youmustbequietandputyourhandupifyouneedhelp- It’syourjobtothink“DoIunderstand?”andindicatethatyouneedhelpifyou’renot
surewhataquestionmeans
Thecandidateshouldhavebeentaughtrelevantsubject-specificvocabulary:
- InaScienceexam,forexamplecandidateswouldbeexpectedtoknowthedifferencebetweenadependentandindependentvariable
- InDesignTechnology,theywouldbeexpectedtoknowwhatdesigncriteriaare
ThecandidateshouldnotexpecttohavesuchwordsandphrasesexplainedbyanOLM.
Similarlytheyshouldnotexpecttohavesourcematerialmodified.Sourcematerialtendstobeoriginalandmightbeanextractfromabook,aletter,aleafletetc.Thecandidateshouldbepreparedbystudyingsourcematerialbeforetheexamination.
10–OLMHandbook
ApplyingtotheAwardingBody
Contributetothediscussionofthecandidate’sneeds
BeforeapplyingtotheawardingbodyforanOLM,anAccessArrangementsAssessororTeacheroftheDeafwillassessanddiscussthecandidate’sneeds.Itmaybethatareader,forexample,isamoreappropriatereasonableadjustmenttoapplyfor.SincethepersonactingastheOLMislikelytobeemployedattheschoolorcentre,theyshouldbeinvolvedinthesediscussionsatanearlystage.
Collect,collateandstoreevidence
Evidencethatthecandidatehasasignificantlanguageneedshouldberecorded.Ifthecandidatehasaspecifickindofhelpinclass,thattooshouldbenotedasitisessentialtorecord,fileandkeepforinspectioninformationthatshowsthattheapplicationreflectsthenormalwayofworking.AnOLMcannotbeused,forexample,ifthecandidatedoesnotnormallyreceivehelpwithlanguage/comprehensioninlessons.
TheAssessororTeacheroftheDeafmustalsoshowthatthecandidatehasreadingcomprehensionorvocabularyinthewellbelowaveragerange(69orlessstandardisedscore)asmeasuredbyastandardisedtest.Thismustbecarriedoutwithin26monthsofthefinalexaminationseries.Involvementwithparents/carers
TheOLMmightbeinvolvedindiscussingwithparentsthereasonableadjustmentstobeappliedfor.ParentsshouldbeassuredthattheadjustmentswillbenefittheirchildandthatfinalcertificateswillnotstatethatanOLMhasbeenused.
TheOLMneedstounderstand:
- theprocessofusingtheevidencenecessary- theappropriateformatforevidence- howtomaketheapplication,usingtherulesandguidancetohelp
Knowledgeofthesystem
- TheSENCoorSpecialistTeacherwouldbeexpectedtoidentifychildrenwithspecialneedsasearlyaspossible,liaisingwithfeederschoolsbeforetransition.ManycentreshaveCognitiveAbilityTests(CATs)inY7.ResultsfromsuchtestscouldbeusefultotheOLM.
- TheAssessorwouldneedtochoosesuitableassessmentsforindividualstudentsand,afterassessment,identifytheaccessarrangementsneededforeachchildwithspecialeducationalneeds.
11–OLMHandbook
- TheAssessorwillliaisewiththeSENCoconcerningaccessarrangementsrequired.UsuallytheSENCowillapplyonlineat‘AccessArrangementsOnline’(AAO)foranyAccessArrangementsormodifiedpapersneededbythecandidate.
- TheSENCowillreceiveimmediatenotificationthroughAAOastowhetherthearrangementhasbeenapproved.
- TheExaminationsOfficer,onbehalfoftheheadofthecentre,appointsinvigilators,readers,OLMsetc.andmakesthemawareoftheirresponsibilities.Itisimportantthatthepersonchosenissuitablyqualified,knowledgeableandhastheinterpersonalskillsnecessaryforthejob
Forfurtherguidancesee:
JCQregulations:AccessArrangementsandReasonableAdjustments
http://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/regulations-and-guidance
JCQForm8:ApplicationforAccessArrangements
http://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/forms
12–OLMHandbook
Makingtheapplicationintime
ItisessentialthatapplicationforAccessArrangementsandreasonableadjustmentsaremadeintime.TheOLMmightbeinvolvedinhelpingtoensurethattheSENCogetstherequiredinformationwellbeforedeadlinesarereached.
SENCosshouldapplyforAccessArrangementsbeforeanexaminationseriesstarts.ThedeadlineforapplicationsforthesummerexaminationseriesinMay/Juneis21stFebruary.Onlyifthereisagenuinereasoncanapplicationsbemadeafterthisdate.Deadlinesforlanguagemodifiedpapers(anOLMcandidatemusthaveamodifiedpaper)arenotflexible,sotheOLMandSENConeedtobeawareofthesedeadlines.
TheremayalsobetheneedfortheOLMtobeavailablewhencontrolledornon-examinedassessmentsaretakingplace.
ConductingAssessment
Carrierlanguageandtechnicallanguage
Earlyopeningofapaperallowsforsubject-specificwordsandphrasestobehighlighted.TheOLMshouldhaveher/hisowncopyoftheexampaperwhichcanbephotocopiedifnecessaryatthistime.TheOLMmustbequiteclearwhatissubject-specificlanguageandwhatiscarrierlanguage.Ifunsure,therelevantwordsorphrasesshouldnotbemodified.
Itisnotalwaysobviouswhichwordsaresubject-specific:
- “Locate”caninmostinstancesbechangedto“find”butinGeographyitisasubject-specifictermthatcannotbemodified
- “Error”couldsometimesbechangedto“mistake”butnotinsubjectssuchasScienceorStatisticswhereithasadifferentmeaningandissubject-specific
- InHistory,acandidateshouldbeawareoftheterm“primaryevidence”butmightbeconfusedifthiswerechangedto“first-handinformation”
Sincecandidatesaretaughtsubject-specificvocabulary,theOLMcouldbeputtingacandidateatadisadvantagebychangingtheseterms.
Equally,anOLMmaybeinadvertentlygivingthecandidateanadvantagebymodifyingsubject-specificterms.Doingthiscouldmakethequestioninvalid.
OLMswhouseasignwithacandidatewhoisdeafmustbeespeciallycareful.If,forexample,theword“triangle”appearedinthemodificationofaMathsquestion,itwouldhavetobefingerspelledasthesigncouldgiveanunfairadvantage.Manysignsfortechnical
13–OLMHandbook
wordsindicatethemeaningoftheword-helpwhichwouldnotusuallybeavailabletoacandidate.
OLMsmayalsousetheearlyopeningtimetoconsiderhowtheymightmodifycarrierlanguagetheythinkisconfusing.Theymustremember,however,thattheycannotmodifyunlessacandidatehasindicatedaneedforhelpwiththewordingofaparticularquestion.
TheOLMneedstobeableto:
- determinethedifferencebetweencarrierlanguageandsubject-specificlanguageindifferentcontexts
- showhowthesamewordcanbebothcarrierlanguageandsubject-specificlanguageindifferentcontexts
- understandthepurposeofsourcematerials.Thesemustnotbemodified.
Sourcematerialsareoftenusedtosupportexaminationpapers.Theymayincludeletters,maps,charts,extracts,etc.Theyarerelevanttoanexaminationtaskbutwerecreatedforanotherpurpose.Sourcematerialcanusuallyberecognisedbyanacknowledgementthatisprintednexttoite.g.‘ExtractfromapoembyWilfredOwen,1917’.Sourcematerialmustnotbemodifiedunderanycircumstances.
TherewillbeinstanceswherestimulusmaterialhasbeenwrittenbythePrincipalExaminer.(Thiswillusuallybeidentifiedas“original”orsimplyappearwithoutasourcereferenceatall.)Readabilityshouldhavebeenconsideredduringtheprocessofwritingthestimulusmaterial.TheOLMshouldnotmodifysuchmaterial,evenifitisexaminer-generated.
Modifythegrammarofthecarrierlanguage
TheOLMshouldbeabletorecognisewhencomplexlanguagestructuresexist.Inturn,theOLMshouldbeabletomodifyandsimplifythelanguagewhileretainingthelevelofconceptualdifficultyofthequestion.
- TheOLMmustrememberthatamodifiedquestionshouldrequirethesamesubjectskills,knowledgeandconceptsastheoriginalquestionandenablethecandidatetomeetthesameassessmentobjectives
- TheOLMshouldbeabletorecognisegrammaticalstructureswhicharedifficultforweakreaders.Theseincludesubordinateclauses,passiveverbs,negatives,adverbialconnectorsandellipses.(SeeexamplesintheaccompanyingOLMGuidanceExamplesdocument)
- IftheOLMisrequiredtomodify,theOLMshouldconsiderthewholequestion,itsmeaningandtheanswerthatisexpected
14–OLMHandbook
- TheOLMshouldbeawarethatitmaybenecessarytomodifyparagraphsorfullsentences,ratherthanindividualwordsorphrasestomakethequestionaccessible
- Longquestionsmayneedconsiderablere-structuringbuttheOLMmustneitherintroducenorinterferewithquestionnumbering
- Thereisno“rightanswer”toamodification.TheOLMissuccessfulwhenabletogiveamodifiedversionthatthecandidateunderstands,whichdoesnotalterthemeaningandwhichdoesnotunfairlyadvantagethecandidate
Modifyinstructionallanguage/commandwordsandphrases
TheOLMneedstobeawarethatsomecommandwordsdemandhigherorderresponsesthanothercommandwords.
Example
ListthreecitiesthatyoucouldvisitifyouwereinFrance
Thisisthesimplestlevelofdemand.Itrequiresonlytherecallofknowledge.
EvaluatetheimportanceofParistotheFrenchpeople
isaquestionrequiringtheveryhighestorderskills.
Thereisawell-definedhierarchyofsuchskillsandthewordsassociatedwiththem.ThiscanbefoundinAppendix1oftheaccompanyingOLMGuidanceExamples.
ItisimportantthattheOLMisawareoffrequentlyusedexaminationwordsthatshouldnotbechanged.ThesupportingdocumententitledOLMGuidanceExamplescontaindetailedinformationonthistopic.
15–OLMHandbook
Summaryofexaminationissues
Forthecandidateatexamtime
- Isitclearwhichquestionsyouhavetoanswer?- Isitclearwhatyouhavetodo?- Ifyouhaveachoice,areyousureyouhavepickedthebestquestion(s)toanswer?- Makeitcleartomeifyouarenotsurewhatyouhavetodo- Ifyouarenotsurewhataquestionmeans,thenmakeclearthatyouneedhelp,but
rememberIcan’tchangewordstodowiththesubjectandcan’thelpyouwiththeanswer
FortheOLMatexamtime
- Makesurethecandidateunderstandswhatisexpectedandunderstandstherubric- Lookthroughthequestions.Youcanopenthepaperanhourinadvancetohighlight
subject-specificvocabularyandcommandwordsthatyoumustnotmodify.Itmighthelptoworkthroughasparecopyofthepaperto,forexample,identifypotentiallyproblematiclanguage.Itmustbestressed,however,thatanOLMcanonlymodifyinanexaminationifthecandidatemakesclearthathe/shedoesnotunderstandthewordingofaspecificquestion.
Considerthefollowing:
- Howmightthesequestionsberephrased?- Istheinformationseparatefromthequestion?- Arethesentencestoolong?Isthereanyirrelevantinformationyoucanignore?(be
careful!)- Whatistheexamineraskingthecandidatetodo?Whatkindofanswerisexpected?- Areyouawareofanysubject-specificlanguagethatcan’tbechanged?- Areyouawareofanysourcematerialthatcan’tbechanged?
Ifacandidateindicatestheneedforhelp,makesureyouareawareofwhatyoucanandcannotdotohelp.
16–OLMHandbook
FeedingBackafterAssessment
CompleteModification:Coversheet
TheOLMneedstobeableto:
- Writeaccuratedescriptionsthatreflectwhathastakenplace- Completetheformaccordingtotheregulationsandguidance- EnsuretheExaminationsOfficerandinvigilatorsunderstandandareawareofwhat
hasbeendone- Makethecoversheetavailabletoallthosewhoneedtoknow(ExaminationsOfficer;
invigilator,JCQinspector,subjectstaff)
Beforetheexamstarts,theOLMshouldexplainhis/herroletotheinvigilator.
Duringtheexam,invigilatorsshouldbeinapositiontolistenintothemodificationsundertakeninordertomaintainaccountability.Inorderthatarecordofmodificationsisavailableforlaterreference,acopyofthecompletedformneedstobekeptbytheExaminationsOfficeratthecentre.
TheOLMmightfindithelpfultotakeroughnotesastheymakemodificationsthroughouttheexam,andfillinJCQForm6Aaftertheexamhasfinished.
17–OLMHandbook
CharteredInstituteofEducationalAssessorsUniversityofHertfordshireTheSchoolofEducationHatfieldAL109ABwww.ciea.org.uk