Advice to teachers. Controlled assessment speaking and writing. For work submitted in 2015 onwards (autumn 2014 v1.0)

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1 Advice to teachers Controlled assessment speaking and writing For work submitted in 2015 onwards (autumn 2014 v1.0) This document refers to the following GCSE specifications: Chinese (Mandarin) French German Italian Spanish Urdu Copyright 2014 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number ) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number ). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.

2 Following the moderation and marking of the assessments for Controlled Assessment Speaking and Writing submitted for the June 2014 examination series, we hope that the following advice will be of assistance to teachers when preparing students for future examination series. The advice reflects the comments made by the senior moderators and senior examiners. Vertical black lines indicate a significant change or addition to the previous version of this document. You can find further information about this and our other Languages qualifications at Non-confidential 2 of 36

3 Contents Pages SPEAKING General Comments... 4 Administration... 4 Recordings... 5 Tasks... 5 Timing of the Task... 6 Task Design The Unpredictable Question/Bullet Point Task Planning Form... 8 Conduct of Tests and Question Technique... 8 Assessments Terminology a Glossary The Moderaton Process - a Quick Guide Guidance Notes for Moderators Teacher Online Standardisation Language-Specific Reports on the Examination and Mark Schemes Boundaries for Controlled Assessment and Coursework Units WRITING Pages General Comments Administration Task Design Task Planning Forms Drafts Dictionaries Assessments Further Support Advice to Students Guidance Notes for Examiners Language-Specific Reports on the Examination and Mark Schemes Non-confidential 3 of 36

4 Speaking General comments On a general note, schools need to be aware of the requirements of the tasks and it is recommended that teachers are fully familiar with the Controlled Assessment Handbook, the Frequently Asked Questions and the Instructions for the Conduct of the Examinations documents, all of which can be found on our website. There are also additional exemplar tasks on the website which can be used by schools in their entirety or adapted to suit their own students interests and abilities. The Languages team can be contacted at mfl@aqa.org.uk Where answers to particular queries cannot be found, each school can contact its own Controlled Assessment Adviser who will be able to provide answers to those questions. Schools are informed every year of their Adviser and contact details. Many teachers have already used this facility and it has proved to be a valuable provision. Schools can mfl@aqa.org.uk to ask for the details of their Adviser. Tasks should allow students to perform to the best of their ability by allowing them to give and justify opinions, to use different tenses and, probably most importantly, to develop their answers. Students who answer fewer questions with longer answers are far more likely to achieve marks in the top bands than those who give shorter answers to more questions. The English bullet points on the task sheet should be tackled in the same order as they appear on the sheet, as the task is much more difficult for students if teachers ask the questions in a random order. It is very important that teachers are familiar with the assessment criteria, which can be found in Section 3.4 of the Specification. These criteria must be used to mark the tasks and they also can guide teachers when they decide what to include in their main bullet points on the task sheet. For example, for students to score 7 or more marks for Range and Accuracy they must use a variety of verb tenses. In practice, this means a minimum of two although more able students will improve the complexity of their language by using more. So the main bullet points on the task sheet should enable them to do this. To score 3 or more marks for Communication, students must give a minimum of two opinions. When tasks are marked, it is important that the assessment criteria are adhered to and that different teachers marks are standardised within a school. If the marking of individual teachers within a school is not in line, it makes moderation a very difficult process. Administration Schools are requested to note the following points for future series. Errors in additions on Candidate Record Forms were noted at times and total marks also need to be copied onto Centre Mark Forms correctly. Centre Declaration Forms were often correctly enclosed with samples but occasionally had to be requested. Schools are reminded that task sheets and a list of the unpredictable questions used with the students in the sample must be provided to the moderator. Moderation cannot take place without these. Non-confidential 4 of 36

5 Recordings Moderators noted that in several cases there were delays in schools sending materials and some schools sent the wrong or incomplete materials. Recordings need to be labelled appropriately as specified in the Instructions for the Conduct of the Examinations booklet available on the Languages pages of our website and on e-aqa Secure Key Materials (SKM). Teachers should announce all students in the correct manner at the beginning of the test as specified in paragraph 6 in the section on Controlled Assessment Speaking in the Instructions booklet. However, there were also a lot of very well organised materials, with memory sticks/cds generally proving much easier for moderators to work with was the last examination series when cassette tapes were accepted. Indeed the quality and media used varied tremendously. Many schools used sound files on memory sticks or CDs and quality was often very good, although moderators also reported poor/inaudible recordings, together with examples of intrusive background noise. In some cases students were not identified and the whole school was recorded as one single sound file which made finding specific students for moderation very difficult indeed. Some CDs would not play on computers or CD players and in some cases, sound quality was poor or very low. Where an external microphone is used, it is essential that both the teacher and student can be heard clearly. Schools may like to consider using digital voice recorders which are now available at approximately They are the size of a mobile phone, automatically record in MP3 format, produce very clear recordings and do not need an external microphone. Schools are reminded that sound files must be in MP3 (preferred) or WAV format. AUP files will not be accepted. It is particularly important that teachers check the quality of the recordings at the time the assessments take place and not when the moderator requests the sample. The Instructions for labelling provided in the Instructions for the Conduct of the Examinations must be followed. Tasks AQA exemplar tasks were used but many schools had devised their own and used a range of tasks within the school. Moderators noted that some schools set the same task to a whole teaching group. This approach did not always lead to the best outcome, especially in mixed ability groups. It was clear that the vocabulary and structures used by higher achieving students simply could not be emulated by the less able ones. A more differentiated approach, which would give all students the chance to perform at the level appropriate to them, is recommended. Exemplar tasks on our website provide examples of how tasks can be adapted to suit different ability students and are a very useful resource. Furthermore, the whole set approach also led to some very similar answers from most of the students within a teaching group. It is hoped that, now schools are more familiar with the demands of the speaking unit, more creative and perhaps motivating tasks may be tackled, offering greater individuality in their approach. Please consult the additional exemplar tasks mentioned above which have been added to our website for examples of more innovative approaches. In most schools, the more able students were able to talk at length and teachers allowed them time to develop answers fully. This was not always the case however and some teachers asked too many questions and students appeared to be confused as a result. Non-confidential 5 of 36

6 Timing of the Task The task must last between 4 and 6 minutes for a student to have access to full marks for Communication. Teachers should remind students to prepare something on all the main bullet points. The time starts when the teacher asks the first question about the first main bullet point. Any introduction to the task is ignored, for instance Now we are going to talk about holidays. It is very important that students are aware of the timing so that they know how much to prepare. The recommendation is that they prepare about 4½ minutes of their own input, thereby allowing time for the teacher s questions and for the unpredictable bullet point at the end. Once the unpredictable question has been asked and answered and the performance is still short of 4 minutes, further unpredictable questions may be asked in order to reach the minimum time. It must be borne in mind though that it is the first unpredictable question which determines if this bullet point is covered or not. Less able students often find it challenging to maintain a reasonable flow of information for the minimum specified task length of 4 minutes. This sometimes means that Accuracy and Fluency marks are adversely affected because later bullet points have not been prepared sufficiently. For such students it may be worth considering using a task with content aimed at approximately 3-4 minutes. There were also performances which went way beyond the allowed maximum of 6 minutes, although the tasks consisted of only 5-6 bullet points. In some cases this occurred because students spoke very slowly. Others seemed to be over-prepared and had so much to say that they could not squeeze it into the 6 minutes. Task Design The task sheet must be in English. There is no upper limit for the number of bullet points allowed, but 5-6 plus the unpredictable question seem to work well. If there are more than this, more able students run the risk of running out of time. The bullet points should be tackled in the order that they appear on the task sheet and the unpredictable question must always be the last one asked. This was not the case in some schools. The task must ask explicitly for opinions and, for more able students especially, for the explanation of at least two opinions. This is because students must give at least two opinions in order to score 3 or more marks for Communication and at least two of those opinions must be explained or justified in order to score in the top band for Communication. For students aiming for the highest grades, the task should require the use of at least two tenses, as this is needed for a score of 7 or more for Range and Accuracy. Unlike the previous specification, a present tense with a future time marker is still a present tense for the purposes of Range and Accuracy of Language, though it can count for Communication provided that the message is conveyed. It is important to set a task that is suitable for the ability of the student and in mixed ability classes this may mean having two or more versions of what is basically the same task. It was encouraging to see that some schools did this and it meant, for example, that less able students did not have to handle more than one question that demanded the use of a tense other than the present. All too often, though, the tasks for all students were identical and this meant that problems arose, either because they did not stretch the more able or because they proved far too challenging for the less able. Students often performed badly because the subject of the task or part of the task was too difficult. The use of sub-divisions within the main bullet points can be very helpful to students and many schools made use of them. Layout of the task must make it clear which are the main bullets. Examples of how to arrange such sub-divided tasks can be found on our website. When chosen carefully, they guided students through the task and enabled them to keep within the 4-6 minute Non-confidential 6 of 36

7 time limit. If there were too many of them, it sometimes meant that the task exceeded the 6 minutes which was occasionally detrimental to the mark. Most of the tasks related to one topic area and there were fewer examples of cross-context tasks. This is understandable if a teacher wants to set a task at the end of a unit of work which has addressed one topic area. Some of the cross-context tasks proved to be very successful for those students who may have found it difficult to have a 4-minute conversation on one topic but who coped well when discussing a variety of topics. The Unpredictable Question/Bullet Point The last main bullet point on the task sheet is an exclamation mark and this signifies that the teacher will ask a question for which the student has not been able to prepare an answer. There are several things that the teacher should bear in mind when deciding on the unpredictable questions for a task: Depending on the number of students doing a particular task, there should be 4-6 unpredictable questions from which the teacher will choose one at random for each of the students. In order for the student to accomplish the unpredictable bullet point, he/she must answer the question by using a verb. It is preferable to ask a question that will be easily understood by the student, maybe using a cognate, and that it can be answered easily by less able students but will also give scope for the more able to expand their reply. A good question could be Do you like television / radio / the internet? etc. Why (not)? At a basic level a student can say Yes it is interesting whereas a more able student may develop the response by saying something like Yes, I like but sometimes I think there are too many adverts between programmes and therefore I prefer channels like the BBC. Teachers are advised not to make the unpredictable bullet point too complicated since this proved to disadvantage many, in particular the less able students. Under no circumstances should students know in advance the unpredictable question that they will be asked. Most schools handled this aspect of the test well. The unpredictable question came last, occasionally followed up if the initial answer was very short. There was evidence that quite a lot of schools had followed advice given previously and flagged up the unpredictable question to their students, eg by saying And now, the last question, in the target language. If the student does not give an answer or the answer is incorrect, the unpredictable bullet point must be classed as not covered and the table in the mark scheme comes into force (See page 12 of this booklet). Only one unpredictable question should be asked (plus possible follow-up). Schools should have a bank of unpredictable questions and should vary the question from student to student (or after a small group of students, eg after every 3 rd ). Schools must not put the same question to all students. Once students have been given their task at Stage 2, they must not be aware of what the unpredictable question/bullet point may be. This means that it is not acceptable, for example, at Stage 2 to give students a list of 5 questions and for the teacher to choose one of the 5 as the unpredictable question. Non-confidential 7 of 36

8 Task Planning Form (TPF) The TPF was, and will continue to be, optional. Most students used one and usually it was of some benefit to them, provided they set it out neatly and in an ordered fashion. If the TPF is not completed correctly, students run the risk of failing to gain marks because they may have received more help than is permissible. If the following advice is adhered to, then they will not disadvantage themselves, or run the risk of malpractice. Check that the TPF contains no more than 40 words, in the target language and/or English. Check for conjugated verbs (in English or the target language) and insist that the student obliterates them so they are illegible (teachers are reminded that no credit can be given for any utterances where these conjugated verbs are still visible and are used in the task itself). If there is any doubt whatsoever as to whether a conjugated verb is visible or not, teachers should ask students to fill the TPF in again. It should be noted that some black market pens do not obliterate the word underneath. No pictures of any description can be used on the TPF, only whole words are permitted, in the target language or in English or both. The limit is still 40 words, with no conjugated verbs. Conduct of Tests and Question Technique Generally, teachers conducted the tasks well. Most displayed a calm, sympathetic manner; some overacted their role and almost said more than the student. Sometimes teachers wanted to be helpful to their students by providing them with vocabulary and/or structures (eg starting a sentence for the student). No credit can be given to the student for these utterances. Some teachers corrected their students, a practice which is strongly discouraged. Best practice would aim to achieve a natural conversation, ie asking the student a wide opening question (depending on the bullet point) and then following this up where necessary. Some teachers only asked the main bullet point questions. Whilst this worked well for more able students, less able students were often left to fend for themselves. There were also examples of very prescriptive tasks leading teachers to put the same list of questions to all students irrespective of their ability and not taking the student s answer into account. Often these schools had prepared their students too narrowly and the answers were all very similar which is not in the spirit of the GCSE where creativity and an individual approach to the task are required. A small number of schools did not ask the bullet point questions in the order in which they appeared on the task sheet. This should be avoided as it could and often did confuse the students. Teachers are also reminded that the questions should be in the target language, despite the task sheet being in English. All schools are sent a feedback form in the autumn term. If there are any issues to be addressed, they will appear on this form. Assessments Many schools were too lenient in awarding marks for Communication, Range and Accuracy and Pronunciation and Intonation in particular. To access the top bands, teachers must understand the need for variety of structure (not just the use of two tenses), opinions with explanations and full responses. Less frequently, teachers were rather severe in their assessment of all the criteria. Where this happened, it often stemmed from an unwillingness to award full marks to students who deserved to receive them, but also this was in evidence at the lowest end of the range, where some less able students were under-marked. Non-confidential 8 of 36

9 Sometimes students were given marks for Range and Accuracy, Pronunciation and Intonation and/or Interaction and Fluency which were more than one band (as opposed to mark) higher than the band in which the mark was given for Communication; this is not permissible (see page 18 of this document). Communication There was a general tendency to be slightly generous. When deciding on an assessment band the tendency seemed to be to go to the top mark within a band. This is only justified if all descriptors in this band have been met. Quite often teachers tend to accept too readily what a student intended to say rather than what he/she actually said. You can only mark what you really hear, not what you wanted/expected to hear. Also, errors in pronunciation were often ignored and an utterance which was incomprehensible even to a sympathetic native speaker was given credit. (see below). Occasionally moderators came across performances without any points of view/opinions. If this is the case, the mark for Communication cannot exceed 2 out of a possible 10. It is very important therefore that opinions are built into the task, as mentioned previously. Range and Accuracy There was a similar tendency to leniency with this criterion, in part for the same reasons as above. Teachers are advised to note the following points. Using two different tenses does not automatically place a student in the top two bands; it merely gives access to the higher marking bands provided that this is backed by evidence of satisfying other descriptors in these two bands. In order to be awarded a mark of 7 or higher, there must be evidence of attempts at a range of vocabulary, structures and verb tenses. There may be errors, but the message is clear. Pronunciation and Intonation Quite often, less able students attempted vocabulary with which they were not comfortable. Not only will this have put a burden on their memory when practising, but more often than not they failed to pronounce these words comprehensibly and this clearly also affected their mark for Communication. Many teachers did not reflect this in the mark they awarded for Communication. Interaction and Fluency Generally, this criterion caused fewer problems. Some schools were rather lenient, awarding a slow/sluggish performance a mark of 4, whilst others were perhaps too severe and awarded a mark of 3 for a fairly fluent delivery just because there were a few hesitations. Non-confidential 9 of 36

10 Terminology a Glossary Task Sheet Main Bullet Points Unpredictable Question/ Bullet Point Task Planning Form (TPF) Centre Mark Form (CMF) Recorded Task (SR) Unrecorded Task (SU) Candidate Record Form (CRF) Centre Declaration Sheet (CDS) The sheet containing the task bullet points in English which form the task. The number of main bullet points which make up the task and all of which must be addressed by the student. The last question asked by the teacher, which the student has not prepared in advance. Shown as! on the task sheet. Downloadable from our website, this is the form that a student uses as a prompt during the task. It is not compulsory. There are 2 of these, one for the recorded task (SR) and another for the unrecorded task (SU). There are 3 copies, white, yellow and pink. Before May 7 in the year of entry, the marks for all students are entered on the form. The white copy goes to AQA and the other two copies go to the school s moderator, who will then select a sample. The recording of this task is sent to the moderator if the student is in the sample. Only one task is sent for moderation. This is the second task (which may in fact have been recorded) but only the marks for this task are sent to AQA and the moderator, not the recording. This form is available on our website and must be filled in for all students. It includes the breakdown of marks for the recorded and unrecorded tasks PDF This is also available on our website and is a declaration by the school that the work is that of the students and has been carried out in line with the requirements of the specification. The Moderation Process a Quick Guide 1 Before 7 May, complete the Centre Mark Forms (SR for recorded task and SU for unrecorded task) and send the appropriate copies of both forms to AQA (top copy) and to your moderator (pink and yellow copies). 2 Receive the yellow copy of the Centre Mark Form from your moderator highlighting the students whose recorded tasks are needed for the moderation sample, indicated by the letter S alongside the candidate name. (If your school has 20 students or fewer, you should send the recorded tasks of all your students to the moderator with the pink and yellow copies of the Centre Mark Forms, and all the other items listed in 3 below. The top copy of the Centre Mark Form should be sent to AQA.) Non-confidential 10 of 36

11 3 Send to the moderator the following: A recording of the Recorded Task for all students in the sample A completed and signed Candidate Record Form for all students in the sample signed by the teacher and the student The Centre Declaration Sheet (signed) The Task Sheet for all tasks used by any student in the sample A copy of the unpredictable questions for all tasks used in the sample, on a separate sheet, not on the Task Sheet The Task Planning Form for each student (if used) Please ensure that the recordings are clearly labelled (see Instructions for the Conduct of the Examinations. A copy of a checklist which the moderator will send when requesting the sample can be downloaded from our website and is a very handy reminder of what should be sent to the moderator, particularly for those schools with 20 students or fewer. Please use treasury tags to secure the paperwork. The main problems with this process concerned the following: Many schools failed to send to the moderator at least one of the items required by the moderator, the most common omissions being a copy of the task sheet and/or the task s 4-6 unpredictable questions. Moderation cannot take place without the task sheet. There are two Centre Mark Forms, one for the recorded task (SR) (the recording that is sent to the moderator) and one for the unrecorded task (SU) (for which the moderator sees only the mark). The marks entered on these forms are the marks out of 30 for the respective tasks. Many schools entered a mark out of 60 over the two tasks. Please check carefully that marks for each criterion are added correctly and transferred correctly from the Candidate Record Form to the Centre Mark Form. For CDs or memory sticks, please ensure that the track listing shows the students names and numbers, not just Track 1, Track 2, etc. A more detailed explanation of how to label recordings can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions document on our website. Check that recordings are clearly audible. This should be done as soon as possible after the task has been done. Please note that cassette tapes are no longer be accepted. Non-confidential 11 of 36

12 Guidance Notes for Moderators The following guidance, provided to moderators during the moderating period in 2014 is reproduced below for information. Language-specific examples to illustrate the guidance in the notes can be found in the mark schemes for the individual languages, available via e-aqa immediately after the publication of results. 1. Timings Timing begins as soon as the teacher asks the first question relating to the first bullet point. From that point, the task should last between 4 and 6 minutes. If the task lasts for less than 4 minutes (even 3 59 ), a student cannot get full marks for Communication. It would still be possible for this type of performance to achieve a mark of 9 for Communication. There is no impact on the other assessment criteria. If the task lasts for over 6 minutes, marking stops at 6 minutes. If, at that point, the student is speaking, allow him/her to complete that sentence before you finish conducting the test. The only exception to this would be if you had a student with a disability where the Joint Council for Qualifications procedures allow you to give up to 25% additional time in order for the student to complete the task. In such circumstances you should enclose a note to the moderator explaining why additional time was granted (if the work for the student is called for by the moderator as part of the sample for your school). 2. Coverage of main bullet points In order to be able to score full marks for Communication, students must be able to give information on all main bullet points on the task sheet. If there are any sub-divisions within the main bullet points, these are not compulsory. Students may ask the teacher to repeat/rephrase a question, if they do not understand. Likewise, if the student starts to give the answer to the wrong bullet point, the teacher is allowed to step in and repeat and/or rephrase. If one or more main bullet points are not covered by the student, for any reason*, this will affect the maximum mark available for Communication, as follows: Total number of main bullet points in task Number of main bullet points not covered Maximum mark for Communication 2-3 +! task ! task ! task ! task ! task or more +! task or more +! task or more +! task or more +! task 4+ 5 *The reasons for a main bullet point not being covered are: i) The teacher fails to ask anything about that main bullet point within the allotted 6 minutes. ii) The main bullet point is mentioned by the teacher, but the student cannot answer. iii) The student gives an answer, but it is unintelligible or not relevant to the main bullet point. Non-confidential 12 of 36

13 3. The unpredictable question/bullet point In order to accomplish the unpredictable bullet point, the student must answer by using a verb. If that is not the case, then the bullet point is not covered and the table above must be used in order to arrive at a mark for Communication. The clause used, however, need not be totally accurate provided it communicates the required message in the answer to the question. Where a wrong person of the verb leads to ambiguity and the message is not communicated, the unpredictable bullet will not be achieved. It is unlikely that the answer given in response to the unpredictable bullet point will be as well developed as the main bullet points. If a student has developed fully answers to the main bullet points and gives a short answer, including any part of a verb (eg present participle, infinitive) to the unpredictable bullet point, he/she will still have access to full marks for Communication provided the response is complete. If more than one unpredictable question is asked, the first one that is asked is the one that should be considered when deciding whether it has been answered appropriately, using a verb. Two-part questions for the same unpredictable bullet point are acceptable practice, for example, Do you like? Why (not)? or Do you prefer x or y? Why? Credit should be given for the language produced in both parts. If other unpredictable questions are asked, probably to make the task last at least 4 minutes, these should be taken into account when awarding an overall mark. If the unpredictable questions are not provided by the centre, then the last question to be asked counts as the unpredictable question as long as it does not relate to the final main bullet point (in which case it is considered as a follow-up question). If the unpredictable question is asked in the wrong place, this should still be credited. Once the student gives an incorrect answer (either in the target language, in English or in any other language) then no further rephrases are possible. If the student gives a partially correct answer in the target language, then the teacher can ask more questions to elicit further information so that the bullet point is fully covered. If a student says, in the target language, I don t understand or Please repeat (or equivalents) then this counts as a request for clarification and the teacher is allowed to repeat or rephrase. This does not count as an answer. (If this were said by the student in English or in any language other than the one being tested, then it would be an incorrect answer and no more rephrasing would be allowed). If the student says, either in the target language, in English or in any other language, I don t know (or equivalents) then this counts as an incorrect answer and no more rephrasing would be allowed. If the student says nothing in response to a question then the teacher can repeat or rephrase until the student does respond (or until the 6 minutes are up). If the teacher asks as the unpredictable question a question which has already been asked as one of the student s main bullet points, then the student has not been asked an unpredictable bullet point and the table in Section 2 (coverage of bullet points) applies. If, however, the unpredictable question is different from a main bullet point, but elicits some repeat of information that has already been given in answer to one of the main bullet points, then any additional information can be credited. For example, the main bullet is 'Tell me about your family'. Non-confidential 13 of 36

14 In a long answer, the student says that he/she doesn't get on well with his/her brother. The unpredictable question is 'Do you normally get on well with your family?' and the student says 'I get on well with my parents (new info) but not my brother (repeat)'. Although the unpredictable is connected to one of the main bullets, it is not the same question. A student is not necessarily required to manipulate language in order to accomplish the unpredictable bullet point. 4. The criteria for assessment All of the criteria should be considered when deciding on a mark, but the following guidelines may prove particularly useful. (a) Communication Must the teacher ask extra questions for the student to gain the highest marks for Communication? No. If the student develops fully his/her answers to each main bullet point there will be no need for extra questions to allow the student access to the highest marks for Communication. Can students get a high mark even if there is little interaction with the teacher? Yes. Interaction and fluency are a global concept. Students can have access to full marks with minimal teacher input as long as they have provided full and developed responses. This is still true even if there is little interaction with the teacher. Does an opinion have to be a personal opinion or can it be someone else s other than the speaker s? It can be a reported opinion. Example: What do you think is good about your school? In my school you have to wear a uniform. There are many opinions about the school uniform and whether it is good or not. Some people think it s not good because it s uncomfortable. If a student answers a main bullet point eliciting reference to future events by using a present tense verb, will he/she be penalised under Communication? No, not if the response successfully communicates what the main bullet point required. However if aiming for a high mark for Range and Accuracy, the student must make sure he/she uses at least two different tenses over the task as a whole. Must a student give some information relevant to the actual question the teacher asks in order for the bullet point to be accomplished? Yes. If a student gives an answer that provides information in relation to another bullet in his/her task but does not contain information relevant to the question the teacher has actually asked (eg because the teacher and student get out of sequence), the bullet cannot count as being accomplished. The teacher may ask the bullet again to give the student the chance to offer relevant information. Non-confidential 14 of 36

15 Can the answer still be considered to give some relevant information even if the tense is wrong? Yes. Examples: What did you do last weekend? The following answers would be regarded as having some relevant information and would be acceptable: Football I play football. The following answer would be regarded as unacceptable on the basis that it was clearly not answering the question being asked: it is not only the tense formation that is wrong. There are other indications that the student is not answering the question being asked: Next week I will play football (using a future tense verb). If the student gives exactly the same response to more than one bullet point and that answer gives relevant information in each case, will the response count as having accomplished the bullet in each case? Yes. Example: Bullet 3 What did you do last weekend? I play football Bullet 5 What do you normally do at weekends? I play football Both bullets will be judged to have been accomplished. If a student does not wait for the teacher to ask questions but simply delivers his/her answers to the bullets in the task, will the bullets be judged to have been accomplished? Yes. However, in response to any question the teacher does actually ask, the student must give some relevant information see above marks Students can speak with confidence and narrate events where appropriate. In order to do this, they will have to develop their answers well. They will have to offer ideas / opinions / points of view (minimum 2) and be able to explain them. 7-8 marks The answers will be regularly developed, even though some of them may not be. However, for the award of a mark in this band, most answers will show some development. There is a requirement to give opinions (minimum 2). Non-confidential 15 of 36

16 5-6 marks There will still be evidence of an ability to develop some answers. There is a requirement to give opinions (minimum 2). 3-4 marks Few responses are developed, but for some questions you can expect replies to go beyond the minimal, even if this is in the form of lists or very simple sentences. There is a requirement to give opinions (minimum 2). 1-2 marks Very few appropriate responses are developed, but therefore there has to be evidence of development, however basic, in at least one reply. 0 marks No relevant information is communicated, but a student could still give some very minimal replies and still score zero if there was no development at all. (b) Range and Accuracy of Language For performances with a large amount of complex language but lots of errors the following should be noted: the Accuracy strand in Range and Accuracy has a bearing on communication of intended messages. If communication is not taking place the marks awarded have to reflect this and a mark of 8 could not be awarded. If for, example, the Range strand warrants 10 marks and the Accuracy strand warrants 4 marks, then a maximum mark of 7 would be appropriate. The immediate future counts as a future tense. A present tense verb with a future time marker does not. The subjunctive is a mood and not a tense so the present subjunctive, for example, does not count as a separate tense from the present indicative. A construction using the present tense to refer to the past counts as the present tense marks A variety of tenses must be used. This means two or more. The tenses could come from the same time frame (for example the perfect, the preterite and the imperfect) but a greater range of tenses will add to the complexity of the language used and most students getting marks in this band will probably use three or more tenses, unless the nature of the task does not allow it. There will be complex structures, but remember that this is GCSE level and not higher. We will not necessarily be looking for the use of the subjunctive or similar grammatical structures. Complexity will often be achieved by variety of expression. There needs to be a wide range of vocabulary. This means that students will not be too repetitive in the words they use. Errors usually appear in complex structures, or they may be minor errors, for instance of gender, which do not appear too often. 7-8 marks Two or more tenses must be used. Some complex structures will be used, but the note about what constitutes complexity for the 9-10 band will apply here. There must be a range of vocabulary, so students in this band will again be trying to avoid repetition of the more common words. Errors occur, but the message is clear, so that the type of mistake made will not prevent communication. Non-confidential 16 of 36

17 5-6 marks There is no need for students to use more than one tense to be awarded a mark in this band. Sentences are generally simple but occasionally more complex. There will be more repetition of simple constructions here, but sometimes a more unusual structure will be used. Errors are quite frequent, but the language used is more accurate than inaccurate. This should be apparent from the annotation used for marking. 3-4 marks The sentences are short and simple and probably there will be quite a lot of repetition of the more common verbs. The vocabulary is very limited, so there will probably be quite a lot of repetition of the same words. Errors are very frequent and it will be more inaccurate than accurate, or there will be relatively little said, so the lack of evidence means we cannot go into a higher band. 1-2 marks There are only isolated words of vocabulary with the occasional short phrase. It may well be that there is quite a lot of silence. Errors often impede communication, or there is very little evidence to enable us to form an opinion. (c) Pronunciation and Intonation 5 marks Consistently good accent and intonation are required. Accent means pronunciation. Isolated errors in an otherwise full and correct performance can be ignored ie we are not looking for a 100% flawless performance. 4 marks Generally good. It may be that problems arise mainly with the sounds that students traditionally find more difficult. 3 marks Generally accurate, but there is some inconsistency. As well as the more common mispronunciations, there may be problems with vowel sounds and anglicised words. 2 marks What is said is understandable, although comprehension is sometimes delayed. In other words there will be occasions where we have to listen very carefully to what is being said in order to get the intended meaning. 1 mark What is said is barely understandable and comprehension is difficult. There may well be very little to go on because not much is said by the student. (d) Interaction and Fluency 5 marks The student responds readily, without significant pause before answering the questions. There is initiative, as the student is able to fully develop answers to the questions. The conversation is sustained at a reasonable speed, but clearly not at native speaker pace. Non-confidential 17 of 36

18 4 marks The student will again have to answer without hesitation. The replies will go beyond the minimum, although there will not be as much development as in the top band. There is some flow of language, even if from time to time there is some pausing for thought. 3 marks There are ready responses, where the student can answer reasonably promptly most of the time. There is little if any initiative, so the student may not develop answers to any great extent. There is an ability to sustain a conversation, so that any hesitation does not break up the interchange of information too much. 2 marks There is some reaction to the teacher s questions, but the student is sometimes hesitant. In practice, there will be more sections of the test where the student is thinking what to say or cannot answer. There is little natural flow. 1 mark There is little reaction to what the teacher asks and the student is so hesitant that the conversation becomes disjointed. There will in all probability be lots of silence during the task. (e) Limiting marks It is not possible to go more than one band higher than the band in which the Communication mark was given when awarding marks in the other categories. For instance, if 5 is awarded for Communication, the highest mark that can be awarded Range and Accuracy is 8, and for Pronunciation and Intonation and Interaction and Fluency the maximum mark would be 4. It is possible to give marks in lower bands for Range and Accuracy, Pronunciation and Intonation and Interaction and Fluency than the band in which the mark for Communication was given. If one mark or more is awarded for Communication, at least one mark must be given in all other categories. If zero is awarded for Communication, zero must be given for all other categories. Teacher Online Standardisation Teacher online standardisation is available for GCSE Speaking Controlled Assessment as a replacement for the previous face-to-face teacher standardisation meetings. Teacher online standardisation is a web-based system available anywhere with an internet connection. To use the system you: log on to e-aqa, select teacher online standardisation from the list of teacher services and choose your language listen to exemplar work, marked and commented on by the Principal Moderator mark a variety of work, receiving feedback as you go. Teacher online standardisation offers your school a much wider access to standardisation. Rather than sending just the one representative to a meeting, you can now all enjoy and benefit from the Non-confidential 18 of 36

19 training. You still, of course, have the support of your Controlled Assessment Adviser, assigned specifically to your school. You can access the system here: Language-Specific Reports on the Examination and Mark Schemes Please note that these are available via e-aqa SKM immediately after the publication of results. Exams Officers have details of how to access them. Boundaries for Controlled Assessment and Coursework Units When a specification is well-established, grade boundaries for internally assessed units often stay the same from year to year. This is because the assessment criteria for these units stay the same and the tasks are fairly generic, so the marks usually represent the same standard of performance every year. Grade boundaries can be carried forward from a previous examination series if this is recommended by the Principal Moderator and supported by statistical and technical evidence. However, it is sometimes necessary to move coursework grade boundaries, especially in the early years of a specification s life. This may happen if, for example: the Principal Moderator finds that increasing numbers of exam schools are marking generously, but staying within the tolerance, which means their marks are not adjusted by the moderation process the awarders find that the tasks which schools set, and students responses, have become too formulaic. In these situations, if the work which the awarders inspect is of lower quality than work given the same mark in previous years, the grade boundaries are raised. This is essential in order to maintain standards if we didn t do this, it would be easier for students to gain higher grades than in previous years. This approach helps us ensure that any improvement in results is genuine, and has not occurred simply because schools are getting used to a new specification and are becoming more familiar with the requirements. A video showing how grade boundaries are set can be viewed on our website at Non-confidential 19 of 36

20 Writing General Comments There was a wide variety in the standard of work submitted, ranging from short responses with simple sentences and occasional opinions through to detailed and generally accurate responses using a variety of vocabulary, structures and verb tenses. Students who had a sound grammatical knowledge and made good use of the Task Planning Form (TPF) almost invariably scored highly. Those who tried to set down from memory something learnt from a pre-prepared piece more often than not failed to score well. The frequent problem was that they wrote half-remembered sentences that often contained wrong verb endings or they missed out key items of vocabulary and what they wrote often failed to communicate. Titles chosen often had a profound effect upon the outcome. A general title (My holidays, My Home and Local Area, My Lifestyle, My Free Time) is likely to be most successful since the piece of writing will be assessed according to its relevance to that title. It is thus crucial that schools provide bullet points which are relevant to the title chosen; some students were penalised because they responded to bullet points provided but which were irrelevant to the title. Many examiners reported that the work from some schools was very similar between students. In some ways this is to be expected since they will all have been taught the same material. Nevertheless, students should try to produce a clearly individual response. It should be noted that students work should not be corrected in pencil in order to provide feedback. This also applies to photocopies of students work, because a student could gain unfair advantage if tackling another similar task at a future date. Any feedback should be of a general and not specific nature. It must be oral and not written. It must be in English and it must relate to the assessment criteria eg make sure you express at least 2 opinions ; vary your structures and vocabulary more ; check your tense formations. Administration Schools administration was on the whole very good. Tasks were despatched on time with the relevant forms included and correctly completed. However, schools are to be reminded of the following: tasks should be sent to the correct AQA examiner. Some schools sent their Writing tasks to the Speaking moderator. Schools should ensure that the task titles have been written in all the appropriate places and that the work itself has been labelled Task 1 and Task 2. Schools do not need to attach a task sheet to each piece of work. Where a number of students have done the same task, one copy of each task submitted is enough. Schools are reminded to indicate on the reverse of the Candidate Record Form if a TPF has been used or not. Schools are encouraged: to collate each student s work ie the two tasks - together with the Candidate Record Form and the TPF. The use of treasury tags to keep portfolios together is preferred as paper clips and plastic wallets cause significant handling problems to make sure the examiner receives the full task sheet relevant to the student or group - marking cannot begin until the examiner knows what the students are writing about. to ensure that the same title is entered on the Candidate Record Form, on the TPF (if used) and on the piece of work for each task submitted. to remind students to write neatly as poor handwriting can affect marks to send the work in the same student order as on the Attendance List, as would be done for a terminal examination paper to check that the students have correctly filled in and signed the Candidate Record Form and the TPF (if used). There were errors with candidate numbers this year. Non-confidential 20 of 36

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