Speaking skills for Cambridge English: First for Schools (2015)

Transcription

1 Speaking skills for Cambridge English: First for Schools (2015)

2 Cambridge English A not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge 100 years of expertise in English language assessment Over 4 million people a year take Cambridge English exams More than 15,000 organisations worldwide accept our exams

3 Cambridge English: First for Schools Part of our Cambridge English for Schools range of exams Designed to motivate school-aged learners Level B2 of the CEFR an upperintermediate level of English

4 Shows students are ready to study in English at foundation or pathway level work in an English-speaking environment live independently in an English-speaking country Preparing for the exam gave me the confidence and language skills I eventually needed to travel internationally, and get a job at a prestigious biopharmaceutical laboratory. Anais Legent Research Associate at Kymab Ltd.

5 An internationally accepted certificate Same certificate as Cambridge English: First Accepted by thousands of leading businesses and educational institutions worldwide Accepted by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and the Irish Nationalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) See which organisations accept our exams

6 Aim of the webinar To enable teachers to assess and improve their students speaking skills through familiarisation with the assessment scales

7 Overview of the webinar The revised Cambridge English: First for Schools Speaking test (2015)

8 Overview of the webinar The revised Cambridge English: First for Schools Speaking test (2015) Assessment scales for speaking and how to assess your students speaking performance

9 Overview of the webinar The revised Cambridge English: First for Schools Speaking test (2015) Assessment scales for speaking and how to assess your students speaking performance Teaching ideas for different parts of the Speaking test

10 Overview of the webinar The revised Cambridge English: First for Schools Speaking test (2015) Assessment scales for speaking and how to assess your students speaking performance Teaching ideas for different parts of the Speaking test Summary and further support

11 Cambridge English: First for Schools Speaking test (2015)

12 Cambridge English: First for Schools Speaking test (2015) Timing: 14 minutes Number of parts: 4 Usually: Two examiners Two candidates

13 Speaking test (2015) Part What happens? 1 A conversation between the interlocutor and each candidate Focus General interaction, social language 2 An individual long turn by each candidate about two photographs, with a response from the other candidate 3 A conversation between the candidates about a situation; written prompts are given Organising a longer unit of discourse, comparing, describing Exchanging ideas, agreeing, disagreeing, etc. 4 A discussion on topics related to Part 3 Expressing and justifying opinions, speculating

14 Speaking test (2015) Part What happens? 1 A conversation between the interlocutor and each candidate Focus General interaction, social language 2 An individual long turn by each candidate about two photographs, with a response from the other candidate 3 A conversation between the candidates about a situation; written prompts are given Organising a longer unit of discourse, comparing, describing Exchanging ideas, agreeing, disagreeing, etc. 4 A discussion on topics related to Part 3 Expressing and justifying opinions, speculating

15 Changes to the Speaking test Part 1 The timing has been reduced from 3 minutes to 2 minutes.

16 Changes to the Speaking test Part 1 The timing has been reduced from 3 minutes to 2 minutes. Part 2 The candidate response timing has increased from 20 seconds to 30 seconds.

17 Changes to the Speaking test Part 1 The timing has been reduced from 3 minutes to 2 minutes. Part 2 The candidate response has increased from 20 seconds to 30 seconds. Part 3 Split rubrics and written prompts replace visuals. The timing is 4 minutes.

18 Changes to the Speaking test Part 1 The timing has been reduced from 3 minutes to 2 minutes. Part 2 The candidate response has increased from 20 seconds to 30 seconds. Part 3 Split rubrics and written prompts replace visuals. The timing is 4 minutes. Part 4 Timing is 4 minutes.

19 Assessment scales B2 Grammar and Vocabulary Discourse Management Pronunciation Interactive Communication

20 Assessment scales

21 Grammar Band 5 Shows a good degree of control of a range of simple and some complex grammatical forms. Band 3 Shows a good degree of control of simple grammatical forms, and attempts some complex grammatical forms. Band 1 Shows a good degree of control of simple grammatical forms.

22 Grammar Band 5 Shows a good degree of control of a range of simple and some complex grammatical forms. Band 3 Shows a good degree of control of simple grammatical forms, and attempts some complex grammatical forms. Band 1 Shows a good degree of control of simple grammatical forms.

23 Assessing your students Cambridge English: First for Schools (Level B2) Speaking Grammar and Vocabulary Name of student: Kok Wee Does the speaker use simple grammatical forms with control? Good Not so good Does the speaker use complex grammatical forms? Good Not so good Does the speaker use a range of appropriate vocabulary? (everyday situations/familiar topics/wide range of familiar topics) Good Not so good

24 Speaking Part 1 Kok Wee

25 Speaking Part 1 Kok Wee Cambridge English: First for Schools (Level B2) Speaking Grammar and Vocabulary Does the speaker use simple grammatical forms with control? Good I find him very useful for my education I started to read three years ago recently I just started a book called Clockwork Angels Does the speaker use complex grammatical forms? Good Not so good he give us every single lessons I might go to there to ski Not so good Doesn t attempt complex forms Does the speaker use a range of appropriate vocabulary? (everyday situations/familiar topics/wide range of familiar topics) Good economics, notes, winter season, fiction Not so good I read light??

26 Pronunciation Band 5 Is intelligible; intonation is appropriate; sentence and word stress is accurately placed; individual sounds are articulated clearly. Band 3 Is intelligible; intonation is generally appropriate; sentence and word stress is generally accurately placed; individual sounds are generally articulated clearly. Band 1 Is mostly intelligible, and has some control of phonological features at both utterance and word levels.

27 Pronunciation Band 5 Is intelligible; intonation is appropriate; sentence and word stress is accurately placed; individual sounds are articulated clearly. Band 3 Is intelligible; intonation is generally appropriate; sentence and word stress is generally accurately placed; individual sounds are generally articulated clearly. Band 1 Is mostly intelligible, and has some control of phonological features at both utterance and word levels.

28 Assessing your students Cambridge English: First for Schools (Level B2) Speaking Pronunciation Name of student: Chris Are the answers clear? Can the speaker be generally understood? Good Not so good Is the speaker s intonation appropriate? Good Not so good Does the speaker use sentence stress appropriately? Is word stress correct? Good Not so good Are individual sounds clear? Are they correctly produced? Good Not so good

29 What are people enjoying about spending time outside in these situations?

30 Speaking Part 2 Chris

31 Speaking Part 2 Chris Cambridge English: First for Schools (Level B2) Speaking Pronunciation Are the answers clear? Can the speaker be generally understood? Good is intelligible Is the speaker s intonation appropriate? Good Not so good at times the volume and pitch are very low which means the listener has to concentrate Not so good intonation is a little flat and her expression of ideas would be clearer if her voice rose and fell more Does the speaker use sentence stress appropriately? Is word stress correct? Good sentence stress generally accurate: they are having a picnic with their friends word stress generally accurate: everybody s, weather, restaurants Are individual sounds clear? Are they correctly produced? Good generally articulated clearly Not so good smell instead of smile Not so good Flow of speech sometimes affected by searching for words

32 Discourse Management What is included?

33 Discourse Management What is included? Extended stretches of language Hesitation Coherence: relevance of contributions, organisation of ideas, repetition Cohesion: use of cohesive devices and discourse markers

34 Discourse Management Band 5 Contributions are relevant and there is a clear organisation of ideas. Uses a range of cohesive devices and discourse markers. Band 3 Contributions are relevant and there is very little repetition. Uses a range of cohesive devices. Band 1 Contributions are mostly relevant despite some repetition. Uses basic cohesive devices.

35 Assessing your students Name of student: Cambridge English: First for Schools (Level B2) Speaking Discourse Management Are the answers of an appropriate length for the task? Is there much hesitation? Good Not so good Are the contributions relevant? Is there much repetition? Is it well organised? Good Not so good Does the speaker use a range of cohesive devices? And discourse markers? Good Not so good

36 Interactive Communication A. Initiates and responds appropriately; maintains and develops the interaction and negotiates towards an outcome with very little support. B. Initiates and responds appropriately, linking contributions to those of other speakers; maintains and develops the interaction and negotiates towards an outcome. C. Initiates and responds appropriately; keeps the interaction going with very little prompting and support.

37 Interactive Communication A. Initiates and responds appropriately; maintains and develops the interaction and negotiates towards an outcome with very little support. B. Initiates and responds appropriately, linking contributions to those of other speakers; maintains and develops the interaction and negotiates towards an outcome. C. Initiates and responds appropriately; keeps the interaction going with very little prompting and support

38 Speaking Part 3 speak another foreign language play a musical instrument Why might students want to learn these skills? play a sport draw well cook a meal

39 Speaking Part 3 Cambridge English: First for Schools (Level B2) Speaking Interactive Communication Name of student: Kok Wee and Chris Does the speaker start the discussion? Does the speaker introduce new ideas? Good Not so good Does the speaker react appropriately to what the other candidate says? Good Not so good Does the speaker keep the interaction going and involve the other candidate? Good Not so good

40 Speaking Part 3

41 Speaking Part 3 Kok Wee Cambridge English: First for Schools (Level B2) Speaking Name of student: Kok Wee Interactive Communication Does the speaker start the discussion? Does the speaker introduce new ideas? Good He initiates appropriately and introduces new ideas. Not so good Does the speaker react appropriately to what the other candidate says? Good He takes some opportunities to link his contributions to his partner s (in discussion about drawing) Not so good But not consistently Does the speaker keep the interaction going and involve the other candidate? Good He maintains and develops the discussion about learning a new language Not so good But not consistently

42 Speaking Part 3 Chris Name of student: Chris Cambridge English: First for Schools (Level B2) Speaking Interactive Communication Does the speaker start the discussion? Does the speaker introduce new ideas? Good Not so good She could have initiated more Does the speaker react appropriately to what the other candidate says? Good She responds appropriately, e.g. when she asks the what if? question and makes several good points in response to his comments Not so good But not consistently Does the speaker keep the interaction going and involve the other candidate? Good She maintains and develops the discussion on drawing and playing the guitar. Not so good But not consistently

43 Using what if A) Exam prompt It s important to speak another language so you can travel abroad. I think learning to draw well is fun and interesting.

44 Using what if A) Exam prompt B) What if It s important to speak another language so you can travel abroad. I think learning to draw well is fun and interesting. But what if you don t want to travel abroad? What if you re no good at drawing?

45 Using what if A) Exam prompt B) What if C) Continuation It s important to speak another language so you can travel abroad. I think learning to draw well is fun and interesting. But what if you don t want to travel abroad? What if you re no good at drawing? Well obviously not everyone will want to do this, but many people will. You re right that some people are better than others, but everyone can learn the basics.

46 Linking to what your partner has said Students might want to learn another language because it s useful for their future. You mentioned that I think most people would agree with what you said about but what if You said that but what about I m not sure I understood what you said about because

47 Teaching ideas Speed examining

48 Speed examining suggested layout

49 Speed examining Part 1 1. Who do you spend time with after school? 2. Tell us about a good teacher you ve had. 3. Do you enjoy using the internet in your free time? 4. Where would you like to go for your next holiday? 5. Do you enjoy reading? 6...

50 Teaching ideas Speed examining Good and not so good models Focus on extending responses

51 What might be difficult for the people about trying to win in these situations?

52 In the first picture the man is playing tennis. In the second picture the people are running. Both sports are difficult... it is hard to win. You have to be good at the sport.

53 In the first picture the man is playing tennis whereas in the second picture the people are running. Both sports are difficult... it is hard to win because you have to be good at the sport.

54 Summary Overview of the revised Cambridge English: First for Schools Speaking test Applying Assessment Scales to your students Teaching ideas for improving in different areas and in specific parts of the test Links and further support

55 New microsite for revised exams Information about all the changes Videos, specifications, sample papers, teaching tips, classroom activities teachingsupport.cambridgeenglish.org

56 Teaching Support website Information about all Cambridge English Language Assessment examinations and teaching qualifications Teaching resources for each part of each exam Lots more features to support teachers

57 Online Professional Development Courses Earn a certificate from Cambridge. Webinars Interact with expert trainers. Knowledge Articles with industry-leading ideas. Join at

58 How to teach courses: Cambridge English: First (FCE)

59 Official Exams Preparation Materials

60 Sep 14 Courses

61 Practice and Supplementary Jul 14 Oct 14 Feb 15

62 Unique preparation materials Internationally recognised authors Experts in teaching, learning and assessment Based on real exam candidates answers and the mistakes they make Corpus English Profile research guarantees vocabulary is on level for B2 Only official preparation for Cambridge English: First for Schools

63 Further information Young Learners 14 and 16 July 2014 University of Cambridge Cambridge English Language Assessment 1 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB1 2EU, UK Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) helpdesk@cambridgeenglish.org Keep up to date with what s new via the Cambridge English Language Assessment website: For information on Cambridge English webinars for teachers: