Raising the Bar at GCSE The New English Language GCSE Beginning with students of Y10 (2015-16)
The Main Messages Un-tiered examination one size fits all. No written controlled assessments. Two speaking and listening controlled assessments to be recorded and much stricter regulations surrounding their administration. Two examinations at the end of the course both 2 hours long. Heavily reliant on non-fiction reading and writing.
Where to Find More Information. You can find this publication and specimen assessment materials on the WJEC website: http://www.wjec.co.uk/qualifications/engli sh/englishgcse/wjec%20gcse%20english%20languag e%20specification%202015%20(24-10- 14)%20-%20Branded.pdf?language_id=1 Why is it worth looking out for? It tells you what the examiners are looking for the success criteria for all bands of achievement.
Summary of Assessment
Unit 1 Speaking and Listening The non-examination assessment is un-tiered and differentiation is by outcome. Learners may complete Task 1 (the individual presentation) at any time during the course. However, Task 2 (the group task) will need to be completed between the release of materials in the September of the academic year of entry (2016) and the submission of marks (for both tasks) at the end of March (2017) in the year of entry. Both assessed tasks must be recorded. Candidates should be given plenty of opportunities to practise their oral skills in different situations and for different audiences, both individually and in groups. Making the most of opportunities to present information and express opinions on various subjects as well as presenting experiences will enrich the learners experiences and develop their oral and verbal reasoning skills.
Speaking and Listening The assessments must be based on: 1. Individual Researched Presentation: one individual, researched presentation, including responses to questions and feedback, based on WJEC set themes. 2. Responding and Interacting: one group discussion to written or visual stimuli provided by WJEC to initiate the discussion. For both tasks, half of the available credit for will be awarded for the choice of appropriate register, grammatical accuracy and range of sentence structures with the remainder for content and organisation.
TASK 1 Individual Researched Presentation Task setting For this task, candidates should have the opportunity to participate individually, by presenting information on any aspect or aspects relating to one of the following themes: 1. Wales 2. Leisure 3. The World of Work 4. The World of Science / Technology 5. Citizenship It is expected that an individual presentation will last between five to seven minutes, including responding to questions from the audience. CANDIDATES ARE TOLD NOT TO READ FROM ANY POWERPOINTS THAT THEY USE.
Candidates should be given one week to prepare for the task beforehand. During this period, candidates can work under limited supervision and research a subject by using the web, reading newspapers, magazines, reference books, leaflets, listening to television programmes or asking others questions. Teachers can offer guidance and general advice to students about undertaking the task. The responsibility lies with the pupils to thoroughly prepare.
Candidates may use objects or images only as aids when presenting information on their chosen subject. Candidates may use short bullet points which include statistics, facts, examples and relevant quotations. Information technology such as PowerPoint may be used, only as a resource to facilitate the presentation. It must be emphasised that this is not a reading task, but rather an oral presentation prepared by the candidate. Teachers should retain any bullet points or PowerPoint presentations at the end of the presentation. Only at the end of the presentation are other students allowed to ask some questions. An individual researched presentation will last between five to seven minutes, including responding to any questions from the audience. The role of the teacher During the candidate s individual researched presentation, the teacher should: give the candidate an opportunity to do the presentation independently; ensure that the candidate does not read his/her presentation; interrupt or prompt only when necessary; manage questions put to the candidate.
Task 2: Group Discussion Candidates should be given one week to prepare for the task beforehand. During this period, candidates can work under limited supervision and research a subject by using the web, reading newspapers / magazines or listening to the news. Teachers can offer guidance and general advice to candidates. The discussion should take around 10 minutes. The work of individual candidates may be informed at the preparation stage by working with others, for example in discussion groups and role-play activities, but in the assessment session each candidate must provide responses sufficient to be assessed individually.
How can we help? Attendance is vital! Ask your child about events in the news and discuss their opinions. Get them to explain their views. Give them reminders about the correct way of expressing themselves, particularly in more formal situations e.g. Could you put that in a better way? What other word or phrase do you think you could have used then?
What will the two examination papers look like and what skills will they be testing? http://www.wjec.co.uk/qualifications /english/englishgcse/wjec%20gcse%20english%20l anguage%20sams%20(24-10- 14)%20- %20Branded.pdf?language_id=1
The paper lasts 2 hours. Candidates have to write their answers in the booklet. 1 piece of writing either a story or an exposition, but candidates have a proof reading and editing section to complete too. Candidates do not have to write a story.
Some answers require very short responses. Some questions are multiple choice. They require pupils to work out meaning from a variety of texts.
Are you sure they are expected to read this? TEXT A shows information from the Australian Tourism Board. Visitor profile to Australia in 2012 47% repeat visitors 68% of total arrivals are for leisure 45-59 years largest demographic $7,036 average spend 47 nights average stay Oct-Jan and May-Jun peak booking period Dec-Feb and Jul-Aug peak travel period Yes. Candidates will be given a range of material from continuous to non-continuous texts. Most reading material on the papers is non fiction.
A12. How do the writers present the places of Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada and the city of Alifbay in Text B and Text E? [10] You must refer to both texts to support your comments on the language the writers have used. Some questions remain fairly familiar. Here candidates are expected to write an extended response (about a side of A4) on the texts using close analysis and inference skills. Candidates will have to read the questions carefully and decide what is being asked of them.
Candidates are marked in levels of responses
There is also a proof-reading and editing section. Fill in the blank of the bestfit word. Circle the pair of words that best fit. Decide the order of the sentences.
This is an example of what they might have to proof read and correct. Candidates have to find and correct the mistakes they find. The mistakes could be spelling, punctuation or grammar errors.
What can we do to help? Read as many different types of text as possible, and ask what the information reveals and what different words mean. Encourage them to find out meaning from contextual clues rather than Googling it. Encourage your child to proof-read and amend their own work in every subject. Point out mistakes in public signs and ask them what is wrong and how it could be corrected. Use sites like No Red Ink to remind them of basic rules: https://www.noredink.com/
The writing section of the Unit 2 examination. B2. In this section you will be assessed for the quality of your writing skills. 20 marks are awarded for communication and organisation; 15 marks are awarded for writing accurately. You should aim to write about 350-500 words. Choose one of the following for your writing: [35] Either, (a) Write about a memorable journey you have made. Or, (b) It is really important that kids spend as much time travelling and learning as possible from a young age. (Sir Richard Branson) Write an essay to explain the extent to which you agree with this view, giving clear reasons and examples. When using information from the texts, you will need to present it in your own words. Lots of marks are given for basic accuracy. Pupils only have to write one piece but only have a choice of two titles! You can t really prepare a story beforehand and adapt it in the examination.
What can we do to help? Help students plan their writing. There is space for this on the examination and their writing needs to be clearly organised and detailed. Questions to ask: 1. Have you explored your ideas? 2. Have you used a mindmap? 3. Have you got a paragraph plan? Discuss hot topics for their views, ensuring that they develop their points, giving reasons and evidence - Do you think too much TV is bad for children? Do you think technology, such as mobile phones and texting, have stopped us socialising?
The paper lasts 2 hours. Candidates have 2 pieces of extended writing at the end of the paper.
The reading tasks and questions are similar to the first paper: there s a mix of short extracts containing continuous and non-continuous text. TEXT B A4. Put these instructions in the order that they would best be completed. The first one has been done for you: [3] 1. Establish a committee to handle health and safety. 2.... 3... 4....... They will be expected to sequence instructions and read instruction texts
Candidates will be asked the purpose and audience of a text.
Candidates will be able to follow / identify the main points of a text and put them in their own words.
Candidates will need to know the difference between fact and opinion.
On Unit 3, pupils will be expected to look at the similarities and differences between two texts. Comparison is a difficult skill and needs to be practised.
Candidates are expected to be able to write for a range of purposes and audiences. Quality and accuracy are important.
Planning is essential if candidates want success.
Main messages: It is a difficult qualification pupils cannot leave everything till the last minute. They have to be focused right the way through the two years in order to build skills progressively. Basic accuracy in writing and speaking is very important. Improving the range of vocabulary pupils can understand is vital for speaking, listening, reading and writing. Knowing what the question is asking them to do and how many marks the questions are worth is really important. Timing needs to be considered carefully in the examination. Non-fiction predominates in both reading, writing and oracy tasks. Apart from the mock examinations pupils will have no opportunity to sit units early. The more support we give pupils the better they will do!