The Distance Delta Module One

Exam Training: General Introduction

Summary
During the course we will be providing you with training and practice for the Delta Written
Examination. Each unit we will be working through exam tasks with you in some detail and
then posting up similar types of tasks on the website for the members of each study group to
discuss. You will then upload your individual answers to your tutor for comment and
feedback. In Units 2, 3, 4 and 5 we suggest you spend about 4 hours on specific exam work,
including writing your exam practice answers. In Unit 8 you will have the opportunity to do a
full mock exam in order to give you practice at writing under timed conditions, and from Unit
6 onwards you may wish to devote more time to exam preparation.

Objectives
By the end of the course you should

 have received all the necessary training and practice to enable you to pass the exam

 have improved your language analysis skills and become more familiar with ELT
terminology through working on exam tasks

 have a deeper understanding of underlying principles

 be better able to relate underlying principles to classroom practice, particularly in the

evaluation and exploitation of authentic and ELT published materials and tests and in the
evaluation of learners’ written and spoken texts

 have had practice in writing effectively under pressure of time

Unit 1 Exam Training

The Distance Delta Module One

Contents

1. Introduction to the Written Exam

2. Exam training schedule
3. General Advice
4. Exam Practice

Unit 1 Exam Training

The Distance Delta Module One

1. Introduction to the Written Exam

Module One of the Delta focuses on ‘Understanding language, methodology and resources
for teaching’ and is assessed by means of a written examination. The exam takes place
twice a year (on the first Wednesday of December and June) and consists of two 1.5-hour
papers with a total of nine tasks, five on Paper One and four on Paper Two. There is a short
break between papers. All tasks are compulsory and marks are awarded for appropriate
answers in terms of content. The overall grade is based on the total score gained across the
two papers – so you can make up for doing poorly on one paper by doing well on the other.
As with the other modules, there are three passing grades (Distinction, Merit and Pass) and
one failing grade (Fail). The following results are required to obtain each grade:
Pass: approximately 50%
Merit: approximately 65%
Distinction: approximately 75%
Each task is marked in accordance with Task Specific Mark Schemes. There are a total of
200 marks available for Delta Module One as a whole. Timings for each task give an
indication of the number of marks available. The specific marks available for each task are
detailed below, and there is a further breakdown of the marking of the exam in the
Cambridge Report Markscheme June 2011, which you will find in CP Resources.

PAPER 1 (1.5 hours)

Tasks 1 and 2 [6 and 12 marks]
These tasks focus on ELT terminology. In Task 1 you are given six definitions of ELT-related
terms and have to supply the correct term. In Task 2 you are given six terms - you choose
four of these and supply a definition and an appropriate example.
Task 3 [15 marks]
This task focuses on productive skills and features of language used in these types of tasks,
including features of discourse. You are given a writing or speaking skills task from
published ELT/ESOL course material or published exam material. You need to identify the
appropriate language features which you would train specified learners in to complete the
task.
Task 4 [40 marks]
This task focuses on language analysis and potential learner problems. You are given an
authentic text (e.g. a newspaper article, a leaflet, a brochure, a form). You have to identify
features of the text which are typical of its genre and identify and explain the form, meaning,
use and phonological features of three different language items or areas highlighted in the
text. For one of the items or areas, you may be asked to identify possible learner problems
with form, meaning, use and pronunciation, as appropriate.
Task 5 [27 marks]
The focus here is on analysis of learner errors in written or spoken text. You are provided
with an authentic spoken (transcribed) or written text produced by a learner. You need to
analyse the main strengths and weaknesses in the text based on a set of specified areas,
e.g. organisation, cohesion, range of grammar and lexis.

Unit 1 Exam Training

The Distance Delta Module One

PAPER 2 (1.5 hours)

Task 1 [20 marks]
This task focuses on testing and assessment. You are given an extract from a test along
with the context and purpose of its use. The extract may be from a public exam, a
commercially produced test (e.g. a placement test or a coursebook progress test), or a
teacher-generated test. You need to evaluate its effectiveness for the stated purpose.
Tasks 2 and 3 [30 and 10 marks]
Here the focus is on resources, approaches and methodologies, and learners and contexts.
You are provided with an extract from published coursebook material. In Task 2 you need to
identify the purpose of specified individual activities and stages in the material, and comment
on key assumptions about language learning that are evident in the exercises. In Task 3 you
identify and comment on how specified activities in the material support the activities
discussed in Task 2.
Task 4 [40 marks]
This task focuses on teacher resources, approaches and methodologies, learners and
contexts, language acquisition and teacher roles. The text for this task is ELT-related e.g.
one or two extracts from material for teachers or from a methodology/resource book, a
lesson plan extract, a transcript of teachers discussing a lesson, an extract from tutor
feedback etc. You are required to answer specific questions about the material, e.g.
interpreting the teacher’s role as exemplified in the material, discussing the implications this
view of teaching has for classroom practice. This could include analysis of historical and
current perspectives on approaches and methodologies, theories of language acquisition,
resources, learner and teacher roles.
Based on Cambridge Delta Handbook

Commentary
As you see, each question in the exam is mostly based on ELT data and is largely designed
to reflect the decisions that as a practising teacher you have to make on a daily basis.
Because of this, we believe preparing for the examination can have a very positive effect on
your teaching and will help build your confidence in three specific areas. Firstly, it will help
you in developing and assessing your learners’ speaking and writing. Secondly, it will
sharpen your language analysis skills, particularly in relation to real language use in
authentic texts, whilst at the same time helping you develop your ideas for selecting and
exploiting such texts for class. Thirdly, it will help you develop a clearer awareness of
principles underpinning published materials and tests and a more critical eye as to their
effectiveness in different contexts.
In the Distance Delta Exam Training you will be given training and practice in all the tasks as
well as an opportunity to review the tasks and do a mock exam. Systematically working
through exam tasks in this way has proved extremely effective on previous courses and the
exam pass rate for Distance Delta candidates has always been consistently high.

Unit 1 Exam Training

The Distance Delta Module One

2 Exam Training Schedule

The Exam Thread is organised to relate to the content of the Units:

Unit 1
1. Introduction to the exam
2. Exam Training Schedule
3. General Advice
4. Upload Task Paper 1 Task 4 (part b)
Unit 2
1. Introduction to Paper 1 Tasks 1 & 2: Terminology
2. Training: Paper 1 Tasks 1 & 2
3. Introduction to Paper 2 Tasks 2 & 3: Published ELT materials
4. Training: Paper 2 Tasks 2 & 3
5. Upload Tasks: Paper 1 Tasks 1 & 2 and Paper 2 Tasks 2 & 3
Unit 3
1. Introduction to Paper 1 Task 4 : Authentic text
2. Training: Paper 1 Task 4
3. Introduction to Paper 2 Task 1: Test
4. Training: Paper 2 Task 1
5. Upload Tasks: Paper 1 Task 4 and Paper 2 Task 1
Unit 4
1. Introduction to Paper 1 Task 3: Skills
2. Training: Paper 1 Task 3
3. Introduction to Paper 2 Task 4: Teacher resources
4. Training: Paper 2 Task 4
5. Upload Tasks: Paper 1 Task 3 and Paper 2 Task 4
Unit 5
1. Introduction to Paper 1 Task 5: Learner text
2. Training: Paper 1 Task 5
3. Training: Review and further work on Paper 1 Task 4: Authentic materials
4. Upload Tasks: Paper 1 Tasks 4 and 5

Unit 1 Exam Training

The Distance Delta Module One

Unit 6
1. Training: Review and further work on Paper 1 Tasks I & 2: Terminology
2. Training: Review and further work on Paper 1 Task 3: Skills
3. Training: Review and further work on Paper2 Task 1: Test
4. Training: Review and further work on Paper 2 Task 4: Teacher resources
5. Upload Tasks: Paper 1 Tasks 1, 2, 3 and 4
Unit 7
1. Training: Review and further work on Paper 1 Task 5: Learner Text
2. Training: Review and further work on Paper 2 Tasks 2 & 3: Published ELT materials
3. Upload Tasks: Paper 2 Tasks 2 & 3 and up to two catch up tasks
Unit 8
1. Revision programme and exam tips
2. Upload Task: Mock Exam

Unit 1 Exam Training

The Distance Delta Module One

3. General Advice
 It’s useful to highlight the key instructions in some way (underlining, highlighter pen…)
so that you make sure you don’t miss any areas.

 Always state the obvious. Sometimes you can find yourself thinking “They can’t mean
that; it’s too simple!” but if you leave it out, the marker will not be able to award a mark
for it. Have confidence in what you know and have learned.

 Answers can be written in any form as long as they are clear to the reader. This can
include continuous prose, bulleted lists, notes, grids or tables. Consider how you can
organise each answer the most effectively. There are no specified minimum or maximum
word lengths.

 The answers are not academic essays. Aim for a neutral style which is not too academic
or too colloquial, and do not waffle. Go for a punchy, substantial answer which makes
plenty of relevant points and gives clear examples, where required. During the exam
training, we will be giving you examples of answers, advice on content, and feedback on
the content and style of your own answers.

4 Exam Practice
Look at this unit’s exam practice task in the Resources section on the Distance Delta
website and start or join a discussion thread on the forum to brainstorm ideas with other
Course Participants. Then sit down with your notes and write your answer to upload. This
first exam practice is an initial training and self study task and we will upload the guideline
answer so you can familiarise yourself with the principles behind the marking scheme as well
as how to upload tasks to the website. We have found marking your own first task the most
effective approach to help Course Participants understand what is required of them in the
exam and how it is marked. All other practice tasks will be marked by your Course Tutor and
uploaded to your files with feedback in an individual report.

Unit 1 Exam Training