The Distance Delta Module One

Exam Thread: Paper 1 Tasks 1 & 2 and Paper 2 Tasks 2 & 3

Summary
In this unit we will be looking at Tasks One and Two from Paper 1. We will be working
through the tasks in some detail, reviewing mainly the grammatical system and methodology
and approaches. We will also look at Paper 2 Tasks 2 and 3 and consider the assumptions
about learning in coursebook materials. You will then have the opportunity to do another task
of each type and upload them for marking and feedback from your Course Tutor.

Objectives
By the end of the unit you should

 have become more familiar with ELT terminology, specifically related to language
systems, methodology and approaches

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

evaluation and exploitation of ELT published materials

 feel more confident about tackling these types of task in the exam

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Contents
1. Introduction to Paper 1 Tasks One and Two
2. Training: Paper 1 Task One
2.1. Identifying the topic and key words
2.2. Applying terms
3. Training: Paper 1 Task Two
3.1. Features of a definition
3.2. Writing a definition
4. Training: Paper Two Tasks 2 and 3
4.1. Identifying key instructions
4.2. Task 2a: Identifying the purpose
4.3. Task 2b: Key assumptions
4.4. Task 3
5. Exam Practice
Appendices

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1. Introduction to Paper 1 Tasks One and Two

Tasks One and Two test your understanding of key ELT terminology, focusing on a broad
spectrum of the syllabus: knowledge of language systems and skills, methodology and
approaches, and assessment. In this initial exam training thread for these tasks we will focus
principally on language systems, methodology and approaches.
Whilst knowledge of terminology may not be a valid aim in itself, ELT terminology is a key
part of our professional language and increased familiarity with it will give you access to a
wide range of ELT literature for teachers.
Preparation for these exam tasks is not a matter of learning long lists of terminology and
definitions. Rather, as you read and research different areas of the syllabus, you will find you
gradually pick up the various terms, until they are all very familiar and you can use them
comfortably, without any particular effort. In addition, it is anticipated that preparing for this
part of the examination will mean candidates need to understand the ELT-related concepts
they are introduced to. This is the positive effect of Tasks One and Two.
As well as providing a specific focus on exam techniques, training for these tasks will give
you the opportunity to review and deepen your understanding of many areas of the syllabus.

2. Training: Paper 1 Task One

For this task you are given six definitions of ELT-related terms. You need to supply the
correct term. This is a very short answer, usually just one or two words, not a whole clause
or sentence. Don’t hedge your bets by offering two different answers for any definition as
you will not be awarded any marks at all if you offer two possible responses.
You only have five minutes to do this task and it is important to note that timings for each
task give an indication of the number of marks available. There are 6 marks available for
this task and it can be viewed as a quick warm-up task for the exam. Essentially you either
know the term or not, so while it may be an easy way to gain a few marks, if you cannot get
a particular term quickly, it is important to leave it and move on. It will continue working away
at the back of your mind as you work on the rest of the paper, and you may well find it
comes to you suddenly, perhaps prompted by something elsewhere in the paper. Then you
can quickly go back to fill in the missing term.

2.1. Identifying the topic and key words

We suggest you underline key words in the definition to help prompt the terms and ensure
you do not stray off target. You may find it helpful to identify the topic area first. Where there
is an example given, you may find this the most effective prompt.
Example: An approach to language teaching where learners are given examples of
language items in use, and then have to work out the rules from the examples. The rules
themselves can be explicitly stated by learners or left unstated.

The topic area here is ‘an approach’

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Key words you might underline are:

An approach to language teaching where learners are given examples of language items in
use, and then have to work out the rules from the examples. The rules themselves can be
explicitly stated by learners or left unstated.
Can you remember the term for this kind of approach where learners work out rules from
examples? (See below the box for the answer).

ACTIVITY 1: Identifying the topic area and key words (5 minutes)

Look at the task below.
i) identify the topic area
ii) underline the key words
Task One (5 minutes)
Provide the term for each definition. Please provide only one answer per question.

a. The name for a type of question designed to check and guide learners’ understanding of
a new language item by isolating its core meanings e.g. for ‘She used to smoke’: Does
she smoke now? Did she in the past? Did she do it once or regularly?

b. The process by which a sequence of words is fine-tuned in order to reduce ambiguity

and create a more complex message than just lexical items can express e.g. She work
project 3 month  She’ll be working on the project for 3 months.

c. A communicative syllabus which is organised according to universal concepts or

meanings, and the exponents used to express them e.g. habits, location, frequency,
quantity.

d. The theory that there is a period (e.g. age 2 until puberty) during which language can be
acquired rapidly and perfectly, and after which it is no longer possible to achieve the
same level.

e. The person or thing that is affected by the action of a transitive verb in a sentence or
clause e.g. You heard me.

f. The ways in which the relationship between a verb and the noun phrases associated
with it can be changed without changing the basic meaning of the sentence. The active
and passive make up the system e.g. Her chauffeur took her to the airport / She was
taken to the airport by her chauffeur.

See Appendix 1 for answers

Answer: Inductive (learning / approach)

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2.2. Applying Terms

ACTIVITY 2: Applying Terms ( 3 minutes)

Now try to do the task: Write down the terms for the definitions above.
See Appendix 2 for answers

Exam Tips

 Only write one answer.

 Keep your answers short – a few words will usually suffice, and sometimes just one
word is enough.

 Don’t spend too long on this task – if you can’t think of the answer, leave a space and
come back to it later. There are only six marks at stake.

Follow-up Tasks

 You can create your own terminology revision flashcards by going to

www.quizlet.com.

 Why not write some definitions of your own and post them on the Module One
forums, to see if other members of your group can work out what you are defining?

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3. Training: Paper 1 Task Two

In this task you are given six terms. You need to choose four of them and supply a
definition, an appropriate example and some further information about the term. You
have slightly longer for this task, 15 minutes, a clear indication that there are more marks
available for it. There is a total of 12 marks for this task: for each item, you will get one for
the core definition, one for the example and an extra one for any relevant additional
information. This means you need to ensure your answer is as comprehensive as possible,
include all the key information and any relevant extra information you know e.g. the
author/researcher linked to a particular methodology, or when it was first introduced. For
language items, you could list other examples of the type (eg: types of subordinate clause).
You must also remember to give an example – just one example is sufficient.
As you can choose which four of the terms to define, we suggest that, as you read through
the list for the first time, you tick the ones you know. In this way you know how many you
really have to choose from. You are likely to find some definitions easier to word than others.
If you are struggling with one definition, it is helpful to know if you have another option you
can choose instead and can move on, or whether you need to keep working away at that
definition because you have used up all your possible options.
We will look at how to write a sufficiently full definition so that you stand a good chance of
gaining the extra mark. Whereas during the exam and in your uploaded exam practice task
you should choose four of the six, in training we will be working with all the terms to ensure
as full a process as possible. In the exam, however, it is important to remember only to do 4
as extra answers will not be considered for this particular task – only the first four will be
marked.

3.1. Features of a definition

Your answer needs to be as full as possible, encompassing all key points, but not writing
everything you know about the area, as this takes up too much valuable time. The last two
tasks of Paper One (Tasks Four and Five) carry far more marks than the first two, so you
should ensure you leave enough time for those. You generally need to write a few sentences
(rather than a long paragraph) and you should remember to include an example.
Look at the following definition:
Term: collocation
Definition: words that go together e.g. have breakfast
Although this definition is not wrong, it does not go far enough – for example, it could apply
to a compound word such as ‘headache’. To be sufficiently comprehensive and therefore
acceptable, it needs to include the issues of i) how many words (i.e. two or more) and ii)
frequency (i.e. commonly / more than by chance).
So we could improve the definition to: two or more words that commonly co-occur more
often than would be expected by chance. E.g. have breakfast
There you would have a core definition and an example.
You then gain an extra mark by giving further information. Examples for ‘collocation’ include
points such as:

 the relation between the words could be grammatical (apply for, have breakfast) or
lexical (two content words e.g. a close shave)

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 the collocation can be stronger or weaker depending on how often they co-occur

ACTIVITY 3: Improving Definitions (10 minutes)

Look at the following examples of answers for this task. For each one decide what key
element is missing.
1. Question Tag
A kind of yes/no question e.g. You hated it, didn’t you?
2. Subject
The agent in a sentence or clause that causes the event expressed by the verb.
3. Multiword Verb
A construction which is a combination of a verb and a preposition e.g. cut off
See Appendix 3

3.2. Writing a definition

ACTIVITY 4: Writing a definition (10 minutes)

Now have a go at writing your own answers from scratch.
Provide a full definition, including further information, and an appropriate brief example or
illustration for the terms below.

a. Proper noun

b. Total Physical Response

c. Style

d. Relative clause

See Appendix 4

Exam Tips

 Remember to only give answers for FOUR out of the six possible terms

 Don’t forget to give an example – one correct example is enough

 Aim for the full three marks by giving some ‘further information’ about the term

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Follow-up Tasks
Look through the Delta topic areas (e.g. Discourse, Approaches, Listening, Error) and
choose the two you feel least confident about. Set yourself a time limit and a specific
source (Distance Delta course materials, chapter in a teacher’s resource book, article) to
read up about them – it often makes much more sense a second time around.

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Training: Paper Two Tasks 2 and 3

In Paper Two Tasks 2 and 3, you will be provided with an extract from published adult ELT
materials that are used in class. These can be course books, accompanying resource packs,
workbooks, student grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation reference books, skills books or
learner training books. Task 2 asks you to identify the purposes behind each one of a set of
exercises in the extract and then list and explain assumptions about language learning
underlying all or part of the material, giving reasons why these assumptions would be
considered valid; Task 3 asks you to comment on the ways in which a selection of the
remaining exercises in the rest of the extract combines with (all or some of) the exercises
already discussed in Task 2.
These tasks are quite weighty in terms of available marks: Task 2 has 30 marks and Task 3
10 marks. For task 2a, you will get 2 marks for each purpose for the activity which you
identify correctly, and for task 2b, 3 marks for each assumption about language learning
which you identify, and for the reasons you give. Check in ‘Exam Tips’ below for more
information about exactly how many items we recommend you should attempt to cover in
your answer.

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3.3. Identifying key instructions

ACTIVITY 5: Identifying key instructions (2 mins)

Read the tasks and the extract below. Underline key words in the tasks. (You may find
yourself underlining a fair amount of the rubric).
See Appendix 5 for suggested answer.

Cambridge ESOL Sample Paper

Unit 3B of face2face Pre-Intermediate, Chris Redston and Gillie Cunningham, Cambridge

University Press, 2005, pages 22 – 23.

The text for tasks two and three is reproduced on pages 5 and 6.

Task Two (25 minutes)

The purpose of the extract as a whole is to teach the differences between the present continuous
and the present simple to pre-intermediate level learners.

a Identify the purpose of the exercises listed in the box below in relation to the purpose of the
extract as a whole.

Exercises for Task Two

Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Exercise 6

b Identify a total of six key assumptions about language learning that are evident in the exercises
listed in the box above and explain why the authors might consider these assumptions to be
important for language learning. State which exercise or exercises each assumption refers to.

Task Three (10 minutes)

Comment on the ways in which the exercises in Vocabulary Focus (Exercises 1 and 2) and Get
Ready…Get It Right (Exercises 9 and 10) combine with the exercises discussed in Task Two.

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Task 2a: Identifying the Purpose

The first part of the task asks you to ‘Identify the purpose of the exercises below in relation
to the purpose of the extract as a whole.’ The rubric will always specify the overall
purpose for you. It is important to limit your answer to how each exercise relates to this
overall purpose, and not include any other purposes you can identify in the exercises without
relating them to the overall purpose. So for example, a discussion activity will give learners
freer speaking practice, but will also probably be designed to practise target language which
has been introduced earlier in the extract. A gist reading exercise will probably be designed
to ensure students have grasped the overall meaning of a text which will then be used to
focus on some target language in the following exercises. Examples of this target language
will be in the text. The purposes of these two tasks then (the discussion/the gist reading
exercise) need to be considered within the overall purpose of the extract, and not simply ‘to
provide freer speaking practice’ or ‘to provide practice reading for gist’.

You do not need to write much for each purpose – a brief sentence is fine, but it is important
to remember that each exercise usually has more than one purpose, or you risk losing out
on marks. It is also a good idea to use the infinitive of purpose to keep you focussed on the
task, and to help you avoid describing what students do (which is easy), rather than why
they are doing it (more difficult!).

Here the overall purpose of the extract is ‘to teach the differences between the present
continuous and the present simple’. Look back at Exercise 3 in the extract. Exercise (a)
asks learners to first look at the two photos and describe what’s happening in them, and then
in (b), to match the photos and letters. To do this, they will be reading the text (the two
letters) quickly for ‘gist’ – but what’s key to the overall purpose is that the text contains
examples of the target language (present simple and continuous) in context. We can
therefore identify the purposes of Exercise 3, (a) and (b) as:

 To introduce the context/topic of the lesson/to activate schemata

 To encourage learners to read the texts which contain the TL for gist
 To expose the learners to the TL (as they aren’t focussing on the tenses at this
point)
 To contextualise the TL (as the text they are reading gives the language in
context, thus making the meaning easier to work out)
 To check understanding of the context of the TL (as if the learners can correctly
match the photos and texts, we can assume they’ve understood the contexts)

Exercise 3 (c ) then requires learners to read the texts in more detail, in order to correct any
sentences which are incorrect. These statements include examples of the TL (present
simple and continuous) but this is for passive recognition – focussing on the differences
between the two tenses comes later. Here they simply read for meaning, and by the time
they’ve finished doing this activity, we can assume they will know the texts in quite some
detail.

We can therefore identify the purposes of Exercise 3 (c ) as:

 To encourage learners to read the texts which contain the target language in
detail (reading for detail)
 To expose the learners to further examples of the TL for passive recognition
 To further check understanding of the context of the TL

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ACTIVITY 6: Identifying the Purpose

Look at the remaining exercises below and identify the purpose(s) of each in relation to

the purpose of the material as a whole.

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Exercise 6

See Appendix 6 for suggested answer

Exam Tips

 Relate your answers to the overall purpose of the extract

 Use the infinitive of purpose to keep you focussed on the reasons behind the
exercises (e.g. to check learners’ understanding of…)

 Avoid describing what students do – here you need to talk about why the exercises
are there and why students do them

 Give more than one purpose for each exercise. Aim for a minimum of 8 purposes
over the whole set of exercises

 Underline or use a highlighter pen on the exam paper rubric, to ensure you are
writing about the correct exercises

4.3 Task 2b: Key Assumptions

This task will always ask you to ‘Identify a total of six key assumptions about language
learning that are evident in some or all of the exercises in the box above and explain why
the authors might consider these assumptions to be important for learning. State which
exercise or exercises each assumption refers to’.
This type of task is designed for you to demonstrate your understanding of the thinking
behind an activity / a sequence of activities i.e. what is the reason for choosing this particular
approach/activity/procedure? It helps to have some knowledge of different theories of
learning/teaching and language and how these influence materials design but you do not
always have to mention these specifically.
You can approach this task by putting yourself in the shoes of the writer of the material. For
example, at one extreme, you might believe that it is very important that learners have no

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explicit focus on language such as grammar, but simply read or listen to authentic texts
which are just above their level and gradually acquire language in this way. If this is one of
your fundamental beliefs, your materials might favour a ‘deep-end’ approach and consist
entirely of authentic reading and listening texts of increasing difficulty together with speaking
and writing tasks with little or no explicit language work at all. Interestingly, there is no
course book (yet?) that has aimed at such a radical approach.
On the other hand, you might believe that talking about personal issues is of great value in
the language classroom, and that this helps students to engage with the topic and the
language, and therefore be more likely to remember what they have learnt. In that case,
your materials will provide the students with plenty of opportunities for personalised practice.

ACTIVITY 7: Underlying Assumptions (10 mins)

a) Look at the two columns below. On the left, you will see activities and on the right,
assumptions. Match each activity to an assumption and its associated reasons (R1 and
R2). NB this is not related to the extract discussed above.
b) Underline phrases in the assumptions column which would help you in formulating
assumptions and their associated reasons, e.g. ‘X is important because…’

Activity Assumption + Reasons

1. Students talk about their first a) This is based on the idea that a guided discovery
day at school of grammar rules is effective because
R1 engaging students cognitively may help
retention of language as well as being more
motivating.
R2 it provides useful learner training so students
can continue learning outside the classroom
2. Students listen to a model b) The belief is that lexis should be taught not only
sentence on a tape and repeat it in individual words but also in combinations, in this
paying attention to stress and case collocations because
consonant clusters.
R1 this is how we learn and store lexis mentally
R2 because learning lexis in collocations aids
fluency in production

3. Students match verbs from c) The importance of learner-training since

one box with nouns from a
second box, e.g. to do / your R1 it helps learners to become more aware of their
homework own strategies and find ways to develop these so
they become better language learners.
R2 this can also encourage greater learner
autonomy so that learners can continue their
learning after the end of their course.

4. Students do some listening, d) The value of personalisation as

speaking and writing around the
R1 the writers believe that learners are more

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same topic and functional area. motivated by talking about themselves as this
makes the activity more meaningful
R2 language is more likely to be retained.

5. Students answer a series of e) language is best learnt by repetition since

written questions about the form
and concept of the past perfect R1 students will learn better if there is an explicit
after reading a text containing it focus on areas of difficulty
R2 repetition can help learners to remember and
produce the vocabulary.

6. Students work in pairs to check f) Teaching language through integrated skills is

their answers to a listening effective because
comprehensions
R1 it mirrors the way we encounter language in real
life
R2 each skill reinforces the other and the language
(functional exponents)

7. Students are given guidance g) The importance of progressing from known to

on how to record some lexical unknown and a progression of challenge since
phrases
R1 it helps learners’ confidence as they are not
overloaded from the beginning and they will have
time to absorb the easier target language before
moving onto new language.
R2 it can also be diagnostic, allowing learners to
see which words they don’t know and thus helping
them to focus their efforts.

8. Learners start with some h) The value of collaborative learning as

simple vocabulary and this is
extended to more complex forms R1 learners can benefit from each others’
and then integrated into knowledge
functional language. R2 they can get more practice than can be
provided by one on one interaction with the
teacher.

See Appendix 7

Commentary
It is important to include at least 2 reasons for each assumption as there are two marks
available for these. Label them R1 and R2 as above and this will help remind you to include
them. Although some reasons may be valid for a variety of assumptions (eg student
motivation), you can only gain marks for each reason once so avoid using the same reason
for different assumptions.

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ACTIVITY 8: Underlying Assumptions (20 mins)

Write an answer to Task 2 of the material above (from Face2Face)
See Appendix 8 for the Guideline Answer

Exam Tips

 Only refer to the exercises specified

 Do not stray off-task into simply describing the material or even evaluating it.
Remember the aim is to uncover why the writers have included these particular
activities and what beliefs about language learning they hold which has led them to
these decisions

 Make sure you specify which exercise you are referring to each time

 Aim to include at least 6 assumptions with 2 different reasons each. If you can
think of an extra assumption or reason, include them in case one is incorrect. You
are awarded marks for your 6 highest scoring assumptions, so here it is worth having
a safety net.

 Lay your answer out as follows:

Assumption:
R1
R2

 Do not repeat the same reason (eg: ‘it aids retention of new language’) more than
once.

Follow-up Task
A good place to start investigating the assumptions underlying any course book material, is
in the Teacher’s Book, where these beliefs are laid out. It might be interesting for you to read
and take notes of these from the major course book series (for example, ‘Cutting Edge’,
‘Speak Out, ‘Headway’ etc.). However, you do of course need to read with a critical eye
because sometimes the stated beliefs are not borne out by the material in the book! For
example, ‘communicative’ and ‘interactive’ are often bandied about in a rather loose way.

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4.4 Paper 2 Task 3

Task 3 always asks you to look at a different sequence of exercises in another part of the
extract and ‘comment on the ways they combine with the exercises discussed above.’ So
here you need to relate the specified exercises back to the exercises you looked at in Task 2
and show how they all work together. There are ten marks available for this task, one for
each valid point you make.
The specified exercises can combine with the exercises in a number of different ways. Here
are some guiding questions to consider:

 Are the exercises preparatory ones e.g. setting the topic, introducing language
needed later, providing the context?

 Do they provide opportunities for teacher and learners to find out how much the
learners know? Do they provide opportunities for feeding in new language needed for
later exercises?

 Do they provide further practice of some kind? If so, what kind of practice? Is it
written/spoken, controlled/freer, more personalised…?

 Do the exercises move on to a different or additional aspect of the language / skill

already looked at, or perhaps to a different skill altogether? Is form now focussed on,
now that meaning/use has been covered, or is the focus now on pronunciation?

 How does the approach in the focus relate to that in the exercises – does it mirror an
approach taken earlier or later?

 Is it different, to take into account different learning styles or a different classroom

dynamic (eg: a mingle exercise following a lot of individual work, something light and
fun after some serious analytical work on language…)?

 Are the same topics maintained, or are new topics introduced?

 What about the level of challenge – do these exercises ‘raise the bar’?

ACTIVITY 9: Paper 2 Task 3 (10 mins)

Now write an answer to Task 3 in the sample exam task. Use the guiding question
prompts above to help you.

Comment on the ways in which the exercises in Vocabulary Focus (Exercises 1 and 2) and
Get Ready…Get It Right (Exercises 9 and 10) combine with the exercises discussed in
Task Two.

See Appendix 9 for suggested answer.

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Exam Tips

 Make as many points as you can about each of the exercises under consideration.
There are ten marks available in total.

 Look for areas such as practice (types of practice such as written, spoken,
controlled, freer, personalised), the topic (is the topic maintained, extended or
changed), level of challenge (is the level of challenge increased), language and
skills work (does the exercise bring variety, move from receptive to productive)
diagnostic (if the task is an introductory one, does it help teacher and students see
how much they know already) and student learning styles (does this appeal to
kinaesthetic learners, analytic learners, does it therefore appeal to a variety of
different learner styles). These are some ideas – you may have more of your own.

 Use a highlighter pen on the exam question rubric to ensure you are looking at the
correct exercises. Don’t waste valuable time writing about other exercises which are
not part of the task.

5 Exam Practice
Look at this unit’s exam practice tasks in the Resources section on the Distance Delta
website and start or join a discussion thread on the forum to brainstorm ideas. Take care to
join the group indicated by the coordinator for each task. Then sit down with your notes and
write your answer to upload.

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Appendices
Appendix 1: Identifying the topic area and key words
i) Topic areas:

a. Methodology

b. Linguistics / First and Second Language Acquisition

c. Methodology

d. Critical Age (Hypothesis)

e. Grammar

f. Grammar

ii) Key words

a. A question designed to check and guide learners’ understanding of a new language
item by isolating its core meanings e.g. for ‘She used to smoke’: Does she smoke
now? Did she in the past? Did she do it once or regularly?

b. The process by which a sequence of words is fine tuned in order to reduce ambiguity
and create a more complex message than just words can express e.g. She work
project 3 month  She’ll be working on the project for 3 months

c. A communicative syllabus which is organised according to general meaning

categories which are universal concepts e.g. habits, location, frequency, quantity

d. The theory that there is an period (e.g. age 2 until puberty) during which language
can be acquired rapidly and perfectly, after this it is no longer possible to achieve the
same level

e. The person or thing that is affected by the action of a transitive verb in a sentence or
clause e.g. You heard me

f. The ways in the relationship between a verb and the noun phrases associated with it
can be changed without changing the basic meaning of the sentence. The active and
passive make up the system e.g. Her chauffeur took her to the airport / She was
taken to the airport by her chauffeur

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Appendix 2: Applying the terms

a. Concept (questions)

b. Grammaring / grammaticisation

c. Notional (syllabus) / notional – functional (syllabus)

d. Critical age (hypothesis)

e. Object

f. Voice

Appendix 3: Improving Definitions

Suggested answers:
1. Question Tag
Here you need to include some information about the structure. It is added to a statement
and consists of a subject pronoun and an auxiliary verb or form of the verb ‘to be’.
 A kind of yes/no question that is added to a statement and consists of a subject pronoun
and an auxiliary verb or form of the verb ‘to be’ e.g. You hated it, didn’t you?
For the third mark for further information, you could mention different types of question tags
eg. positive statements usually take negative tags and vice versa OR how different
intonation patterns change meaning etc.
2. Subject
The definition here is full but it is important to remember to include an example, otherwise
you are throwing marks away.
 The agent in a sentence or clause that causes the event expressed by the verb. e.g. He
gave her the money back.
Further information: In passive sentences it is the thing or person affected by the action OR
Subjects can be realised by nouns, noun phrases or clauses.
3. Multiword Verb
You need to give more information about the form: there can be one or two particles and
they could be an adverb or preposition or both
 A construction which is a combination of a verb and one or two particles. The particle can
be an adverb or preposition or both e.g. cut off
Further information:
The meaning (often idiomatic) can often not be deduced from each of the component parts
as they operate as one unit of meaning OR Phrasal verbs can be categorised into different

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groups according to how they function grammatically (transitive/intransitive,

separable/inseparable).

Appendix 4: Writing a definition

Suggested answers:
NB: more than one example is given to give you a clearer idea of what is acceptable.
However, in the exam you only need to give one example for each definition. There are
some examples below of possible ‘further information’ items, but this is in no way a definitive
list for each item.

a. Proper noun: These nouns refer to a person or thing which is unique. e.g. New York,
Maria.

Further information: They all have capital letters and are typically personal or
geographical names OR Other types of nouns are abstract nouns, concrete nouns and
collective nouns.

b. b .Total Physical Response: A language teaching method where language items are
presented as orders, commands and instructions, requiring the learners to respond by
carrying them out e.g. Teacher says ‘ stand up’, students stand up.

Further information: Developed by James Asher in the 1970s OR Often associated

with low levels and young learners.

c. Style: Variation in speech or writing, usually in a range from casual to formal, depending
on the situation, the person addressed etc e.g. Good morning / Hi.

Further information: There are several types of style, such as frozen, formal, informal
and business.

Relative clause: A clause which is attached to a noun phrase, which it modifies by

giving extra information.. E.g. The restaurant that we ate in last week has closed down;
Jules, who had left before all the others, still had not arrived.

Further information: The information can be essential (defining relative clauses) or

additional (non-defining). OR They are often introduced by a relative pronoun such as
who, which, that etc

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Appendix 5: Identifying Key Instructions

Suggestions for underlining:

The purpose of the extract as a whole is to teach the differences between the present continuous
and the present simple to pre-intermediate level learners.

a Identify the purpose of the exercises listed in the box below in relation to the purpose of the
extract as a whole.

Exercises for Task Two

Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Exercise 6

b Identify a total of six key assumptions about language learning that are evident in the
exercises listed in the box above and explain why the authors might consider these assumptions
to be important for language learning. State which exercise or exercises each assumption refers
to.

Task Three (10 minutes)

Comment on the ways in which the exercises in Vocabulary Focus (Exercises 1 and 2)
and Get Ready…Get It Right (Exercises 9 and 10) combine with the exercises discussed in
Task Two.

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Appendix 6: Identifying the Purpose

Suggested answers:

Exercise 4:

 To focus on the forms (positive, negative and question) of the TL

 To encourage students to use the context to work out the meaning/use of the TL

 To check learners’ understanding of the difference between state and action

verbs

 To provide learners with a written record of the target language

Exercise 5:

 To provide learners with a model of the pronunciation of the TL

 To encourage learners to improve their pronunciation of the TL

 To focus learners on sentence stress/prominence

Exercise 6

 To encourage learners to read for gist in order to check understanding of a

context for practice of the TL (the e-mail)

 To provide learners with controlled written practice of distinguishing between the

two forms Present Simple and Continuous

 To provide learners with controlled written practice to distinguish between the use
of Present Simple and Continuous

 To encourage peer checking and peer teaching in feedback, and to provide an

opportunity for learners to verbalise the rules they have just learnt

Appendix 7: Underlying Assumptions

1d) 2e) 3b) 4f) 5a) 6h) 7c) 8g)

Note useful sentence starters to help you phrase your answer:

 This is based on the idea that

 The belief that … because
 The importance of… this can lead to …
 The value of……….. as………..
 The assumption/principle is that ………………… since..

 and you can add to these:

 It is important to….. so that….

 Language is best learnt by………… because…….
 This assumes that………… as ………….

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 The writers believe that…………….since……

 The principle behind this is that…………. in order to……..

Assumption (Ex(s))
R1
R2

For example, ‘this exercise assumes that personalisation aids learning’ is insufficient
because it doesn’t provide any reasons and means you miss out on most of the available
marks.

When doing this task in the exam it is essential to specify which exercise(s) you are referring
to – if you don’t you won’t get any marks!

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Appendix 8: Underlying Assumptions

Guideline Answer

Here are some suggested answers. Please note that some reasons may also apply to other
assumptions but remember you cannot use one reason more than once.

Assumption
Learners need to see language in context (ex: 3)
R1 – so that they can see how it is used
R2 – it mirrors how L1 is learnt
R3 – context gives a guide to meaning and students may be able to work out the meaning in
this way

Assumption
Learners need a task to focus them on the overall meaning of a text (ex: 3a)
R1 – to prevent them from trying to understand every word
R2 – in real life we usually have a purpose for reading a text so this mirrors real life

Assumption
Learners need to understand a text in detail before focussing on language (ex: 3c)
R1 – if they don’t understand the context, they may not understand the language
R2 - at lower levels, a superficial reading of the text (as in ex: 3a) may not be enough for
learners to process the text for meaning

Assumption
Guided discovery approaches to studying grammar are useful (ex: 4)
R1 – cognitive engagement with language, thinking and working things out leads to greater
retention of the language
R2 – learners often understand things they have worked out for themselves better than
things they are told

Assumption
Explicit grammar rules using metalanguage are useful for learners (ex: 4)
R1 – this is what many learners expect and are used to
R2 – this approach appeals to analytic learners
R3 – learners can learn and use this metalanguage in their own research and this makes
them more autonomous

Assumption
Pronunciation work is useful for learners (ex: 5)
R1 – this gives them a complete picture of language, so that meaning, form and
pronunciation are all covered
R2 – pronunciation is a key feature of language work
R3 – learners may not have exposure to natural features of spoken English if they are not
studying in an ES environment

Assumption
Controlled/restricted practice exercises are useful for learners (ex: 6)
R1 – this increases learner confidence at manipulating forms of language
R2 – this type of exercise allows for quiet study time and for students to get further practice
at discriminating between tenses

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Assumption
Contrasting language forms is a good way to focus on meaning (all exercises)
R1 – learners may have learnt both these forms separately and this helps them distinguish
between them
R2 – the use of a tense may only be clearly seen when it is contrasted with another one
close in meaning

Assumption
Comparing answers and collaborative learning is useful for lower level learners (ex: 6c)
R1 – learners can learn from each other
R2 – it gives learners confidence if they can explain language rules to each other

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Appendix 9: Paper 2 Task 3

Guideline Answer:

Exercise How exercise combines with exercises in task two

Exercise 1  Provides vocabulary which can be used in the later exercises
when students manipulate the target language
 Pre-teaches vocabulary that learners may need to know for
reading exercise 3
 Gives the teacher an opportunity to find out how much vocabulary
on the topic students know, so it acts as a diagnostic exercise
 It introduces the topic of work, so sets up the topic for the whole
unit
 Students focus on stress here, as they do later in ex: 5

Exercise 2  This exercise allows learners to manipulate the vocabulary in

preparation for possible use in exercises 8 and to a lesser extent
9 & 10
 Gives students the opportunity to personalise the vocabulary by
talking about themselves and people they know

Exercise 9  This provides an opportunity for students to practise

distinguishing between state and action verbs, after this was
highlighted in ex: 4 (c)
 It provides further practice at distinguishing between Present
Simple and Continuous (use) following on from ex: 4 (b)
 Students are given material for the semi-controlled spoken
practice exercise (10a)
 This combines the work on vocabulary in ex: 1(b) with the
grammar in ex: 4
 Students get further practice at forming questions in both present
simple and continuous (ex: 4b) so a focus on form
Exercise 10  This provides a change of focus and interaction (a mingle
exercise) for kinaesthetic learners
 A more ‘fun’ activity after the serious study of the grammar
 Students can personalise the language by providing their own
answers
 This extends the language and provides freer practise of
questions forms in ex: 4a (follow up questions)
 This provides meaningful freer communicative practice of the
target language, especially in ex: 10 (b)
 This moves the exercise away from accuracy and more towards
fluency.

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