Unit

 Two       Summary  and  Feedback                          Distance  Delta  Module  One  

 
 
Greetings  to  everyone!  Here  is  your  first  Summary  and  Feedback  of  the  Module  One  course.  The  
following  are  collated  comments  from  all  the  Course  Tutors  about  your  first  set  of  marked  exam  
practice   tasks.   We   aim   here   to   give   you   an   overview   of   what   you   did   well   and   what   areas   need  
improvement,  as  well  as  providing  you  with  some  tips  and  things  to  remember,  so  that  the  next  
time  you  do  this  set  of  tasks,  you’ll  be  able  to  get  a  higher  mark.    
 
Many   of   you   had   clearly   made   use   of   the   forums   to   discuss   and   share   ideas   and   so   did   well   on  
these   tasks.   Some   of   you   seemed   to   know   and   understand   the   format   and   tackled   all   the   tasks  
sensibly.   So,   well   done–   a   good   start   to   Module   One!   What   follows   is   some   more   detailed  
comment  on  each  of  the  tasks.    
 
1.1   Identifying   terms:   This   was   done   quite   well   overall   with   a   number   of   you   getting   very   high  
marks.  You  made  good  use  of  the  discussion  forums  to  help  you  here  –  and  remember  these  are  
exam  practice  tasks  –  you  are  allowed  to  look  things  up,  as  the  idea  is  you  learn  from  it  all.  But  
don’t  consult  Guideline  Answers  until  after  you  have  had  a  go  yourself.  If  you  do,  you  won’t  be  
making   the   best   use   of   exam   practice   or   of   your   Tutor’s   feedback.   Course   Tutors   are   given   the  
option  of  not  marking  your  work  if  you  have  made  extensive  use  of  these  answers.  There  are  no  
Guideline  Answers  available  yet  for  the  new  exam  which  you  will  be  taking  in  June.      
 
The  main  problems  were  with  ‘CLIL’  ‘affricative’  (confusing  this  with  a  ‘plosive’  sound)  and  
‘diagnostic  testing’.  In  some  cases  your  answers  came  close  e.g.  ‘English  medium  instruction’  for  
CLIL,    'affix'  for  'affixation',  ‘corpus  linguistics’  for  corpus  –  but  were  not  accurate  enough  to  get  
the  mark.  It  is  a  case  of  making  sure  your  terms  fit  the  definitions  exactly.  For  the  'affixation'  
example,  the  rubric  describes  a  'process',  not  a  'structure'  -­‐  an  ‘affricative’  involves  an  initial  
blockage  of  air  flow  then  slow  release  with  friction;  a  ‘plosive’  releases  the  air  with  'explosive'  
force.    As  often  seems  to  be  the  case,  the  terminology  related  to  phonology  and  to  testing  were  
the  two  areas  people  were  less  confident  on,  so  make  a  note  of  this,  as  revising  these  key  areas  
will  also  serve  you  well  for  Paper  One  Task  5,  and  Paper  Two  Task  1  respectively.  Finally,  only  give  
one  answer  per  term  –  if  you  give  alternatives,  you  will  lose  the  mark,  even  if  one  of  your  answers  
is  correct.    

 
1.2.   Definitions:   Some   of   you   did   this   really   well   and   were   able   to   write   good   definitions   with  
relevant  examples,  but  others  did  not  provide  quite  enough  information.  Remember,  for  areas  of  
phonology,   key   areas   need   to   be   represented   with   phonemic   script   (and   when   necessary,   not   just  
of  the  sound  involved  but  of  the  surrounding  words)  so  it's  as  well  to  brush  up  on  this  now  –  this  
will  also  stand  you  in  good  stead  for  Paper  One  Task  5.    
 
Again,  it  is  a  case  of  being  more  precise  -­‐  for  example,  some  of  you  confused  jigsaw  reading  with  
information  gap  activities  or  with  ‘jumbled  texts’,  and  there  was  also  confusion  between  top  down  
processing  and  reading  for  gist.  Top-­‐down  processing  refers  to  the  use  of  certain  kinds  of  previous  
knowledge  which  a  reader  or  listener  brings  to  a  text  in  order  to  understand  it,  reading  for  gist  is  a  
type  of  reading  task  or  activity  which  may  involve  the  application  of  top-­‐down  processing  but  isn’t  
an   equivalent   term.     Some   people   also   incorrectly   defined   it   as   a   teaching   procedure   –   ie:  
Unit  Two       Summary  and  Feedback                          Distance  Delta  Module  One  
 
equivalent  to  activating  schemata.  Try  to  be  really  precise  and  accurate  in  your  core  definition  –  
sometimes  key  points  were  missing.    

It   is   very   important   to   combine   succinctness   with   precision   in   this   task.   In   our   experience,  
candidates   who   have   timing   issues   in   Paper   One   often   spend   too   long   on   this   task.   Include   the  
component  parts  in  the  four  answers  you  provide,  but  don’t  write  a  novel!    And  note  that  you’re  
no  longer  required  to  give  “further  information”  as  well  as  the  definition,  as  was  the  case  on  the  
‘old   exam’.   Make   sure   you   are   working   from   up   to   date   guidance   on   the   exam   taken   from   our  
website.    
 
 
Just  a  reminder  of  the  flashcard  website  http://quizlet.com/  to  help  with  terminology  revision,  or  
http://www.memrise.com/  is  also  well  worth  a  look.    
 
2.2.  Purposes,  Links,  Reasons  and  Assumptions:  We  were  generally  very  impressed  by  the  quality  
and  organisation  of  some  of  the  answers  to  this  task,  especially  given  that  it  was  a  first  attempt.    
 
(2a)   Purposes   -­‐   Many   of   you   had   trouble   identifying   the   purpose   of   activities.   Remember   these  
must   always   be   in   relation   to   the   identified   purpose   of   the   extract   as   a   whole.   Do   look   for  
multiple  different  purposes  (so  not  several  which  are  paraphrases  of  each  other)  –  often  there  are  
several   for   each   exercise.   Coincidentally   in   this   particular   example   of   the   task,   there   are   six  
exercises  given  –  however,  this  may  not  always  be  the  case,  and  if  there  are  fewer  than  six,  you  
will   need   to   find   more   than   one   purpose   for   some   of   the   exercises.   Don’t   forget   to   say   which  
exercise   you   are   referring   to   each   time   –   take   each   one   separately   rather   than   lumping   them  
together.    
 
Remember  to  consider  both  systems  and  skills  purposes  to  help  you.  Some  of  you  remembered  to  
use  the  infinitive  of  purpose  to  be  more  succinct  –  this  will  help  you  avoid  the  common  pitfall  of  
describing  what  students  are  doing  in  the  activities,  rather  than  the  AIM  of  the  exercise  (so  WHY  
they  are  doing  it).  Avoid  lengthy  prose  also  and  bullet  point  your  ideas  to  save  precious  time  in  the  
exam.   Try   to   be   precise   in   wording:   don’t   say   “target   language”   –   state   the   actual   language   point  
the   first   time   you   mention   it   (in   this   case,   ‘should/shouldn’t’   for   advice;   this   is   particularly  
important   when   there   is   more   than   one   language   element   in   the   exercises   (e.g.   vocabulary   and  
grammar).  Make  sure  you  are  specific  about  what  exactly  you  are  referring  to.  Many  of  you  stated  
a  purpose  as,  for  example  ‘to  provide  freer  practice’,  but  without  saying  what  of  exactly  (especially  
important  as  this  material  worked  on  both  grammar  and  lexis).  So  being  more  precise  and  specific  
is  the  order  of  the  day,  in  this  and  many  other  of  the  exam  tasks.  One  way  to  be  more  precise  is  to  
avoid   describing   what   students   do   when   completing   the   activities   which   is   obvious   to   the  
reader/marker.   Only   focus   on   the   purposes   –   so   WHY   they   are   doing   them.   It’s   a   good   idea   to  
separate  your  purposes  out  clearly  so  that  you  have  6  sentences  starting  with  “to….”  and  avoid  the  
temptation  to  include  two  for  the  price  of  one  by  writing  ‘..AND  to….’  .  You    may  then  run  out  of  
markable  purposes  before  some  of  your  good  points  have  been  considered.    
 
 
(2b)   Links   between   exercises   -­‐   Some   of   you   showed   good   awareness   of   how   the   materials   as   a  
whole  linked,  but  in  general,  this  was  the  weakest  task.  Although  there  were  some  solid  answers,  
there   is   still   scope   for   better   linking   to   the   material   described   in   T2a.   The   CTs   felt   that   answers  
were   generally   a   little   repetitious,   or   the   links   were   not   made   clear   enough.   Others   strayed   the  
other  way  by  being  rather  wordy  and  vague.    Be  specific  about  which  exercises  link  to  which,  e.g  
Unit  Two       Summary  and  Feedback                          Distance  Delta  Module  One  
 
‘recycles  lexis  from  Lead-­‐in  1’  (rather  than  '…from  earlier  sections').  
 
Remember   this   task   is   not   about   purposes   per   se,   but   about   how   these   exercises   link   with   the  
others  you  looked  at  previously.  It  is  better  therefore  to    stop  using  the  infinitive  of  purpose  in  this  
part  of  the  task  and  use  present  tense  verbs  in  the  third  person  –  so    things  like  ‘provides/builds  
on/allows   for/completes   the   cycle   of…’   A   few   of   you   missed   out   on   points   because   you   only  
mentioned   one   way   in   which   the   exercises   combine,   or   did   not   say   which   exercise   you   were  
referring  to  each  time.  Some  focused  on  the  development  of  the  language  input  to  the  exclusion  
of  other  points.      You  can  cover  a  wide  range  here  related  to  practice  (types  of  practice  such  as  
written  or  spoken,  controlled  or  free,  personalised),  topic  (is  the  topic  maintained  or  changed,  or  
is   an   earlier   one   returned   to?),   level   of   challenge,   cycle   of   activities   or   repetition   of   approach  
(e.g.:  guided  discovery)  and  finally  coverage  (e.g.:  does  this  add  pronunciation  to  the  meaning  and  
form  covered  earlier?).  Quite  a  few  of  you  tended  to  lose  focus  and  begin  describing,  evaluating  or  
explaining   the   procedures   of   the   activities.   Try   to   keep   focussed   on   solely   how   the   two   sets   of  
exercises   combine   together   within   a   cycle   of   learning.   It   is   about   links   so   this   should   be   evident   in  
your   wording   e.g.   the   target   language   from   ex1   is   now….or   it   extends   the   focus   on   ……from   ex   3  
by…..  Take  a  look  at  the  GLAs  for  some  ways  this  “linking”  is  made  evident.  

Some   of   you   failed   to   notice   that   the   target   language   was   not   actually   contained   within   the  
reading   text   as   is   so   often   the   case.   Make   sure   that   you   spend   enough   time   analysing   the  
coursebook   material   carefully   before   you   start   answering   the   tasks.   It   is   very   easy   to   make  
assumptions  about  the  material  based  on  previous  examples  of  this  task  –  for  example,  the  first  
activity   in   a   set   of   exercises   related   to   listening   or   reading   does   not   necessarily   ‘activate  
schemata’.    

(2c)  Reasons  and  Assumptions  

 
A  good  way  to  lay  out  your  answer  to  (2c)  is  ‘X  is  valuable  because…’  plus  one  clear  reason  which  
doesn’t  simply  restate  the  assumption.  ‘This  is  because…’  is  a  useful  frame  to  avoid  this  repetition.  
Don’t  forget  to  include  the  exercise  you  are  referring  to  for  each  reason/assumption  with  the  
same  label  as  in  the  materials  e.g.  a  broad  ‘the  first  exercise’  is  not  clear  enough  –  if  you  don’t,  you  
run  the  risk  of  losing  marks.  Just  as  crucially,  be  sure  to  double  check  which  exercises  you  should  
be  looking  at  –  it’s  not  necessarily  all  the  same  ones  you  looked  at  in  2a,  but  can  be  a  selection  of  
these.    You  won’t  be  credited  for  looking  at  exercises  not  specified  in  the  rubric.  Try  to  avoid  
working  through  the  exercises  one  by  one  –  it’s  better  to  think  of  overall  assumptions  and  then  
relate  them  to  an  exercise/exercises,  to  avoid  repetition.  Also  remember  that  you  can  only  use  any  
one  reason  ONCE,  even  though  it  may  be  true  of  more  than  one  assumption.  Note  here  that  
assumptions  are  assumptions  about  learning,  rather  than  assumptions  you  make  about  the  
learners  when  writing  a  lesson  plan.  Those  of  you  who  had  read  and  worked  with  the  Exam  
Training  sections  did  considerably  better  than  those  who  hadn’t.      

 
General  points  -­‐  Tips  relevant  to  all  tasks  
 
1.  Always  make  it  absolutely  clear  which  section  of  the  material  you  are  discussing  and/or  from  
Unit  Two       Summary  and  Feedback                          Distance  Delta  Module  One  
 
which   section   of   the   material   you’ve   taken   your   example.   Refer   to   specific   exercises   and   don’t  
take  a  group  of  different  exercises  together  in  Paper  2  Tasks  2a  and  2b.    
 
2.   Some   of   you   are   writing   very   long   answers   at   this   stage   of   the   course.   We   do   understand  
that   you   are   making   the   most   of   this   time   to   research   the   topics   and   putting   down   as   much  
information  as  you  can  find  about  them,  which  is  fine,  but  you  will  need  to  get  more  concise.  You  
will  get  practice  later  on  at  having  to  do  this  all  under  timed  conditions.  At  this  stage,  occasionally,  
if  you  find  you  have  enough  time  (!),  some  of  you  may  like  to  combine  the  two  by:    
 
a)  first  doing  the  preparation  and  reading    
b)  writing  your  answer  not  timed  and  then    
c)  putting  this  answer  away  and  trying  to  do  it  again  under  timed  conditions.    
 
3.  Do  work  on  organising  your  answers  using  sub  headings  and  bullet  points.  
This  can  really  help  you  to  cope  with  writing  within  the  required  time  and  ensure  that  you  stick  to  
the   rubric   and   do   not   get   sidetracked.   And   remember   that   you   don’t   always   have   to   write   full  
sentences.   See   the   GLAs   for   how   stem   sentences   can   be   used   to   get   across   the   information  
succinctly.    
 
4.   To   help   you   to   focus   much   more   effectively   on   what   the   question   is   actually   asking   for,   get   into  
the  habit  of  highlighting  key  words/  phrases  in  the  rubric  and  keep  returning  to  the  rubric  as  you  
write.  Read  the  question  carefully.  
 
5.  Don’t  write  more  than  the  number  of  answers  required  by  the  rubric  –  extra  points  will  not  be  
marked.    
 
6.  Referring  to  the  GLAs  while  doing  the  exam  practice  is  not  advisable  as  you  may  be  heavily  
influenced  by  this  guidance.  This  will  not  always  work  in  your  favour  when  it  comes  to  the  real  
exam.  Practice/process  not  product  is  key  at  this  stage.  

Good  luck  with  the  next  unit’s  practice!  

Mutlu,  Alex,  Deirdre,  Kate,  Brigid,  Sharon  and  Cathy