ENGLISH FOR EXAMS 3C

Course guide

Program: BA. TEFL

Course title: English 3C
Course code: 3C (ENG4027)
Course status: Core
Semester: 3
Weekly class hour: 5 periods ( 4 in-class + 1 self-study)
Prerequisite: English 2A, 2B

1. General course information

English 3C is a course of practical language skills. The course focuses on important learning strategies and
areas of the English language that are helpful for students who will take high-stakes language tests in the
future. The course is particularly targeted to learners of English as a foreign language at B2+ level in the
Common European Framework of Reference.

2. Course objectives
The course aims at familiarizing students with types of tasks common in high-stakes language tests and
introducing students to effective test-taking strategies. More specifically, after the course, students should
be able to…
1) In terms of knowledge of English lexico-grammar, pronunciation features, genres, and exam tasks (Bloom
taxonomy, Level 2)
O1-1 have a broad range of lexico-grammatical knowledge
O1-2 understand natural English pronunciation, with varying intonation and sentence stress
O1-3 recognize a wide range of idiomatic expressions, colloquialisms and register shifts;
O1-4 show familiarity with and confidence in handling a variety of language tasks present in different high-
stakes language tests.
2) In terms of communicative skills and exam strategies
O2-1 select appropriate language from a broad range to express themselves clearly with high degree of
accuracy, without having to restrict what they want to say (lexical and grammatical range); (Bloom L3)
O2-2 show a clear, natural pronunciation, and vary intonation and place sentence stress correctly in order to
express finer shades of meaning (phonological control); (Bloom L3)
O2-3 produce clear, smoothly flowing, well-structured speech, showing controlled use of organizational
patterns, connectors, and cohesive devices. (Bloom L4)
O2-4 adjust their writing with awareness of genres and registers (letters and personal correspondence,
formal and informal language); more specifically, adjust what they say and the means of expressing it to the
situation and the recipient and adopt a level of formality appropriate to the circumstances (flexibility)
(Bloom L3)
O2-5 layout, paragraph, and punctuate their writing consistently to promote effective communication
(orthographic control); (Bloom L3)
O2-6 effectively apply strategies to enhance their exam performance, including time management,
previewing questions and reviewing answers, using contexts to make predictions, and paraphrasing. (Bloom
L4)
3) In terms of ethics
O3-1 strictly comply with exam rules and codes of conduct.

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3. Learning resources
3.1 Required resources
- English 3C Course guide & Course book
- At least ONE reliable English-English dictionary, either paperback or online (such as those published
by Oxford, Cambridge, Longman, and Collins)
3.2 Recommended resources
- Authentic input (both written and recorded texts)
- Official guides to the latest versions of international English language tests (TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge
First and Cambridge Advanced, TOEIC, etc.)
- A range of exam preparation materials published by trusted publishers (such as Oxford, Cambridge,
Collins, and Longman, etc.).

4. Course syllabus

4.1 Summary of course contents:

READING WRITING LISTENING SPEAKING

Finding specific information &
detail
1- Sentence/table completion
2- Matching details
3- True/false/not given
Understanding main ideas
4- Gapped summary
5- Matching headings
Following arguments
6- Matching opinions
7- Yes/no/not given
Exam practice
1- Formality in 1- Completing 1- Getting to know each
language; Exchanging forms/ tables other
personal updates in (details)
letters 2- Personal interview
2- Completing questions:
2- Letters giving advice/ notes; Giving short a) Common topics &
recommendation/ answers to question types
feedback questions (main + b) Extending responses
details) c) Expressing attitudes
3- Letters of inquiries & and preferences
requests 3- Common
mistakes in gap- 3- Individual long turn
4- Exam practice 1 completion tasks a) Introduction to task
types
5- Letters explaining 4- Exam practice 1 b) Extending notes in a
problems and task card
suggesting solutions 5- Matching / c) Describing objects,
classifying (details) people, and places
6- Letters of complaint d) Responding to follow-
/ apology 6- Matching [main up questions
ideas + details +
7 Exam practice 2 inferences 4- Exam practice with
common topics
7- Exam practice 2

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4.2 Course schedule:
Pages in Students’
Weeks Macro skills Focus Book

Introduction to the course

1-2 Speaking Ice-breaking activities
Reading Unit 1: Gapped sentences & tables 4
Listening Unit 1: Completing forms / tables 58
Speaking Unit 1: Introduction to Personal interview questions 95
Unit 1: Introduction to letter writing in exams; Personal
Writing updates 138
3-4 Reading Unit 2: Matching details 10
Listening Unit 2: Completing notes; Short answers 65
Speaking Unit 2 Introduction to Individual long turn tasks 99
Topic 1 (Hobbies & Activities) 103 + 124
Writing Unit 2: Giving advice & recommendations 147
5-6 Reading Unit 3: True / False / Not given 18
Listening Unit 3: Common mistakes in gap-completion tasks 70
106 + 125 +
Speaking Topic 2 (Work, jobs & career) + Exam practice 1 120122
Writing Unit 3: Making inquiries & requests 153
Reading Unit 4: Gapped summaries 26
7 (Optional: Unit 7 Exam practice Part 1) (44)
Listening Unit 4: Exam practice (1) 76
Speaking Topic 3 (Travel & Cities) 108 + 127
Writing Unit 4: Exam practice (1) 160
8 Mid-term revision
9 Mid-term test (no speaking component)
10-11 Reading Unit 5: Matching headings 31
Listening Unit 5: Matching details 80
Speaking Topic 4: Family & Relationships 112 + 130
Writing Unit 5: Explaining problems & Suggesting solutions 162
12-13 Reading Unit 6: Yes / No / Not given; Matching 37
Listening Unit 6: Matching main ideas; Inferences 86
Speaking Topic 5: Health & Fitness 115 + 133
Writing Unit 6: Apology & Complaint 165
14-15 Reading Unit 7: Exam practice 44
Listening Unit 7: Exam practice 91
Speaking Topic 6: Foods & Diets + Exam practice 2 118 + 135 + 123

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 Writing Unit 7: Exam practice 170

5. Assessment
Students must complete all of the following assessment items to be able to pass the course.

Activity Description Weighting Due

- This is a speaking activity running throughout the

semester.
Mock- - Students are divided into pairs. Each pair is expected to
10% After week 2
interview perform two mock interviews in class. The pair who are
interviewers in Round 1 will be interviewees in Round 2
and vice versa.

Week 9.
- This is a written test of Listening, Reading, and Writing
Students are
that covers all the contents of weeks 1 to 8.
30% to be
- Successful test-takers are expected to perform at the
Mid-term test (each skill = informed of
B2+ level (CEFR).
10%) the exact
- A more detailed description of the test will be provided date &
for students in week 5. venues later.

- This is a written test of Listening, Reading, and Writing

that covers all the contents of weeks 10-15 (roughly
70% of the test), and weeks 1-8 (roughly 30% of the After week
test) 15. Students
60% are to be
- There is also a separate speaking test that covers some
End-term test (L, R, W, S informed of
contents of the speaking lessons in weeks 2-15.
each = 15%, the exact
- Successful test-takers are expected to perform at the dates &
B2+ to C1 level (CEFR). venues later.
- A more detailed description of the test will be provided
for students in week 14.

6. Policies & Guidelines

- Completion of all assessment items is a requirement for passing the course.
- Attendance in class is expected. Students who are absent from more than 20% of the lessons (~3
lessons or more) are not eligible for the end-term test, and thus cannot pass the course.

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 GUIDELINE ON THE PROJECT “MOCK INTERVIEW”
1. Description
- This is a speaking activity running throughout the semester.
- Students are divided into pairs. Each pair is expected to perform the role of both interviewers
and interviewees in 2 rounds.
ROUND 1:
Half of the number of pairs will be interviewers. Each pair will collect/ adapt/ compile one
speaking test following the format of 3C speaking test (Appendix 1 & 2). References must be
cited and all speaking tests need to be approved by the teacher before being used in in-class
mock interviews.
The other half of the class will be interviewees. They are supposed to have a mock interview in
class and their performance will be assessed by the teacher.
ROUND 2:
Students swap their roles, which means interviewers will become interviewees and vice versa.
2. Timeline
Week Activity Learning evidence
1 - Introduction to the project Pair formation
- Students form pairs and choose topics.
2 Interviewers (half of the number of pairs) submit their speaking Speaking tests
tests in soft copy for teacher’s feedback.
3 Interviewers revise, send the final draft of their speaking tests to Speaking tests
the whole class & submit their speaking tests in hard copy. (revised)
4 Mock interview 1, 2
5 Mock interview 3, 4
6 Mock interview 5, 6
7 Mock interview …
8 Interviewers (half of the number of pairs) submit their speaking Speaking tests
tests in soft copy for teacher’s feedback.
10 Interviewers revise, send the final draft of their speaking tests to Speaking tests
the whole class & submit their speaking tests in hard copy. (revised)
11 Mock interview …
12 Mock interview …
13 Mock interview …
14 Mock interview …
3. Project assessment
Students will be assessed through their performance in mock interview (when they play the role of the
interviewees). Assessment criteria can be found in Appendix 4.
Note: No submission of package of speaking tests means mark 0 for the project. Late submission of
package of speaking tests will be penalized (minus 1 mark for each day). No revision of package of
speaking tests (after receiving teacher’s feedback) will be penalized (minus 50% of Mock Interview score)

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APPENDIX 1: 3C SPEAKING TEST SPECIFICATIONS

 10 minutes
 Taken in pairs (assigned randomly)
 Part 1: Each student answers a number of questions on a given topic.
 Part 2: Both students have ONE minute to read their task cards and prepare for a short talk lasting
up to 2 minutes. After a student has delivered his/her talk, the examiner will ask the other student
one or two follow-up questions based on his/her partner’s speech. Hence, students are advised to
listen attentively to their partners.
 Assessment criteria: Fluency and coherence, Lexical resource, Grammatical range and accuracy,
Pronunciation.

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APPENDIX 2: 3C SPEAKING TEST SAMPLE

PART 1.1: Interview (4’)

Note: There is NO need for the examiner to ask all the questions. The time limit for Part 1 means that there
is usually enough time for around three questions. Extra questions have been included in case the candidate
gives very short responses.
A B
Now let’s talk about free time Now let’s talk about evenings

1 Who do you spend your free time with? 1 What do you often do in the evenings?
2 Do you wish you had more free time? Why (not)? 2 Do you often do the same thing every evening?
3 Have you given up anything you used to do in your 3 What is a popular activity for young people in
free time? If so, what? your country in the evenings?
4 Which other hobbies or sports would you like to try? 4 Do you prefer to spend your evenings with family
Do you share similar interests with your friends? or friends?
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5 Do you do the same things in the evening as you
did a few years ago?
PART 1.2: Individual long turn (6’)
Now let’s move on to Part 2.
In this part, I am going to give each of you a topic and I’d like you to talk about it for one to two minutes.
Before you talk, you will have one minute to think about what you are going to say.
You can make some notes if you wish. Do you understand?

Give the topic cards to two students and allow them to prepare within ONE minute.

Are you ready?

To Candidate A/B: Now I’d like to you talk about your topic for one to two minutes.
To Candidate B/A: In the meantime, please listen to your friend because I will ask you a number of questions
based on what he/she has just said.

A B
Follow-up questions for B
Describe a useful website you often visit. Do you know that website?
You should say: Do you find it useful to you?
What the website is
How you found it
What it contains
and explain why it is useful to you.

Follow-up questions for A

Describe an interesting conversation that you recently
Do you often have similar conversations? had. You should say:
Who do you often talk to most? Who your conversation partner was
Where it happened
What it was about
and explain why you found it interesting.

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APPENDIX 4. MARKING RUBRIC