FCE Information for Teachers - Oxford Online Placement Test

oxford english testing.com Information for teachers about online FCE practice tests from www.oxford english testing.com What is oxfordenglishtesting.com? • It’s a website that gives students and teachers of English access to interactive practice tests.

oxford english testing.com

• It’s where students who have bought OUP materials can access online practice tests via a MultiROM, and buy more if they wish.

What do the online FCE practice tests consist of? The FCE online practice tests reflect what happens in the real exam, in the same way as printed practice tests from Oxford University Press. The practice tests are complete and full length. For an overview of the content of FCE, see page 4. Students do not print the tests in order to do them. They take them online and they are marked automatically online. In addition, there is a range of help features that students can call on while they are doing the test. These include dictionary look-up, exam tips, audio scripts, the ability to mark and change individual answers, and get feedback on answers. See page 3 for more details on these features. The combination of online marking and help features makes the practice tests ideal for self-study at home or in the classroom.

How do students take an online practice test? Students can do a practice test in their own time wherever they have access to a computer and the Internet. They will need an email address and to be online when they do the tests. Students have access to the test for 365 days from the time payment is received, or from the time they start the test. Students do not have to do the whole test at one time. They can answer and then mark a question, a part, a paper, or the whole test. All their answers are automatically saved when they leave the site, and they can come back to the test at any time. They can also skip questions and come back to them later. Students can monitor their progress via the Test Overview, which records questions not attempted, attempted but not marked, right and wrong answers, and questions that cannot be marked online. Students can also print the Test Overview and Results page. After 365 days they have to submit the test for final marking.

Marking the practice test The system can automatically mark the FCE Reading, Use of English, and Listening papers. Where students are asked to key in their answers, the automatic marking system will only accept words that are spelt correctly. Answers may be typed in upper case or lower case, but not a mixture of the two (e.g. ‘CORRECT ANSWER’ and ‘correct answer’ are acceptable, but not ‘Correct answer’, unless at the start of a sentence, or a proper name). Both British and American spelling are accepted.

FCE Information for teachers

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When students take their answer from a text provided, they should make sure they copy the word exactly. The system cannot automatically mark the FCE Writing and Speaking papers. However, these parts of the test are provided online, along with exam tips, sample answers for the Writing paper, and useful language for the Speaking paper, in order to provide practice of the complete test. The Speaking papers are also available as downloadable PDFs via the link from the learning resources section of the My Tests page. As the system cannot automatically mark the FCE Writing and Speaking papers online, the default result will exclude these papers. The result the students see includes totals for each of the marked parts and a percentage. It also gives an indication as to whether the score is equivalent to a pass or not. For the Writing paper, your students can enter their answers online, and have the choice of printing them or emailing them to you for marking. They can then enter the marks you give them on the Results page, after they have submitted all their answers for final marking. Their final score will then be adjusted to take these marks into account. If you wish, you can also conduct the Speaking test with students and they can enter their marks on the Results page on the website. Their final score will then be adjusted to take these marks into account.If students want to enter marks for Writing and Speaking they need to enter them at the same time. Finally, it is important to remember that these are practice tests, not the real exam, and so the final mark is only an indication of how your students might perform in the real exam. See pages 5–6 for more information on assessing the Writing paper and pages 7–8 for more information on assessing the Speaking paper.

Where can I find out more about oxfordenglishtesting.com? For more help, click on the Support tab on the website, www.oxfordenglishtesting.com. You’ll find a comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) covering technical issues, registering, buying tests, doing tests, and other topics. There is a demo on the homepage of the website that will give you a clear understanding of the site and the practice tests. You can also contact us at [email protected]


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Features of the online practice tests Exam tips

There is a tip on how to answer every question type.

Dictionary look-up

Students can look up the meaning of any word in the practice test. They just double click it and a definition will pop up from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. They will need to have pop-up windows enabled.

Instant marking and feedback

When a student has answered a question, they can mark it straight away to see whether they got it right. If the answer was wrong, they can get Feedback to find out why it was wrong.

Change your answer or try again

Students can then go back and have another go as many times as they like. Understanding why they answered a question incorrectly helps them think more clearly about a similar question next time.

Save and come back later

Students don’t have to complete a Paper in one go. When they log out it saves what they’ve done. They can come back to it at any time. Students have 365 days before they have to submit the practice test for final marking. The My tests page tells students how many days they have left to access the test.

Mark individual answers, a part, a paper, or the whole test

However much students have done of the practice test, they can mark it and see how well they’re doing.

Audio scripts

These are available for all parts of the Listening test. Reading the Audio script will help students understand any areas they didn’t understand when they were listening.

Sample answers for essay questions in the Writing paper

Students can see Sample answers after they’ve written their own. They’ve been written by real students, and will give them a good idea of what’s expected. What they write will not be marked automatically. If you would like to mark your student’s essay, tell them and they can either print it off to give to you, or email it to you. When you’ve marked it, they can enter the mark on their Results page. It does not matter if they do not enter a mark for the essay. The final marks will be adjusted to take that into account.

Useful language for the Speaking paper

Students get sample Speaking papers and Useful language to help them practise offline. If you want to assess your students they can print the Speaking paper from the My tests page, and ask you to do the Speaking paper with them. As with the Writing paper, you can give them a mark and they can enter the mark on the Results page. However, if you don’t, their final marks will be adjusted to take that into account.

Results page

Remember this is a practice test not the real exam. Students will see their score by paper and part and as a percentage. This will only be an indication as to whether their score is equivalent to a pass or not.

Try a sample test first

You can try out a short version of a practice test yourself. Go to oxfordenglishtesting.com and click on Try. You can also ask your local OUP office for a demo.


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FCE content and overview Paper

Content

Test focus

Marks

Paper 1

Part 1 A text followed by eight multiple-choice questions.

READING

Part 2 A text from which seven sentences have been removed and placed in jumbled order, together with an additional sentence, after the text.

Candidates are expected to show understanding of specific information, text organization features, tone, and text structure.

45 marks (20% of the total score)

30 questions 1 hour

Part 3 A text or several short texts preceded by 15 multiple-matching questions.

Parts 1 and 2: 2 marks per correct answer Part 3: 1 mark per correct answer

Part 1 One compulsory question.

WRITING

Part 2 Candidates choose one task from a choice of five questions (including the set text options).

2 questions 1 hour 20 minutes

Paper 3 USE OF ENGLISH 42 questions 45 minutes

Part 1 A modified cloze test containing 12 gaps and followed by 12 multiple-choice items. Part 2 A modified open cloze test containing 12 gaps. Part 3 A text containing 10 gaps. Each gap corresponds to a word. The stems of the missing words are given beside the text, and must be changed to form the missing word.

Candidates are expected to be able to write nonspecialized text types such as an article, an essay, a letter, an email, a report, a review, or a short story, with a focus on advising, apologizing, comparing, describing, explaining, expressing opinions, justifying, persuading, recommending, suggesting.


Candidates are expected to demonstrate the ability to apply their knowledge of the language system by completing a number of tasks.


LISTENING 30 questions About 45 minutes

Part 1 A series of eight unrelated short extracts from monologues or exchanges between interacting speakers. There is one multiple-choice question per extract. Part 2 A monologue or text involving interacting speakers, with a sentence completion task which has 10 questions. Part 3 Five short related monologues, with five multiplematching questions.

Parts 1, 2, 3: 1 mark per correct answer Part 4: up to 2 marks per correct answer

Part 4 Eight separate questions, each with a lead-in sentence and a gapped second sentence to be completed in two to five words, one of which is a given ‘key word’. Paper 4

20 marks per question

Candidates are expected to be able to show understanding of attitude, detail, function, genre, gist, main idea, opinion, place, purpose, situation, specific information, relationship, topic, agreement, etc.


Candidates are expected to be able to respond to questions and to interact in conversational English.


FCE content and overview reproduced with the permission of Cambridge ESOL

Paper 2

1 mark per correct answer

Part 4 A monologue or text involving interacting speakers, with seven multiple-choice questions. Paper 5 SPEAKING 4 parts 14 minutes

Part 1 A conversation between the interlocutor and each candidate (spoken questions). Part 2 An individual ‘long turn’ for each candidate, with a brief response from the second candidate (visual and written stimuli, with spoken instructions). Part 3 A two-way conversation between candidates (visual and written stimuli, with spoken instructions). Part 4 A discussion on topics related to Part 3 (spoken questions).

Marked according to global achievement and four analytical criteria.


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Preparing for the Writing paper In Part 1 of the Writing paper students write a letter or email. In Part 2 they write either an article, an essay, a letter, a report, a review, or a story, one task to be selected from a choice of five. Below are some suggestions for ways in which you can prepare your students to achieve top marks in the Writing paper. • Ensure that students are familiar with the range of task types and topics so that they can identify those which match their own interests and experience. • Train students to read the questions carefully, underlining the most important parts. They should make sure they include all the content points as missing one of them out means that the task is not adequately achieved. This will result in students being penalized. • Students should make sure they write approximately the right number of words. If they write too little, it is likely that the task has not been successfully completed; overlong pieces of writing may involve irrelevance, repetition, or poor organization. • Students need to think carefully about the target reader for each task and try to write in an appropriate style and tone. • Give your students plenty of practice in planning and structuring their writing so that the flow of their ideas is logical and easy to follow. For example, they need to be able to write in paragraphs and use a variety of linking words, such as Furthermore, Moreover, Anyway, etc. • Encourage your students to use a range of complex language. Even if they make some mistakes, they will get credit for the complex language attempted, as long as the mistakes do not impede communication. • Remind students that in the email tasks they will be expected to write grammatically correct sentences with accurate spelling and punctuation in a style suited to the situation and target reader. The abbreviated language used in text messages will not be considered appropriate to the task. • Give your students plenty of practice in writing the types of texts they will find in the exam. For example, they need to be able to open and close both formal and informal letters appropriately; they need to be able to write in a report format and construct an essay and a short story. They should also be encouraged to read a wide range of reviews to help them write their own review.

Assessing the Writing paper Students’ answers should be assessed with reference to two mark schemes: one based on the overall impression; the other on the requirements of the particular task. The General Impression Mark Scheme (see page 6) refers to the content, organization and cohesion, range of structures and vocabulary, accuracy, register and format, and the target reader indicated in the task. The Task Specific Mark Scheme focuses on criteria specific to each particular task. The sample answers included on the website for each Writing paper summarize the expected content of each question and provide a band score on the General Impression Mark Scheme. It should be remembered that the assessments provided in the sample answers can only offer an indication of performance in the real exam.


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General Impression Mark Scheme BAND 5 For a Band 5 to be awarded, the candidate’s writing fully achieves the desired effect on the target reader. All the content points required in the task are included and expanded appropriately. Ideas are organized effectively, with the use of a variety of linking devices and a wide range of structure and vocabulary. The language is well developed, and any errors that do occur are minimal and perhaps due to ambitious attempts at more complex language. Register and format which is consistently appropriate to the purpose of the task and the audience is used. BAND 4 For a Band 4 to be awarded, the candidate’s writing achieves the desired effect on the target reader. All the content points required in the task are included. Ideas are clearly organized, with the use of suitable linking devices and a good range of structure and vocabulary. Generally, the language is accurate, and any errors that do occur are mainly due to attempts at more complex language. Register and format which is, on the whole, appropriate to the purpose of the task and the audience is used.

For a Band 3 to be awarded, the candidate’s writing, on the whole, achieves the desired effect on the target reader. All the content points required in the task are included. Ideas are organized adequately, with the use of simple linking devices and an adequate range of structure and vocabulary. A number of errors may be present, but they do not impede communication. A reasonable, if not always successful, attempt is made at register and format which is appropriate to the purpose of the task and the audience. BAND 2 For a Band 2 to be awarded, the candidate’s writing does not clearly communicate the message to the target reader. Some content points required in the task are inadequately covered or omitted, and/or there is some irrelevant material. Ideas are inadequately organized, linking devices are rarely used, and the range of structure and vocabulary is limited. Errors distract the reader and may obscure communication at times. Attempts at appropriate register and format are unsuccessful or inconsistent. BAND 1 For a Band 1 to be awarded, the candidate’s writing has a very negative effect on the target reader. There is notable omission of content points and/or considerable irrelevance, possibly due to misinterpretation of the task. There is a lack of organization or linking devices, and there is little evidence of language control. The range of structure and vocabulary is narrow, and frequent errors obscure communication. There is little or no awareness of appropriate register and format. BAND 0 For a Band zero to be awarded, there is either too little language for assessment or the candidate’s writing is totally irrelevant or totally illegible.

FCE Writing paper General Impression Mark Scheme reproduced with the permission of Cambridge ESOL

BAND 3


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Preparing for the Speaking paper See page 4 for an overview of the contents of the Speaking paper. Below is a brief summary of each part of the test and suggestions for ways in which students can prepare for them.

Part 1 Students answer a range of questions about their everyday life, for example sports, travel and holidays, work experience, etc. Encourage your students to look for opportunities to socialize with English speakers, if possible. In class, they could role-play social occasions in which they meet new people, e.g. parties, train journeys, starting a new job. Students could brainstorm possible questions from the categories above. The different groups could then answer each other’s questions. Students should not use prepared speeches as they might not be appropriate for the question asked.

Part 2 Students compare two thematically linked photographs and answer a question about their partner’s photographs. Teach your students to listen carefully to the instructions and to carry them out. They should listen carefully to the instructions which follow the words ‘and say’ and read the question accompanying the photographs. If they do not do this they may miss the focus of the task and not produce a wide enough range of language, or they may find it difficult to speak for the full minute. Students sometimes find that a minute is quite a long time to talk. Give your students practice at talking for a minute about a given topic. You could use topics and visuals in FCE coursebooks for this. You could also use thematically linked pairs of photographs from magazines or encourage students to bring their own photographs to class. For example, you might choose photographs of two different types of holiday and ask your students to compare the photographs and say what people would enjoy about a holiday in each of the different places. Give your students plenty of practice in organizing an extended turn and in linking their ideas together. Students are not expected to give detailed descriptions of each picture. They are asked to compare the pictures and to give their reaction to them. Get your students to work in pairs or small groups and to share their ideas about what they might say about a pair of photographs. Encourage them to practise ways of expressing similarity and difference, e.g. ‘one similarity is that ...’; ‘In this picture there’s … whereas in the other there’s …’ and to use comparatives and linking words effectively.

Part 3 This is a two-way conversation between two students, who use spoken instructions and written and visual stimuli to carry out a decision-making task. It is very important for candidates to interact with each other when they carry out the Part 3 task. All classroom discussion in pairs and small groups, therefore, provides excellent preparation. Give your students plenty of practice in discussion tasks in which they are expected to make positive contributions to move the discussion forward. They should be able to respond to each other’s contributions by agreeing, disagreeing politely, and questioning each other. They should be able to express and justify opinions. In classroom activities, one student in each group could be made responsible for ensuring that every member of the group gets an equal opportunity to speak, so that the students become alerted to the importance of turn-taking.


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Part 4 In this part of the test students discuss further the topics introduced in Part 3. Encourage your students to give full answers to the questions asked, for example by giving reasons for their answers. Let your students practise asking each other for their opinions on everyday situations and current events. Classroom discussions in pairs and small groups provide excellent preparation. In order to raise awareness of the types of questions asked and of effective ways of answering them, it may be helpful to give pairs of students different topics and to ask each pair to think of six discussion questions for their topic. These sets of questions could then be exchanged by the different pairs and discussed. Remind students that there are no right answers to the questions and candidates will not be judged on their opinions, only on the language they use to express them. It is quite acceptable for candidates to admit to not knowing much about a particular question, but they should be taught to expand on their views wherever possible and should be discouraged from making responses such as ‘I don’t know’, ‘I’m not sure’ or ‘I haven’t thought about that’.

Assessing the Speaking paper A total of 40 marks are allocated in the Speaking test, making 20% of the total score for the whole examination. Assessment is based on performance in the whole test, and is not related to performance in particular parts of the test. Students are assessed on their own performance, and not in relation to each other. Marks are awarded by the assessor, who does not take part in the test, according to four analytical criteria: Grammar and Vocabulary, Discourse Management, Pronunciation, and Interactive Communication. The interlocutor, who conducts the test, gives a mark for Global Achievement. Grammar and Vocabulary This refers to the accurate and appropriate use of a range of grammatical forms and vocabulary. Performance is viewed in terms of the overall effectiveness of the language used in spoken interaction. Discourse Management This refers to the candidate’s ability to link utterances together to form coherent speech, without undue hesitation. The utterances should be relevant to the tasks and should be arranged logically to develop the themes or arguments required by the tasks. Pronunciation This refers to the candidate’s ability to produce intelligible utterances to fulfil the task requirements. This includes stress and intonation as well as individual sounds. Examiners put themselves in the position of a non-ESOL specialist and assess the overall impact of the pronunciation and the degree of effort required to understand the candidate.


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Interactive Communication This refers to the candidate’s ability to take an active part in the development of the discourse. This requires an ability to participate in the range of interactive situations in the test and to develop discussions on a range of topics by initiating and responding appropriately. This also refers to the deployment of strategies to maintain interaction at an appropriate level throughout the test so that the tasks can be fulfilled. Global Achievement This refers to the candidate’s overall effectiveness in dealing with the tasks in the four separate parts of the FCE Speaking test. The global mark is an independent impression mark which reflects the assessment of the candidate’s performance from the interlocutor’s perspective. FCE Speaking test analytical criteria reproduced with the permission of Cambridge ESOL.

Go to http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/general-english/fce.html for more information about the FCE exam, and why it might benefit you.


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