UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS International General Certificate of Secondary Education

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE Paper 5 Oral Assessments A-E TEACHERS / EXAMINERS NOTES

0510/05
May/June 2009

Great care should be taken to ensure that any confidential information given does not reach the candidates either directly or indirectly. READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST This booklet contains: (a) administrative guidelines on conducting the tests (b) marking criteria (c) copies of Cards A-E, with Notes for Teacher/Examiner.

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This document consists of 13 printed pages and 3 blank pages.

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2 CONTENTS NOTES ON CONDUCTING AND RECORDING THE TESTS MARKING CRITERIA ORAL ASSESSMENT (Core and Extended) ORAL ASSESSMENT (Core and Extended) ORAL ASSESSMENT (Core and Extended) ORAL ASSESSMENT (Core and Extended) ORAL ASSESSMENT (Core and Extended) A Crime Page 3 Page 8 Page 9

Achievement

Page 10

The importance of music

Page 11

Humour

Page 12

Living in another country

Page 13

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3 NOTES ON CONDUCTING AND RECORDING THE TESTS

GENERAL 1. The oral tests take place in the period before the main examination session as notified on the timetable. Each Centre decides on a convenient period within these dates for its oral tests. It is recommended that the tests are conducted within one week to allow sufficient time for a single Examiner to conduct all of the tests. See Section 4 below. Centres must ensure well in advance of the tests that a suitably quiet room is available and that recording equipment is in good order. Centres must adhere to dates for completion of the oral tests and for the receipt of mark sheets and recordings at CIE to allow sufficient time for external moderation. It is vital that material does not arrive late. For Centres with 30 or fewer candidates, there should normally be just one Examiner. Each Centre will select its own Examiner. This is normally a teacher within the English language department, but could be someone local from outside the Centre. A group of neighbouring Centres might choose the same teacher to conduct all their tests; in such a case each Centre is still responsible for submitting properly completed forms and samples. CIE is not responsible for any fees agreed. Centres with more than 30 candidates may use more than one Examiner (applying the ratio of an additional Examiner for each 30 candidates). If using more than one Examiner, internal moderation must be carried out by the Centre so that a common standard is applied to all candidates. 5. Centres receive a set of Oral Assessment Cards accompanying this set of Examiners Notes. Teachers/Examiners responsible for conducting the oral tests should familiarise themselves with these materials before the tests are held. These materials must remain confidential and must be kept in a secure place by the Centre until the end of the examination period. Each Centre must send to CIE the following: (a) recorded sample on cassette(s) or CD(s); (b) completed MS1 Forms; (c) completed Oral Examination Summary Form(s): (a) Recorded sample Each Centre must provide a sample of oral tests, to be recorded on cassette(s) or CD(s). The size of the sample required is given in the instructions on the back of the Oral Examination Summary Form. Please ensure that you do not send the recordings of all the candidates (unless there are 10 or fewer). Ideally the sample should be transferred to one or two cassettes or CDs. The teacher responsible for internal standardisation at the Centre must ensure that the sample covers the whole mark range of the candidates at the Centre, with marks spaced as evenly as possible from the top mark to the lowest mark. Where there is more than one teacher involved, the sample must include, in equal number, candidates tested by all teachers. For instructions on recording the samples see Section 15 below. Cassettes/CDs must be sent to CIE together with completed documents. Cassettes/CDs must be clearly labelled with details of the candidates whose interviews have been submitted.

2.

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4 (b) Form MS1 The computer-printed school based assessment mark sheet (Form MS1) has three parts: The top sheet must be sent to CIE in the separate envelope provided. The middle sheet (which is for the External Moderators use) must be sent separately to CIE, together with the sample recording and Oral Examination Summary Form(s). The bottom sheet must be retained by the Centre in case of postal loss or subsequent enquiries, until after the issue of results.

Form MS1 is to be completed by transferring the mark for each candidate from the Total Mark column on the Oral Examination Summary Form. (c) Oral Examination Summary Form This is a document on which marks for each candidate are to be entered in detail. Instructions for its completion will be found on the reverse of the form. The form must be submitted together with the recorded sample and the middle MS1 copy. Please be careful to check all mark additions. The Oral Examination Summary Form must show the breakdown of marks for all the candidates, not just those selected for the sample. Please put an asterisk (*) against the names of candidates whose interviews have been submitted on the cassette(s)/CD(s). 7. The sample cassette(s)/CD(s) along with completed MS1 and Oral Examination Summary Form should be returned to CIE as soon as the oral tests have been completed at the Centre. Please do not wait until the end of the assessment period before sending them.

CONDUCTING THE ORAL TESTS 8. The oral tests should proceed along the following lines: (A) Start the recording. Give the candidates name and number. Welcome the candidate and explain briefly what is going to happen in the course of the test. (B) Warm-up section: conduct a general conversation by asking the candidate a few questions about herself/himself, hobbies and interests etc., to give the candidate time to get used to the examination situation. The purpose of this section of the test is to put candidates at their ease. As a guide, about 23 minutes should be spent on this section. (C) Hand the Oral Assessment Card to the candidate. This must take place AFTER the warm-up has taken place. Any necessary explanation should be given at this point, followed by a short preparation period (approximately 23 minutes), when the candidate is at liberty to ask questions. The candidate may not make notes during this period. The recording should be paused by the Examiner while the candidate considers the Topic Card. The Examiner should indicate this by saying The recording will now be paused so that the External Moderator knows that the candidate is being given time to study the card.

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5 (D) Main part of the test: conversation based on the Oral Assessment Card. Either the Examiner or the candidate may start the conversation. The notes in this booklet on each card give some suggestions about questions and prompts which might be used. This section of the test should last approximately 69 minutes. The total duration of the oral test, from the beginning of (B) to the end of (D), should be approximately 1012 minutes. Note that only (D) is to be assessed. The oral test must be conducted in English throughout. 9. Examination conditions must prevail in the area where the oral tests take place. Adequate supervision must be provided to ensure that candidates leaving the room for the oral tests do not communicate with those waiting to enter.

10. No other person should be present during the oral test, with the exception of another Teacher/Examiner, Moderator or representative of CIE. 11. Candidates may be examined singly or in pairs. If paired examining is used, then please note the following:

It is important for the External Moderator to know which candidate is speaking at any one time. This should be achieved by pairing two candidates whose voices are clearly dissimilar. Avoid pairing candidates with the same first names. A conversation must be maintained. Do not let the candidates enter into an informal chat at any time. In this respect, it may be best not to pair good friends. Do not let a candidate ask a series of questions the conversation must be equal (in terms of contribution) and at no time should one candidate proceed to interview the other. The Examiner should maintain a stronger presence in pair-examining. It is not appropriate for the Examiner to just sit back and let the candidates get on with it. The Examiner needs to direct/control/monitor the conversation more than when examining candidates singly. It may be that the Examiner needs to intervene more often to ensure appropriate and fair discussion, and to maintain the thread/topic. It is best not to pair a strong candidate with a weak one. Try to pair candidates of roughly equal ability. Think again if you are examining in pairs simply to speed up the process of completing the Oral Tests. Please recognise that the candidates should be given their best chance of success which might not occur when talking in a pair with an unsuitable partner. Do not give the paired candidates different Topic Cards. The conversation must be a threeway conversation based on a single topic.

12. Candidates are not allowed to bring any notes into the examination room, nor are they allowed to consult dictionaries. 13. A range of Oral Assessment Cards is provided, and the Examiner (not the candidate) chooses the card to be used for each candidate. As wide a variety as possible of the cards should be used during the oral tests at the Centre. In order that candidates are given every chance to do themselves justice, the Assessment Card should be selected with care. The warm-up may give the Examiner an indication of the best card to select. Remember that the test is one of spoken language not subject knowledge: if it becomes apparent that the candidate finds the topic difficult or inappropriate it is perfectly permissible to move into more productive areas. There is no need to stick rigidly to the Examiner prompts in such cases.
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6 14. The Examiner should be positioned so that s/he is facing the candidate, with a table or desk in between. Candidates should not be able to see notes made on Oral Examination Summary Forms or similar paperwork.

RECORDING THE SAMPLE 15. Centres must ensure that their recording equipment is in good working order. The recorder and the cassette(s)/CD(s) should be tested on site, some time before the actual oral tests, ideally with one of the candidates. The warm-up section of the test also provides an opportunity to check audibility. Where possible it is advisable to use a recorder with external microphones so that separate microphones can be used for candidate and Examiner. If only one microphone is used it should be placed facing the candidate. It is important to check audibility levels before recording begins; adjustments to the volume control during an examination should normally be avoided. Care should be taken to avoid extraneous noise and long gaps. Checks should be made throughout the oral testing session to ensure that voices are clearly audible. With the exception of a permitted pause between the warm-up and the main part of the test (see Section 8 above), once the oral test has begun the recording should run without interruption. For Centres using cassette tapes, the recording must begin at the start of side 1 of the cassette, and both sides of the cassette should be used before beginning a new cassette. A candidates oral test should not be started on one side and continue over to the second side. At the end of examining on each side of the cassette the Examiner should state No further recordings on this side. Each cassette/CD should begin with a clear statement by the Examiner as follows: Centre Number: Centre Name: Examination: Examiner Name: Date: [e.g.] [e.g.] 0510 [e.g.] [e.g.] AZ 999 Abcxyz Academy English as a Second Language Ms Z. Abced 1 April 2009

Each candidate recorded on the sample should be clearly indicated on the recording by the teacher as follows: Candidate Number: Candidate Name: [e.g.] 0021 [e.g.] Abdi Zachariah

At the end of the sample the Examiner should state clearly End of Sample. Before the cassette/CD is despatched, spot checks must be made to ensure that every candidate is clearly audible. Cassettes should then be rewound to the start of Side 1. The contents of each cassette/CD must be clearly labelled.

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7 GENERAL ADVICE 16. Please bear the following in mind when marking: Be objective. Do not allow any knowledge of a candidates personality and attributes to influence objective assessment. For example, knowledge that a candidate is very conscientious in her homework is irrelevant in assessing her oral test. If the candidates performance is affected because s/he faces difficult circumstances or personal problems at the time of the test, this is a matter to be dealt with via Special Considerations procedures, for which Exams Officers at Centres complete separate documentation. Oral Test Examiners must not make any separate allowance themselves in such cases. Be realistic. Remember that it is not necessary for a candidate to be of native speaker standard to be given maximum marks within any single category. But knowledge of a candidates first language must not lead a marker to ignore particular habitual errors and overlook inaccuracy. Be consistent. It is important that the marking criteria are applied in the same way for all the candidates at the Centre, so that a reliable rank order for the Centre is obtained. Be positive. Marking the test should be seen as giving credit for what candidates can do, not penalising them for what they cannot do. This does not mean that matters of inaccuracy in, for example, grammar and pronunciation are to be overlooked, but is a reminder that an IGCSE oral test is intended to credit positive achievement. 17. To conduct oral tests effectively, good Examiners: always put candidates at their ease from the outset (smiling as candidates enter the room, indicating where they should sit etc.) while maintaining a clear sense that the oral test is being conducted in a formal examination situation never walk about or distract candidates always appear interested, even in mundane matters never interrupt with their own views never correct mistakes never show undue surprise or impatience never give the impression that there must be right answers to questions always bring the best out of their candidates by asking open questions which allow candidates to respond at length, not strings of closed questions prompting yes/no answers never conduct the oral test as if it is a test of knowledge never indicate their opinion of candidates performance during or after the oral test a good Examiner will normally send a candidate out of the test smiling, no matter how good or bad the candidates performance has been.

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8 MARKING CRITERIA Give a mark out of 10 for each category (structure, vocabulary, development and fluency), and then add these marks to give an overall total out of 30.
Mark Structure The candidate demonstrates ability to use a variety of structures accurately and consistently. The candidate is confidently in control of the structures used. Vocabulary The candidate shows enough command of vocabulary to respond with precision. Shades of meaning are achieved and some sophisticated ideas are communicated. Development and Fluency The candidate shows sustained ability to maintain a conversation and to contribute at some length. The candidate can respond to change in direction of the conversation. Pronunciation and intonation is clear.

9-10

7-8

Structures will be generally sound, but will not be used entirely accurately or with consistent confidence. There will be some errors in attempting to use more complex sentences.

The candidate has a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey information and ideas with competence. Errors are noticeable, however, when attempting to use more complex and precise vocabulary. Vocabulary conveys simple ideas and information clearly, though it is not wide or varied. There may be hesitation, repetition and searching for words.

The candidate responds relevantly and at length which makes frequent prompting unnecessary, resulting in a competent conversation. Pronunciation and intonation is generally clear. The candidate makes an attempt to respond to questions and prompts. Effort will need to be made to develop the conversation; only partial success will be achieved. There is some lack of clarity of pronunciation and intonation, but it is unlikely to impede communication.

The candidate can use simple structures securely but has difficulty venturing beyond them.

5-6

Structures will generally be very simple, limited and with errors, which will restrict communication.

Vocabulary will generally be inadequate to convey simple ideas.

3-4

Responses tend to be brief and widely spaced. The candidate has to be encouraged to go beyond short responses and struggles to develop a conversation. Pronunciation and intonation causes some communication difficulty.

1-2

Attempts at structured sentences will rarely achieve communication. However, some attempt at a response will be made during the discussion.

Use of single words is the norm and there will be long gaps.

Responses are so brief that little is communicated. The candidate hardly engages in a conversation. Pronunciation and intonation patterns cause difficulty for even the most sympathetic listener.

Completely limited/no attempt at a response.

Completely limited/no attempt at a response.

Completely limited/no attempt at a response.

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A Crime Candidates Card Crime is increasing in some countries. Discuss issues related to crime with the Examiner. You may wish to consider such things as: any ways in which crime has affected you or might affect you directly which crimes are serious and which crimes are minor whether you think the punishment for committing crime in your country is strict enough some reasons why people commit crime and how it could be prevented why you think that in some places crime is on the increase.

You are free to consider any other ideas of your own. You are not allowed to make any written notes.

Notes for Teacher/Examiner

Phase 1: Warm-up Ask the candidate a few questions about herself/himself to give her/him time to get used to the exam situation. Do not mark this phase.

Phase 2: Initial Task Hand the assessment card to the candidate and go through the instructions to make sure the candidate understands what has to be done. The candidate should be given a few minutes to read through the task and prepare. No written notes should be made.

Phase 3: Development Discuss with the candidate the ideas and suggestions put forward.

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B Achievement Candidates Card Most of us have aims, goals or targets in our lives. Discuss this idea with the Examiner. You may wish to consider such things as: what you have done so far in your life that you are proud of any aims or goals you have set yourself for the future achievement by other people that has impressed you what can be learned from failure to achieve how a nation can be judged in terms of its achievement.

You are free to consider any other ideas of your own. You are not allowed to make any written notes.

Notes for Teacher/Examiner

Phase 1: Warm-up Ask the candidate a few questions about herself/himself to give her/him time to get used to the exam situation. Do not mark this phase.

Phase 2: Initial Task Hand the assessment card to the candidate and go through the instructions to make sure the candidate understands what has to be done. The candidate should be given a few minutes to read through the task and prepare. No written notes should be made.

Phase 3: Development Discuss with the candidate the ideas and suggestions put forward.

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C The importance of music Candidates Card Many people listen to music for pleasure, but music can be more important in our lives. Discuss this idea with the Examiner. You may wish to consider such things as: different types of music that you know about the effect that music you like has on you how music can affect people in different ways why nations have musical anthems and traditions how people would cope in a world without music.

You are free to consider any other ideas of your own. You are not allowed to make any written notes.

Notes for Teacher/Examiner

Phase 1: Warm-up Ask the candidate a few questions about herself/himself to give her/him time to get used to the exam situation. Do not mark this phase.

Phase 2: Initial Task Hand the assessment card to the candidate and go through the instructions to make sure the candidate understands what has to be done. The candidate should be given a few minutes to read through the task and prepare. No written notes should be made.

Phase 3: Development Discuss with the candidate the ideas and suggestions put forward.

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D Humour Candidates Card What makes one person laugh can make another person cry. Discuss humour with the Examiner. You may wish to consider such things as: what makes you laugh some humorous people you know and what makes them amusing how important it is to have a sense of humour the idea that humour does not necessarily need words to make us laugh how certain types of humour can be cruel or damaging.

You are free to consider any other ideas of your own. You are not allowed to make any written notes.

Notes for Teacher/Examiner

Phase 1: Warm-up Ask the candidate a few questions about herself/himself to give her/him time to get used to the exam situation. Do not mark this phase.

Phase 2: Initial Task Hand the assessment card to the candidate and go through the instructions to make sure the candidate understands what has to be done. The candidate should be given a few minutes to read through the task and prepare. No written notes should be made.

Phase 3: Development Discuss with the candidate the ideas and suggestions put forward.

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E Living in another country Candidates Card There are many people in the world who have never travelled outside their home country; there are many other people who live a long way from home. Discuss this situation with the Examiner. You may wish to consider such things as: your experiences of living at home or abroad a country in which you would particularly like to live the advantages and disadvantages of living in a different country reasons why some people can never leave their homeland or choose not to leave their homeland how true it is to say that the world is now a global community.

You are free to consider any other ideas of your own. You are not allowed to make any written notes.

Notes for Teacher/Examiner

Phase 1: Warm-up Ask the candidate a few questions about herself/himself to give her/him time to get used to the exam situation. Do not mark this phase.

Phase 2: Initial Task Hand the assessment card to the candidate and go through the instructions to make sure the candidate understands what has to be done. The candidate should be given a few minutes to read through the task and prepare. No written notes should be made.

Phase 3: Development Discuss with the candidate the ideas and suggestions put forward.

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Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity. University of Cambridge International Examinations is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is itself a department of the University of Cambridge.

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