Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Evaluation criteria
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Format
2 candidates participate in decision-making task
Each candidate is given descriptions of 2 different
options
During 5 stages, candidates collaborate to decide
on, present and defend a single option
Entire test lasts approx. 25-35 minutes (paired
format), approx. 35-45 minutes (3-way format)
Two examiners:
Examiner 1 conducts stages 1-4, participates in stage 1
and gives instructions and monitors stages 2-4
Examiner 2 participates in stages 4 and 5
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Evaluation
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Level C Descriptors
Discourse and Interaction:
¾ Production of Independent, Extended, Spontaneous Speech
Adequately summarizes information; may rely on written material
periodically
Elaborates, often without prompting
Presents decisions clearly and often appropriately
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Stage 1: Introductions and Small Talk
2-3 minutes
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Stage 1: How to Help Students Develop
Conversational Skills
Encourage Ss to personalize the language they
are learning
Use language structures and vocabulary to
talk about their own lives and opinions
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Stage 1: Activity 2 - Practice Providing
Expanded Responses
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Stage 2: Summarizing and Recommending
Summarizing
Each candidate is given sheet with descriptions of 2 options
(in note form)
Candidates are given 2-3 minutes to read their sheet
Candidates CANNOT look at partner’s sheet
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Stage 2: Skills Needed for This Stage
Summarizing:
Determine which bullet point (s) is/are clearly
negative
Transfer telegraphic language to communicative
spoken form
Organize bullet points, connecting them and
elaborating on each
Seek clarification
Recommending an option
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Stage 2: Skills needed for Summarizing
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Stage 2: Summarizing - Determining Which
Bullet Point is Negative
Applicant for a High School Science Teacher Position
Mary Thompson
15 years of experience as a science teacher
Good reputation with students and teachers
Creative lesson plans
Does lots of experiments
Organizes many field trips
Has lost students’ tests several times
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Stage 2: Summarizing - Transferring from Note
Form to Communicative Spoken Form
Note form: Communicative spoken form:
15 years of experience as ¾ Mary has taught science for 15 years.
a science teacher
Organizes many field ¾ She plans field trips for her students.
trips
Has lost tests several ¾ She sometimes can’t find her Ss’ tests.
times
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Stage 2: Summarizing - Organizing Bullet
Points, Connecting them and Elaborating
Candidate needs to connect bullet points and to develop
and expand on each one:
This teacher has taught for 15 years, which means she has a lot
of experience. Students like her because her lesson plans are
interesting. In her lessons she asks the students to do many
experiments. She also plans field trips for her students. She isn’t
always organized, though, because she sometimes can’t find her
students’ tests.
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Stage 2: Summarizing - Example of Connected,
Developed Spoken Text
“Mary has fifteen years of experience as a science teacher, I mean, she has
taught science for fifteen years….That’s a long time to teach. So, lots of
experience. Let’s see, what else…it says here that she has a good
reputation as a teacher. Students like her…teachers like her, too. Uh…it
seems everybody likes her, maybe because she does lots of um…
experiments in class. She does them so that the students can practice what
they’re studying. They like to learn that way. Let’s see what else…Another
good thing about Mary, she’s creative with her lesson plans. You know, not
the same way of teaching all the time, which is boring. Students also like
the field trips that she organizes. They go to lots of places, like museums, to
learn about science….Places outside of school. The bad thing about Mary,
though, is that she has lost students’ tests more than once. That’s not such
a good thing about her. Well then, lots of experience, a good reputation,
creative lesson plans, lots of experiments and…uh…field trips…So many
good things to recommend Mary. Losing a couple of tests is serious,
but...well… it’s just one thing.”
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Stage 2: Summarizing - Key Features of
Spoken Form
Shorter sentences
More repetition
Simple connectors
Fillers
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Stage 2: Summarizing - Activity 1-How to Help Students
Develop Connected, Expanded Spoken Text
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Stage 2: Summarizing - Example Activity to
Connect and Develop Spoken Text
Each student turns bullet points into sentences
Who does the laundry in your house? I mean… (who washes your
clothes?)
What do you do on weekends? I mean…(what do you do on
Saturdays and Sundays?)
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Stage 2: Summarizing - Further Classroom
Practice
Incorporate activities that prepare Ss for the
test and increase speaking opportunities
Example:
Give Ss topics to speak about for 1 minute,
(then later on, for 2-3 minutes)
3 reasons to buy a cell phone
3 activities to do in the summer
3 ways to make your best friend happy
3 things you can do when you’re bored
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Stage 2: Summarizing - Seeking Clarification
Remember, candidates
Are not permitted to look at each other’s sheet
Can read their own options only
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Stage 2: Recommending an Option - Exploring
the Negative Aspect of a Bullet Point
So far, we have seen that Ss need to be able to:
Transfer telegraphic language into spoken form
Expand on bullet points and connect them in a coherent
and cohesive way
Seek clarification
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Stage 2: Recommending an Option - Exploring
Negative Aspect of Bullet Points
EXAMPLES:
“15 years of experience as a science teacher”,
…but maybe the teacher is set in his/her ways.
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Stage 2: Recommending an Option – Making
the Recommendation
After a candidate presents his/her two options, the partner
recommends one of them, using the following functions:
Expressing an opinion
Comparing and contrasting
Giving reasons
Justifying
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Stage 2: Recommending – Activity
Give Ss the following situation:
In the future, things we take for granted may no longer be
available. If you had to choose one of each of the following
pairs, which would it be, and why?
Ask Ss to work individually to decide on one of the two options and
prepare reasons for their choice
Ask Ss to work in pairs and present to their partner their final
decision and the reasons for it
Then each partner makes his/her recommendation
teachers doctors
flowers birds
music art
mountains sea
health wealth
to love to be loved
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Stage 3: Consensus Reaching
Candidates come to agreement on single option by:
Telling their partner which of own 2 options is best
and giving reasons
Discussing advantages and disadvantages of
each option
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Stage 3: Consensus Reaching - Activity - Raising
Awareness of How to Be Polite When Disagreeing
Give Ss the following expressions for disagreeing with someone.
Stress to Ss that they are not all equally polite
Have Ss work alone to reorder them along a continuum from rude to
less polite to very polite and try to determine a principle/formula to
follow when disagreeing politely in English
Then ask them to share their ideas with a partner and decide which is
the better formula
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Stage 4: Presenting and Convincing
(formal situation)
During this stage, candidates:
May look at each other’s sheet
Must each prepare to present 2 different reasons why final
option selected is the best and explain the importance of
these reasons
Are given 2-3 minutes to collaborate with each other and
decide who will present the final decision and which reasons
they will each present
Are then introduced to Examiner 2. (Examiner 2 plays role of
person of relatively high status)
Formally present selected option to Examiner 2
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Stage 4: Presenting and Convincing - Skills
and Functions Needed
Planning a presentation
Collaborating (establishing guidelines about how to
proceed)
Making a formal presentation
Expressing opinions
Giving reasons
Convincing someone that option chosen is indeed
the best
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Stage 4: Presenting and Convincing – Planning
the Presentation
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Stage 4: Presenting and Convincing - Activity 1-Helping
Students Recognize Formal and Informal Language
When candidates are making their presentation they have to use
more formal language.
Give Ss the following and ask them to decide which are formal and
which are informal, or both. They should give reasons.
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Stage 4: Presenting and Convincing – Activity 2
- Practice Using More Formal Language
Ss work in small groups to select one of four classmates for a Young
Leaders Scholarship. Groups rank candidates from first choice to
last.
Ss choose one member of their group to report their decision and the
reasons for it.
Candidates for the Young Leaders Scholarship:
Alexander: has high marks; shy and reserved; from middle class
family
Maria: has high marks in everything but math; a bit self-centered;
both parents work; 6 children
Evi: learns material easily, gets nervous during exams and only gets
average grades; well-liked; only child
Kostas: has high marks; cheated to get A in history; popular with
girls; wealthy family
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Stage 5: Justifying and Defending
Examiner 2 questions candidates about final
decision (option) and reasons for decision
Functions needed:
Justifying decisions
Defending decisions
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Stage 5: Justifying and Defending – Activity -
Helping Students Justify and Defend
Students work in pairs to practice previous stages of Speaking Test
using one topic (e.g. Hiring a High School Science Teacher)
Each pair presents their final decision and reasons to the teacher
(Examiner 2)
Teacher (Examiner 2) challenges pair’s decision by looking at the
negative side of their arguments
e.g. (if pair chose Mary Thompson): She has 15 years of
experience as a science teacher, but isn’t it possible she is set in
her ways?
Candidates take turns in answering Teacher’s questions, justifying
and defending their decision
e.g. Perhaps… But if she were set in her ways, would her
lessons be interesting? Would both her students and colleagues
like her? I rather doubt that.
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Conclusion
Teachers can best help students to prepare for
the ECPE Speaking Test by:
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