In-Service Teacher Training Assessment in IGCSE English as a Second Language 0510 Session 3: Mark schemes and Examiners Reports

Introductions Background Aim of training Welcome

Session 3 looks at: Resources Mark schemes as a resource Principal Examiners’ Reports Recommended books Other resources Learners and their needs

Using mark schemes as a resource Mark schemes: Give the allocation of marks Indicate the range of acceptable answers Give examples of unacceptable answers Give an indication of what Examiners are looking for in an answer

Mark schemes and Principal Examiners’ Reports: Both give information about each part of each question Should be used side by side to analyse students’ answers to questions Provide information which can be passed on to students

Principal Examiners’ Reports After each examination session the Principal Examiner: Writes a full and detailed report for each component Comments on strengths and weaknesses of the candidates Aims to provide advice to help teachers improve their own teaching and their students’ performance

Some areas covered in Principal Examiners’ Reports Tiering - how effective it was Completion of the examinations Very detailed comments on specific questions Acceptable and unacceptable answers The rubric - how well was it followed ?

Principal Examiners’ Reports: Extracts on the Reading/Writing papers ‘Candidates must be reminded that this is a summary exercise which requires them to keep within a restricted word length.’ ‘Many wrote at some length about what happened before and during the operation rather than afterwards.’ ‘Many failed to follow the “between 12 and 20 words” instruction.’

Principal Examiners’ Reports: Extracts on the Reading and Writing papers ‘Many centres are teaching their candidates to use idioms. This is indeed a good way to inject interest and some style into the writing.’ ‘Weaker candidates listed the prompts and described them without really developing their own views or ideas about the project.’ There was generally appropriate paragraphing…’

Principal Examiners’ Reports: Extracts on the Listening papers ‘In accordance with the “listening for understanding” ethos of the component, phonetic attempts at an answer were rewarded unless they created a different word with a different meaning.’ ‘It is always a good strategy to attempt an answer, particularly if it makes contextual sense.’

Principal Examiners’ Reports: Extracts on the Listening papers ‘It is worth noting that where a candidate has re- written the answer, it should always be made clear which answer is the candidate’s final version.’ ‘Mr. Rasheed’s telephone number caused some problems with number sequence reversal and often the distractor number was given instead of the correct 3247.’

Principal Examiners’ Reports: Extracts on the Speaking component ‘The very best discussions are those during which Examiners create a relaxed atmosphere, allowing candidates to speak easily and at good length.’ ‘Moderators would like to hear discussion/conversation from the outset – there is no need for an introductory or extended speech by the candidate about the topic.’

Principal Examiners’ Reports: Extracts on the Speaking component ‘The prompts are not intended to be prescriptive, but are suggested as springboards for further discussion.’ ‘Leniency was still noted in applying the fluency criterion – examiners need to be sure that candidates have contributed significantly to the conversation before awarding 9 or 10.’

CIE maintains a Resource list of endorsed and other recommended textbooks on CIE Online. Visit your qualifications page at for further information. Books/Texts

Other resources and support material CIE Publications CD-ROMs containing syllabuses, past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports A CD of a range of Listening material has been produced. Activities and structured lessons have been written to support this Online training. Teachers can follow a 6-week course of online training in IGCSE E2L

[BBC World Service] [British Council] [English Space] [Self Access] The Internet – some useful websites

CIE Teacher Support site Access to this site allows you to download: Schemes of Work Question papers and mark schemes for all exam sessions since 2002 Syllabuses Principal Examiners’ Reports

CIE Teacher Support site You can also: Access a number of other useful resources Engage with a subject specific FAQ area

The learners: time for reflection How might learning on this course be different to a regular E2L programme? What level do you think your E2L students need to be at when starting the IGCSE course? And to do well? Can you anticipate some questions that might be asked by your learners? How will you introduce your learners to the background knowledge they will need to acquire?

Your teaching To finish: Are you happy with the teaching resources that you have? What will you need to obtain? Does your teaching style suit this IGCSE course? What IS your teaching style? Are you confident about constructing some of your own teaching schemes and lessons? Are there any final thoughts or issues that you would like to raise with your colleagues now?

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