Grammar Test - B1 level PART TWO - GRAMMAR TEST - B1 LEVEL LANGUAGE AWARENESS TASK 1 – Read the text below and decide which answer (a, b, c or d) best fits each space. There is an example at the beginning (0). Grace Murray Hopper was a remarkable woman and a leader in the field of software development. She contributed (0. example) to the transition from primitive programming techniques to the use of sophisticated computer languages. Test writing There are many steps you can take to ensure that your test is more effective and that test writing becomes a learning experience. The elements of a good test Validity of a test Reliability of a test The affect of tests Other features of a good test Assessing difficulty Conclusion The elements of a good test A good test will give us a more reliable indication of our students' skills and it ensures that they don't suffer unfairly because of a poor question. How can we be sure that we have produced a good test? One way is very simply to think about how we feel about it afterwards. Validity of a test A good test also needs to be valid. A writing test may not be reliable as the marking may be inconsistent and extremely subjective, especially if there are a number of different markers. The affect of tests We must also bear in mind the affect of our tests. If a student has never seen a cloze passage before she may not be able to write a test that reflects her true ability.
Unit 1 Esta semana os ofrecemos la primera entrega de nuestro curso gratuito para la preparación del PET (Preliminary English Test) de de Cambridge. Este examen consta de 3 partes: PAPER 1: AND WRITING (1 hora 30 minutos) 1 - Reading (compuesta de 5 secciones y 35 preguntas): a) Three Option Multiple Choice (5 preguntas) b) Matching (5 preguntas) c) True / False (10 preguntas) d) Four Option Multiple Choice (5 preguntas) e) Four Option Multiple Choice Cloze (10 preguntas) 2- Writing, en la que deberemos completar las siguientes actividades: a) Sentence transformations (5 preguntas) b) Short Communicative Message (1 ejercicio) c) Longer Piece of Continuous Writing (1 ejercicio) PAPER 2: LISTENING (aproximadamente 30 minutos) Esta sección se compone de 4 partes. a) Multiple choice (short monologues or dialogues) b) Multiple choice (longer monologue or an interview) c) Gap-fill d) True / False PAPER 3: SPEAKING (10-12 minutos) Normalmente, esta parte se lleva a cabo por parejas y con dos examinadores Comenzamos. 1.
Testing and assessment It was all made worse by the fact that the chemistry teacher read the results to the whole class, from first to last place. My humiliation was complete. Students can have very negative reactions towards tests and it's no surprise when they too may have had experiences like this. Why testing doesn't work Reasons for testing Making testing more productive Learning from tests Alternatives to testing Conclusions Why testing doesn't work There are many arguments against using tests as a form of assessment: Some students become so nervous that they can't perform and don't give a true account of their knowledge or ability Other students can do well with last-minute cramming despite not having worked throughout the course Once the test has finished, students can just forget all that they had learned Students become focused on passing tests rather than learning to improve their language skills. "Were the instructions clear?" Richard Frost, British Council, Turkey
100 Exquisite Adjectives By Mark Nichol Adjectives — descriptive words that modify nouns — often come under fire for their cluttering quality, but often it’s quality, not quantity, that is the issue. Plenty of tired adjectives are available to spoil a good sentence, but when you find just the right word for the job, enrichment ensues. Practice precision when you select words. Here’s a list of adjectives: Subscribe to Receive our Articles and Exercises via Email You will improve your English in only 5 minutes per day, guaranteed! 21 Responses to “100 Exquisite Adjectives” Rebecca Fantastic list!
Error Correction 2 While these are clearly extremes, it is not unusual to find students like this in a typical class. In Error Correction 2 we look at... A basic approach to improving fluency and accuracy Dictogloss - A way of raising students' awareness of their inter-language Criteria for dealing with spoken errors Practical techniques for correcting spoken English Further reading A basic approach to improving fluency and accuracy In contrast to writing, students have very little processing time when it comes to speaking, so it is hardly surprising that the following may occur. Students don't experiment with new language presented by the teacher. Just as with writing we can help students to improve their accuracy and fluency. When it comes to accuracy, research into second language acquisition says that the first stage of improving accuracy is awareness-raising. 1. Practical techniques / ideas for correcting spoken English On-the-spot correction techniques.
45 ways to avoid using the word 'very' Writers Write is your one-stop resource for writers. Use these 45 ways to avoid using the word ‘very’ to improve your writing. Good writers avoid peppering their writing with qualifiers like ‘very’ and ‘really’. They are known as padding or filler words and generally add little to your writing. According to Collins Dictionary: ‘Padding is unnecessary words or information used to make a piece of writing or a speech longer. Synonyms include: waffle, hot air, verbiage, wordiness.’ Adding modifiers, qualifiers, and unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, weakens your writing. This post gives you 45 ways to avoid using the padding word ‘very’. Three Telling Quotes About ‘Very’ “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. If you enjoyed this, you will love: Top Tip: If you want to learn how to write a book, sign up for our online course. by Amanda Patterson © Amanda Patterson
Error Correction 1 Therefore the aim of this article is not to be prescriptive, but to highlight some key areas. It is in 2 parts. In the first part we look at ... Attitudes to error correction Categorising errors A model for correcting writing The role of planning Practical techniques / ideas for correcting writing Attitudes to error correction Attitudes to error correction vary not only among teachers but also among students. The fact that English is their second language and great emphasis was placed on correctness at their teacher training college. As for students, we not only have to consider their age but also their approach to learning. Categorising errors We can categorise an error by the reason for its production or by its linguistic type. What's the reason for the error? To be sure about the type of error produced by a student we need to know where the student's interlanguage is (the language used by a student in the process of learning a second language). What type is it? 1.
Important Infrequently Used Words To Know Paul V. Hartman (The Capitalized syllable gets the emphasis) alacrity a-LACK-ra-tee cheerful willingness and promptnessanathema a-NATH-a-ma a thing or person cursed, banned, or reviledanodyne AN-a-dine not likely to cause offence or disagreement and somewhat dull//anything that sooths or comfortsaphorism AFF-oar-ism a short, witty saying or concise principleapostate ah-POSS-tate (also: apostasy) person who has left the fold or deserted the faith.arrogate ARROW-gate to make an unreasonable claimatavistic at-a-VIS-tic reverting to a primitive typeavuncular a-VUNC-you-lar “like an uncle”; benevolent bathos BATH-ose an anticlimaxbereft ba-REFT to be deprived of something valuable “He was bereft of reason.” cynosure SIGH-na-shore (from the Greek: “dog’s tail”) center of attention; point to which all eyes are drawn. dilettante DILL-ah-tent 1. having superficial/amateurish interest in a branch of knowledge; 2. a connoisseur or lover of the fine arts Click to read: Like this: Related
Imaginative materials: teaching with authentic materials By Jim Scrivener Catalogues, shop brochures and leaflets are a type of authentic material often available free and in quantity. Here are some ideas for using these, whether printed in English or another language. If you don't have such material locally, you could use advertisements cut out from magazines instead. Catalogue search You'll need multiple copies of the same brochure or catalogue for this listening comprehension task. Prepare about 6-10 questions that require learners to understand a short but detailed description of what a person is looking for e.g.
List of essay topics List of essay topics includes essays that helps you in learning English, especially writing and speaking: Note: There are approximately 1,000 essays in the list of essays; however there are many more essays especially recent published essays not in the list. You are recommended to use the google search box on the top of our site to fully search for the essay you want in the whole site of our own. With the google search box, you can find out the essay you are looking for easily and quickly. * Put the essay topic in the google search box to search for the essay. School:* Do you think that homework should be abolished? * The importance of examinations (uncategorized)* Examination day often makes many pupils worry. * School life is the most difficult time but it also keeps many joys for us. * What do you think of the use and abuse of private tuition? * What makes an ideal teacher: Give your opinion.* Talk about your teacher of English* My teacher (uncategorized) * "News travels fast".
Using authentic materials There are several reasons for this, primarily a kind of fear that students will panic when faced with language that is largely unfamiliar, and a feeling that to prevent this the language should be edited to the students' level. This is an unnecessary fear, as using authentic materials can be rewarding and stimulating for both teacher and students. Sources Aren't authentic materials too difficult? An example The question of levels Dealing with unknown language Conclusion Sources When people first think of authentic materials they usually assume that we are talking about newspaper and magazine articles. However, the term can also encompass such things as songs, web pages, radio & TV broadcasts, films, leaflets, flyers, posters, indeed anything written in the target language and used unedited in the classroom. The materials used, will of course, depend on the 'usual' factors: topic target language area skills students' needs and interests Aren't authentic materials too difficult?
Writing Exercises and Prompts T is for Translation During a talk on grammar teaching techniques, last week in Turkey, one participant queried my suggestion that translation could be a useful technique for raising awareness of similarities and differences between the students’ L1 and the target language. I went so far as to suggest that – with some structures (such as the future perfect) it could be the most economical way of presenting them. However, the participant felt (strongly) that encouraging learners to translate L1 forms into the L2 would cause negative transfer. This led to an interesting discussion with other trainers and teachers, after the session, as to the current status of translation – specifically as a means of presenting grammar – on methodology courses, and prompted me to re-visit the entry in An A-Z of ELT. Apart from being a skill in its own right, translation is also an aid to teaching and learning a second language.