LPAT Briefing Session (English Language)

Date: Time: Venue: 13 November 2010 (Saturday) 1:00pm - 3:30pm Queen’s College Speakers: Dr Neil DRAVE

Manager - Assessment Development (LPAT English Language), HKEAA

1:00pm – 2:20pm Josephine CHEUNG Sonia KAN 2:45pm S C CHENG

Language Proficiency Assessment Section, EDB

– 3:15pm

Rundown

       Aims of the Session How the LPATE is assessed Outline of the Papers     Paper 1 (Reading) Paper 2 (Writing) Paper 3 (Listening) Paper 4 (Speaking) Break (& Question submission time) Questions (Paper 1 – 4)

Paper 5: Classroom Language Assessment (CLA) Questions (Paper 5)

Aims

 Introduce the assessment approach  Introduce each LPATE paper, with examples from recent assessments  Give you some hints about how to do well  Answer questions  More information in the

Handbook for Candidates

Assessment Types Norm-referenced vs. Standards-referenced

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Paper 1 Reading

       Duration: one hour 30 minutes 3 Reading Comprehension passages Passages are about 1 page of A4 each One longer, two shorter (may change from year to year) Most require phrases or sentences as answers Topics and genres will be of different kinds Some MC questions (4 options) – blacken the circle

Rubric

Passage A

Please answer the following questions. You may use words from the passage or your own words except where explicitly stated.

answer each sentences but You do not have to question make in sure complete that your answers are full enough and

coherent

enough for the assessor to understand.

Sample Passage (2008)

Passage B Making the Cut: China’s Designers on the Rise

Having turned itself into a factory floor for the global apparel industry, China – through a new generation of young designers – is repositioning itself to become a force in creating clothes, not just manufacturing them. The international fashion industry is paying more attention to China’s design talent, says Xiao Yan, deputy editorial director of fashion magazine

Elle China

. On the world style scene, though, ‘Chinese designers are still in the very early stage’, she adds. [continues]

Sample Questions (1)

 Question ‘On line 7, “…in the very early stage”. Of what?’  Answer Repositioning itself to become a force in creating clothes [exact words] OR Entering the world style scene [exact words ++] OR Being recognised by the international fashion world [paraphrase]

Sample Questions (2)

 Question ‘In paragraph 1, what metaphor is used to refer to China as a manufacturer of clothes for the world?’  Answer ‘a factory floor’ [l. 1 - exact words]

Sample Questions (3)

   Question ‘According to the paragraph beginning on line 28, in what kinds of institutions can students study fashion design in Shanghai?’ Passage ‘Besides universities in major cities, which have been beefing up their fashion department offerings over the past six years or so, there are private academies…’ Answer Universities and private academies [need BOTH]

Paper 1 Suggestions

     Refer to the text for answers (don ’ t rely on personal knowledge or experience) Copy, summarise or paraphrase information in the text If copying, don ’ t copy too much: only your FIRST answer (or section) will be marked Pay attention to the number of marks  2 marks usually means more than one piece of information  1 mark MAY mean one piece of information or may mean that it is two closely linked pieces e.g. Q = ‘ Where did the writer find materials in English ’ A = Record stores and second-hand book stores (1 mark) Make sure answers are grammatical

Paper 2 Writing

  Part 1: Task 1 Composition Writing Part 2:  Task 2A Correcting errors in a student’s composition  Task 2B Explaining errors in a student’s composition

Part 1: Task 1 Composition

 Different text types to write (expository, narrative, descriptive etc.)   Text input of about 200 words Word limit – 400 words  Scales and descriptors used to judge quality of writing

Sample Part 1 Prompt (2008)

Read the following article about contributing to the community.

Making a Contribution

Bill Gates is more of a philanthropist than a software developer these days and has left his job at Microsoft to manage his charity work through the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. [continues 150 – 200 words total]

Sample Writing Part 1 Task (2008) Task

Write a short speech for your school graduation ceremony in which you talk about the importance of contributing to the community. Describe someone who devotes some of his/her time and energy to helping others.

Write about 400 words .

Sample Writing Part 1 Task (2007) Task

Your Principal has provided HK$2000 to run a campaign to promote healthy eating in your school. He is now asking for suggestions on how best to spend this money.

Write to the Principal

provided.

outlining some of the problems with students’ eating habits and suggesting two ways of using the funds Write about 400 words.

Scales and Descriptors

 Scale 1 Organisation and Coherence  Scale 2 Grammatical & Lexical Accuracy/Range  Scale 3 Task Completion

Scale 1: Organisation and coherence

    Unity: each paragraph should deal with one topic only Coherence: the overall flow/development should be clear Cohesion: use cohesive devices such as conjunctions, referencing and repetition of key words and phrases wisely - make sure that connectives aren’t overused Conciseness: do not write more than is necessary

Scale 2: Grammatical & lexical accuracy/range

  Accuracy  Sentence structure  Agreement  Collocation Variety (complexity, naturalness)   Vocabulary and phrasing Fixed expressions vs.

cliché

Scale 3: Task completion

 Read the task instructions carefully  Identify the specific areas to be addressed  Plan how you will address each for a balanced piece of writing

Paper 2 Part 1 Suggestions

 Read English texts e.g. opinion pieces in newspapers  Become familiar with the basic structure of different types of texts   Increase your vocabulary using a thesaurus & other tools Don ’ t just copy ideas from the prompt – expand upon them

Paper 2 Part 2

 Task 2A – Detecting & Correcting Errors / Problems in a Student Composition  Task 2B – Explaining Errors / Problems  Questions are in the Question booklet, write answers in the Question Answer booklet

Sample Task 2A (2008) Correcting Errors

Global warming: What can we do?

I think this not good to our planet. (1) We had to work to stop damaging us planet. There is much things we may do (2) to less the pollution like not to smoke, not drive and not to waste electricity. [continues]

Task 2A Suggested Answers

 (1) We had to work to stop damaging us planet.

(1) Sample only – answer will be given  (2) to less the pollution like not to smoke, not drive and not to waste electricity.

(2) to lessen the pollution, like not smoking  (3) even so my 15 years old sister.

(3) even my 15-year old sister.

Writing Task 2B Sample Questions (1) 2009

Item 17:

we celebrated at a very (17) good

restaurant he help prepare the food

There are two errors in this sentence. The first relates to the need for a/an (a) _________________ ‘where’ to tell the reader the location of the father’s food preparation. The second error is one of agreement. The subject is ‘he’, which is (b) ___________________________ , and so the verb should be ‘helps’ not ‘help’.

Sample Answers (1)

Item 17:

we celebrated at a very (17) good

restaurant he help prepare the food

There are two errors in this sentence. The first relates to the need for a/an (a) relative pronoun ‘where’ to tell the reader the location of the father’s food preparation. The second error is one of agreement. The subject is ‘he’, which is (b) third person singular , and so the verb should be ‘helps’ not ‘help’.

Sample Questions (2) 2008

Item 17:

… polar bear is (17) too cuter

than the panda

There is one error. The writer has used a/an (a)______________ ‘too’; however, the (b)_____________ ‘cuter’ is sufficient.

Sample Answers (2)

Item 17:

… polar bear is (17) too

cuter than the panda

There is one error. The writer has used a/an (a) modifier [adverb/intensifier] ‘too’; however, the (b) comparative (adjective) ‘cuter’ is sufficient.

Paper 2 Task 2 Suggestions (1)

   LPATE for teachers of English Tasks 2A and 2B, though related, are two separate tasks Task 2A  Correct only the underlined and numbered items  Do not make unnecessary changes e.g.

‘ My mother also likes fastly cars …’

‘

My mother also likes fast cars…’ 

‘

My mother also likes to drive cars quickly…’ 

Paper 2 2A/2B Suggestions (2)

  Task 2B   Refer back to student composition Be specific e.g. the type of pronoun / conditional   Revise basic grammatical terminology ( ‘ metalanguage ’ ) Various answers ( ‘ systems ’ ) are allowed  Grammar book    easy to use from a reputable publisher If in doubt, put more detail Spelling is important but mistakes will be penalised only once

Paper 3 Listening

         Duration: One hour Pauses included throughout & 10 minutes at the end 3 or 4 texts e.g. radio discussions, debates, monologues, podcasts/webcasts Different topics (not necessarily education related) Up to 4 speakers & host Native speakers of English & non-native speakers Male & Female ‘ Normal ’ speed for the type of discourse Complete answers as you listen

Question types (1)

1.

Open-ended How does Carmen send a message to Jeff Orlando?

She writes a message on the notepad and draws a line to his name [need BOTH parts] 2.

Gap-filling in a connected paragraph Complete the summary below. Use

WORD

for each answer.

NO MORE THAN ONE

(8 marks)

David believes that the reforms are moving in the right (i) direction but he is unsure as to whether the new system will really be a (ii) better alternative.

Question Types (2)

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Filling in blanks in a flowchart Filling in cells in a table Filling in gaps in a bulleted list Multiple choice Diagram labelling Figures: e.g. ‘What is the best estimate of the number of Gypsies in the UK in 2005?’ Exact words: e.g. ‘Wendy feels that a Feng Shui master should also know about

what

?’

Paper 3 Suggestions

   Read upcoming questions carefully during pauses Use background knowledge (topics, context) Grammar ONLY important in ‘one word answer’ section  Connie  agrees David’s view  Connie view  supports David’s  Spelling ONLY important for proper names, job titles & other ‘fixed’ items, unless the meaning is changed  Tourist Management   Tourism Management   Board based education   Broad based education 

Paper 4 Speaking



Part 1 (individual) Task 1A Reading aloud Task 1B Recount



Part 2 Group Interaction

Assessment Format Part 1

 Task 1A Reading Aloud (prose)

10

minutes to prepare for both parts  Task 1B Telling/Recounting/ Presenting (monologue)

5

minutes for the test (both parts)

Part 2 Group Interaction Assessment Format



5

minutes to prepare in the classroom  3 or 4 candidates in a group (random assignment)  Time limit  10 Minutes (3 candidates)  13 minutes (4 candidates)  Discuss an education-related topic / situation E.g. planning something, deciding what to do about something, reflecting on the past, coming up with a policy …

Scales and Descriptors

Scale 1.

Scale 2.

Scale 3.

Scale 4.

Task 1B Recounting / Presenting

Grammatical & lexical accuracy / range Organisation & cohesion Scale 5.

Scale 6.

Task 1A Reading aloud

Pronunciation, stress and intonation Reading aloud with meaning

Task 2 Group interaction

Interacting with peers Discussing educational matters with peers

Reliability

 All examiners are from HK tertiary institutions  Two examiners per assessment  Pre-assessment training  During assessment - monitoring by Chief Examiner

Recording

 Your performance will be recorded  If you agree to sit for the assessment, you agree to the recording  Reasons  Appeals & complaints  Examiner training  Research

Recording Set-up

Suggestions

  Reading aloud    Read phrase by phrase, not word by word Don ’ t try to be too dramatic Don right ’ t be too slow – 2.5 to 3 minutes is about Recounting   How much can you do in 1 – 2 minutes?

Two or three main points   Clear structure Can be in a conversational or an ‘ oral presentation ’ style  Group discussion     Conversational style Don ’ t try to dominate Don ’ t just ask questions Build upon what others have said  Refer to your actual (learning/teaching) experience if possible

Handbook for Candidates (+CD, DVD) –

New version 2010

Concluding Remarks

 LPATE is a test for teachers, not a general English test  It is possible to practice for it  Treat it like a driving test, with certain skills to be demonstrated under controlled conditions  Markers and Oral Examiners are well trained experts who want a fair assessment

Good Luck

!