Yle Examrep09 Intro

©UCLES 2010

YLE Cambridge Young Learners English Tests

Examination Report 2009


Cambridge Young Learners English Tests YLE Examination Report 2009

Contents Introduction page

Average ages of candidates in 2009 3

Gender of candidates in 2009 3

Marking 3

Grading 3

The reliability of Cambridge Young Learners English Tests 3

Special Arrangements 4

Special Consideration 4

Malpractice 4

Starters Listening 5

Reading and Writing 8

Speaking 11

Movers Listening 13


Speaking 19

Flyers Listening 21


Speaking 28

The Papers page

Starters Listening

Mark Scheme 31

Tapescript 31

Reading and Writing

Mark Scheme 35

Speaking 36

Movers Listening

Mark Scheme 37

Tapescript 37

Reading and Writing

Mark Scheme 42

Speaking 43

Flyers Listening

Mark Scheme 44

Tapescript 44

Reading and Writing

Mark Scheme 49

Speaking 50

How the Tests are marked 30

Feedback Form 51



Introduction

The Cambridge Young Learners English (YLE) Tests were introduced in 1997 and rapidly established their popularity with teachers around the world. They are continuing to show good growth year on year.

This report is intended to provide an overview of candidate performance on the tests at all three levels, Starters, Movers and Flyers, during the year 2009 and to offer guidance on the preparation of candidates.

Twelve versions each of Starters, Movers and Flyers were used in 2009. Specific comments relating to Version 115 (Listening and Reading and Writing components) have been included in the report on each component at each level. In the case of the Speaking component, general recommendations for preparation have been supplied. Version 115 test papers at each level are available for reference, together with sample speaking materials.

The Cambridge YLE Tests are aimed at children who are aged between 7 and 12, although 13-year-olds in the same class as 12-year-olds who are taking a test are not, of course, excluded.

Average ages of candidates at each level in 2009 The average ages of candidates at each level in 2009 were as follows:

Starters 9.4 years Movers 10.3 years Flyers 11.0 years

Gender of candidates in 2009 An analysis has been carried out of the gender of candidates taking the Cambridge YLE Tests in 2009, together with how well they did (i.e. the average number of ‘shields’ achieved.) See under Grading below.

The following table gives a breakdown of candidature according to gender:

Boys Girls Starters 49.72% 50.28% Movers 49.96% 50.04% Flyers 49.67% 50.33%

In 2009, as far as performance is concerned, it was found that, at Starters level, girls did slightly better than boys in Listening and in Reading and Writing. At Movers level, girls also did slightly better in Listening and better than boys in Reading and Writing. At Flyers level, girls performed the same as boys in Listening but

better than boys in Reading and Writing. At all three levels, girls performed marginally better in Speaking.

Marking For the Listening and Reading and Writing tests, candidates record their answers on the question papers. These papers are then marked by a team of carefully selected and trained markers, according to a mark scheme. Each question on the paper carries equal weight. Results are then issued as soon as possible, normally within two weeks of receipt of the question papers by Cambridge ESOL.

For the Speaking tests, Centres make arrangements for oral examining locally, using trained examiners. All examiners receive special training in the needs of this age group.

See page 30 for further details on how the Cambridge YLE Tests are marked.

Grading These tests are not pass/fail exams. Candidates are given an ‘award’ which shows them how well they have done in each of the three components – Listening, Reading and Writing, and Speaking. They can be awarded a maximum of five shields for each component. The majority of candidates achieve three or four shields in each component, with performance overall slightly better in Speaking than in Reading and Writing and Listening. Five shields are awarded to candidates who gain full or almost full marks. Provided they attempt all parts of the test, even the weakest candidates will achieve an award of one shield in each skill, thus gaining a total of three shields.

The reliability of Cambridge Young Learners English Tests A reliable test is one which guarantees that the same ability level is needed to gain the same number of marks in the test every time it is taken. It is recognised that the Cambridge YLE Tests, along with all other Cambridge examinations, need to be as reliable as possible. The production cycle for these tests ensures that, as far as possible, all versions conform to the test requirements in terms of content and level of difficulty. It should also be borne in mind that the Cambridge YLE Tests are designed to encourage learning, and focus on what children can, rather than cannot, do.

All the tests used in 2009 showed excellent levels of reliability, with Version 115, comments on which are included in this report, proving to have the same or better reliability when compared with the other versions.



Special Arrangements Centres may apply for special arrangements for candidates with disabilities, including requesting extra time and modified question papers. Application for special arrangements must be made by Centres well in advance of the date of the test (at least six weeks’ notice is essential). Centres should note that it is not acceptable to allow a candidate with special requirements to proceed with a test when no provisions have been made, and to expect special consideration to be applied when completed test papers are received by Cambridge ESOL.

Although Braille versions are only currently available for Flyers, because of the visual nature of the material in the Young Learners English Tests, candidates with visual difficulties may apply for enlarged print (A3 size) versions of Starters, Movers and Flyers. Special arrangements can also be made for colour-blind candidates to enable them to take the Cambridge YLE Tests.

Candidates with hearing difficulties may request various special arrangements in Listening Tests. Those with partial hearing loss who can hear with the help of headphones or special amplification equipment may ask their Centre Examinations Manager for permission to use this type of equipment.

If candidates with hearing difficulties require more help than this, they can ask for a lip-reading version of the Listening Test, in which the supervisor will read the listening texts to the candidate. Hearing-impaired versions of Listening Tests can usually be made available if sufficient notice is given (i.e. at least six weeks before the test date).

Please contact the Cambridge ESOL Centre Examinations Manager for more information.

Special Consideration In cases of temporary disabilities (injuries or minor ailments) or adverse circumstances (such as serious disturbances during a test), Centres should apply for special consideration to be given to the affected candidate(s).

Malpractice All Cambridge YLE Tests are conducted according to the University of Cambridge ESOL regulations. As the taking of one of these tests may constitute a candidate’s first experience of language testing, they must be trained not to break the rules. These include not copying from other candidates’ work, talking to other candidates or writing answers after they have been told to stop.

All those responsible for, or involved in any capacity with, test administration should make it clear to candidates that they cannot ask for help with rubrics or test questions once the test has started. Candidates who misbehave or cheat may be disqualified.



Starters: Component 1 – Listening Overview

The Starters Listening paper has four parts. There are 20 questions and the test lasts approximately 20 minutes. It is summarised in the table below.

Marking The total score for this paper is 20.

Part Main skill focus Input Expected response/item type Number of items

1 Listening for words and prepositions

Picture and dialogue Carry out instructions and position things correctly on a picture

5

2 Listening for numbers and spelling

Illustrated comprehension questions and dialogue

Write numbers and names 5

3 Listening for specific information of various kinds (present tense)

3-option multiple-choice pictures and dialogues

Tick the correct box under picture 5

4 Listening for words, colours and prepositions

Picture and dialogue Carry out instructions, locate objects and colour correctly

5

Candidate performance The average award over the whole year was 3.57 shields. Percentages of candidates obtaining each number of shields over the year are indicated below.

Starters, Listening, Achievement of Shields, 2009

Candidate performance varied to some extent from place to place. The table opposite gives the average Listening performance for candidates from the countries or regions with the highest number of entries in 2009.

Country/ Region

Average number of shields

Country/ Region


Argentina 4.11 Mexico 3.95

Brazil 4.08 Portugal 4.23

China 3.23 Russia 4.37

Colombia 4.00 South Korea 3.56

Cyprus 4.40 Spain 4.03

France 4.06 Sri Lanka 4.07

Greece 4.34 Taiwan 4.42 Hong Kong 4.36 Thailand 3.90

India 4.02 Turkey 4.22 Italy 3.97 Vietnam 3.56

Starters, Listening, Performance by country/region, 2009

Comments on candidate performance

Starters: Version 115

Part 1 Although this task was well done by many candidates, quite a number failed to gain full marks.

A few candidates seemed to have difficulty identifying the objects around the picture, the mango and the mouse proving particularly difficult. Others did not seem to be familiar with the vocabulary relating to the country scene in the large picture.

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The question that candidates coped least well with, however, was the one which required them to draw a line from the mouse to between the man’s feet. Many put the line beside the man’s feet or behind the man, for example, while others put it between the boy’s feet or between the horse’s legs or even beside the ‘feet’ of the water trough.

Other candidates lost marks because they did not draw a line to the exact location required. For example, the banana had to be put in the boy’s hand and the mango in the dog’s mouth; simply connecting the banana with the boy or the mango with the dog was not enough to gain the marks.

Part 2 This part of the test was generally well done but many candidates made at least one mistake.

The two questions which required the candidates to write numbers were generally done well (Questions 1 and 4). Candidates wrote 2 and 9 either as figures or words and both were acceptable. However, one or two candidates misheard the number ‘two’ in Question 1 and wrote a completely different word.

The questions testing spelling caused considerable problems for a number of candidates (Questions 2, 3 and 5). In these questions, candidates had to write the names LUCY and TOM and the word PARK. A number of the weaker candidates did not even attempt to answer these questions.

Candidates generally coped well with writing TOM, although some wrote TON. LUCY, however, was written in a variety of ways including LUSY, LUSI, LUCW, LACY or MUCY by a number of candidates. PARK was written as PERK, PRK, PAROK, PARI , PEK or PAOK, for example.

These spelling errors suggest that many candidates at this level are not totally familiar with the names of the letters in English.

Part 3 This part of the test was very well done on the whole with many candidates achieving full marks. However, a number of candidates made an error with one question.

The question that candidates found most difficult was Question 5 where they had to work out that Anna’s mum was writing and not reading or sleeping. A number of candidates went for the reading option, possibly finding it hard to differentiate between these two rather similar sounding words.

Part 4 This part of the test was successfully done. Where there was difficulty, this was usually because candidates did not successfully identify either the camera in the man’s hand or the camera on the box on the shelf.

Candidates only rarely failed to use the requested colour. When this did happen, it was usually because candidates did not understand the words yellow or brown.

A very few candidates were clearly not aware of the nature of this task and did not realise that they would always have to colour the same object and so had to listen out for the phrases describing location. These candidates coloured a range of different items, the chair, for example, rather than the camera under the chair.

Recommendations for candidate preparation

Part 1 Practise with pictures to ensure that candidates can recognise all of the nouns on the Starters vocabulary list. Reinforce candidates’ knowledge of any less familiar words with puzzles and vocabulary games.

Encourage candidates to draw straight lines from each object to its location – this will be much less confusing for them when they are checking their work during the second hearing of the recording.

Give plenty of practice in understanding and using prepositional phrases so that candidates realise they must listen carefully for prepositions as well as nouns. In doing this, focus particularly on the prepositions in the Starters vocabulary list and make sure that candidates are clear about the difference between in and on, and on and under.

Part 2 Make sure that candidates know what is expected of them in this task. They should appreciate that they only need to write a name, a word or a number. Anything that they have to write will be clearly heard twice. Any name or other word that they have to write will be spelled out for them.

Make sure they know that all the names and other words that they may be expected to write come from the Starters vocabulary list. As far as first names are concerned, this is a very short



list, so it should be easy for candidates to become familiar with them. As far as the words are concerned, there is likely to be some clue in the context, helping candidates to understand the word that they are expected to write. For example, there is a certain logic in calling an elephant Mr Big.

Practise the English names of the letters of the alphabet, paying particular attention to the vowels and the consonants which are often confused, such as G and J.

Part 3 Candidates are allowed time to look at the pictures before they hear the dialogues. Encourage them to look carefully at the pictures and to think about what the pictures are illustrating.

Train candidates to listen to the whole of each dialogue, as the answer may well be provided in several parts of the dialogue rather than in just one turn.

Part 4 Ensure that candidates know they should bring coloured pencils to the test. Candidates need the following colours: black, blue, brown, green, grey, orange, pink, purple, red and yellow. It is not a good idea for candidates to have large sets of pencils with many shades of the same colour because they may waste time selecting the appropriate pencil. Confusion can also be caused for markers if two selected shades are hard to distinguish, e.g. a pink which is very close to purple, if both colours are tested.

Make sure candidates understand what is expected of them in this part of the test. They have to identify which one of the seven similar objects is being described and colour that object in the right way.

Reassure them that this is an English test and not a test of their colouring skills. They should focus on what they hear rather than worry about how well they are colouring.

Make sure candidates are familiar with the names of the colours that they are expected to know at this level.



Starters: Component 2 – Reading and Writing Overview The Starters Reading and Writing paper has five parts. There are 25 questions and the test lasts 20 minutes. It is summarised in the table below.



1 Reading short sentences and recognising words

Words, pictures and sentences

Tick or cross to show if sentence is true or false

5

2 Reading sentences about a picture

Writing one-word answers

Picture and sentences Write yes/no 5

3 Spelling of single words Pictures and sets of jumbled letters

Write words 5

4 Reading a text

Writing missing words (nouns)

Cloze text, words and pictures

Choose and copy missing words 5

5 Reading questions about a picture story


Story presented through 3 pictures and questions

Write one-word answers to questions

5


Starters, Reading and Writing, Achievement of Shields, 2009

As for the Listening paper, candidate performance varied to some extent from place to place. The table opposite gives the average Reading and Writing performance for candidates from the twenty countries or regions with the highest number of entries in 2009.

Country/ Region


Country/ Region








Greece 4.35 Taiwan 4.14

Hong Kong 3.73 Thailand 3.58


Starters, Reading and Writing, Performance by country/region, 2009


Starters: Version 115

Part 1 In this part, candidates showed an excellent knowledge of the lexis tested, scoring very well in most of the questions. The one question which proved to be more challenging for candidates was Question 1, testing the word rubber.

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Part 2 Candidates answered most of this part well. Question 4, A monkey is looking at a mirror, was the question that the highest number of candidates answered correctly. However, a very large number of candidates gave incorrect responses to Question 2, The girl with the woman is wearing a pink skirt. The key was yes, the girl in the picture had a pink skirt, and the woman’s skirt was purple. The mistake candidates may have made was to understand with as and or to think that the woman was the subject of the sentence. Part 3 Candidates answered some of this part well. Large numbers of candidates managed to write the answers for Question 1, boat, and Question 2, train, correctly. But significant numbers of candidates were not able to spell plane correctly, the answer to Question 3, or motorbike, the answer to Question 5. Part 4 Candidates did well in this part. They answered Question 3, I drink (milk), particularly well. They may have found the verb that preceded the gap, drink, particularly helpful in leading them to the correct option. They found Question 4, (People) see me and smile, the most difficult question. Several candidates left the gap blank and several wrote flower. This may be because the position of the gap at the beginning of the sentence and its proximity to the previous question made it harder for candidates to grasp its meaning. Part 5 This more demanding part of the test gives candidates greater scope for error as they have to combine reading with writing words which they are not always given to copy. In this paper, significant numbers of errors were made in all the questions, but in Questions 1 and 5 in particular. The most common wrong answers for Question 1 were various forms of eat: eating, eating grass etc. Candidates had overlooked white in the question, What are the white cows doing? In the picture, the white cows are sleeping and the brown cows are eating. For Question 5, Who is watching the boys and the cows? the most common error was leaving the space for the answer blank. This may indicate that the candidates did not understand the question, did not know the word for the answer, man, or had run out of time to finish the test.


Part 1 Encourage candidates to read the sentences and look at the pictures carefully (at least twice). Make sure candidates know that the mark they put in the box should be an unambiguous tick or cross – if it looks as though it could be either, they will lose the mark.

When introducing new words to candidates, make sure they can distinguish between related words that are commonly confused, e.g. sock/ shoe.

Give candidates practice in marking sentences with ticks and crosses to indicate whether they are true or false. Part 2 Give candidates plenty of practice in matching sentences to pictures.

Encourage them to practise picturing accurately what they have read by giving them exercises in drawing what they have read.

Do plenty of exercises comparing and contrasting different structures and vocabulary related to pictures – for example, different sports, clothes etc. Concentrate on words which are likely to be confused, or which have ‘false friends’ in the candidates’ first language, e.g. photo/camera.

Make sure they realise that if any element of the sentence is false, then they must write ‘no’, even if there is an element which is true; e.g. for the question The doll is sitting behind the chair, the doll must be both sitting, and sitting behind a chair for a ‘yes’ answer.

Part 3 Candidates should have practice writing all the words in the Starters vocabulary list.

For this part, give candidates plenty of spelling exercises, using words from the list. Write difficult or less common words up on the classroom walls so that candidates become very familiar with them.

Reinforce candidates’ knowledge of common letter patterns in English – ea, ck, ight, ou, er etc.

Remind candidates that they must only use the letters provided when doing this part. Practise doing anagrams.



Part 4 Give plenty of practice matching pictures and words, mixing up plurals and singulars to encourage candidates to be alert to these distinctions.

Help them to identify words or grammatical forms that will indicate whether an answer should be plural or not, e.g. if a gap is preceded by some or a.

Remind candidates that each answer is only one word, and must make sense in the text. It must also fit grammatically. Also remind them to use the text to help them decide what the target word is, particularly if they do not understand the pictures.

Give attention to correct spelling and neat handwriting, as spelling has to be correct in this part and in other parts of the paper where candidates are required to write words.

Part 5 Give attention to correct spelling and neat handwriting, as spelling has to be correct in this part and in other parts of the paper where candidates are required to write words.

Do exercises which encourage careful reading, particularly of questions.

Key question words like Where and When are often misinterpreted or confused in Part 5, so do exercises which encourage quick, accurate reading so that such words are correctly identified and understood.

Candidates should practise answering questions with single words, with the emphasis on selecting key information.

Practise writing the …ing form of verbs for questions with candidates, focusing on what people in pictures are doing, e.g. What are the ducks doing now? Flying.



Starters: Component 3 – Speaking Overview

The Starters Speaking test has five parts and lasts about four minutes. It is summarised in the table below.

Marking Candidates are marked on the basis of the understanding they show by responding to instructions, on the language they produce, and on their pronunciation and intelligibility. At this level it is not necessary for candidates to say more than a few words, nor for them to be totally accurate, in order to gain five shields.

Examiners conduct these tests on a one-to-one basis, and are instructed during training to use encouraging language throughout the test. In selecting people for training as examiners, emphasis is placed on experience of working with children as well as in EFL/ESOL.

Part Main skill focus Input Expected response/item type

1 Understanding and following spoken instructions

Scene picture Point to correct part of the picture

2 Understanding and following spoken instructions

Scene picture and eight small object cards

Place object cards on the scene picture as directed

3 Understanding and following spoken questions

Scene picture Answer questions with short answers

4 Understanding and following spoken questions

Three object cards Answer questions with short answers

5 Understanding and responding to personal questions

No visual prompt Answer questions with short answers


Starters, Speaking, Achievement of Shields, 2009

As for the Listening and Reading papers, candidate performance varied to some extent from place to place. The table opposite gives the average Speaking performance for candidates from the twenty countries or regions with the highest number of entries in 2009.

Country/ Region


Country/ Region











Starters, Speaking, Performance by country/region, 2009

Recommendations for candidate preparation Candidates in the Starters Speaking test are required to follow simple instructions, answer simple questions about a picture and about

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themselves. These are standard tasks in most English classes for young learners. Sample materials have been made available to give examples of the kind of pictures, instructions and questions candidates will be asked to respond to.

Part 1 To prepare for Part 1, candidates should practise identifying people, animals and things in different pictures by pointing in response to questions such as:

Where’s the hat?

Where are the trees?

Part 2 To prepare for Part 2, candidates should practise placing smaller pictures in different positions on a larger picture in response to instructions such as:

Put the grapes next to the dog.

Put the shoe between the chair and the ball.

Candidates should not worry if the required position does not seem to be a very appropriate one!

Part 3 To prepare for Part 3, candidates should practise listening to and answering (with one-word answers) simple questions about a picture. For example:

What’s this? (house)

What colour is it? (green)

How many houses are there? (five)

What’s the man doing? (drinking)

Parts 4 and 5 In Parts 4 and 5, candidates need to feel confident that they can give basic information about themselves and can understand and answer questions such as:

What’s your name?

How old are you?

How many teachers do you have?

Who do you sit next to at school?

Do you wear glasses?

Can you play tennis?

Is your house big or small?

What’s your favourite food/colour/animal/ sport?

Teachers should use English to give everyday classroom instructions so that candidates become very familiar with the English of classroom exercises and activities.

Candidates create a good impression when they can handle greetings and other social formulae confidently. Teachers should try to use these on a regular basis in the classroom so that they come naturally, and make sure that candidates are happy using Hello, Goodbye and Thank you. They should also encourage candidates to use Sorry? or I don’t understand when this is appropriate.



Movers: Component 1 – Listening Overview

The Movers Listening paper has five parts. There are 25 questions and the test lasts approximately 25 minutes. It is summarised in the table below.



1 Listening for names and descriptions

Picture, names and dialogue Draw lines to match names to people in a picture

5

2 Listening for names, spellings and other information

Form or page of notepad with missing words and dialogue

Write words or numbers in gaps 5

3 Listening for specific information (past tense)

Pictures, days of the week and dialogue

Draw lines from days of week to correct pictures

5

4 Listening for specific information of various kinds


Tick boxes under correct pictures 5

5 Listening for words, colours and specific information

Picture and dialogue Carry out instructions to colour and draw or write

5


Movers, Listening, Achievement of Shields, 2009

Candidate performance varied to some extent from place to place. The table opposite gives the average Listening performance at Movers level for candidates from the main countries or regions of entry in 2009.

Country/ Region


Country/ Region











Movers, Listening, Performance by country/region, 2009


Movers: Version 115

Part 1 Although many candidates did this task well, many others appeared to find it difficult and did not manage to identify one or more of the people in the picture correctly. The most difficult person to identify seemed to be Anna, the girl in the green t-shirt with a flower on it. A number of candidates confused her and Mary, the woman next to her with the bottle of milk.

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Each of the other questions also posed some difficulties for a minority of candidates, with Lucy, the girl with the funny hat, proving the easiest to identify.

Part 2 Candidates found this to be by far the most difficult part of the test with relatively few gaining full marks.

Candidates had to write the words short, purple, towel, playground and morning. All of these words are on either the Starters or the Movers vocabulary list and only short was spelt out for the candidates.

Question 1 caused few problems for most candidates. They had to write the surname Short. Most heard this correctly but a few candidates wrote variations such as Shord, Scort, Sgort or Cheat.

Although most candidates appeared to understand the colour purple, some of them misspelled it, writing, for example, purle, pruple, prople, puple, puper, purpo, perpul, perpol or perple.

Candidates found it difficult to cope with Question 3 as many did not appear to know the word, towel. If they did know it, then they were unsure about the spelling. Attempts at this question included such words as tamel, towele, towl, towle, tawall, tower, tall, toal, tie, powels, colors, top, big one.

In Question 4, candidates had to write playground. Although many managed to do this successfully, many others had difficulties and wrote such things as playgroud, plane ord, playmont, playgrand, playround, playgone, playroom, playromp, playrant or playsack.

Question 5 was generally well done. Candidates clearly understood that they were expected to write morning and they were generally able to spell it correctly. The occasional candidate missed out the r or one of the n’s.

Part 3 Stronger candidates all achieved full marks for this part of the test. However, a small group of candidates did not cope well with the task.

A number of candidates lost marks by drawing a line from each of the days of the week. In fact, in this task, only six of the seven days are described and so one of the words will not have a line from it. If a picture has two lines attached to it, then the candidate will not get the mark, even if one of the lines is the correct one. Weaker candidates appeared to be hearing individual words and opting for a picture relating to that word without managing to understand the whole meaning of

what was being said. For example, they heard the word ‘mountain’ and went for the top left picture without perhaps noticing that there were also mountains in the picture on the bottom left.

Part 4 This part of the test was also done well by most candidates, with many candidates gaining at least 4 marks.

Candidates coped very well with Question 3. Almost all understood that the CD was the present that Jane liked most.

The question that candidates handled least well was Question 1. Weaker candidates failed to identify the fact that Kim had toothache.

There were occasional problems with other questions in this part – some candidates did not recognise that the correct answer to Question 2 was a lizard, or (Question 4) that John’s football shirt is in the bathroom rather than the garden or his bedroom, or (Question 5) that Kim wants the picture of the dolphin. However, the majority of candidates were able to answer these questions successfully.

Part 5 Although many candidates coped well with this task, a sizeable group did have some difficulty with it.

The most difficult question was the drawing one. Candidates were asked to draw a cloud above the trees. Quite a large number of candidates simply left this question out. Those who did attempt it had no difficulty in understanding what they had to draw and where they had to draw it. Candidates also occasionally lost marks by colouring too much. For example, they coloured not just the rock but the bird on it and the whole of the boy’s sweater and not just the star on it.

Occasionally candidates failed to identify the correct object to be coloured, opting for the wrong fish, the house lower down the hill rather than the one at the top of the hill or the star on the sail rather than the one on the boy’s sweater. A number of candidates hedged their bets by colouring all the fish, both the houses and both the stars but this approach fails to gain candidates any marks for the respective questions.




Part 1 Ensure that candidates realise that there is one extra name on the page which will not be mentioned. They should not aim to connect all seven names to a person in the picture.

Make sure that candidates know which first names on the Starters and Movers vocabulary lists are male and which are female. Note that Kim, Pat and Sam may be used to refer to either a boy or a girl.

Train candidates to listen for all the information they are given about a particular person. They should not jump to conclusions after hearing one piece of information, as usually some further information will be required in order to identify the correct person.

Part 2 Candidates often find this part of the Movers Listening test difficult. Practise by doing similar productive tasks in the classroom.

Encourage candidates to be as accurate as possible in their spelling of the words on the Starters and Movers vocabulary lists.

Ensure that candidates realise that they have to write responses which make sense, given the prompts on the question paper. They should look at these prompts carefully and think about what they mean before listening to the recording.

Part 3 Make sure candidates realise they will be expected to use any one day of the week once only.

Encourage candidates to answer all the questions. When they have answered the questions they are sure about, tell them to guess the remaining days.

Part 4 Make sure that candidates realise that they must listen to the whole dialogue before deciding on their answer.

Often quite a wide range of vocabulary is covered in this part of the test. Candidates must be familiar with all of the words on the Starters and Movers vocabulary lists, in order to be sure of achieving full marks.


Ensure that candidates appreciate that they will have to either draw or write something for one of the questions in this part of the Movers test. If they have to write something, it will not be a difficult word and there will probably be something in the picture that makes it a logical word to write.

Train candidates to listen carefully for prepositional phrases which describe exactly where something is, e.g. the star between the two mountains.



Movers: Component 2 – Reading and Writing Overview

The Movers Reading and Writing paper has six parts. There are 40 questions and the test lasts 30 minutes. It is summarised in the table below.



1 Reading short definitions and matching to words

Writing words

Labelled pictures and definitions

Copy correct words next to definitions

6




3 Reading a dialogue

Choosing the correct responses

Short dialogue with multiple-choice responses

Choose correct response by circling a letter

6

4 Reading for specific information and gist

Copying words

Cloze text, words and pictures

Choose and copy missing words correctly

Tick a box to choose the best title for the story

7

5 Reading a story

Completing sentences

Story, pictures and gapped sentences

Complete sentences about story by writing 1,2 or 3 words

10

6 Reading and understanding a factual text

Copying words

Gapped text and 3-option multiple-choice (grammatical words)

Complete text by selecting the correct words and copying them in the corresponding gaps

5


Movers, Reading and Writing, Achievement of Shields, 2009

Candidate performance varied to some extent from place to place. The table below gives the average Reading and Writing performance for candidates from the twenty countries or regions with the highest number of entries in 2009.

Country/ Region


Country/ Region











Movers, Reading and Writing, Performance by country/region, 2009

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Movers: Version 115

Part 1 Candidates did extremely well in this part, with very few errors made on any of the questions. The questions all contained elements of Starters and Movers level lexis and grammar, which candidates had clearly learned thoroughly. They were probably helped by the fact that the three lexical sets of words in the task – animals, clothes and transport – were very distinct, so making fewer options attractive for each question.

Part 2 Candidates did well in most of the Part 2 questions. Question 6, The dog that is playing in the water is brown, was answered correctly by nearly all the candidates. This question had a relatively complex structure, but the brown dog was a central feature of the picture so easily identified, and candidates clearly found the lexis, dog, brown and water, simple for this level. Candidates found Question 2, A boy is riding a bike to the house, much more challenging, and a significant number of them answered it incorrectly. In the picture, the boy is riding the bike away from the house, so presumably many candidates did not register the directional meaning of to here.

Part 3 Candidates also did well in most of Part 3, particularly Question 4, Was the party at her house? and Question 5, Who was there from her family? However, many candidates chose the wrong response for Question 6, I wasn’t well. I couldn’t go. Most chose the wrong option, C, She’s got a headache!, possibly mistakenly matching headache with the reference to being well in the question. Here, candidates had to understand the function of the correct response, You can come to my party!, as a suggestion to console the boy who could not go to the other party. Candidates probably found this more difficult because the clues that matched it to the question were not obvious.

Part 4 Candidates performed well in this part, too. Few errors were made in Question 3, ‘It’s outside, under the… tree…,’ said her aunt, possibly because tree is a familiar word and is often linked with under. Few candidates chose the wrong answer for Question 6, They made two: one for Daisy and one for Daisy’s favourite …doll… . The question that caused candidates the most difficulty was Question 4, Daisy ran to pick it up, then started to …cry… . The most common wrong answer was rain, indicating that candidates did

not understand that the subject of the sentence was still Daisy.

Part 5 Candidates found this part more challenging although the majority of them managed to answer most of the questions correctly. They did well in Question 6, Mrs Cook took the book home in a …box…, in particular. This may be because the answer was a single, short word so there was less opportunity for making mistakes in writing, and also they did not have to provide the article, a. The questions that caused large numbers of candidates problems were Questions 5, 9 and 10. Many different wrong answers were given for Question 5, …Sally… knew all the books in the library but she didn’t know this one. Many of the wrong answers made no sense in the gap, and several candidates gave no answer. This may be because the position of the gap at the beginning of the sentence made it harder for candidates to grasp its meaning. For Question 9, Jane’s father bought the book at …a zoo…, the two most common problems were that candidates had omitted to include an article, a or the, in their answers or they had given the library as their answer. For Question 10, Jane’s mother wanted to have …dinner… before reading the book to Jane, candidates wrote all kinds of different answers. For example: a story, finish the book, answer, read that question, zoo. It is likely that the candidates found this hard because the question required them to understand what Jane’s mother wanted from words that she spoke, ‘Can you read it to me?’ said Jane? ‘Yes, after dinner,’ Mrs Cook said, rather than having what she wanted explicitly spelled out in the text.

Part 6 Candidates found some of this part very difficult but they answered Question 3 very well, Some eat all kinds of fruit and plants …but… pandas only eat one plant, and 5, some stand in rivers and wait …for… the fish. Large numbers of candidates chose the wrong options for Questions 1, 2 and 4. For Question 1, A panda is a kind of bear …which… is black and white, the most common wrong answer was where, and for Question 2, …These… bears live in the snow the most common wrong answer was This, possibly because candidates are more familiar with this than these or they did not understand the plural/singular relationships between words. For Question 4, Some brown bears …jump… in the water, the most common wrong answer was jumps, indicating that the candidates had not registered that the subject, Some brown bears, was plural.




Part 1 Give candidates practice in reading and writing definitions of items from the Starters and Movers vocabulary lists. Ensure candidates are familiar with the structures and vocabulary commonly used in defining things, such as You with general reference, e.g. You can find books or do your homework in this place, relative pronouns, and infinitives used to express purpose.

Candidates should practise accurate copying, but remind them to copy the whole option. This means including the article if there is one, and not adding one if it is not needed.

Once they have written the answers, they should check that they have spelled the words correctly and included articles if necessary.

Part 2 Give candidates plenty of practice matching pictures and sentences, drawing their attention to elements such as prepositions and verb forms (especially the present continuous tense) and using pictures which make these distinctions clear. Give a choice of pictures for each sentence, so that they really have to think about the distinction between, for example, is riding a bike and has got a bike.

Remind candidates that the sentence must be completely true according to the picture for a ‘yes’ answer.

Part 3 Remind candidates to read all the options before choosing the best and most appropriate one. Practise appropriate responses, not just to questions, but also to statements.

Give plenty of practice, too, with multiple-choice questions to encourage candidates to understand the difference between the options in meaning, grammar, sense and appropriacy.

Part 4 Make sure candidates realise that they need to read the text surrounding the question to be able to correctly fill the gap. Make sure that they understand that they only have to write one word for each answer and that that word will be found in and can be copied from the box of options on the page opposite the gapped text. Remind candidates that their spelling must be 100% correct in this part, as they are copying from the given options.

Practise choosing the right form of words (plural/singular nouns, adjectives, verbs) within sentences and texts. Help candidates to identify words or structures that will indicate what form of word the answer should be.

Part 5 Remind candidates that the pictures are there to support the story but the answers should always be found in the texts.

Practise reading for gist and give candidates tasks aimed at improving understanding of whole texts, for example, selecting titles for paragraphs and complete stories.

Give candidates practice in identifying and understanding what is being referred to in a text, especially the meaning of pronouns and adverbs such as here and there.

Practise sentence transformations focusing on elements such as:

expressing what someone wants from what is said in direct speech, e.g. ‘Let’s go outside,’ said Anna. = Anna wanted to go outside.

pronouns transformed into common or proper nouns, e.g. Mrs White came to try it. She liked my cake. Then she tasted Michael’s biscuits. = Mrs White tasted the children’s food.

using synonyms, e.g. Mrs White tried the food. = Mrs White tasted the food.

Remind candidates to copy the spelling correctly when taking words from the texts. In this part, they will not be asked to supply any words themselves; all words in every answer are directly retrievable from the text.

Part 6 Remind candidates that their spelling must be 100% correct in this part, as they are copying from the given options.

As with Part 4 above, they should practise choosing and forming the correct type of word (nouns, adjectives, verbs) to fit into sentences and texts.

Remind candidates that they must choose from the three options given. It is not necessary for them to think of a word to fit each space. Remind candidates to be careful to check that they have chosen a word from the correct set of options.

As in Part 5, practise reading skills such as understanding how pronouns can refer back to names or things.



Movers: Component 3 – Speaking Overview

The Movers Speaking test has four parts and lasts about six minutes. It is summarised in the table below.

Marking Candidates are marked on the basis of the understanding they show by their responses, on the speed and extent to which they can respond and on their pronunciation.

The same oral examiners are used at this level as at Starters and Flyers. They all have to meet specific requirements for qualifications and experience, receive specific training in assessing Young Learners, and have their assessment standardised.


1 Describing 2 pictures by using short responses

2 similar pictures Identify 4 differences between pictures

2 Understanding the beginning of a story and then continuing it based on a series of pictures

Picture sequence Describe each picture in turn

3 Suggesting a picture which is different and explaining why

Picture sets Identify odd one out and give reason


Open-ended questions Answer personal questions


Movers, Speaking, Achievement of shields, 2009

Candidate performance varied to some extent from place to place. The table opposite gives the average Speaking performance for candidates from the twenty countries or regions with the highest number of entries in 2009.

Country/ Region


Country/ Region











Movers, Speaking, Performance by country/region, 2009

Recommendations for candidate preparation Candidates in the Movers Speaking test are required to follow instructions and talk in a very simple way about themselves. These are standard tasks in most English classes for young learners. Sample materials have been made available to give examples of the kind of pictures, instructions and questions candidates will be asked to respond to.

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Part 1 To prepare for Part 1, candidates should practise describing differences between two similar pictures. The differences may be related to colour, size, number, position, appearance, activity, etc. – for example:

• Here there’s one elephant, but here there are two.

• This monkey’s black, but this monkey’s brown.

• This girl’s skating, but this girl’s walking.

Although the above represent examples of ideal responses, something simpler is acceptable – for example, One elephant and two elephants, Black and brown, etc.

Part 2 The Part 2 task in the Movers Speaking test involves candidates telling a simple story based on four pictures in a numbered sequence, so candidates will benefit from practice in telling similar picture stories. However, examiners are not looking for evidence of storytelling skills. Candidates are only expected to say a few words about each picture in the sequence, without necessarily developing these comments into a narrative.

The structures candidates will need most frequently in Part 2 are There is/are, the present of the verbs be and have (got), the modals can/can’t and must/mustn’t and the present continuous of some action verbs, e.g. come, go, read, sleep, dream, bring, give, laugh. They should be able to construct simple narrative sentences like John’s sleeping now. John’s mum and dad are giving him some presents. Candidates should also be able to describe simple feelings, e.g. John’s very happy.

Before asking candidates to start to speak, the examiner gives the title of the story, e.g. John’s dream and says ‘Look at the pictures first.’ Candidates should be advised to think about the title and to look at each picture in turn to get a general idea of what the story is about. The examiner will give an introduction to the story by describing what is happening in the first picture and then invite the candidate to continue. Candidates should not worry if they cannot follow the narrative in the pictures. It is perfectly acceptable just to say a few words about each picture in the sequence without developing these comments into a story. The examiner will prompt by asking a question if the candidate needs help.

Part 3 To prepare for Part 3, candidates should practise

identifying the different one, or the ‘odd one out’, in a set of four pictures. In the sample materials, there is a picture of a book among three pictures of different fruits, a picture of something found in a house (a sofa) among three pictures of things found in a garden, a picture of a boy climbing among three pictures of children washing, and a picture of a piano among three pictures of sports. Candidates are only expected to give simple reasons for choosing a picture as the different one – for example:

• You find these in a garden and this in a house.

• These children are washing. This boy is climbing.

• These are sports. This is a piano.

There may be many different ways of expressing the difference, e.g. These are outside. This is inside; They are washing and he isn’t washing; These are games but this isn’t a game. Candidates may also find an alternative difference from the one intended. This is perfectly acceptable provided they give a reason for their choice.

Part 4 To prepare for Part 4 teachers should make sure candidates feel confident answering questions about themselves, their families and friends, their homes, their school and free time activities, their likes and dislikes and other topics related to their everyday lives. They should be able to answer questions such as:

• Where do you buy your clothes from?

• Who chooses your clothes?

• What do you wear when you play sport?

Simple answers of a word, a phrase or a short sentence are all that is required.

Questions will normally be in the present tense, but candidates should also be prepared to use the past tense and say, for example, what they did yesterday.

Teachers should use English to give everyday classroom instructions so that candidates become very familiar with the English of classroom exercises and activities.

Candidates create a good impression when they can handle greetings and other social formulae confidently. Teachers should try to use these on a regular basis in the classroom so that they come naturally, and make sure candidates are happy using Hello, Goodbye and Thank you. They should encourage candidates to use Sorry? or I don’t understand when this is appropriate.



Flyers: Component 1 – Listening Overview The Flyers Listening paper has five parts. There are 25 questions and the test lasts approximately 25 minutes. It is summarised in the table below.



1 Listening for names and descriptions

Picture, names and dialogue

Draw lines to match names to people in a picture

5

2 Listening for names, spellings and other information

Form or page of notepad with missing words and dialogue

Write words or numbers in gaps 5

3 Listening for words, names and detailed information

Picture sets and list of illustrated words or names and dialogues

Match pictures with illustrated word or name by writing letter in a box

5

4 Listening for specific information of various kinds


Tick correct box under correct picture 5

5 Listening for words, colours and specific information

Picture and dialogue Carry out instructions to colour, draw and write 5


Flyers, Listening, Achievement of Shields, 2009

Candidate performance varied to some extent from place to place. The table opposite gives the average Listening performance for candidates from the twenty countries or regions with the highest number of entries in 2009.

Country/ Region


Country/ Region


Argentina 3.83 Italy 3.25

Brazil 3.81 Mexico 3.51

China 2.25 Roumania 4.10

Colombia 3.49 Russia 3.77



Germany 4.09 Taiwan 3.76

Greece 3.75 Thailand 3.20

Hong Kong 3.89 Turkey 3.50

India 3.79 Vietnam 3.43

Flyers, Listening, Performance by country/region, 2009

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Flyers: Version 115

Part 1 This part of the test was well answered with most of the stronger candidates managing to gain full marks.

The hardest people to identify seemed to be Betty, the girl looking ill on the sofa, and Katy, the little girl on the swing in the garden. Occasionally candidates failed to identify one or more of the other people in the picture as well.

Part 2 This task proved to be the most difficult part of the test with relatively few candidates managing to achieve full marks.

All the questions caused problems for some candidates with Questions 2 and 4 the most demanding.

In Question 1, some candidates appeared to have difficulty distinguishing the number fifteen, failing to write the correct answer as either a word or a number. Some wrote 50, while others simply omitted any answer to this question.

An acceptable answer for Question 2 was either flies or insects. However, many candidates failed to write either of these words accurately enough to gain the mark.

Question 3 required the candidates to write the spelled-out name PADDY. A significant number of candidates misheard one or more of the letters, mistaking P for B, A for E, and/or D for T, for example. Interestingly, almost all the candidates coped well with the letter Y.

In the last question, candidates had to write the word Friday. Although many were able to do this without difficulty, others either spelled Friday incorrectly or wrote a completely different day of the week.

Part 3 On the whole, candidates managed this task well, with many candidates achieving four or five marks. However, there were a number of weaker candidates who got only zero or one mark for this part.

When a candidate made only one mistake this was usually with either the camera or the blanket, failing to associate them with the box or the suitcase, respectively.

Some candidates also failed to make the connection between the magazine and the gloves.

On the whole, candidates generally coped well with the questions relating to the keys and the cups.

Part 4 This task was fairly well done with many candidates achieving either four or five marks for this part of the test. Weaker candidates, however, gained only one or two of the available marks.

The easiest question for candidates was number 4, which required them to identify the problem on the TV screen.

Questions 1 and 3 caused problems for weaker candidates with many unable to identify the correct time in Question 1 or to identify that it was a young boy who wanted to speak to Harry on the phone.

Question 5 caused difficulties for some candidates, who failed to identify the task that Harry has to do next.

Part 5

Although quite a large proportion of candidates gained full marks for this task, many others got at least one incorrect answer. Weaker candidates achieved only one or two marks for the task.

In the task, candidates had to colour various items; they also had to write the word sky and to draw and colour a red scarf round the neck of the person carrying the cups.

A number of candidates failed to cope with the writing question. Those who attempted to write the word usually succeeded in spelling it correctly. However, many simply omitted the question while others appeared to think that they were required to colour the board blue rather than to write the word sky on it.

With the drawing question, weaker candidates occasionally drew a red scarf but put it round the neck of the wrong person. Some candidates seem to have thought that they were being instructed to colour the car red.

As far as the colouring questions were concerned, the question that candidates found hardest to cope with was the green sweater on the clothes line. A number of candidates opted for the wrong item of clothing on the line. One other way in which candidates lost marks in this task was by colouring too much. Some, for example, coloured all the stars instead of just the biggest.




Part 1 Encourage candidates to spend the time they are given to look at the picture before the questions start by thinking about how each of the characters might be described. They should be aware that they will have to focus on language that points to the differences between two similar people in the picture.

The language that candidates will need for this task is that which is used not only for describing people’s clothes and physical appearance but also for commenting on what they are doing. Practice in describing a range of pictures and photos containing people is, therefore, likely to help candidates do well in this part of the test.

Part 2 Give candidates as much practice as possible with this kind of productive task, as it is consistently the one that causes most difficulties.

Make sure that candidates understand the meanings of, and are also able to spell correctly, the words in the Starters, Movers and Flyers vocabulary lists.

Even at Flyers level, candidates often seem uncertain about the names of some letters of the alphabet in English. Clearly the more practice that can be given here, the better.

Part 3 Make sure candidates read the introductory question and instructions at the head of the task as this should help them to understand what is said. They should remember that speakers will talk about the places and objects that are illustrated that are not the right answers as well as those that are correct. Candidates should not assume that the first word that they hear is the right answer.

Part 4 Part 4 covers a wide range of the grammar and vocabulary appropriate to this level. Teachers should make sure that the structures and vocabulary listed in the Starters, Movers and Flyers syllabuses have been well covered in class.

It is also very important that candidates listen to the whole of the dialogue before choosing their answer. They should be aware that the correct answer to each individual question may come at any point in the dialogue and is not necessarily the last thing mentioned.


As with all parts of this test, make sure that candidates know exactly what is expected of them. In Part 5, for example, they are required to write something and also to draw and colour one object. They will not be expected to write or draw anything difficult. Nor will they be expected to draw or colour particularly well. They simply have to show they have understood the instructions correctly.

For this task, candidates will need to show that they can understand language which distinguishes between two similar but slightly different objects or people. This may be a matter of understanding language which explains precisely where something is, or it may be a matter of understanding language which focuses on how two people or things look different. Practice in handling these types of language will therefore stand candidates in good stead for dealing with this part of the test.

Candidates should be aware that this task is perhaps more challenging than it appears and they should ensure that they listen to the instructions very carefully.



Flyers: Component 2 – Reading and Writing Overview The Flyers Reading and Writing paper has six parts. There are 50 questions and the test lasts 40 minutes. It is summarised in the table below.



1 Reading definitions and matching to words

Copying words

Nouns and definitions Copy the correct words next to the definitions

10




3 Reading and completing a continuous dialogue

Writing letters

Half a dialogue with responses in a box

Select correct response and write A-G in a gap

5

4 Reading for specific information and gist

Copying words

Cloze text with words in a box

Choose and copy missing words correctly

Tick a box to choose the best title for the story

6

5 Reading a story

Completing sentences

Story, picture and gapped sentences

Complete sentences by writing 1, 2, 3 or 4 words

7

6 Reading and understanding a factual text

Copying words

Gapped text and 3-option multiple-choice (grammatical words)

Complete text by selecting the correct words and copying them in the corresponding gaps

10

7 Reading and understanding a short text (e.g. page from letter or diary)

Providing words

Gapped text Write words in gaps

No answer options given

5


Flyers, Reading and Writing, Achievement of Shields, 2009

Candidate performance varied to some extent from place to place. The table on the following page gives the average Reading and Writing performance for candidates from the twenty countries or regions with the highest number of entries in 2009.

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Country/ Region


Argentina 3.61 Italy 3.28 Brazil 3.67 Mexico 3.53 China 2.86 Roumania 4.07 Colombia 3.39 Russia 3.58 Cyprus 3.37 Spain 3.46 France 3.42 Sri Lanka 3.43 Germany 3.85 Taiwan 3.51 Greece 3.62 Thailand 3.16 Hong Kong 3.89 Turkey 3.20


Flyers, Reading and Writing, Performance by country/region, 2009


Flyers: Version 115

Part 1 A significant number of candidates scored full marks in this part and most candidates performed very well, especially in Questions 1, 2 and 3. For Question 1, the words hospital and an ambulance (the key) may have helped some candidates answer because they are close in form to words that mean the same in candidates’ own languages. Question 2 had a relatively simple structure and lexis and Question 3 started with a helpful clue, This subject....., so candidates’ search for the correct word, history, was narrowed down immediately. More of the candidates gave the wrong answer for Questions 8 and 9. The answer to Question 8 was police station, which is unlikely to cause difficulty, but the grammar of the question was relatively complex: You should..... if someone steals your money. In Question 9, it is likely that candidates did not know the meaning of the word factory, the key, as the wording of the question was not complex for this level.

Part 2 Candidates answered this part very successfully with most candidates writing the correct responses for Questions 2 and 7. These two questions contained structures and lexis from all three levels of YLE, which candidates had clearly learned well. Question 5 was the only one that gave rise to significant numbers of wrong responses, possibly because candidates overlooked the comparative element of the sentence, The bigger bowl....is made of wood, understanding it to mean simply big and not taking the larger, glass bowl in the picture into account.

Part 3 Candidates also did very well in this part. Questions 2 and 3 were answered most accurately. This may have been because candidates were particularly familiar with the relatively simple questions, How do you spell her surname? and Is she married? and the answers do not contain any unexpected elements. Question 1, I like our English teacher a lot – shall we invite her to the party? produced a few more wrong answers. The most common wrong answer that candidates chose was H, Good idea, if he comes, our teacher will be happy. Presumably they did not comprehend the gender significance of her in the question and were attracted too strongly by the appropriacy of the beginning of the answer, Good idea... .

Part 4 Candidates generally found Part 4 more difficult, but Question 2, I haven’t …put… on my gloves, and Question 3, I looked in my …coat… pocket, were answered very well. Both questions had good support for the answer before and after the gaps and candidates were not attracted by the wrong options that would have fitted grammatically such as pushed for Question 2 and camp for Question 3. The majority of candidates also chose the correct title for the text in Question 6. However, a very high proportion of candidates chose the wrong answer for Question 1, I was too …excited… to sleep! The majority of candidates who answered incorrectly chose late or difficult as their answer. This possibly indicates that they mistakenly read I as It. A significant number of candidates also chose the wrong answer for Question 4, suddenly I …fell… over on my back. Here, the most popular wrong answer was pushed. The appropriate word had been chosen from a grammatical perspective, but the meaning had not been correctly understood.

Part 5 Candidates did find this part a little more challenging, but most of the questions did not give rise to significant numbers of errors. Candidates answered Question 2, David felt …unhappy… because he wanted to play football and he couldn’t, particularly well. This may be because the answer was a single word so there was less opportunity for making mistakes in writing, and the verb felt before the gap is particularly helpful in guiding candidates to the right kind of word for their answer. Questions 1 and 7 caused many errors. For Question 1, candidates who answered incorrectly did not seem to know what kind of word or phrase was needed to complete the sentence and extracted their answers from the wrong part of the text – for example, to play football and with his friend. For Question 7, Robert …did his homework…



before he played football on Thursday, candidates seemed to select the correct part of the text, and had probably understood the question, but had then not managed to make their answer fit grammatically – for example, done his homework, finishes homework, do his homework.

Part 6 With the exception of Questions 5 and 6, candidates answered this part well. Question 10, the environment isn’t good …for… us was answered most accurately. The problem for candidates in Question 5, When the astronauts were on the moon, people on Earth were …watching… them on the television, was possibly a lack of familiarity with the past continuous form, were watching. Most of the candidates who answered wrongly gave watched as their answer, showing that they had recognised the need for a past tense verb but had not known which verb form should follow were. For Question 6, The astronauts …wore… very heavy clothes and shoes, the most popular wrong answer was wear. Here, the surrounding text required candidates to understand that the astronauts referred to were those that went to the moon, and so they needed to use the past tense. Presumably, those who chose the wrong option did not understand this.

Part 7 Candidates did quite well in this part, especially in Question 1, I like it …very… much and Question 2, Mum asked me to write a letter …to/for… Grandma. However, Question 4, and drew a beautiful …picture… of Grandma and Question 5, to buy a …stamp… to put on the envelope, caused significant numbers of errors. For both questions, candidates wrote answers which fitted well with the text immediately before the gap but did not fit with the text after the gap. For example, for Question 4: flower, card, toy and for Question 5: present, bag, ticket.


Part 1 Help candidates to become familiar with vocabulary in a particular area of lexis (see thematic vocabulary lists in the Young Learners English Tests Handbook) and to practise distinguishing between words on the vocabulary list that are similar or commonly confused.

Encourage candidates to read all the options before they answer the questions, so that they become aware of all the different related words.

Tell candidates to make sure they read the whole sentence before answering.

Remind them to be careful when copying their answers; many candidates lose marks by leaving out articles, adding unnecessary articles, forgetting to make them plural, or misspelling words.

Part 2 Remind candidates that the whole sentence must be completely correct to warrant a yes answer. Make sure they read the whole sentence carefully before answering.

Encourage candidates to look very carefully at the pictures to make sure they do not miss the part of the scene that the question is about.

Give candidates plenty of practice matching pictures and sentences, drawing their attention to key elements of vocabulary and grammar in the sentences and using pictures which make these distinctions clear. Give candidates a choice of pictures for each sentence, so that they really have to pay attention to the distinctions between, for example, spots and stripes.

Part 3 Remind candidates to read all the options before choosing the best and most appropriate one.

Explain that they should not just ‘word spot’, where they simply see the same word in the question and in an option and then automatically select that option, without paying enough attention to whether it’s the most appropriate answer in terms of function, meaning and structure.

Practise appropriate responses, not just to questions, but also to statements.

Give candidates plenty of practice in using the set (formulaic) expressions in the vocabulary lists, with different types of responses to questions that may themselves be questions, as well as statements.

Part 4 Remind candidates that the answers for Questions 1-5 are never more than four words but may be only one, two or three.

Give candidates practice in choosing the right form of words (plural/singular nouns, adjectives, verbs) within sentences and texts.

Help them to identify words or structures that will indicate what kind of word the answer is likely to be, e.g. if the gap is preceded by some, the answer cannot be a countable singular noun.

Give them plenty of practice in identifying words which fit grammatically into sentences but do not work because they make no sense in that particular context.



Part 5 Give candidates practice in identifying and understanding what is being referred to in a text, especially the meaning of pronouns and adverbs such as here and there.

Practise sentence transformations focusing on elements such as:

how to express what someone wants by looking at what he or she says in direct speech, e.g. ‘Let’s go outside,’ said Anna. = Anna wanted to go outside.

pronouns transformed into common or proper nouns, e.g. Mrs White came to try it. She liked my cake. Then she tasted Michael’s biscuits. = Mrs White tasted the children’s food.

using synonyms, e.g. Mrs White tried the food. = Mrs White tasted the food.

Remind candidates to copy the spelling correctly when taking words from the texts. In this part, they will not be asked to supply any words themselves; all words in every answer are directly retrievable from the text.

Part 6 Remind candidates that their spelling must be 100% correct in this part, as they are copying from given options.

As with Part 4 above, candidates should practise forming and choosing the correct type of word (plural/singular nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.) to fit into sentences and texts.

Remind candidates that the options are given, so it is not necessary to think of a word to fit in the space.

Make sure candidates are familiar with past forms of regular and irregular verbs in the Starters, Movers and Flyers vocabulary lists.

Part 7 Give candidates plenty of practice in using common collocations, such as ask a question, do some homework etc.

As with all gap-fill tasks, candidates should practise choosing words which fit with the surrounding text lexically and grammatically and which help the text make sense. Make sure they do not just consider the text immediately before and/or after the gap. Their choice of a correct answer may depend on something said further back or further ahead in the text. Encourage candidates to self-edit, making sure they re-read the whole text through before they decide their final answers.



Flyers: Component 3 – Speaking Overview The Flyers Speaking test has four parts and lasts about eight minutes. It is summarised in the table below.

Marking Candidates are marked on the basis of the understanding they show by their responses, on the speed and extent to which they can respond, the grammatical accuracy of the speech they produce, and on their pronunciation.


1 Understanding statements and responding with differences

Two similar pictures (one unseen)

Oral statements about unseen picture

Identify six differences in candidate’s picture from statements about examiner’s picture

2 Responding to questions with short answers

Forming questions to elicit information

One set of facts and one set of question cues

Answer and ask questions about two people, objects or situations

3 Understanding the beginning of a story and then continuing it based on a series of pictures

Picture sequence Describe each picture in turn


Open-ended questions about candidate

Answer personal questions


Flyers, Speaking, Achievement of Shields, 2009

Candidate performance varied to some extent from place to place. The table opposite gives the average Speaking performance for candidates from the twenty countries or regions with the highest number of entries in 2009.

Country/ Region


Country/ Region


Argentina 4.57 Italy 4.38

Brazil 4.49 Mexico 4.27

China 4.12 Roumania 4.70

Colombia 4.54 Russia 4.45



Germany 4.69 Taiwan 4.58

Greece 4.49 Thailand 4.22 Hong Kong 4.76 Turkey 4.39


Flyers, Speaking, Performance by country/region, 2009

Recommendations for candidate preparation Candidates in the Flyers Speaking test are required to follow instructions and talk in a simple way about different visual prompts, and to answer simple questions about themselves. These are standard tasks in most English classes for young learners. Sample materials have been made available to give examples of the kind of pictures, instructions and questions candidates will be asked to respond to.

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50

60

1 2 3 4 5


% o

f can

dida

ture



Part 1 To prepare for Part 1, candidates should practise listening to the teacher make a statement about a picture, e.g. In my picture the flags are blue and orange, relating that to a picture in front of them, and commenting on the difference, In my picture the flags are red and yellow. In the test, differences between the examiner’s statements and the candidate’s picture will relate to things like colour, number, position, appearance, activity, shape, relative size, etc.

Part 2 To prepare for Part 2, candidates should have practice in asking questions as well as answering them. They should be able to form simple questions to ask for information about people, things and situations. This includes asking about time, place, age, appearance, etc. Candidates should be able to ask question-word questions using Who, What, When, Where, How old, How many, etc. (as, for example, in the sample materials, How many televisions are there?). They should also be able to ask ‘Yes/No’ questions, e.g. Is the water cold? Additionally, they need to be comfortable asking questions with two options, e.g. Does Robert live in a house or a flat?

Part 3 The Part 3 task in the Flyers Speaking test involves candidates telling a simple story based on five pictures in a numbered sequence, so candidates will benefit from practice in telling similar picture stories. However, examiners are not looking for evidence of storytelling skills. Candidates are only expected to say a few words about each picture in the sequence, without necessarily developing these comments into a narrative.

The structures candidates will need most frequently in Part 3 are There is/are, the present of the verbs be and have (got), the modals can/can’t and must/mustn’t and the present continuous of some action verbs, e.g. come, go, buy, make, put, take, play, open, carry, laugh. They may also need to use the present perfect tense or going to. They should be able to construct simple narrative sentences like The boys are making a snowman. They’re putting their father’s hat on its head. Candidates should also be able to describe simple feelings, e.g. Dad’s cold and wet. He’s not happy.

Before asking candidates to start to speak, the examiner gives the title of the story, e.g. Dad and the Snowman and says ‘Just look at the pictures first.’ Candidates are advised to think about the title and to look at each picture in turn to get a

general idea of what the story is about. The examiner will give an introduction to the story by describing what is happening in the first picture and then invite the candidate to continue. Candidates should not worry if they cannot follow the narrative in the pictures. It is perfectly acceptable just to say a few words about each picture in the sequence without developing these comments into a story. The examiner will prompt by asking a question if the candidate needs help.

Part 4 To prepare for Part 4, teachers should make sure candidates feel confident answering questions about themselves, their families and friends, their homes, their school and free time activities, their likes and dislikes and other topics related to their everyday lives. They should be able to answer questions such as:

• When do you have holidays?

• Where do you like going in the holidays?

• What do you like doing on holiday?

Simple answers in the form of a phrase or one or two short sentences are all that is required.

Questions will normally be in the present tense, but candidates should also be prepared to use the past and present perfect tenses and going to, and to answer questions about, for example, what they did yesterday or are going to do at the weekend.

Teachers should use English to give everyday classroom instructions, so that candidates become very familiar with the English of classroom exercises and activities.

Candidates create a good impression when they can handle greetings and other social formulae confidently. Teachers should try to use these on a regular basis in the classroom so that they come naturally to candidates, and make sure they are happy using Hello, Goodbye and Thank you. They should also encourage candidates to use Sorry? or I don’t understand when this is appropriate.



Notes on how the Cambridge Young Learners English Tests are marked These notes have been written in response to a number of enquiries from Cambridge ESOL Centre Examinations Managers and teachers. They are intended to help parents and teachers understand more fully how the Cambridge YLE Tests are marked.

General comments In all three levels of Reading and Writing – Starters, Movers and Flyers – correct spelling and grammar are required to get a mark.

Correct use of capital letters and punctuation is not tested.

Both British and American spellings are always accepted.

For Listening, some incorrect spellings may be accepted in Movers and Flyers Part 2.

In some Listening tasks, the need for correct spelling is signalled clearly on the recording, as the word which is tested is spelled out letter by letter.

Specific comments on parts of the tests

Starters – Listening Part 1: Lines (preferably straight) must be drawn clearly. Part 2: All names must be spelled correctly. They are spelled out letter by letter on the recording. Numbers may be given as figures or in words. Spelling of these must be correct. Part 3: Multiple choice. Answer must be clearly indicated. Part 4: Colouring does not need to be neat, but must show choice of answer clearly.

Starters – Reading and Writing Part 1: A clear tick or cross is required. Part 2: ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ must be spelled correctly. Ticks and crosses are not acceptable. Part 3: Answers must be correctly spelled. Part 4: Copying. Spelling must be correct. Part 5: Spelling and grammar (e.g. singular or plural noun) must be correct.

Movers – Listening Part 1: Lines (preferably straight) must be drawn clearly. Part 2: Spelling should be correct. Part 3: Lines (preferably straight) must be drawn clearly. Part 4: Multiple choice. Answer must be clearly indicated. Part 5: Colouring does not need to be neat, but must show choice of answer clearly. Spelling must be correct if there is a ‘writing’ question.

Movers – Reading and Writing Part 1: Copying. Spelling and use of articles must be correct. Part 2: ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ must be spelled correctly. Ticks and crosses are not acceptable. Part 3: Multiple choice. Answer must be clearly indicated. Part 4: Copying. Spelling must be correct. Part 5: Spelling and grammar must be correct. Part 6: Copying. Spelling must be correct.

Flyers – Listening Part 1: Lines (preferably straight) must be drawn clearly. Part 2: Spelling should be correct. Part 3: Matching. Answer must be clearly indicated. Part 4: Multiple choice. Answer must be clearly indicated. Part 5: Colouring does not need to be neat, but must show choice of answer clearly. Spelling must be correct for the ‘writing’ question.

Flyers – Reading and Writing Part 1: Copying. Spelling and use of articles must be correct. Part 2: ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ must be spelled correctly. Ticks and crosses are not acceptable. Part 3: Selecting. Answer must be clearly indicated. Part 4: Copying. Spelling must be correct. Part 5: Spelling and grammar must be correct. Part 6: Copying. Spelling must be correct. Part 7: Gap-fill. Spelling and grammar must be correct.



Starters Listening Mark Scheme Version 115

Starters Listening Tapescript

R = rubric Fch = female child

F = female adult Mch = male child

M = male adult

( ) = Acceptable extra words are placed in brackets

/ = A single slash is placed between acceptable alternative words within an answer

// = A double slash is placed between acceptable alternative complete answers

PART 1 (5 marks)

Lines should be drawn between:

1 duck and in tree

2 ice cream and in dog’s mouth

3 mango and under horse

4 mouse and between man’s feet

5 banana and in boy’s hand

PART 2 (5 marks)

1 (class) 2/two

2 L-U-C-Y

3 P-A-R-K

4 9 // nine

5 T-O-M

PART 3 (5 marks)

1 B

2 A

3 B

4 B

5 C

PART 4 (5 marks)

1 colour camera on box – red

2 colour camera between TV and radio – green

3 colour camera on bag – yellow

4 colour camera under chair – brown

5 colour camera next to man – orange

R: Hello. This is the Cambridge Starters Listening Test, Version 115.

PART ONE M Hello. Can you see the cat? F Yes, I can. M Can you put it on the wall, please? F OK. I’m putting the cat on the wall now.

R: Can you see the line? This is an example. Now you listen and draw lines.

R: One

M Now, the duck. F Where can I put it? M Put it in the tree please. F OK. The duck’s in the tree now.

R: Two

M Please put the mouse between the man’s feet.

F Pardon? M Can you put the mouse between the man’s

feet? F OK!

R: Three

F There’s a banana here. Where can I put it? M Oh, the banana...Put it in the boy’s hand. F In the boy’s hand? M Yes, please.



R: Four

F And can I put the ice-cream in the dog’s mouth? M The ice-cream? F Yes, can I put it in the dog’s mouth? M Yes, you can.

R: Five

M Now find the mango...And put it under the horse. F Sorry? Under the horse? M Yes, that’s right. F Good! I’m putting the mango there, now.

R: Now listen to Part One again.

That is the end of Part One.

PART TWO

R: Part Two. Look at the picture. Listen and write a name or number. There are two examples.

F Hello, what’s your name? Mch My name’s Bill. F Bill? How do you spell that? Mch B-I-L-L. F And how old are you? Mch I’m five. F Five? Mch Yes. I go to school now! R: Can you see the answers? Now you listen and

write a name or a number.

R: One

F What class are you in? Mch I’m in class 2. F And have you got a friend in class 2? Mch Yes I have.

R: Two

F What’s your friend’s name?

Mch It’s Lucy. F How do you write Lucy? Mch L-U-C-Y. F Good. Thank you. Mch She sits next to me.

R: Three

F And where does she live? Mch She lives in Park Street, like me. F Is that P-A-R-K? Mch Yes, it is.

R: Four

F What number is her house? Mch Her house is number nine. F Sorry, what number? Mch Nine.

R: Five

Mch And she’s got a brother. I play with him. F Do you? What’s his name? Mch His name’s Tom. That’s T-O-M. F Good. R: Now listen to Part Two again.

That is the end of Part Two.

PART THREE

R: Part Three. Look at the pictures. Now listen and look. There is one example.

R: Which is Sam’s sister? F Is that your sister, Sam? The girl with long

black hair? Mch No, my sister has short hair. F Is she the girl with the glasses? Mch No, that’s her friend. My sister’s eyes are

very good.



R: Can you see the tick? Now you listen and tick the box.

R: One. What’s the elephant eating? Fch Look. That man’s giving the elephant some food. Mch Yes, what is it? I can’t see. Is he giving it a

carrot? Fch No. Is it an orange? Mch No, I can see now. Look, it’s a tomato.

R: Two. What’s in Kim’s box? M What have you got in your box, Kim? Is it a

ruler? Fch No, it isn’t. Try again! M Is it your pencils? Fch No, it’s a big spider. R: Three. What’s Nick drawing? Mch Do you like my picture, Mum? F Yes, I love the colours, Nick. What is it? A

monster? Or a robot? Mch No, Mum. Look! F Oh, yes, I see now. It’s a giraffe! R: Four. Where’s May’s watch? Fch Is my watch on the table, Dad? I can’t find it. M No, it isn’t here. Look on your bookcase. Fch No, Dad. It isn’t here. M Oh I can see it. It’s on the kitchen floor. R: Five. What’s Anna’s mum doing? Fch What’s Mum doing, Dad? Do you know? M She’s in the bedroom. Fch Is she reading a book? Or is she sleeping? M No, Anna. She’s writing a story. Then she can

read it to you. R: Now listen to Part Three again.

That is the end of Part Three.

PART FOUR

R: Part Four. Look at the picture. Listen and look. There is one example.

M The woman’s looking at some cameras in this picture.

Fch Yes, she is. Can I colour a camera? M Yes. Colour the camera in the woman’s

hands blue. Fch The camera in the woman’s hands? M Yes. Colour it blue. R Can you see the blue camera in the woman’s

hands? This is an example. Now you listen and colour. R: One

M There’s a camera on the box. Fch Oh yes! Red’s a good colour for a camera... M Well, colour the camera on the box red, then. Fch OK. I’m doing that now. M Thank you. R: Two

M Now find the camera under the chair. Fch The camera under the chair. I can see it! M Colour it brown. Fch Brown? OK! R: Three

Fch I like yellow. M Well, colour the camera on the bag yellow. Fch Sorry? The camera where? M The camera on the bag. Fch OK. R: Four

M There’s a camera next to the man. Fch Can we colour that camera orange? M Yes! An orange camera next to the man.

Good! Fch Thanks!



R: Five

Fch And the camera between the television and the radio?

M Colour it green please. Fch OK. The camera between the television and the

radio is green now. M Very good! R: Now listen to Part Four again.

That is the end of the Starters Listening Test.



Starters Reading and Writing Mark Scheme Version 115



// = A double slash is placed between acceptable alternative complete answers

PART 1 (5 marks)

1

2

3

4

5

PART 2 (5 marks)

1 yes

2 yes

3 no

4 yes

5 no

PART 3 (5 marks)

1 boat

2 train

3 plane

4 lorry

5 motorbike

PART 4 (5 marks)

1 nose

2 hair

3 milk

4 people

5 toys

PART 5 (5 marks)

1 sleeping//lying//dozing//resting//snoozing// napping

2 apple(s)

3 black

4 wall

5 man//farmer



Starters Speaking Summary of Procedure 1. The usher introduces the child to the examiner.

2. The examiner points to an item on the scene picture, saying, for example, Here’s the board. He/She then asks the child to point out other items on the scene picture, e.g. Where’s the monkey?

3. The examiner asks the child to put object cards at various locations on the scene picture, e.g. Put the car behind the teacher.

4. The examiner asks questions about the scene picture, e.g. What’s this? What colour is it?

The examiner asks questions about some of the object cards, e.g. What’s this? Have you got a dog? The examiner asks questions about the child, e.g. Who do you sit next to at school?



Movers Listening Mark Scheme Version 115



// = A double slash is placed between acceptable alternative complete answers.

PART 5 (5 marks)

1 draw cloud above trees

2 colour house at top of picture – green 3 colour fish with head in water – red

4 colour star on boy’s sweater – yellow

5 colour rock with bird on – blue

Movers Listening Tapescript



M = male adult

PART 1 (5 marks)


1 Mary and woman with bottle, dressed all in blue

2 Jim and boy in truck, putting on jacket

3 Anna and girl with long hair, putting water in bath

4 Jack and boy with curly hair, holding kite

5 Lucy and girl with sheep, wearing funny hat

PART 2 (5 marks)

1 S-H-O-R-T

2 purple 3 (only) (a) (big) towel

4 (in) (the) playground 5 (this) morning

PART 3 (5 marks)

Wednesday Thursday

Friday Saturday (example)

Tuesday Sunday

PART 4 (5 marks)

1 A

2 C

3 A

4 A

5 B

R: Hello. This is the Cambridge Movers Listening Test, Version 115.

Look at Part One. Now look at the picture. Listen and look. There is one example.

PART ONE

Mch I went to my uncle’s farm yesterday, Miss Cook! I took this picture.

F That’s nice. Who’s the girl with the dog? Mch That’s Vicky, my sister. She loves playing

with him. F Have you got a dog at home too? Mch No, we haven’t. R: Can you see the line? This is an example. Now you listen and draw lines. R: One Mch See the boy in the back of the truck? He’s one

of my cousins. F Is he? What’s his name? Mch It’s Jim. F What’s he doing? Mch He’s putting on his jacket. R: Two F Who’s that? The girl with the two sheep? Mch That’s Lucy. She works on the farm. F She’s wearing a funny hat!



Mch Yes. She always wears that! R: Three F And what about the boy who’s playing with

the kite? Is he one of your cousins too? Mch Yes. That’s Jack. He’s got curly hair like

me. He’s my favourite cousin. F Why? Mch Because we both want to be farmers one day. R: Four Mch And can you see Anna? F Which one’s she? Mch There...with long hair. F Putting the water in the old bath? Mch Yes. For the cows to drink. R: Five Mch And there’s my Aunt Mary. F The woman with the bottle in her hand? Mch Yes. She’s like my mum. They both like

wearing blue! F Do they? Mch (laughs) Yes! R: Now listen to Part One again.


PART TWO

R: Part Two. Listen and look. There is one example.

Fch Mr Skip, I can’t find my school bag. M Did you bring it to school today, Daisy? Fch Yes. It’s the bag that I always bring. M OK. Well, we must find it! You’re in class

four. Is that right? Fch Yes. R: Can you see the answer? Now you listen and

write.

R: One M Is your name on it? Fch Yes, my first name and my family name are

on it. I’m Daisy Short. M And how do you spell your family name,

Daisy? Fch It’s S-H-O-R-T. R: Two M And what colour is your bag, Daisy? Fch It’s purple – my favourite colour. M All right. Only purple? Fch Yes. R: Three M Are your school books inside it? Fch I didn’t bring any today. But my towel is

inside it for my swimming lesson. M Only a towel? Fch Yes, it’s a big one. R: Four M And did you have your bag with you in the

playground? Fch Yes, when I played ball there with my friends

but then I couldn’t find it. M So, you lost it in the playground? Fch That’s right. R: Five M And when was that? This afternoon? Fch No. It was this morning. M So, you lost it in the morning? Fch Yes, Mr Skip. I must find it! M Let’s both go and look for it now. R: Now listen to Part Two again.




PART THREE

R: Part Three. Look at the pictures. What did Paul do last week? Listen and look. There is one example.

F Did you have a good holiday, Paul? Mch Yes, Grandma. We did lots of exciting

things. F That’s good! What did you do on Saturday? Mch That was our first day. We went for a walk. F In the village? Mch Yes. R: Can you see the line from the word Saturday?

On Saturday, Paul went for a walk in the village. Now you listen and draw lines.

R: One

Mch Tuesday was the best day of our holidays. F Tuesday? What did you do that day? Mch We went up to the top of a mountain. F Did you enjoy it? Mch Yes, but Mum was afraid. R: Two F What did you do on Friday? Mch Ermm...we stayed inside because it rained but

we went out in the night. F To get something to eat? Mch No... to watch the animals in the forest. We

had to be very quiet! R: Three

Mch But Thursday was boring. F Thursday? Mch Yes. Mum had a headache and Dad was

busy. F So what did you do? Mch I did some drawings of rabbits. I’m learning

about them. R: Four

Mch On Sunday, we went to a kind of park.

F Was that in the village? Mch No, we had to drive there. We played games

on the grass, then we had lunch. F What did you eat? Mch Sausage and chips! R: Five

F And what about Monday, Paul? Mch Ermm... oh yes, we went to see a film. Oh no

that was on Wednesday. F Oh, what was the film called? Mch Rainbow Mountain. F I think I know that film… . It’s an old one. Mch Is it? Well, it was great. I loved the story. R: Now listen to Part Three again.


PART FOUR

R: Part Four. Look at the pictures. Listen and look. There is one example.

R: What’s Sally doing now? F Sally! Come on! Put your coat on! Fch Oh, Mum! I’m watching television. Do we

have to go now? F Yes! We have to go and buy your new clothes

for school. Fch Oh great, yes, OK. R: Can you see the tick? Now you listen and tick the box.

R: One. What’s the matter with Kim? M Are you alright, Kim? You look tired. F I’m not tired. I’m OK. I’ve got toothache,

that’s all. M But your cough is better now? F Oh yes, thanks. I slept very well last night. R: Two. Which pet does Fred want? Mch Mum, can we have a pet? All my friends

have got pets.



F I don’t know, Fred. I don’t like dogs. What about a mouse? You could have one of those, I think.

Mch They’re boring. What about a lizard? F Well, ask Dad this evening... R: Three. Which present did Jane like best? M Did you have lots of presents for your

birthday, Jane? Fch Yes, Mr Snow. My aunt gave me some

cinema tickets and I got some new skates... M Were those your favourite presents? Fch No, my brother gave me a CD. I liked that

the most. R: Four. Where’s John’s football shirt? Mch I can’t find my football shirt. It isn’t in my

bedroom. F The red and white one? You put it in the

bathroom this morning, John. Mch Oh yes. Can you wash it for me? It’s dirty. F OK. Go and get it. And then go and play in

the garden. R: Five. Which picture does Pat want? Fch Hi Tom! Can you email me that photo? I

want to show it to my brother. Mch The one of the clown? Fch No, I mean the one of the dolphin. Mch Oh yes...I can do that for you. Fch Thanks! R: Now listen to Part Four again.

R: That is the end of Part Four.

PART FIVE

R: Part Five. Look at the picture. Listen and look. There is one example.

M Would you like to colour this picture now?

Fch Yes please. Is it a lake? M That’s right. And can you see the waterfall on

the island?

Fch Yes! M Good. Colour the waterfall pink for me,

please. Fch All right. R: Can you see the pink waterfall? This is an example. Now you listen and colour and draw.

R: One

M Now, can you see the star? Fch The one on the boy’s sweater? M Yes. What colour can we make it? Fch Yellow? I like that colour. M OK. Good idea! R: Two

Fch And can I colour one of the rocks? M OK. Colour the one with the big bird on it. Fch I see it. Can I colour that rock blue, please? M Hmmm...Yes! R: Three

M Now, would you like to draw something on this picture too?

Fch Yes! I like drawing. M Well draw a cloud. Put it there, above the

trees. Fch A cloud? Above the trees? M Yes, please. R: Four

Fch Can I colour the house now? The one at the top of the picture?

M Yes. Colour it green. Fch OK. I’m doing that now. Who lives in the

house? M An old pirate. Fch Wow! R: Five

M Now, how about one of those fish?



Fch Which one? M Colour the fish with its head in the water. Do

it red. Fch All right! This place looks nice. I want to go

there! M Me too! R: Now listen to Part Five again.

R: That is the end of the Movers Listening Test.



Movers Reading and Writing Mark Scheme Version 115




PART 1 (6 marks)

1 a scarf

2 a shark

3 planes

4 socks

5 a bus

6 kittens

PART 2 (6 marks)

1 no

2 no

3 no

4 yes

5 no

6 yes

PART 3 (6 marks)

1 B

2 C

3 A

4 B

5 A

6 B

PART 4 (7 marks)

1 lived

2 afternoon

3 tree

4 cry

5 sad

6 doll

7 Daisy and the hats

PART 5 (10 marks)

1 an old book // a book

2 words

3 The Last Lion

4 her/the computer

5 (Her friend) Sally

6 box

7 daughter (Jane)

8 (young) girl

9 the/a zoo

10 (some/her/their) dinner

PART 6 (5 marks)

1 which

2 These

3 but

4 jump

5 for



Movers Speaking Summary of Procedure 1. The usher introduces the child to the examiner. The examiner asks how old the child is.

2. The examiner asks the child to describe several differences between the two Find the Difference pictures, e.g. This girl has blonde hair, but this girl has brown hair.

3. The examiner shows the child the story pictures, tells the child the name of the story and describes what is happening in the first picture, e.g. These pictures show a story. It’s called “The computer game.” Paul and his dad are in the living room. Dad’s trying to play a game on the computer, but it’s difficult for him. The examiner then asks the child to continue the story.

4. The examiner asks the child to choose one picture in each set of four on the Find the Different Ones task, and explain why it is the odd one out in the set, e.g. These are all in a bathroom and this is in a classroom.

The examiner asks questions about the child, e.g. Who’s the oldest in your family?



Flyers Listening Mark Scheme Version 115




PART 5 (5 marks)

1 colour star next to moon – pink

2 write ‘sky’ between ‘blue’ and ‘park’ on notice

3 colour sweater on washing line – green

4 colour plate on ground near fire – purple

5 draw scarf round woman’s neck and colour it – red

Flyers Listening Tapescript Version 115



M = male adult

PART 1 (5 marks)


1 Katy and girl outside, on swing

2 Richard and boy sitting on floor, looking at map

3 Helen and girl in front of mirror, brushing hair

4 William and boy with blond hair, wearing shorts

5 Betty and girl lying on sofa, holding stomach

PART 2 (5 marks)

1 15/fifteen (weeks)

2 flies // insects

3 P-A-D-D-Y

4 (in) (a) cage

5 Friday

PART 3 (5 marks)

1 keys – E – jacket with pockets

2 cups – H – DVD player

3 camera – C – box with castle on lid

4 magazine – F – gloves

5 blanket – G – suitcase

PART 4 (5 marks)

1 B

2 B

3 A

4 C

5 C

R: Hello. This is the Cambridge Flyers Listening Test, Version 115.

PART ONE

R: Listen and look.

There is one example.

Fch I took this picture at our friends’ house at

the weekend. My brother, Robert, came with me.

M Which one’s he? Fch He’s there on the computer. M What’s he doing? Fch He’s reading some emails. Look! He’s

laughing. R: Can you see the line? This is an example. Now you listen and draw lines. M Who’s that girl? The one in front of the

mirror? Fch The one who’s brushing her hair? M Yes. It’s very long, isn’t it? What’s her

name? Fch It’s Helen. We walk to school together. PAUSE



M And the boy who’s sitting on the floor? Who’s he? Fch That’s Richard. He’s looking at a map. M Why’s he doing that? Fch Because the family’s going to go on holiday

soon. He wanted to find the place that they’re going to visit.

PAUSE Fch And there’s my best friend. She’s called Katy. M The girl who’s picking up the rucksack? Fch No, the one outside. You can see her on the

swing. M Oh. PAUSE M It looks very sunny! Fch Yes! We all went to the beach later that

afternoon. Can you see William? M The boy with the bike? Fch Not him. The boy on the stairs. M Oh yes, I see him. Fch Yes, he wore those funny shorts in the sea. PAUSE Fch But Betty didn’t come. M Which one’s she? Fch There! She’s lying on the sofa. M Was she tired? Fch No. She ate too much ice cream for lunch and

had a stomach ache! M (laughs) Oh dear! R: Now listen to Part One again.


PART TWO

R: Listen and look.


F Today, we’re going to learn about different pets, children. We’ll begin with my pet. Guess what kind it is.

Mch I know, Miss Hill! F Do you, David? Mch Yes. It’s a kind of lizard. I saw you in the pet

shop with it! R: Can you see the answer? Now you listen

and write. F Good. Ask me some questions about my

lizard. Mch How old is he? Do you know? F Yes. He’s fifteen weeks old. The man in the

shop told me. Mch And what does he like eating best? F Well, I give him fruit sometimes but all

lizards eat insects. He loves flies best. Mch Has your lizard got a name, Miss Hill? F Yes. He doesn’t understand when I say it,

but that doesn’t matter. It’s Paddy. Write it down, children. That’s P-A-D-D-Y.

Mch Why do you call him that? F Because I like that name! Any more

questions? Mch Yes! Where does he live? F I bought a cage and he lives in that. Mch Can you bring him into school one day? F Yes, good idea. Let’s have a ‘pet day’ next

Tuesday. Oh, I forgot. We’ve got music club that day. Let’s have it on Friday, then. Yes, I’ll bring him then.

Mch Can we all bring our pets in on that day? F Well, some of you can, David. R: Now listen to Part Two again.


PART THREE

R: Listen and look.


Emma is getting ready to go out for a picnic with her parents. Where is each thing that she needs to find?



M Emma, can you help me? We must put everything we need in the car, then we can go. Go and get the lemonade first. It’s in the cupboard in the kitchen – the one on the left.

Fch OK, Dad! R: Can you see the letter B? Now you listen and

write a letter in each box. M We need a blanket to sit on, too. Which one

shall we take? Fch There’s an old one somewhere... M I remember. There’s one in that suitcase

under my bed. We’ve used it for picnics before. It’s not very big, but it will be fine for the three of us. Go and get that for me too, please, Emma.

PAUSE

Fch What else, Dad? M Ermm... I’d like to take my camera. It’ll be

fun to take some photos, so you can get that for me too. Do you know where it is?

Fch No. M It’s in my desk, in a box with a picture of a

castle on the top. Take it out carefully. PAUSE M I need my car keys, too. Fch Where are they? M They’re not on the shelf where I usually put

them. They’re in the pocket of my jacket. Ask Mum to help you if you can’t find them. All right?

PAUSE Fch And what about something to eat? M Mum’s going to get that, but we need some

plastic cups. Get three so we can have one each. But where are they? Oh I know! I got some out earlier. They’re by the DVD player.

Fch In the living room? M Yes. I put them down when I answered the

phone. PAUSE M And can you get my new magazine and put

that in the car too. I’d like to read it this afternoon.

Fch The one on your bed with the cars on the front page?

M Not that one. The one I want is next to my

gloves in the hall. Now, I must find my hat and then we’ll be ready...

Fch Dad! M What? Fch It’s on your head! R: Now listen to Part Three again.


PART FOUR

R: Listen and look.


Which programme is Harry watching on television?

F Harry! Can you help me in the kitchen or

are you watching that music programme again?

Mch No, Mum, something else. It’s very

interesting. F What’s it about? Mch Astronauts. Come and watch it with me. F I can’t, Harry. I’m cooking dinner. R: Can you see the tick?

Now you listen and tick the box.

R: One. When will Harry’s programme end? F When will your programme finish, Harry? Mch In about ten minutes, I think...Yes, at a

quarter past six, Mum. Why? F Because dinner will be ready at half past six. Mch Okay. Oh! They’re getting into the rocket. R: Two. What does Harry want to eat with his

sausages? F Do you want beans with your sausages,

Harry? Mch Pardon? F Which vegetables do you want? Mch I can’t hear you, Mum. Oh... They’re in

space now... it’s getting exciting!



F I’ll give you tomatoes and beans then... Mch What? No, just chips for me, please. R: Three. Who wants to speak to Harry on the

telephone? F Hello...Yes. He’s here. Just a minute. Harry? Mch Yes! F Someone wants to speak to you on the phone. Mch Oh! I want to watch the next part! Is it

Grandpa again or Aunt Helen? F It’s a boy from school. Mch Tell him to call later. I can’t come now. R: Four. What can Harry see on the television

now? Mch Oh no! F What’s the matter? Mch It’s the television. I can still hear the rocket,

but I can only see lines. What shall I do? F Well there’s a storm outside. That might be

the problem. Come and help me in the kitchen.

Mch I don’t want to move. It’s nice here on the

sofa. R: Five. What must Harry do next? Mch Oh... it’s okay again now! F Good... but can you put the knives and forks

on the table? Dinner will be ready very soon. Mch (annoyed) Mum! F And before that, go and wash your hands. Do

that now. Mch (exasperated) Mum! F And after dinner Harry, you must tidy your

room! Mch Why are there always so many things to do in

this house? All I want to do is watch TV! R: Now listen to Part Four again.

That is the end of Part Four.

PART FIVE

Listen and look at the picture.

There is one example. M Shall we colour some of this picture now? Fch Yes. Are the children already in bed? M Yes. But the grown ups are still awake.

They’re tidying everything at the end of the day.

Fch Oh I see. Well, can I colour one of the tents? M Yes. Colour the one by the car orange. R: Can you see the orange tent? This is an

example.

Now you listen and colour and write and draw.

R: One Fch What else can I colour? One of the stars? M That’s a good idea. Colour the one which is

next to the moon. Fch OK. Which colour shall I use? M What about pink? Fch All right. R: Two Fch Can I write something on this picture too? M Yes. One of the words in the park’s name is

missing. Can you see? Fch Oh, yes, above the road. M Yes, please write ‘sky’ after the word ‘blue’. Fch OK. R: Three Fch And can I draw something here too? M Yes. Draw a scarf around the woman’s neck. Fch All right. I’ll draw a nice, long one. Shall I

colour it too? M Yes, please. Make it red. Fch All right. I’ll do that now.



R: Four M Now, can you see the plates? Fch Yes. Shall I colour both of them? M No, just one. Colour the one that’s on the

ground near the fire. Let’s make it yellow. Fch Can I make it purple? That’s my favourite

colour. M Ermm. All right. R: Five Fch Why are those clothes there? M Because the people have washed them

perhaps. Fch Can I colour the T-shirt? The one that the

man’s taking down? M Hmm, no. Colour the sweater. Make it green. Fch OK! There. I’ve finished it now. M Well done! R: Now listen to Part Five again.

That is the end of the Flyers Listening Test.



Flyers Reading and Writing Mark Scheme Version 115




PART 1 (10 marks)

1 an ambulance

2 a sofa

3 history

4 a chemist’s

5 a door

6 a dentist

7 geography

8 a police station

9 a factory

10 a university

PART 2 (7 marks)

1 yes

2 yes

3 no

4 no

5 no

6 yes

7 yes

PART 3 (5 marks)

1 G

2 D

3 E

4 H

5 B

PART 4 (6 marks)

1 excited

2 put

3 coat

4 fell

5 race

6 Fun with my sister

PART 5 (7 marks)

1 (too) boring

2 (very) unhappy/sad

3 see//look at

4 the/his/their teacher

5 (empty) class(room)

6 (his) friends (playing)

7 (first) did/finished/completed (all) his/the homework (first)

PART 6 (10 marks)

1 always

2 Other

3 ago

4 took

5 watching

6 wore

7 which

8 also

9 can’t

10 for

PART 7 (5 marks)

1 very//so

2 to//for

3 said//shouted//whispered

4 picture//drawing//portrait

5 stamp



Flyers Speaking Summary of Procedure

1. The usher introduces the child to the examiner. The examiner asks the child what his/her other name is and how old he/she is.

2. The examiner shows the child the candidate’s copy of the Find the Difference picture. The child is initially shown both copies, but then encouraged to look at his/her copy only. The examiner then makes a series of statements about his/her picture, and the child has to make a statement showing how his/her picture differs, e.g. in my picture, it’s half past seven. In my picture, it’s eight o’clock.

3. The examiner shows the child the candidate’s copy of the Information Exchange picture. The child is initially shown both copies, but then encouraged to look at his/her copy only. The examiner first asks the child some questions related to the information the child has, e.g. Where’s the dining room? The child answers this using the information given in his/her booklet. The child then asks the examiner questions related to the information on the examiner’s copy, e.g. What is the name of the hotel?

4. The examiner shows the child the story pictures, tells the child the name of the story and describes what is happening in the first picture, e.g. These pictures show a story. It’s called, “Dad and the children cook lunch.” David and Sarah’s mum is going shopping. Dad, David and Sarah are going to cook lunch. The examiner then asks the child to continue with the story.

5. The examiner asks questions about the child, e.g. How do you go to school?



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© Cambridge Assessment 2010

Yle Examrep09 Intro

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