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1 English exams competition Teacher Pack Dear teacher, British Council is giving primary and secondary exam candidates across Europe the chance to write their own English exam speaking question and think about how English exams are important to their future. We invite you to participate with your students and help them prepare for their speaking test through a motivating and collaborative task. There are fantastic prizes for students and teachers. We hope you and your students enjoy this competition and we look forward to seeing your entries! Please encourage fellow teachers with exam students in your school to get involved too. Good luck, and have fun! British Council How to enter To enter the competition students must work in a team of three to five and write their own English exam speaking question. The theme of the competition centres on the question: What will your city be like in the future? There are two age categories 7-12 and years old. The exam speaking question must be similar to one in the English exam they are preparing for such as Cambridge English: Starters, Movers, Flyers, Preliminary, Key, First, First for Schools, Advanced and Proficiency. More information and full terms and conditions are available on the competition webpage: The task should include a speaking exam question and an answer. For example, teams in category 1 could draw a picture of their city in the future and with an audio telling us what they can see, and teams in category 2 could make a video about their city in the future and compare and contrast it with their city now. Teams should save their exam question and answer as a picture and audio or video file between 30 seconds and 2 minutes in length. Teachers should select the best team entries and submit them online with a short statement of words about the team and how English exams are important to their future at: between 01 November 2017 and 31 March Introducing the competition in class To introduce students to the competition task, teachers may like to read the competition flyer and terms and conditions with their class and organise students into small teams of three and five students. We have also provided some group work activities for teachers based on Cambridge Assessment English speaking papers in this pack. Judging criteria Competition entries will be judged on the following criteria. A total of 18 points are available. Content The task contains a range of English vocabulary and grammar (2 points) The task contains accurate English vocabulary and grammar (2 points) The task is similar to a question type in a formal English language exam (2 points) Creativity The task is the original work of the team (2 points) The task is submitted in a multi-media format (2 points) The task is based on the Competition theme: Our Future City (2 points) Presentation The task is clear to read or understand (2 points) The task is visually attractive (2 points) The task contains a question and an answer (2 points) Judging and prizes Between 01 April and 14 April students will be invited to view, like, and comment on all of the entries online. A panel of judges will select the winners. There is one winner in each category in each country. Country winners will enter a regional final and judges will choose one regional winner for each category. There are special mentions for the most popular entry and the teacher with the most entries! Winners will be notified by end of April 2018 and British Council will organise the prize-giving with you. 1

2 LEVEL Pre-level A1 Cambridge English: Starters ACTIVITIES 1. Explain to the class they are going to practise describing a picture of their future town or city. Organise the class into teams of three to five. 2. Show a picture of a town or city in your country. Ask students to look at the picture and tell you what they can see. For example: What can you see in the town/city? Point at some of the objects in the picture and ask students: What s this? 3. Write vocabulary for towns and cities from the Cambridge English: Starters word list on the board but with some missing letters. For example: p k (park), b _ s (bus), _ i k e (bike), c (car), p _ a y g _ o u n _ (playground), p e o _ (people), s e e t (street), _ a n (man), _ a n (woman), s h (shop), t _ a I _, _o o (zoo), s o o l ( school), _ o u s e (house), etc. Ask students to work in their teams to complete the words. 4. Take turns to ask each team to tell you a completed word and write these on the board. Say each word out loud and ask students to repeat. 5. Show the picture of a town or city in your country again. Ask students about what they can see in the picture using the vocabulary for towns and cities. For example: Can you see a/an/-.? Ask students to answer Yes or No. 6. Ask students to imagine their town or city in the future and tell you their ideas about what it will be like. Ask students to work in their teams to draw a picture of their town or city in the future. 7. Ask teams to try to name what they can see in their picture. For example, point at some of the objects in the picture and ask students: What s this? 8. Ask teams to describe their picture. Put the following question and answer prompts on the board to help them prepare their description. Say the question and answer prompts out loud and ask students to repeat. What can you see in your town/city? I can see. There is. There are It is. 9. Ask teams to ask each other the question and describe their picture. 10. Ask students to repeat the task and take a photo of their picture and record their description using an electronic device. 2

3 A1 Cambridge English: Movers 1. Explain to the class they are going to practise describing a picture of their future town or city. Organise the class into teams of three to five. 2. Show a picture of a town or city in your country. Ask students to look at the picture and tell you what they can see. For example: What can you see in the town/city? Point at some of the objects in the picture and ask students: What s this? 3. Write vocabulary for towns and cities from the Cambridge English: Movers word list on the board but with some missing letters. For example: _ u_ s a t I o_ (bus station), _ u_ s s t (bus stop), c a _ é (café), _ i t _ c e n _ r e (city centre), _ i f t (lift), _ o s _ i t a l (hospital), m a r t (market), s _ p er m a r t (supermarket), o p p i n g c e n _ r e (shopping centre), s a r e (square), s _ i i n g p o o _ (swimming pool, s k _ t _ p k (skate park), etc. Ask students to work in their teams to complete the words. 4. Take turns to ask each team to tell you a completed word and write these on the board. Say each word out loud and ask students to repeat. 5. Show the picture of a town or city in your country again. Ask students about what they can see in the picture using the vocabulary for towns and cities. For example: Can you see a/an/-.? Ask students to answer Yes or No. 6. Ask students to imagine their town or city in the future and tell you their ideas about what it will be like. Ask students to work in teams and draw a picture of their town or city in the future. 7. Ask teams to name what they can see in their picture. For example, point at some of the objects in the picture and ask students: What s this? 8. Explain to teams they are going to describe their picture. Put the following question and answer prompts on the board to help them prepare their description. Say the question and answer prompts out loud and ask students to repeat. What will your city be like in the future? What can you see in your town/city? I can see What is it like? It s..(adjective). What is there? There is a/an. (noun) Who can you see in the picture? Look at.(person/noun). What is the man/woman doing? He s/she s (verb + ing). What is the man/woman wearing? He s/she s wearing.(clothes). 9. Ask teams to ask each other the questions and describe their picture. 10. Ask students to repeat the task and take a photo of their picture and record their description using an electronic device. 3

4 A2 Cambridge English: Flyers 1. Explain to the class they are going to write and tell a story that takes place in their future town or city. 2. Show a picture of a town or city in your country. Ask students to look at the picture and tell you what they can see. For example: What can you see in the town/city? 3. Organise the class into teams of three to five. Give teams a few minutes to write on a piece of paper as many things as they can see in the picture. You could ask one or two students in the team to write the words and the other students to check the spelling of the words. 4. Take turns to ask each team to tell you a word they wrote down. Write all the words on the board and ask students to check their spelling. You could also write any additional words from the Cambridge English: Flyers word list that they did not think of. For example: building, taxi, railway, and airport. Award points for each word and correct spelling and congratulate the team with the most points! 5. Say each word out loud and ask students to repeat. 6. Ask teams to imagine they are living in a future city and what it is like. Ask each team to tell you their ideas. 7. Ask teams to imagine one day in the future and something funny or adventurous that happens to them. 8. Ask teams to draw 5 pictures about this day. Put the following prompts on the board to help them do so. What is the name of your story? Picture 1 Who is in the story? Where are you? What are you doing? Picture 2 Where do you go? Picture 3 What happens next? Picture 4 What happens next? Picture 5 What is the end of the story? 9. Ask students to practise telling the story about their day in the future with the pictures. Put the following introductory question and joining words on the board to help them do so. These pictures tell a story. It s called and but because 10. Ask students to repeat the task and take a photo of their pictures and record their story using an electronic device. 4

5 LEVEL A2 Cambridge English: Key for Schools Before the class: Organise the class into teams of three to five. Ask teams to bring a photo or image showing their town/city in the future to the next English class. 1. Explain to students they are going to make a video of their own English exam speaking question with their photo/image of their town/city in the future. 2. As a warmer, show a picture of a town or city in your country. Organise the class into the same teams of three to five. Give teams a few minutes to write on a piece of paper as many things as they can see in the picture. You could ask one or two students in the team to write the words and the other students to check the spelling of the words. 3. Take turns to ask each team to tell you a word they wrote down. Write all the words on the board and ask students to check their spelling. You could also write any additional words from the Cambridge English: Key word list that they did not think of. For example: building, lift, driver, railway, street, airplane and helicopter. Award points for each word and correct spelling and congratulate the team with the most points! 4. Ask the class to tell you what they have to do in the Cambridge English: Key for Schools Speaking Paper Part 2. Remind students that in this question they need to ask and answer questions about factual information. 5. Ask each team to share their photo/image of their town/city with another team and describe what they can see. Ask teams to try to describe between five and ten things about their photo/image. If students do not have a photo/image they can use the competition poster. 6. Ask students to write five questions to ask about their photo/image. Put the following introductory question for the task and question words on the board to help them do so. Here is a photo of our city in the future. Ask and answer your questions about what our city in the future will be like. What. Where When How much How many Why Is there Are there 7. Ask students to practise asking and answering questions about their picture or image. 8. Ask each team to perform one question and answer to the class. While each team speaks, listen and makes notes on their pronunciation. 9. Write some examples of the students language on the board. Use choral drilling and repetition to help students practise intonation for questions and answers and to practise any words that are difficult to pronounce. 10. Ask students to repeat the task and make a video of their photo/image and questions and answers task using an electronic device. 5

6 B1 Cambridge English: Preliminary for Schools Before the class: Organise the class into teams of three to five. Ask teams to bring a photo or image showing their town/city in the future to the next English class. 1. Explain to students they are going to make a video of their own English exam speaking question with their photo/image of their town/city in the future. 2. As a warmer, show a picture of a town or city in your country. Organise the class into teams of three to five. Give teams a few minutes to write on a piece of paper as many things as they can see in the picture. You could ask one or two students in the team to write the words and the other students to check the spelling of the words. 3. Take turns to ask each team to tell you a word they wrote down. Write all the words on the board and ask students to check their spelling. You could also write any additional words from the Cambridge English: Preliminary word list that they did not think of. For example: building, entrance, tower, stadium, motorway and bridge. Award points for each word and correct spelling and congratulate the team with the most points! 4. Ask the class to tell you what they have to do in the Cambridge English: Preliminary for Schools Speaking Paper Part 2. Remind students that in this question they need to talk to a partner to decide what would be best in a situation. 5. Write the following table on the board with useful phrases for this speaking question below. Ask teams to complete the table. Suggesting Asking your partner Agreeing Disagreeing Do you agree? Why don t we choose I agree with you. I m not sure if I agree. I don t think that is a good idea. I see what you mean. What do you think? I don t agree with you about that. I think this would be good because That s a good idea. Answer Key: Suggesting I think this would be good because Why don t we choose Asking your partner Do you agree? What do you think? Agreeing That s a good idea. I see what you mean. I agree with you. Disagreeing I don t think that is a good idea. I don t agree with you about that. I m not sure if I agree. 6. Take turns to ask each team to tell you which the correct column is for each phrase and write the answers on the board. Say each phrase out loud and ask students to repeat. 7. Write the introductory question for the Cambridge English: Preliminary for Schools Part 2 speaking task on the board. For example: Imagine you are living in your city in the future. Talk together about what it is like and decide what you think is the best thing about your city in the future. 8. Ask teams to use the phrases and prepare an answer to the question. 9. Ask students to practise asking and answering questions about their picture or image. 10. Ask students to repeat the task and make a video of their photo/image and their questions and answers using an electronic device. 6