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CPE NOVEMBER 2006 REPORT
ENGLISH
General Comments
The English 2006 paper followed the same pattern as previous papers, but in the light
of findings from previous reports, all efforts were made to ensure that there were no
difficult items, especially in Section A of the paper. Section A carried 60% of the
marks and was therefore designed to give the maximum number of candidates the
chance to make the grade.
Section B carried 40% of the marks and tested Desirable Learning Competencies and
was therefore slightly more demanding as it involved a higher level of reading,
writing and reasoning skills.
There are some encouraging trends in the performance of our candidates on this paper.
Both the pass rate and the mean mark are climbing gradually. In 2002, the pass rate
was 64.9% and the mean mark 47.3. In 2006, the pass rate has reached 67.9% and the
mean mark 56.1. This is illustrated in the graph below
Overall % Pass & Mean for CPE English (2002 2006)
Percentage
70
60
% Pass
50
Mean
40
30
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Year
Progress in performance is always welcome, but it should not obscure the fact that
there is still room for improvement in many parts of the paper.
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Section A
Question 1
Question 1 contained 20 multiple choice type items.
It tested a
miscellany of language items ranging from simple tenses to vocabulary, pronouns,
quantifiers, prepositions, tag questions and common phrasal verbs.
Overall,
performance in this question was average. Some items proved to be well within the
reach of our candidates while others were more problematic. This is discussed in
greater detail in the ‘Specific Comments’ Section.
Question 2
Question 2 tested reading comprehension abilities and was made up of
two parts: A and B. Part A was a poster and the candidate had to answer simple
questions based on the information it contained. Most required one word or short
phrase answers to score full marks, only the last item, item 8 demanded two answers
in which it was difficult to score with one-word answers.
Part B was a longer narrative text containing more information but it was the kind of
text our candidates are more used to. Here too whenever writing of short meaningful
answers was required, many candidates lost marks, as for example in the last two
items, 9 and 10. Yet they did well on the other 8 multiple choice type items and thus
scored better in 2 B than in 2 A. Both parts tested reading with understanding of texts
but of different genres.
On the whole, performance on the reading comprehension tasks was satisfactory. A
significant number of candidates managed to score well. However, it is felt that
despite the gradual improvement being noticed, there are still too many candidates
who struggle in question 2A – a question which tests reading comprehension at the
most basic level.
Question 3
Question 3 tested basic writing skills. As has often been the case in the
past, a picture was set and in this year’s picture, many children were involved in
different activities. Candidates were asked to write five sentences about ‘what the
children are doing’.
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Performance on this question varied quite widely. A significant proportion of the
cohort managed to score high marks and this is encouraging. In fact, more than half
of the cohort scored full or nearly full marks.
Nevertheless, given the simplicity of the task, it is felt that far too many students
failed to perform at a satisfactory level. More than 1 in every 10 students scored zero
and that is a worrying statistic.
The major weaknesses and common errors made by candidates are discussed in
greater detail in the ‘Specific Comments’ Section of the Report.
Section B
Question 4
Question 4 tested reading with understanding but with particular
emphasis on knowledge of tenses and word formation. In the past, this question
tended to focus on finding the right tenses and correct verb forms only but it is worth
bringing to the attention of teachers that the syllabus does not specify that this should
always be the case. It would be wise to train pipils in word formation exercises of
different kinds as well (formation of nouns, adverbs and adjectives) and not expect
verbs and tenses only in this part of the paper.
Performance on Question 4 was on the whole well below expectations.
Some
candidates seemed to be certain that only tenses and verbs would be tested and the
slots that were not testing tenses proved to be unduly difficult. What was also
obvious from the analysis of performance was that many pupils thought that only
ONE tense would be required throughout. As a result, if the first blank needed the
verb to be conjugated in the simple past tense, they assumed that all following verbs
would necessarily be in the simple past tense as well. It is therefore necessary to
stress that when verbs are tested in this question, the appropriate tense in the given
context is what is required and that it would be wrong to assume that the same tense
would be needed throughout.
Whatever the reasons for students to under perform might be, the analysis of
performance strongly suggests that identifying which tense to use in a given context is
difficult for many of our pupils and that this area needs more work.
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Question 5
Question 5, the Cloze Test, proved to be a very hard question for many
candidates. This exercise is both a test of comprehension and a test of vocabulary.
Candidates were given ten blanks to fill with single words to show that they can make
sense of the text and that they have a wide enough productive lexicon to produce the
appropriate word in the given context
However, it has to be said that generally, the performance of candidates on this
question was poor. Many candidates struggled to come up with plausible items for
many of the slots. Often, any word was offered with little consideration given to
whether it made sense in the context or not. This betrays both difficulties with
understanding the text and the fact that many of our students have a limited
vocabulary.
In addition, to perform well in the Cloze Test, students should have enough
familiarity with the system of English to realize that a particular blank, because of its
position, demands a noun and not a verb and that the noun has to be a singular one
because the verb is in the third person, present tense and singular. If a verb is needed
they need to know whether the verb should be present or past or past participle and
the correct form of the verb. Wrong forms and wrong spelling will be penalised here
because it is Section B of the paper. Even if the form and the tense are correct, the
chosen verb must make sense.
Question 6
More candidates attempted the composition this year that in the recent
past, which is encouraging. Nevertheless, the overall performance of candidates
shows that writing a short piece of prose in English is still beyond the ability of many.
This year, candidates were asked to write about the preparations for a surprise
birthday party for their teacher as well as the party itself. Some concerns were raised
about the fact that the scenario was set in the present tense and that the prompts were
given in the past tense. However, candidates did not seem to be confused by this.
Help was offered in the form of prompts so that they could produce about 150 words.
It was hoped that such a scenario would be within the experience of the pupils and
that this would allow them to write imaginatively. While this did happen for some,
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the great majority still did not manage to produce a satisfactory piece of writing and
this confirms that writing is an area that needs more attention.
Specific Comments
Question 1
The performance of candidates on this question was quite varied. The mean mark of
12.59, out of a maximum of 20, was encouraging. However, it is worth noting that
only 35.8% scored 16 to 20 marks, while 26% scored 6 to 10. Given that this is the
Essential Learning Competencies (ELC) part of the paper, it was legitimate to expect
a greater proportion of candidates scoring higher marks.
The items that proved hard were the following:
1.1
‘We had an enjoyable day.’ The candidate had to realize that an adjective was
required and that enjoying would not do, but only 55.2% got it right.
1.3
‘She told me the green bag was hers.’ The other options made no sense, so it
is rather surprising that only 65.7% scored.
1.4
‘Please keep off the grass.’ This phrasal verb item was meant to be a little
harder than the other items. There are lots of activities with phrasal verbs in
the school textbooks and keep off the grass should not have proved so hard but
only 31.2% scored here.
1.6
‘This dress is too loose for you.
You need a smaller size.’
This was
essentially a vocabulary item, testing whether candidates understood the
meaning of the word and that if a smaller size was needed, the dress had to be
loose. Many candidates, however, stumbled on this item and only 43.1% got
it right.
1.11
‘His old shoes were much too tight for him.’
This item tested whether
candidates would be able to select the right adverb too to modify the adjective
tight. Only 54.9 % managed to do so.
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1.17
‘How long will you be staying in Rodrigues?’ Only 43.1% found the correct
form of the verb stay. This showed ignorance of a basic rule of English by
many candidates, namely that after the auxiliary be the main verb must be
either in the present participle or past participle form. Obviously stayed does
not make sense here.
1.20
‘Jack went to sleep because the film was very boring.’ 56.4% only got this
item right, and the difference between two adjectives when used in the
participle forms seems to cause problems. Interesting and interested, enjoyed
and enjoying, bored and boring are examples. In 1.1 enjoyable and enjoy
caused a similar problem.
All practice must be underpinned by some kind of theory and candidates would
certainly do better if certain basic rules of English were taught to them in interactive
classroom activities. Mere blank filling exercises, if not preceded by teaching and
supported by meaningful, life situation practice will not achieve much. Vocabulary
problems like the difference between tight and loose, interested and interesting, bored
and boring, import and export can only be solved through frequent practice in
meaningful and interesting situations through pair and group activities where the
learners get a chance to use language for genuine communication.
An example of such an activity could be: a child or a small group does an activity and
the class individually or in a small group writes down what is happening. In this
situation, they would have to use the present continuous tense in a truly meaningful
way. Each group leader or individual child would then read what he/she has written.
Another activity could be getting the pupils to watch an event and asking them to
write an eye-witness account. This would automatically make them use the past tense
in a real-life situation. Cartoons with empty speech balloons can be drawn on the
board and the children can be asked to fill them up with sensible texts. Here too
meaningful use of language will have to be shown. Such activities are more likely to
lead to memorable language acquisition and are certainly more fun than just blank
filling exercises.
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Vocabulary extension activities too can be done in an interactive way. Groups can be
asked to produce sentences where opposites are used, for example tight and loose,
export- import, coastal- inland, local- foreign etc. Sentences where both the present
participle and past participle forms of verbs can also prove quite useful.
The
following could be considered as an example: The children were/are very interested
because the film was/is very interesting.
Question 2A
The mean mark for this question was 6.84 out of a maximum of 10, a fairly
reasonable score but it must be pointed out that very short answers based on
understanding of the poster was expected here. 70.7% of the candidates scored 6 –10
but 22.5% scored 0-3. Almost a quarter of candidates scoring 0-3 on this question,
where basic reading comprehension was being tested, is a cause for concern.
It is also worth pointing out that many candidates lost marks here because for some
questions they gave answers that were not found in the text. This was often the case
for item 6, which asked ‘Where should garbage be thrown?’ The obvious answer
from the text was garbage bins, but many candidates did themselves a disservice by
going outside the text and coming up with answers like Mare Chicose or Legal
dumping grounds. While these might be plausible answers, credit could not be given
to them here because reading comprehension was being tested and these answers do
not show whether candidates have understood the text or not.
It should therefore be clear that in questions of this type, answers are expected to
come from the text provided. Teachers would be therefore well advised to train their
pupils accordingly when such exercises are being practised in the classroom.
Question 2B
The mean mark in this reading comprehension task was 14.20 out of 20, which is an
encouraging performance. Items 1-8 posed little difficulty to most of the candidates
and it was only items 9 and 10 which proved to be difficult for many. For item 9,
34.5% scored 0, and for item 10, 42.1% scored 0. Again, we see that whenever
candidates have to express their own ideas in a complete sentence, they struggle.
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For item 9, a significant number of candidates lost marks because they ignored the
instructions and did not answer in a full sentence. Many merely answered mangoes
when a full answer should have been Ameerah wanted her mother to buy mangoes for
her. Pupils will benefit from being reminded in class that they should read the
instructions carefully and that in this part of the reading comprehension passage full
sentences are expected.
Item 10 also proved to be problematic. The expected answer was Ameerah’s arm was
really better because she could carry a large bag of mangoes on the arm which had
been sprained. Many candidates, however, were misled by the doctor’s diagnosis and
answered that Ameerah’s arm was better because the doctor said so, or because the
plaster was removed.
However, only partial credit was given to these answers
because the most convincing answer was the fact that Ameerah could carry a heavy
weight on the arm which had been injured, and not because of what the doctor said or
did.
Question 3
This question tested writing skills at a basic level. Candidates were expected to write
5 sentences about the picture, saying ‘what the children are doing’. The way the
question was framed should have made it clear to candidates that the present
continuous tense was expected to be used here.
As mentioned already, the performance of candidates in this question was varied. An
encouraging proportion, 56.5% scored 8-10 marks. However, it was disappointing to
see that 15.6% scored zero, meaning that more than one in ten candidates could not
write even a basic sentence.
The main weaknesses were
•
Use of wrong tense
Although the question asked to write sentences about ‘what the children are doing’
and invited the use of the present continuous tense, many candidates used the past
continuous tense. Below are some examples:
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‘The girl was eating.’
‘Sunita was reading a magazine.’
The use of the wrong tense logically entailed loss of marks.
•
Describing the setting
The sentences were meant to be about what the children are doing and therefore
sentences like
‘There are balloons in the room.’
and
‘The radio is switched on.’
could not be given credit. Not reading instructions carefully enough seemed to be the
problem here.
•
Faulty agreement
It was quite common to see verbs failing to agree with their subjects, as illustrated in
the sentences below
‘The girl are watching television.’
‘The children is listening to the radio.’
This was frequent enough to warrant a mention here and teachers might want to give
this part of grammar more attention during writing lessons.
•
Difficulties in finding the required vocabulary.
Some candidates really struggled to find the words needed to be able to write a
sentence, as shown in the following example:
‘The girl is lire the journal.’
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This candidate was unable to come up with the verb ‘to read’ and the noun
‘newspaper’. Difficulties in finding the right words and expressing ideas in English
were quite prevalent in a number of scripts.
This question, in fact, tests writing at a basic level. Therefore, a sentence with a
subject, the appropriate verb, properly conjugated and a complement if necessary
would score full marks, assuming all grammatical elements are correct. In short,
simplicity works best here. If students are trained to pay attention to the wording of
the question, they should be able to identify which tense to use while writing. If they
are then able to add to that the basic elements Subject–Verb–Object, performance in
this question should improve.
Question 4
The mean mark for this question was 5.07 out of 10, which was below expectations.
This year 2 items were not verbs and it seems that some candidates had come to the
exam with the impression that putting the verbs in the past tense was all that was
needed. Only candidates who read a lot of English and have got a good grasp of
tenses in English can hope to do well on this question. Meaningful activities and
plenty of reading of stories and articles from magazines and papers and plenty of
listening activities can help candidates improve, and not just on this type of test but
for all language activities.
4.1
‘When they opened/were opening/had opened’.
There were three possibilities here – opened, were opening and had opened.
73.5% managed to give the right answer.
4.2
‘... a beautiful cat ran in ahead of him.’
This was a test of word-formation, turning the noun beauty into the adjective
beautiful. 62 % got it right. There were enough cases of beautiful written
beautyful for it to deserve a mention here.
4.3
‘Meanwhile the cat was jumping on the chairs and tables.’
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Candidates here had to find the past continuous form of the verb to jump and
69 % managed to do so.
4.4
‘Fortunately the cat went away after a few minutes.’
This item tested the candidates’ ability to turn the adjective fortunate into the
adverb fortunately. Only 43.3% managed to do this correctly. A significant
number of candidates wrote the non-word, fortunated, showing that they simply
thought they would add -ed to the items and be rewarded. Such a mechanical
approach will not be rewarding in this exercise.
4.5
“ What is the name of your cat?”
The simple present tense was required here. 54.2% only got it right. Many
candidates went for was, again showing that they had decided that the past tense
was needed throughout, without giving due care to the context.
4.6
‘They thought that I had brought my cat with me”.
This was the worst done item in the question. Only 10.1% managed to identify
that the past perfect had brought was needed here. The use of the past perfect
proved to be problematic in other parts of the paper as well and this would
suggest that the teaching of this tense needs more attention in the classroom.
4.7
‘I like cats and I have two at home.’
The simple present tense was required here. 34.5% got it right, with many
candidates going for the past tense.
4.8
‘My cats are well trained.’
The answer to this item was trained. 51.4% managed to find the right answer.
4.9
‘Some day I will/shall take them to my friends’ house.’
The future tense will/shall take was needed here. However, only 13.3 % got it
right, although Some day clearly invites the use of the future tense. The fact that
so many candidates used the past tense betrays the fact that they are not paying
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attention to which tense to use in which context, but are adopting a mechanical
approach to this exercise.
4.10 ‘My cats never behave/behaved in such a way!’
The simple present or simple past were both acceptable here. 72% got it right.
Question 5
As has often been the case in the past, the Cloze Test proved to be difficult to many
candidates. Many of our candidates do not have a wide enough vocabulary or the
reading skills to cope with the demands of this question.
The mean mark was 3.44 out of 10, a performance which can only be described as
disappointing. More than a quarter of the cohort (26.4%) scored zero. Over half of
the candidates scored 0-3.
Only regular readers of English can hope to score full marks on this question. To
build up a solid vocabulary, pupils need to read English for pleasure or information
regularly. Listening to stories, poems or to the radio and television regularly would
also help. The reading skills tested here are vital if one is to become a proficient user
of the language, and therefore, teachers should make it a priority to encourage
learners to read more. In short, the more the learner is exposed to the language, both
in print and verbally, the better the language learning process will be.
The cloze test can be started as early as Standard IV. For example, after the teaching
of a tense, a short text can be taken from the textbook and some verbs in that tense
removed to be found by the learners. The same can be done for nouns, adjectives or
adverbs. If the activity proves to be too difficult, the first letters of the words can be
given or the words are given in a list of words containing more than needed.
Group work is very useful in training learners for the cloze test.
In the group
discussion, the learners can learn a lot from their peers and they will also develop a
more critical approach to their reading. Statements like ‘can you see it’s a noun
that’s needed here and not a verb?’ or ‘we need the past tense/ the verb must end in s
because it is present tense, third person, singular’. Such discussions will draw the
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attention of the learners to the grammar of the language and will be more interesting
and fun for the children. When all the groups have completed the activity, it can be
corrected on the board with the groups writing their choices for each blank on the
board for the whole class to see and discuss before the best answers are accepted.
Questions like ‘why did you choose this word and not another?’ will make learners
express themselves, show their knowledge and develop their critical thinking. So, this
is an activity that has to be started early and graded and selected with care. Success
must be the main objective. If the tests are too hard, learners soon give up. But if
they do well, they will want more of it.
Question 6
The composition question is still a cause for worry. The mean mark of 7.06 out of 20
is well below what might have been expected. 28.2 % of the candidates scored 0 and
often in these cases the question was not even attempted. Only 32.5 % of the
candidates scored 11 – 20 and about 44 % scored 0-5. These trends are worrying and
solutions need to be found.
This year, candidates had to write a short piece of continuous text to describe a party
held at school and they were given prompts to help them.
Writing a short, continuous text in a foreign language is a demanding task that cannot
be taught only in the CPE class. It is a task making use of skills acquired over the
years, starting as early as the pre-school years with language games like picture
matching, word matching, word-picture matching, sequencing of images, picking out
the odd one out, discriminating between what is relevant and what is not and so on.
Participating in story telling and reading to encourage prediction is another useful
activity for writing. Other useful activities are changing the end of a story, creating a
group big book, writing sentences with words from stories heard or read, turning nonsentences into sentences to show understanding of sentence structure. Experienced
teachers will easily be able to add to this short list.
Examiners were expecting
•
A well-balanced narrative, covering all aspects of the given scenario.
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•
A well sequenced piece of writing, where the ideas flow in a natural way, with
appropriate linking words where relevant
•
Use of appropriate tenses with the appropriate verb forms
•
Accurate and relevant vocabulary
However, many candidates lost marks for various reasons. Some blatantly ignored
the instructions given in the question and set the birthday party outside of school,
outside lunch time and in some cases the birthday being celebrated was not that of the
teacher.
Not giving balanced answers was also common. Many candidates focused on one
aspect of the scenario only and did not pay enough attention to the other aspects of the
question and this was penalised.
One aspect which was particularly noticeable was that many candidates struggled
with the usage of verbs. They either failed to use the proper tense, and even when
they managed to identify which tense was needed, they were unable to provide the
right verb form.
Below are examples of some compositions, with comments from examiners, to
illustrate what examiners give credit to and what is penalised.
Composition 1
It was a Thursday morning. The sun was shining brightly in the blue sky.
As it was our favorite teacher’s birthday, we decided to organise a surprise
birthday party for her. During lunch time when she went down with other
children, me, Adilah, Kaushal and Kaarthika decorated the classroom. I
had brought two litres of soft drinks and a small chocolate cake, Adilah had
brought some decorative things, Kaushal had brought the birthday cake and
Kaarthika had brought some glasses, balloons and flowers. We put the
balloons on the wall and the flowers on the table of our teacher. We put
all the cakes and soft drinks on a table in front of the class. The class
was well decorated. Fifteen minutes later our teacher came in the class.
She was surprised. As soon as she entered the class, we all sang “Happy
birthday to you”. She was very delighted. She heartily thanked us and cut
the birthday cake. Then we served soft drinks and a piece of cake to the
children. We all enjoyed the party. Later we danced “Mambo” and a hindu
song. Our teacher was very happy. She had a huge grin on her face.
“Wow, what a nice day!"
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This is a good composition. It is well balanced and all the aspects of the scenario are
dealt with and relevant details are provided. Plenty is said about the preparations
before the party but plenty is also said about what went on during the party.
There are a few errors, but none serious enough to hamper communication. The use
of complex tenses shows a degree of sophistication in the candidate’s ability to write.
The vocabulary is natural and appropriate for the given task. The sequencing is also
fine – the ideas flow in the right order and linking words are used when needed.
In short, without being too special, this composition scores well because it covers all
aspects of the scenario, has very few errors and is well organised.
Composition 2
It was early in the morning. I was going to make a party for my favourite
teacher. When it was lunch time me and my friends Cédrine and Marina, were
preparing and decorating the class whereas my other friends Mitch and
Anthony were trying to late my teacher. As soon as the teacher entered the
class, we all sing “happy birthday”. Tom and Johny come with the birthday
cake that my father bought in the nearby shop.
Her eyes was full with joy. She kissed every children in the class and then
comes marina with her beautiful pink dress who dance and sing. My teacher’s
eyes were full of tears and she says: “What an enjoyable day”. Everybody
were dancing and also my teacher.
This is an average piece of work. It scores fairly reasonably because all aspects of the
story are there and details are provided in a relevant way. There has been an effort on
the part of the candidate to write something where the ideas flow in a sequence.
However, communication is often clumsy. The second sentence, ‘I was going to
make a party for my favourite teacher’ sounds distinctly un-English. Parts of this
work are also difficult to read because of the regular occurrence of grammatical
mistakes – Tom and Johny come with the birthday cake, instead of came. Her eyes
was full of joy, instead of were, every children instead of every child. In addition,
tenses are used inconsistently – sometimes the present tense is used and sometimes
the past tense.
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This piece of work suffers from a number of linguistic problems, but manages to get a
decent number of marks because there is a clear attempt at responding to the scenario
and at providing relevant details.
Composition 3
It was a Monday. The weather was fine. We have organised a party for
our teacher Mr Ravi. We have told our friends to bring something for the
party. I had bring some cakes that my mother had prepared in the
morning. And other friends had bring fizzy drinks, cakes, ballons to
decorate the classroom.
During the long recess the teacher had gone in the yard to talk with other
teachers. We all started to decorate the classroom. My teacher don’t
know anything what preparations we are doing. When the ring bell to
enter in the classroom. He saw all the pupils are sitting in their places.
And a cake is on his table where he sit. He asked the pupils what is this.
All the pupils told this is your birthday cake. My teacher feel very happy.
My teacher cut the cakes and shared among all the children. And other
friends had bring gifts for him. That day we can’t forget.
This is a below average piece of work. Communication is more problematic than in
composition 2. Quite clearly, this candidate struggled to express his ideas in clear
English.
The essential elements of the story are there and there is some sequencing to the flow
of ideas. However, the number of grammatical problems makes it difficult to read
and spoils the coherence. This candidate particularly struggled with the use of the past
perfect tense. There are also regular swaps between the use of the past tense and that
of the present tense: We all started to decorate the classroom. My teacher don't know
anything what preparations we are doing. These problems with tense disrupt the
order of sequence for the reader. The work in not well balanced either, as a lot is said
about preparations for the party but very little about the party itself. Linking is almost
inexistent, but for the noticeable exception when.
This piece of work has too many grammatical problems to be fluent and coherent and
the fact that it touches only on some aspects of the scenario meant it did not score
very highly.
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Composition 4
Today is Monday we decide to organise a surprise birthday party for my
teacher at school
“I go to buy some sweat?” I say
“OK, me I go to buy ballon?” Paul says.
“OK, me I go to buy gases fizzy?” Pierre says.
“OH, is teacher brithbay?” Mary says.
“Yes, why?” Rita says.
“Because teacher is arriving at school?” Mary say
Other pupils prepare the class. Run fast
‘Why’? Because teacher is arriving.
They ran very fast. When they finish preparing the class, They celerble
the birthday. Other teachers is coming to tell my teacher “Happy
birthday” and they broken egg on his head.
I am very happy to my teacher.
Although there is an attempt to respond to the scenario, this piece of work can only be
described as poor.
There are grammatical problems in many areas – agreement, tenses and verb forms.
Spelling is also very poor celerble for celebrate, sweat for sweet, brithbay for
birthday, to name just a few.
While the use of direct speech in a narrative could be beneficial, here it is overused
and this gives the piece of work an undesirable conversational tone. In addition the
sentence types are repetitive, and there is no fluency or coherence at all.
This candidate simply did not have the linguistic proficiency to communicate in
English, which was a pity as the imagination was there.
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