YLE Starters Speaking Part 5 Teachers Notes

Description This activity gives students practice in asking and answering questions. Time required: Materials required: Aims: 15 minutes Questions written on slips of paper before the lesson to introduce students to Part 5 of the Starters Speaking paper and to the task type to give students practice in asking and answering questions to practise language asking for repetition

Before the class Prepare for the activity by writing questions on slips of paper before the lesson. You will need one question on each slip of paper and one slip of paper for each student in the class. You can repeat the questions. Questions must be personal (not factual). Use/choose from the following questions or use your own using these grammatical structures. Whats your name? How old are you? Where do you live? Have you got any brothers? Have you got any sisters? Whats your favourite toy? Whats your favourite book/computer game? Procedure 1. Greet the students at the beginning of the activity. Say Hello (name) to different students in turn and have them greet you in return. This is an important aspect of the Starters Speaking Test and being able to respond to the examiner at the start of the test helps to put the children at ease. 2. Start with the student whose name is first in the alphabet. Ask the class to tell you who it is. Hand the student a question. Do you like milk? Do you like pasta? Is your bedroom big or small? Do you like playing football? Do you like watching TV? Whats your phone number? Can you fly a kite? Can you count to 20 in English?

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YLE Starters Speaking Part 5 Teachers Notes

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3. Dont look at the question you give him/her. The student asks the question of another student in the class. Let the student asking the question choose who to ask. The other student answers. Short answers are acceptable, e.g. one word, Yes, I do, No, I cant. Students dont have to give long answers. Then hand the student who has just answered another question. 4. Repeat Step 3 until all the students in the class have asked and answered a question. During the activity, remind students to use language to request repetition if they dont hear the question e.g. I dont understand. Can you repeat, please? Again, please? Sorry? Dont repeat the question for them yourself. 5. Finish the activity by thanking students and by saying goodbye to students in turn. Have them say goodbye to you also. This is useful as Part 5 is the end of the Speaking Test and children should get used to saying goodbye to the examiner. 6. Point out to children that they have been practising Part 5 of the Speaking test. Elicit the following points: the questions will be about themselves, their families, things they can do, things they like, etc. they can answer with short answers this is the last part of the test, and at the end the examiner will say goodbye. Children should say goodbye to the examiner as well. they should always ask the examiner to repeat the question if necessary and that using this language when they dont understand shows how good their English is.

7. You can repeat this activity on a regular basis (from Step 3 to Step 5) using the same questions. You can vary the order you nominate the students, e.g. the students whose name is last in the alphabet starts the activity.

Additional information There are three aspects that are assessed in the Starters Speaking Test:

Reception listening and interaction Production words and phrases Production pronunciation .

Each criterion carries a maximum mark of 3. In the Test, each student is taken into the examination room by an usher. The usher is someone who speaks the students first language and who is possibly known to the child, e.g. a teacher. The usher explains the test format in the childs first language before taking the child into the examination room and introducing him/her to the examiner. Starters is aimed at young children who are at the beginning of their English learning and probably also have little experience of test situations. Therefore, a major aim of the Speaking test at this level is for them to show their comprehension of what the examiner says. This
UCLES 2009. This material may be photocopied (without alteration) and distributed for classroom use provided no charge is made. For further information see our Terms of Use at http://www.teachers.cambridgeESOL.org/ts/legalinfo

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may be through actions (pointing to something in the picture, for instance) or by producing a short phrase or a one-word answer to questions such as 'What is your teacher's name?' or 'How old are you?' At this level it is not necessary for candidates to say more than a few words or to be totally accurate in order to achieve a higher score.

UCLES 2009. This material may be photocopied (without alteration) and distributed for classroom use provided no charge is made. For further information see our Terms of Use at http://www.teachers.cambridgeESOL.org/ts/legalinfo

YLE Starters Speaking Part 5 Teachers Notes

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