The exam season is about to start!
So, now is the time to look back over the Cambridge exam season last year and give my ideas and observations.
To be honest, it’s almost a total blur of getting up early everyday for over two months, checking out the timetables and routes to get to the schools and then being sure that I am going to the right school at the right time on the right day with the right examiner Speaking packs and with the right Examiner Booklet to do four straight hours or more of Oral exams or Written exam invigilation.
The nerves of the students and teachers, the stress of it all! The end of two years preparing and studying by each candidate and the same amount of time of preparation and teaching by the teachers who have the additional pressure of having to justify the results of the students to the schools and the parents. The annual pressure by the schools to justify their status as a Bilingual School. The expectations are high.
Adhering to the Cambridge exam critieria helps the smooth running on the day of the exams. The main complaint as an examiner is usually the schools themselves. There are schools which have been doing the Cambridge exams for years now and they know the ropes, they understand the specific rules laid down by Cambridge and are prepared when we arrive - bliss!! This means we can just walk in, the exam rooms have been set up to the Cambridge specifications and we can calmly start the exams. This is not just good for us, although it certainly makes our lives easier, but it is also much better for the students who are already nervous and are calmed by the smooth running of things and the smiles on the faces of the teachers and examiners.
The opposite is the case in some of the schools we go to where the teachers are adverse to the strict Cambridge criteria and on a few occasions are openly antagonistic to the examiners and the Cambridge way of doing things, which unfortunately leads to stress and pressure and, whether they like it or not, certain regulations must be followed. The stressful and confusing environment ends up affecting the kids more than anyone as this rubs off on the nerves they already have. They need calm before the exams, time to quieten their minds and relax a little - we all do better when we are calm.
Preparing the students well before the exam is very important. Do Mock exams or walk the students step by step through each part of the exam beforehand. I would certainly recommend it as the kids who know the ropes, know what to expect, what is happening and going to happen are the most relaxed and perform better in the exams. It is easy to see which schools have done this and which haven’t. Some kids are so mystified by the whole experience that they have no opportunity to think about what they want to say, they are running on adrenalin trying to deal with what is thrown at them next, that they don’t have the opportunity to really demonstrate their best English capabilities.
A lot of the questions on the Cambridge Speaking exams are quite strange, the pictures that the candidates must talk about are not the most interesting, we the examiners know that. The kids who know what they are doing, calmly set off describing the pictures or answering the questions related to the pictures as best they can and are aware of what is being expected of them - those that don’t, usually end up spluttering along, running out of ideas, speaking without structure, sense or coherence with mystified looks on their faces. It really is quite heart-breaking for the examiners as we completely understand that they don’t know what to expect - it hasn’t been explained to them - but we can only base our marks on what is produced in the exam, we can’t suppose someone has better English than they demonstrate in the exam.
Don’t suppose that because the children are studying other subjects in English, they will have no problems with the Cambridge exam format. This is particular relevant in Bilingual Schools where the students often study other subjects in English and so have quite a good base of English comprehension. However, the Cambridge exams are focused on certain skills and abilities, on certain vocabulary and grammar structures depending on the level of the exam. We, as examiners, are looking and listening out for these. Often, the schools suppose that as the students study in English, they do not need specific preparation for the exams. Big mistake! - as it leads to what I have mentioned above; complete confusion on the part of the student.
Performing the tasks Cambridge has set out. On the other hand, there are certain schools famous to the examiners for their ‘over’ preparation of students, this is particularly noticeable in the lower level exams: YLE/KET/PET. When I say ‘over-prepared’, I mean that the kids come in and like parrots repeat the same formulaic sentence structures and expressions. I’ve had 7 years old saying to me “In my picture, there is a table WHEREAS in your picture there’s a chair”. Which native 7 year old would ever use the word ‘whereas’ or ‘on the other hand’? You are amazed with the first one, but by the fifth you realize that the kids have been drilled with these expressions.
But the important thing to remember is that there is nothing wrong with that! The kids are fulfilling the tasks set by Cambridge perfectly. They are doing their job well and it is clear that the teachers know what is expected by Cambridge and have done their jobs well too by preparing the kids so well that these expressions have been learned by heart and are produced on order. Top marks!!!
Obviously, the higher up the Cambridge exam levels you go the less you can do this, but really the less this is needed. Students have a greater mastery of the language, a greater flexibility of expression and are, or should be, more comfortable with using the language themselves that they don’t need these set formulas.
The information teachers need to know about the Cambridge exams is on the Cambridge website. It is not difficult to find a vocabulary list and an explanation about what is expected in each exam. Teachers need to check this out and practise it with their students throughout the year, drilling the younger ones with the answers helps the students feel more comfortable about what they have to say and will give them a clear idea of what is expected from them. With the older ones, or the ones doing higher level exams, plenty of exam practise and a particular focus on practising the grammar and sentence structures both speaking and in written English will help the candidates feel more comfortable about using these forms of English.
Kids are kids and will always be kids, they do the best that they can with the tools that have been provided for them. If they do badly in exams, unfortunately it is usually because they haven’t been prepared well enough or have been entered to exams which they are not ready for. Although, there has been a general improvement in the level of English, particularly at the lower levels which I put down to greater preparation and organization and better teaching.
Cambridge recommends two years of preparation between each exam. There is also a tendency now for the schools to rush through the exams, in some schools doing a different Cambridge exam each year, which is usually too much for a lot of the students. The Communidad de Madrid has been putting additional pressure on schools to submit a certain number of candidates for each exam each year, which means there are often candidates sitting the exams who really shouldn’t be there. Sometimes, they are lucky and they pass - scrap a pass or maybe they even have a middling pass. The trouble is they are not often ready for the next level and they are sent on as if on a conveyer belt on a production line to English which is more difficult, structures which are more complicated and vocabulary and expressions which they don’t understand and wouldn’t use in their own language. Unfortunately, depending on the person, they usually arrive at the point where they spectacularly fail the exam as it is too rushed for them.
I really would recommend the two years of preparation between exams; it is better to enter the exam with the English you need under control. Students can often get away with it on KET and PET, less so on FCE and certainly by CAE you really need to have a good control over what you are doing.
The CAE has become the most important exam - it used to be FCE that everyone needed for work, university and so on. However, due to the numbers of people looking for work the demand for CAE has increased: teachers need it to teach in Bilingual Schools, I’ve heard stories of people being employed purely because they have the CAE certificate and not on their teaching record, I’ve also heard of teachers being fired as they don’t have the CAE. Companies now insist in the CAE as a means of sifting through the piles of job applications, it used to be enough just to put on your CV that you had an advanced level of English, now proof is expected and frequently the interview process is now done in English by people who can speak English and really know how good your English is. More and more people are taking the CAE exam. It has been noticeable that a fair number of people are taking the exam without having taken any other of the previous Cambridge exams and without the two years of preparation - I have had a number of students this year who have come to me a couple of months or less before the exam demanding exam preparation. This is not enough time!
Performing the Cambridge way. As with all the Cambridge exams, in the CAE it’s not just a matter of being able to get by speaking English, it’s a matter of being able to perform the way Cambridge would like you to perform; to demonstrate all the skills of reading, writing, use of english, listening and speaking to an advanced level by using advanced grammar structures, vocabulary and expressions with flexibility. It is necessary to be able to understand spoken native English with many different accents and ways of expression and by being able to demonstrate a rich and varied advanced English both written and orally in a clear and organized way as well as being able to extract information from written pieces and comprehend advanced meaning within a tight time-frame, moreover you need to be able to recognize grammar, structures and vocabulary and be able to express them in alternative forms. This is not easy. You need more than a few months to master these techniques as well as the vocabulary and grammar.
Organisation, preparation, practise, understanding the Cambridge techniques and what each exam entails……and more practise!
If you follow all of the points mentioned above you will have a greater success in the forthcoming Cambridge exams. These are just some observations which I have noticed throughout the year, there are others but I think these are the most important and will go along way to making life for the students and candidates much easier, as well as life for the teacher as there will be a greater chance of passing the exams.
The Cambridge University website has a lot of helpful information about the exams and ways of preparing for the exams:
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-qualifications/
Please take advantage of the facilities that are on offer.
For Mock exams: http://www.cambridgemadrid.com/simulacro-de-examen
For intensive exam preparation: http://www.cambridgemadrid.com/
For general information and exam preparation help: http://onestop-language.com/index_Spanish.html
