Exam tips for the TKT

● The TKT is divided into modules which can be taken separately or together.
● Candidates can take one or more modules – it’s up to them.
● Each module contains 80 questions.
● Each module lasts 80 minutes.
● All the questions in the modules carry the same number of marks as each other.
● The task types used in the TKT are: one-to-one matching (e.g. pages 120-121,
questions 51-55), 3/4/5 option-matching (e.g. page 228), multiple-choice (e.g. page
112), sequencing (e.g. page 175, questions 28-33), and finding the odd one out
(e.g. pages 125-126, questions 75-80).
Before the exam
1 Get to know and understand the necessary English language teaching terms and
concepts. Read the relevant parts of this book, do the Follow-up and Discovery
activities and think about the points in the Reflection sections. Doing this will give
you confidence and familiarity with the terms and their meanings.
2 Look at the list of terms in this book and in the TKT Glossary. In the TKT Glossary the
terms are listed together with their meaning. Make sure you understand the terms,
because any of them might appear in the exam. Test yourself on them. See the TKT
Glossary:
http://www.cambridgeesol.org/TKT
3 Don’t just learn the meaning of the terms. Think about the ideas behind the terms
and what they mean for teaching and learning, too.
4 When you prepare your lessons, as you teach and after teaching, reflect on your
lessons in terms of different aspects of the TKT, e.g. lesson planning, correction
techniques, activity types. Write about your reflections in the Teacher Portfolio:
https://www.teacherportfolio.cambridgeesol.org/
5 Do some TKT practice tests to help you get familiar with the task types, and get used
to working within the time limit. Remember that the number of questions in each
module is fixed at 80, and there is one mark for each question.
6 Remember and practise the 4 Rs: Reading, Reference, Record-keeping and
Reflection.
7 Have a good night’s sleep before the test!

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 Exam tips for the TKT

During the exam

1 Don’t worry about your English. Remember that the TKT doesn’t ask you to speak,
listen to or write English. You just need to read the test and shade (make darker)
the letter (A, B, C, D, etc.) of the correct answers on your answer sheet. There is a
sample answer sheet on page 234 of this book.
2 Quickly skim through the whole test when you receive it to get a general idea of
its content. The layout of the TKT is clear and simple, and all the task types are of
similar kinds: matching, multiple-choice, odd one out or sequencing.
3 Work through the test from question 1 to question 80 if you can. In this way, you
won’t forget to do any questions. But, if you really can’t answer a question, leave
it, put a cross against it in the margin on your question paper, and come back to it
when you have completed the others.
4 Read the instructions for each task very carefully, then read each question within
each task very carefully, too. Make sure that you understand exactly what you need
to do. Candidates who do not follow the task instructions are likely to get answers
wrong.
5 There are two kinds of matching tasks. In matching tasks such as those on pages
118-119, questions 41-45 and 226, questions 34-40, the tasks contain extra options.
This means you do not need to use one of the options in your answers.
In the other kind of matching tasks, such as those on pages 113, questions 8-13 and
181, questions 62-67 you need to use all the options (A, B, C, D, etc.) and will need
to use one or more of them more than once.
6 When you answer matching and sequencing tasks, tick each option on the question
paper when you are confident it is the right answer to a question. This helps you to
see which options are left for the other questions.
7 In the matching tasks, if you feel unsure of an answer to one question, go to the
next question, then the next, etc. You may find that, at the end of the task, the
answer to your problem question then becomes clear.
8 Don’t choose answers just because they contain a word which is the same as a word
in the question. In fact, these answers are unlikely to be the right ones.
9 There is only one answer for each question. Never give two or more answers for a
question or write notes to the examiner on your answer sheet. This wastes time and
will not be read by a marker.
10 Don’t forget to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.
11 Make sure you have answered the question you mean to answer. For example,
don’t write your answer to question 20 in the place for answer 19, and don’t shade
letter A when you mean to shade letter B.
12 Don’t spend too long on any one part of the test. If you do, you will spoil your
chances on the other parts of the test. Divide your time equally across all the
questions.
13 Leave five minutes at the end of the test to check your answers.
14 If you are getting too worried to answer properly, take a very short break. Relax.
Good luck!
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