CAMBRIDGE ESOL DELTA: MODULE THREE

DATE: 02/10/2011

NAME: VAFIDOU AVGI

STUDY SPACE

CENTRE NUMBER: GR 102

CANDIDATE NUMBER: OO1

EXTENDED ASSIGNMENT: EXAMINATION CLASSES

TITLE

Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary

Word count: 4500

Vafidou Avgi
Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary
Contents

1. Part One: Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….…….......1

1.1. Reasons for Choosing Examination Classes …………………………………………………………....1
1.2. How Examination classes Differ from Non-Examination General English ……………… 1
1.3. Issues Concerning Examination Classes ……………………………………………….……….………..2
1.4. Teaching Approaches ………………………………………………………………………………………….….2
1.5. The Group of Learners ……………………………………………………..………………………………….…2
2. Part Two: Needs Analysis and Commentary….………..………………………….………………...3
2.1. Group Profile ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3
2.2. Identifying the Needs and Rationale for Diagnostic Tests ………………………………………3
2.3. Analysis and Discussion of Data ………………………………………………………………………..……4
2.4. Priorities for the Planned Course ……………………………………………………………………………8
3. Part Three: Course Proposal ………………………………………………………………………………….9
3.1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………9
3.2. Learning Goals and Objectives ……………………………………………………………………………….9
3.3. Teaching of Syllabus and Teaching Approaches ……………………………………………………10
3.4. Course Content …………………………………………………………………………………………………….10
3.5. Materials ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11
3.6. Final Comments ……………………………………………………………………………………………………11
4. Part Four: Assessment and Evaluation ………………………………………………………………..12
4.1. Assessment Principles …………………………………………………………………………………………..12
4.2. How these Principles Influenced my Choice of Assessment ………………………………….12
4.3. Monitoring Learner Progress …………………………………………………………………………………13
4.4. Assessing Learning Outcomes ……………………………………………………………………………….13
4.5. Constraints and Opportunities ………………………………………………………………………………13
4.6. Course Evaluation ………………………………………………………………………………………………...14
5. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……15
6. References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16
7. Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….17
8. Appendix 1: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..18
9. Appendix 2: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….....21

Appendix 3: Needs Analysis Instruments

Appendix 4: Materials
Appendix 5: Assessments
Appendix 6: Evaluation Tools

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary
PART 1 - INTRODUCTION

I have been teaching examination classes for twenty-five years but now feel the need to examine
this area further. My experience does not seem to have enabled me to always know what my
students need and how best to help them. I make every attempt to ensure the learners’ interests
and meet their needs because I have invariably noticed that often it is the students’ motivation
in the lesson that enables them to overcome difficulties and rise to challenge. My personal
objective is to teach examination classes, specifically the Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE),
in an effective way that will enable my students to pass examinations but not at the expense of
“language acquisition” (Carter 1993: 2).

1.1. Reasons for Choosing Examination Classes

Greece is a society whose learners are preoccupied with taking exams and gaining certification
even at a very young age. Additionally, a teacher’s vocational competence and reputation is
measured by her students’ success in examinations. Unlike many learners, parents and school
owners, I believe that learning English should involve the combination of the two facets:
acquisition of the language and success in examinations. Due to my need to have an active role in
the teaching community, I am taking an in-depth look at the theories and principles related to
teaching examination classes with a view to enhancing learners’ ability to communicate in the
foreign language and at the same time pass these very necessary examinations.

Although to pass the CPE exams can be defined as “approaching the competence of an educated
native speaker able to cope with high level of academic work” (CPE handbook 2002: 2) many of
my students who have succeeded in the examinations are unable to communicate with
comfortable intelligibility. Newmark’s ( 1966: 160) famous utterance ‘Do you have illumination?’
instead of ‘Got a match?’ is an extreme but pertinent example of communicative incompetence.
Similarly, students learn, for example, grammar transformations or lists of vocabulary items
without enhancing their reading skills or developing pattern recognition. Since there is a
tendency here in Greece to follow this approach, I wish to explore the approaches and strategies
that will enable the CPE candidates to acquire the English language rather than just do ‘exam
practice’.

1.2. How Examination Classes Differ from Non-Examination General English

Classes

Non-Examination General English courses aim “to enable the learner to do something he could
not do at the beginning of the learning process”(Van Ek 1975: 103) and develop all skills and
systems. Learners are often intrinsically motivated and do not usually have a common target -
the exam; thus, teachers can use a combination of teaching approaches in order to engage them
in communicative ‘real world’ collaboration and satisfy their needs. I completely agree with
Revel (1979: v) who says that in non-examination oriented classes “the teacher tries to bridge
the gap between ‘skill-getting’ in the classroom and ‘skill-using’ in real life” and time does not
press her or the learning process.

In examination classes students and teachers share the same aim: to pass the exam. The
learners’ needs are similar; they need a certificate of proficiency in English to qualify for entry to
university or get a job. Testing material prevails, many teachers are trapped in an examination

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 1
preparation cycle and often have little or no time to discover knowledge as time is limited and
much has to be done.

1.3. Issues Concerning Examination Classes in Greece

 From my experience of teaching here in Greece, I can say that in an exam-oriented
classroom there seems to be little space for Communicative Language Teaching. Brumfit
(1984) believes that the classroom is the place for negotiation of meaning and
expressivity but the demands of the examinations tend to leave little room for such
luxuries.
 The market and the parents press teachers and schools to produce good examination
results. The influence of this pressure on the classroom is called ‘the backwash effect’. “It
can be defined as the direct or indirect effect of examinations on teaching methods”
(Prodromou 1995: 13). The form, content and pass rate of the CPE has a ‘negative’
impact on learners and teachers more often than not. Other exam boards are reputed to
be easier and friendlier and are thus often preferred by those interested.
 In my view, to have a successful outcome in the CPE exams the classes need to consist of
maximum eight students, if possible not of mixed ability and the lessons should last at
least two and a half hours twice a week. Being seemingly less demanding, other exam
boards such as Michigan, Tie, MSU, ESB and Pearson can be taught with larger classes
and require fewer hours per week. From my experience, never have I had a weak student
who passed the CPE exams; however I have frequently received satisfactory results from
other examination boards.
 The age of the learners constitutes a problem; when they are 14-15 their maturity level
is low and they are often unsuccessful in the CPE exams due to insufficient prior
knowledge and lack of necessary schemata. However, parents insist on their children
“finishing” English. On the other hand, adult learners come with life experience, a clear
idea of what they want but carry things with them that are difficult to change.
 Whatever the exam type, motivation is indeed a problem area since most learners want a
certificate for their own reasons, usually extrinsic and instrumental and are not
interested in learning about the language and its culture. Additionally, many exam
textbooks, in particular Greek publications as opposed to international ones, may not
have suggested supplementary activities in order to make the course more
communicative and realistic.
1.4. Teaching Approaches

Teachers should “teach learners the ‘use’ of language as well as its ‘usage’” (Widdowson 1978: 3)
and try to bridge the communication gap in exam classes by focusing on teaching and not
testing. They can use a task-based approach and give students the chance to do “hundreds of
things people do in everyday life, at work, at play, and in between” (Long 1985: 89). Since no
approach should be regarded as a panacea for all the problems students face, an eclectic
approach of support and opportunity for learning in a positive environment “will motivate
students and make them more effective learners” (May1996: 6). They will develop autonomy and
will then be able to transfer their knowledge to their examinations.

1.5. The Group of Learners

The twenty hour course will be designed to assist four female adult university students who
wish to participate in the CPE exams in December 2011. Word count: 1092
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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 2
 PART 2 – NEEDS ANALYSIS and COMMENTARY

2.1. Group Profile

Dimitra and Evelina are studying Mass Media and Communication, Anna is studying Medicine
and Marina is studying Law. They have all taken FCE at some time in the past and last year they
attended C1 classes. They are twenty-year old girls with considerable differences in aspirations
and interests but “I plan to take these differences into account and make them contribute to
language learning” (Byrne 1976: 4).

2.2. Identifying Needs and Rationale for Diagnostic Tests

A needs analysis draws objective data and information about the learners’ needs and makes
clear in what direction the course should head for. It influences the design of materials and tasks
and makes the development of language courses more efficient and objective.

Since a need is “a gap or measurable discrepancy between a current state of affairs and a desired
future state” (Berwick 1989: 52), a teacher should negotiate with learners over many issues in a
continuous collaborative process and prioritize the most significant data in order to reduce the
amount of time spent on things of secondary importance.

To gather information and answer the central question “For what purpose is the learner learning
the target language?” (Nunan 1988: 14) a whole class discussion first took place so as to create
a warm atmosphere, connect the learners to each other and to the teacher and reduce the feeling
of a teacher questioning a student. Individual interviews that had an unstructured
conversational approach and lasted 20’ were carried out so that the second interlocutor and I
could get to know their personalities and their learning styles as well as independently assess
each learner (Appendix 3A & A1). Moreover, their previous teacher gave me useful information
about their learning modes in order to ensure some success with them.

I surveyed the learners with a questionnaire adapted from Willing (1989) in order to find an
answer to the question “What background factors are the learners bringing to the classroom?”. It
was a structured and comprehensive way to draw their profiles (Appendix A2 & 3B).

In order to identify and measure learners’ strengths and weaknesses and to prepare them well
for the proficiency test CPE, I used two multiple-choice diagnostic tests for they are valid,
reliable and practical: a one hundred multiple choice test which addresses both language and
skills area and a reading test with 20 questions (Appendices 3C & 3D). The tests have many
items because “the more items that you have on a test, the more reliable the test is” (Hughes 1989:
36), they test what they are supposed to test and show teachers where gaps exist in their
command of the language and “ascertain what further teaching is necessary” (Hughes 1989: 13).
As an alternative measure of integrative EFL proficiency, I used a cloze test with 15 multiple
gap-filling questions which required learners to understand key ideas and reconstruct the
message (Appendix 3E). In my view, it was an additional effective, practical and reliable testing
tool to assess my learners’ language skills. In addition, the learners were asked to produce a
writing text (Appendix 3F) and do a listening test (Appendix 3G) in order to check their
competence in these two skills.

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 3
2.3. Analysis and Discussion of Data

The learners have studied English for a number of years and have different levels.

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Evelina Marina Anna Dimitra

Figure 1: Learners’ years of studying English

25%

Elementary
Intermediate
Upper Intermediate
Advanced
75%

Figure 2: Students’ English level

They are studying English so as to develop their language level since they already use it quite
frequently.

25% 25%

Low
Medium
High

50%

Figure 3: Frequency of English used by the learners

All four learners admit that the role of English in their studies is great because they have to read
foreign reference books and articles, they participate in exchange-student programmes and they
are planning to do post-graduate studies abroad.

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 4
 100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Figure 4: Importance of English in learners’ studies

From all students’ viewpoint, reading will be of high importance in their future job. Three of
them agree that all four skills will be vocationally useful.

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Figure 5: Learners’ perspective on the importance of English in their future job

Three students want their mistakes to be corrected- if possible in private- by the teacher; only
Evelina wants to correct them herself.

25%
by the teacher
by themselves
75% peer correction

Figure 4: Learners’ preference for error correction

These learners prefer to learn by seeing the language written down, like to work independently
of the teacher but do not like games and role-plays.

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 5
 -want immediate feedback
100% of the students -like to work the stages that lead
to a solution
-want to do exercises under time
limit
-want to use mainly past papers
-like to have homework
-prefer authentic material
100%
-like to learn by conversation
-go out and practice with native
speakers
-like to have their own textbook

want exercises in class

to be general
50% 50% want exercises to
focus on specific
structures

They are all very good at grammar but they do have gaps in their knowledge of vocabulary.

Table1. Diagnostic Test

Name Grammar and Vocabulary Name Grammar Vocabulary

Anna 96% Anna 98% 94%
Dimitra 90% Dimitra 94% 86%
Evelina 83% Evelina 86% 80%
Marina 91% Marina 92% 91%

The learners’ performance on the cloze test was quite weak.

Table2. Cloze Test

Anna 73%
Dimitra 66,60%
Evelina 60%
Marina 66%
While writing the diagnostic reading, the learners were stressed and kept complaining about the
passages being “too specific and unnecessarily challenging”. Their scores were low and arouse
concern.

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 6
 Table3. Diagnostic Reading

Anna 75%
Dimitra 66,6%
Evelina 58%
Marina 66,6%

During the interview a colleague was present in the classroom to invigilate. The learners spoke
with communicative intelligibility but the vocabulary range was somewhat limited.

Table4. Interview

Anna 78%
Dimitra 70%
Evelina 61%
Marina 72%

The scoring of the writing texts was “holistic” (Hughes 1989: 86), based on an overall impression
and was carried out by four teachers- myself included- for high scorer reliability.

Table5. Writing Activity

Anna 81%
Dimitra 79%
Evelina 74%
Marina 78%

The students showed understanding of context, topic and language function in the listening test.

Table6. Listening Results

Anna 81%
Dimitra 75%
Evelina 68%
Marina 81%

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 7
 2.4. Priorities for the Planned Course

The results prioritize reading and retrieval and use of vocabulary.. The learners’ faculties and
the future postgraduate studies will require reading “without help unfamiliar texts, at
appropriate speed” (Nuttal 1982: 21), being confronted with numerous unknown or obscure
words and recalling them readily so as to produce language.

I will place emphasis on the integration of all skills and a combination of approaches because
eclecticism expresses variety and open-mindedness. With the twenty-hour course I shall try to
ensure that they will not just do exam practice but they will also enhance vocabulary as well as
develop and practise receptive and productive skills in a manner which will encourage my
students to become effective readers who will achieve language acquisition.

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 PART THREE: COURSE PROPOSAL

3.1. Introduction

The proposed course should fit the needs of the learners with their personal goals as well as
with the goals of the CPE examinations. “The syllabus designer can achieve a degree of ‘fit’
between the needs and aims of the learners… and the activities which will take place in the
classroom” (Yalden 1984:14).

I have adopted a communicative approach to language teaching because it enhances success in

the examinations and leads students to acquire “an all-round ability” as specified in the CPE
Handbook. In order to achieve this “it is vital that in the syllabus the learning goals are identified
at the outset” (Nunan 1988:25).

3.2. Learning Goals and Objectives

Goals are general statements whereas Mager sees objectives “as ‘signposts’ which indicate
destination” (op. cit.: 65). In a communicative approach, the learners should negotiate and be
fully involved in the goals and the course of study in order to achieve success.

The goals are:

 To enable learners to succeed in the CPE examinations

 To encourage learners develop confidence in reading comprehension tasks
 To appreciate authentic texts and their natural language
 To improve reading speed
 To develop reading skills so as to read reference books in English, process them and
use them at will
 To aid vocabulary learning and acquisition and enable learners to retrieve it readily
 To arouse interest in words and motivate learners to organise vocabulary
systematically
 To enhance vocabulary in order to facilitate reading
 To improve guessing in context
 To help learners turn receptive knowledge into productive knowledge
 To develop skills in learning-how-to-learn and become autonomous

The following objectives are a combination of real-world and classroom objectives and are also
process-oriented because they “focus, not on the outcomes of instruction, but on the classroom
activities themselves” (Nunan 1988: 131).

 To read for gist at appropriate speed

o To read for specific information or main point at appropriate speed
o To make predictions and guesses when reading a text
o To be able to read authentic texts
o To develop understanding of stylistic devices
 To ignore unknown words
o To infer the meaning of unfamiliar words from context
o To understand reference
 To study on their own and self-assess themselves
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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 9
  To use the institutional resources
 To collaborate in pairs or groups and appreciate peer correction

These goals and objectives will determine “the selection and grading of content” (Nunan 1988: 5)
and will lead to a syllabus design.

3.3. Teaching of Syllabus and Teaching Approaches

I have always used other people’s syllabuses because it is difficult to design a functional one.

The syllabus must correspond to the length of a twenty-hour course. The course will combine
many different types of syllabuses: it will be a holistic, content-oriented, task-based syllabus. A
holistic syllabus uses whole texts, usually authentic ones so as to expose learners to genuine and
undistorted language. Following a “humanistic” approach (Nunan, 1988:20), I have negotiated
with the learners and we agreed to make a language programme which would lead to language
learning through experiential units such as ‘Media’, ‘Medicine’, ‘Law, e.t.c. and so they will
examine language which has meaning for them ( Appendix 3H). Mohan (1986: iii) says that
content-based syllabuses “facilitate learning not merely through language but with language”.
The language will be organised around challenging real-world tasks and the learners will
acquire the language in a natural way and see that general learning can be useful for the CPE
exam. There will be sufficient concentration on exam technique. The syllabus could also be
described as “more-or –less analytic” (Nunan 1988: 28) since it is organised in terms of the
purposes for which the four learners are learning the language.

An inductive review of structures will be part of every lesson because as Widdowson said “in a
course that has communicative orientation grammatical functions are not to be ignored” ( Brumfit
C.J. and K. Johnson 1979: 98).

3.4. Course Content

The content of the course is skills based and built around topics that are of interest to the
learners; I used a topic-oriented questionnaire in order to choose subjects that would appeal to
the students (Appendix 3H). The ambition of the course is to improve reading skills and
retrievability of vocabulary but at the same time integrate writing, listening and speaking
through communicative strategies.

The class will meet twice a week for a two-hour lesson with a ten-minute break. The duration of
the course will be five weeks. The institution offers free-of charge ‘Saturday laboratories’ during
which the learners will write the formative assessment (after the completion of the first ten
hours) and the summative, take the mock test or do extra exam practice.

The two lessons of each week are goals-oriented and theme-based dealing with: ‘Ecology’,
‘Media’, ‘Medicine’, ‘Crime’ and ‘Technology’. The transition from one topic to the next is smooth.
An authentic text which is “similar in length, language type, and topic area to those in the target
exam” (May 1996: 9) is analysed in every lesson. Vocabulary expansion, consolidation activities,
pair and/or group work and oral presentations are on the daily schedule. The positive side of
peer-correction will be introduced during the student-centred lessons.

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 10
A standard out-of-class five-hour weekly preparation is expected. Periodical revision of
corrected papers, keeping learning diaries and read a book “for pleasure” for at least two hours
every week outside of class will also be required.

3.5. Materials

Authentic, traditional and electronic material will be used.

Authentic texts, pictures and photographs will be taken from newspapers and the internet. The
source and the date will be clearly marked.

I have chosen authentic texts because my observations and my teaching experience have made
me realize that they are “…real texts designed not for language students, but for the speaker of the
language in question.’’ (Harmer,1991:146). They are motivating and as David Wilkins writes “
the lexical items…begin slowly to have the same meaningfulness for them that they have for the
native speaker”(Wilkins,1972:132).

Traditional worksheets, crosswords, the paper dictionary Concise Oxford as well as the exam
practice book Certificate of Proficiency in English 5 (CUP) - student’s book with answers’ edition
suitable for self-study- will be used so as to boost success.

Electronic ESL/EFL websites will be recommended with a view to supplementing in-class

instruction.

3.6. Final Comments

This course proposal is my brainchild but sometimes things change once the course begins. In
order to help learners develop, an on-going needs analysis should be carried out “before the
course and once the course has begun” (Nunan 1996: 38).

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 11
 PART FOUR: ASSESSMENT and EVALUATION

4.1. Assessment Principles

From my experience formative and summative assessments are an indispensable part of the
learning process because they enable learners and teachers “to check the fulfilment of the aims,
reflect on the future direction of the course and make modifications where necessary” (Hopper
1998).

The first priority in any form of assessment is validity which is “an accurate measure of what it is
supposed to measure” (Hughes 1989: 22).

Reliability and practicality are two important factors in developing any form of assessment. The
former ensures that “it measures consistently” (op. cit.: 3) and this is possible when a test has a
large number of items. The latter ensures that assessment is “economical in terms of time and
money” (op. cit.: 6) on all levels: construction, administration, scoring and interpretation.

Assessment should always have a positive backwash effect on learners; this can happen if they
understand that this is an effective way to monitor their progress and meet the best learning
outcomes.

Assessment should be connected to the goals of the course, the criteria of assessment should be
explained to the learners so as to be able to accept results, self-assess themselves whenever they
want and evaluate their progress and the outcomes.

4.2. How these Principles Influenced my Choice of Assessment

My choice of assessment took the aforementioned principles into serious consideration.

Moreover, the tests are direct and communicative because the learners will participate in acts of
communication such as reading, writing and listening.

o In every lesson the learners will be given an authentic reading text, which will also serve
as an objective reading test. It will be practical though not very reliable due to the limited
amount of items.
o Vocabulary quizzes will increase the chances of retaining new vocabulary. Thornbury
(2002: 129) believes that “vocabulary covered in the previous lesson should be tested at
the beginning of the next one”. However, “considerations of validity and reliability are less
of an issue in informal testing, where the main objective is to motivate review and
recycling” (op. cit.: 132).
o Formative assessment after the first ten hours: an Entry Test for the Revised CPE (2002).
The objective and reliable results may motivate the learners to study harder and
increase preparation time for the CPE exams (Appendix 5A).
o Summative assessment at the end of the course: Paper 1 Reading of the past paper CPE
May 2008. It consists of forty multiple choice questions which guarantee the existence of
all the assessment principles (Appendix 5B).
o The mock test will be the Past Paper May 2010 which is an integrative test since “it
requires learners to combine many language elements in the completion of a task” (Hughes
1989: 16).

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 12
 o For homework the learners will have to do one past paper every week. The reliability,
practicality and objectivity of the tests facilitate self-assessment which “is seen as one of
the pillars of learner autonomy” (Harris 1997: 12).

4.3. Monitor Learner Progress

I will write and keep progress reviews so as to record my students’ learning process. Revision in
the middle of the course, personal contact with the students and proof discussion on feedback
will be some of my ways of monitoring learner progress.

Additionally, learning diaries will give my students and me useful insights into their progress. A
summative test and a mock test will be beneficial and reveal how much students develop.

Homework can also monitor their learning as well as Saturday laboratories which provide a self-
access learning resource which allows students to do extra work on their own and monitor their
progress.

4.4. Assessing Learning Outcomes

I will assess learning outcomes which, of course, have to be realistic during the laboratories on a
Saturday and I will use three different strategies:

A questionnaire is the easiest and simplest tool to collect information (Appendix 6A). After
analysing the data, a whole class discussion will reveal reactions to the course and check if we
achieved the desired outcomes.

I will ask a colleague to observe the second and the ninth lesson so as to evaluate the students’
performance and give feedback.

4.5. Constraints and Opportunities

The constraints will be many:

 The heavy demands that CPE examinations place on the learners

 the linguistic difficulties which raise anxiety and negativity
 time constraints: a) pressure to cover the syllabus, b) adults do not have much time for
studying
 peer-correction which demotivates learners

The purposeful design of the course and the educational equipment available can be effective
ways to deal with the constraints. The four learners are strong students who through
collaborative and communicative learning can achieve independent learning and autonomy. The
flexibility of the institution will offer them plenty of opportunity for extra exam practice and
access to resources such as the library, computers and internet.

From my research and my reading I have realised that teachers can overcome almost all possible
constraints if they involve learners in the learning process and continuously evaluate and
question the effectiveness of the approaches and procedures. In other words teachers have to be
attentive before, during and after the lesson.
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4.6. Course Evaluation

Evaluation which is a tool for progress will determine the extent to which this course proposal is
worthwhile.

In my view, learners should be asked if the course included interesting, useful and motivating
items that led to effective learning and autonomy. Therefore, the course evaluation procedure
should be student-centred, gauge if the course met the goals that have been set and include the
following steps:

 Formative evaluation sheets at the end of every lesson (Appendix 6B)

 A summative questionnaire on the course (Appendix 6C)
 A whole class discussion with the learners about the strengths and weaknesses of the
course
 Collect students’ views about the course through their learning diaries

Additionally, the colleague who will peer observe will give feedback on the course and finally, I
will write a self-report on the course.

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 14
 PART FIVE: CONCLUSION

In my view, this course proposal includes useful items that will lead to effective learning and
language acquisition. It is directly connected to the needs of the specific learners and the
objectives of the course and it intends to lead learners closer to success in the CPE examinations.
I hope that the course proposal and the accompanying assessment procedures will enable the
four learners to communicate with comfortable intelligibility, develop their reading skills and
enhance vocabulary, appreciate collaboration and peer-correction, work independently and
reflect on the learning process. If “to hope is to believe in possibilities” (Van Manen, 1990:12) then
I hope that this course will improve the learners’ linguistic level and help them make one more
step towards autonomy.

In my opinion the role of the teacher is fundamental since she/he is the maestro of the learning
process. I will try to increase the learners’ confidence and develop their critical thinking towards
teaching and learning by adopting and applying an eclectic approach with flexibility and
sensitivity towards the individual needs of the learners and any unexpected preferences or
demands during the course. The students will be given plenty of opportunity to experience ways
of communicating through language.

However, I can not predict in advance how the learners will respond to the syllabus and how
they will benefit from it. The group of learners is heterogeneous in terms of personality and
learning preference; I can not be sure beforehand what the backwash effect of the assessments,
classroom activities, self-study and interaction with the other learners will be on them. They are
adults whose prior knowledge and past experiences may fail to allow them to fully comprehend
the positive aspects of communicative teaching and see well beyond the exams. Examphobia,
certificate hunting, test-mania and the shortness of the course may place some limitations on my
proposed course or lead to solving of continuously emerging problems.

Concluding, I can say that not knowing what the future has in store for the students and me is
the intriguing part of being a teacher. Every time I have to teach a new group of learners the
famous verses written by C. P. Cavafy (1911) in his poem Ithaca come to mind:

“As you set out for Ithaca,

hope that your journey is a long one,

Full of adventure, full of discovery”

Word count: 390

Vafidou Avgi
Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 15
References

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Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Byrne, D. (1976). Teaching Oral English. Longman.

Carter, R. (1993). Applied Linguistics. Penguin Group.

CPE Revised Handbook (2002), CPE specifications and sample papers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Prodromou, L. (1995). The backwash effect: teaching and testing. In ELT Journal Vol. 49/1 January 1995. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Harmer, J. (1991). The Practice of English Language Teaching (London: Longman).

Harris, M. (1997). Self-assessment of language learning in formal settings. In ELT Journal Vol.51/1 January 1997. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.

Hughes, A. (1989). Testing for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Long, M. H. (1985). A role for instruction in second language: Task-based language training. In Hyltenstam K. and
Pienemann M. (eds), Modelling and assessing second language acquisition (pp. 77-99). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

May, P. (1996). Exam Classes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mohan, B. (1986). Language and Content. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.

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Communicative Approach to Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Nuttall, C. (1982). Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. London: Heinemann.

Thornbury, S. (2002). How to Teach Vocabulary. Pearson Education Limited.

Van Ek, J. (1975). The Threshold Level, Council of Europe. In Brumfit C.J. and Johnson K. (eds) 1979 The Communicative
Approach to Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Revel, J. (1979). Teaching techniques for Communicative English. Mackmillan Publisher Ltd.

Van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. The University of
Western Ontario.

Widdowson, H. (1978). Teaching Language as Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wilkins ,D. A. (1972). Linguistics in Language teaching (Edward Arnold, London).

Yalden, J. (1984). Syllabus design in general education. In Brumfit C.J. (ed.) 1984a Communicative Methodology in Language
Teaching: the Roles of Fluency and Accuracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 16
Bibliography

Brumfit, C. J. and Johnson K. (eds) (1979) The Communicative Approach to Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.

Brumfit, C. J. (ed.) (1984a) Communicative Methodology in Language Teaching: the Roles of Fluency and Accuracy.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Byrne, D. (1976). Teaching Oral English. Longman.

Carter, R. (1993). Applied Linguistics. Penguin Group.

CPE Revised Handbook (2002), CPE specifications and sample papers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

ELT Journal Vol.47/4 October 1993. The Lexical Syllabus. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ELT Journal Vol. 49/1 January 1995. The backwash effect: teaching and testing.Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ELT Journal Vol. 49/1 January 1995. Needs analysis and General English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ELT Journal Vol.51/1 January 1997. Choosing Your Coursebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ELT Journal Vol.51/1 January 1997. Self-assessment in formal settings. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ELT Journal Vol. 54/1 January 2000. Comment: Who needs analysis? Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ELT Journal Vol. 54/ 1 January 2000. Teacher-supportive evaluation. Oxford : Oxford University Press.

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Hyltenstam, K. and Pienemann M. (eds), Modelling and assessing second language acquisition (pp. 77-99). Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.

Johnson, R. K. (1989). The Second Language Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

May, P. (1996). Exam Classes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mohan, B. (1986). Language and Content. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.

Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Western Ontario.

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http://pareoline.net/getvn.asp?v=9 &n=8
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/....
http://www4.ujaen.es/~gluque/Topic4factors.pdf

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 17
 APPENDIX 1: COURSE PROPOSAL (Time: 120 minutes per day)
Tuesday Thursday
Week 1 1.1. Reading: The environment 1.6. Reading: Global
Ecology Environmental Journalism
1.2. Vocabulary: Initiative (GEJI)
Goals Register/synonyms/antonyms 1.7. Vocabulary: Word
 read for main point formation/ Phrasal verbs
 guess words from 1.3. Speaking: Take turns in a 1.8. Speaking: Role play
context discussion ‘Environmentalists vs.
 improve reading ‘Ways to be environmentally media people concerning
speed active’ objectivity’
 discuss ways to be 1.9. Review of Past Tenses
environmentally 1.4. Review of Present and Pronunciation: silent
friendly Future Tenses consonants
 persuade others to 1.10. Exam skills (CPE 5):
take action 1.5. The CPE exam: General Test 1
 give opinions and information Reading comprehension &
discuss solutions Listening
Homework Homework
CPE 5: Test 1 Reading CPE 5: Test 1 Use of English &
comprehension & Listening Writing

Week 2 2.1. Reading: News media and 2.6. Reading: News and
The media society distortion of truth

Goals 2.2. Vocabulary: News 2.7. Vocabulary: News

 read for gist collocations/ near synonyms language/ Word formation
 deduce meaning
 improve reading 2.3. Speaking: Persuade others 2.8. Speaking: Give criticism
speed ‘Freedom of speech vs. ‘Media’s medical
 persuade others censorship’ exaggerations’
 give criticism
 explain idea 2.4. Review of Conditional Forms 2.9. Review of Gerunds and
Infinitives
2.5. Exam skills (CPE 5): Test 1 Pronunciation: Word and
Use of English & Writing sentence stress

2.10. Exam skills: Test 2

Reading Comprehension
& Listening
Homework Homework
CPE 5: Test 2 Reading 1)CPE 5: Test 2 Use of
comprehension & Listening English & Writing
2) Review for formative
assessment

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 18
Week 3 3.1. Reading: Cloning 3.7. Reading: Abortion
Medicine
3.2. Vocabulary: Idioms- order of 3.8. Vocabulary: Prefixes/
Goals adjectives/ Loan words word formation
 infer the meaning
of unfamiliar 3.3. Speaking: Give opinions 3.9. Speaking: Conduct a
words ‘Medicine interferes with debate
 read for specific nature’ ‘Abortion is murder’
information
 develop word 3.4. Review of Direct/ Reported 3.10. Review of Comparison
comprehension speech Pronunciation: foreign
speed words
 give opinions 3.5. Formative Assessment
 make comparisons 3.11. Exam skills (CPE 5):
 conduct a debate 3.6. Exam skills (CPE 5): Test 2 Test 3
Use of English & Writing Reading comprehension &
Listening
Homework Homework
CPE 5: Test 3 Reading CPE 5: Test 3 Use of English
comprehension & Listening & Writing

Week 4 4.1. Reading: Juvenile 4.6. Reading: Cyber-crime

Crime Delinquency
4.7. Vocabulary: Phrasal
Goals 4.2. Vocabulary: Reason and verbs/ Word formation
 recognize and purpose clause/ New crimes
understand 4.8. Speaking: Role play
reference 4.3. Speaking: Discuss an issue ‘Mobile and computer
 ignore unknown ‘Parents are to blame for the menace’
words crimes their children
 read for specific commit’ 4.9. Review of inversion
information Pronunciation: stress and
 describe new 4.4. Review of passive structures emphasis
crimes
 discuss an issue 4.5. Exams skill (CPE 5): Test 3 4.10. Exam skills (CPE 5):
 convince people Use of English & Writing Test 4
and express doubt Reading comprehension &
Listening
Homework Homework
CPE 5: Test 4 Reading CPE 5: Test 4 Use of English
comprehension & Listening & Writing

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 19
Week 5 5.1. Reading: Technophobia 5.6. Reading: The role of
Technology technology in obtaining
5.2. Vocabulary: Computer information
Goals collocations/ Idioms with set
 make predictions 5.7. Vocabulary: Technical
and guesses 5.3. Speaking: Take turns in a words/ Word formation
 run over a text discussion
quickly and locate ‘The advances of technology: 5.8. Speaking: Give opinions in
information positive and negative aspects’ an extended conversation
 deduce the ‘Plans to improve English
meaning of 5.4. Review of causative form with the use of technology’
unfamiliar words
 comment on 5.5. Exams skill (CPE 5): Test 4 5.9. Grammar review
problems Use of English & Writing
 take turns in a 5.10. CPE exam review
discussion Homework
 give opinions and Go through the corrected papers.  Summative assessment
present arguments Write down any questions you
need to be answered or  Mock test
clarifications to be made
Review for summative assessment

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 20
APPENDIX 2: NEEDS ANALYSIS and TEST RESULTS

1) Participants’ learning styles and modes

Anna is an analytic and convergent independent learner. She is a solitary learner who wants to
work alone. She tends to be pragmatic, active and with a down-to-earth style of processing
information. She likes details and hates generalizations. She seems to be the lonely wolf in a pack
that respects communication and fellowship.

Dimitra has a communicative learning style and likes integrated skills. She likes to speak to
native speakers and is willing to take risks. She tends to be teacher-independent and
autonomous; she is willing to experiment and self-study. Her characteristic is that she is a visual
and kinaesthetic learner, humorous and lively with a holistic approach to learning.

Evelina is a concrete visual learner who is classroom and teacher oriented. She is a talented,
critical thinker who learns very quickly. However, she is not confident enough with her skills, so
she doesn’t like speaking English and taking initiative. She tends to be passive and sometimes
has an exceptionally holistic attitude towards learning.

Marina is a communicative and social learner who has common characteristics with Dimitra. She
is comfortable out-of-class and always ready to communicate in real-life situations. She
sometimes switches to classroom and teacher dependency and to an analytic approach towards
things. She tends to make generalisations and enjoys student interdependence.

Analytic

Passive Active

Holistic

(Definitions and ideas taken from: http://www4.ujaen.es/~gluque/Topic4factors.pdf ).

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 21
As adults who enjoy university life, all four learners have a high degree of flexibility, want to
experiment with new learning approaches, they are open to change and seem able to switch
from one learning style to another in some circumstances.

2) Results of the diagnostic tests

Tests Anna Dimitra Evelina Marina

Grammar & Vocabulary 96% 90% 83% 91%
(Diagnostic)
Reading 75% 66,6 % 58% 66,6%
Cloze test 86,6% 73% 73% 80%
Listening 81% 75% 68% 81%
Writing 81% 79% 74% 78%
Interview 78% 70% 61% 72%

3) Analysis of the diagnostic test (Grammar and Vocabulary)

Name: Strengths Weaknesses

Anna Tenses & Prepositions Adverbs & Vocabulary
Dimitra Relative Clauses & Prepositions &
Tenses Vocabulary
Evelina Possessives Tenses & Vocabulary
Marina Tenses Adverbs & Vocabulary

4) Cambridge descriptors were used during the assessment of the learners’ oral
performance

COMPONENT OF
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
USED
Grammar
Vocabulary
Pronunciation, Intonation and
Stress
Style and fluency
Content

Looking at the table with the results of the diagnostic tests, it was easily identifiable that reading
had to be prioritised. The learners had difficulty understanding the passages, their speed was
slow (i.e. it took them approximately 12’ to read and answer the questions of each passage) and
the outcome was poor.

In general, the learners are confident and have a very good command of English. Their receptive
and productive skills are developed and they seize every opportunity to use the language.
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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 22
However, having scrutinized the results of the diagnostic grammar & vocabulary test, I
concluded that the learners were competent at grammar but rather weak at vocabulary. This
could also be understood by the comments of the other assessors of the writing texts and the
interlocutor who concurred with me in blaming the lack of advanced vocabulary and its narrow
range for the flat way of expressing themselves and the somewhat unnatural use of language.
Their writing performance was satisfactory with a flow of appealing ideas expressed in a quite
simple way that lacked relevant vocabulary.

The learners were receptively competent, knew many words in isolation but had serious
problem retrieving and contextualising them. Therefore, I prioritised the retrieval and use of
vocabulary as well.

The aural comprehension of the learners was satisfactory, they all managed to direct their
attention to the most important points on the tape and listen effectively. Furthermore, they were
all able to speak and write fluently without hesitating or feeling embarrassed; however, their
production was sometimes insufficient and their errors blocked communication.

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Teaching C.P.E. learners Reading Skills and Enhancing Vocabulary 23