Mark Scheme with Examiners Report

IGCSE English as a Second Language (4357)

June 2006
delivered locally, recognised globally

Mark Scheme with Examiners

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE 4357, MARK SCHEME

Paper 1
Reading and Writing
Part 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Part 2

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Part 3

21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29

Answer
H
E
A
F
I
K
M
G
D
J
Questions 11 to 20
accept a variety of spellings as long as the answer is clear
Answer
True
True
False
True
False
Not Given
False
False
True
Not Given
Questions 21 to 36
Words in brackets are optional
Response should be no longer than three words in total
Answer
(call/ring) 01784 337506 (ext 255)
(the) Next Step (programme)
(The/enclosed/send/post) application
/form/application form
(In/throughout/a/the)
Brochure/booklet/course guide
(for) 2/two weeks

Comments

Must be plural

Physical evidence
Written sources/documents
Must have written in response
Uninformative/unreliable/uninformative
and unreliable
(by) churchmen
Accept church men
Must be plural

30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

monasteries
16/sixteen
Carved
Brief
Inscription(s)
mid-tenth/10(th) century
Factual
A
B
A
A

Must be plural
Must have d

Writing task specific mark scheme

(Use in conjunction with the mark grid)
PART 4
Responses must include the following:
A clear choice from the three options
Some explanation of why the student has selected an option this may get
confused with the advantages
More than one advantage for the students/school
Part 5
Responses must include the following:
The name or some identification of the person being written to and some
form of a greeting.
A clear invitation
A clear indication of when the meeting is to take place
More than one activity for the weekend should be described
Part 6
Responses must include the following:
A description of the birds appearance
A description of where the birds live forests
A discussion of why these birds are important to other birds
All other information, e.g. eating habits, is irrelevant and should be penalised
under CQ.

Mark

Writing makes a largely effective use

of the vocabulary though at times this
does not meet the requirements of
the task. Vocabulary is generally spelt
correctly with occasional lapses which
do not hinder the reader.

A limited range of structures is

present, generally used correctly.
There are several errors which
occasionally hinder the reader who
has to think at times about what the
candidate wants to say.

Writing shows a sufficiently good

range and control of grammar.
Structures are generally used
appropriately. Despite occasional
errors, communication is not
hindered.

Writing shows very good range and

control of grammatical structures
which are used appropriately and
effectively to address requirements of
the task. There are very few errors.

Grammatical accuracy and range

Generally coherent piece of writing

though there are several errors in the
use of cohesive devices etc., which
may affect the readers ability to
follow the line of communication.
Writing is generally well organised
with slight errors.

Very coherent piece of writing with

occasional lapses. Generally well
organised with appropriate use of
cohesive devices. Occasional errors do
not affect the reader.

An extremely coherent piece of

writing, successfully organised with
confident and appropriate use of
cohesive devices where necessary.
Requires no effort on the part of the
reader.

Effective organisation

Insufficient range of vocabulary used

The writing is lacking in range and
A poor piece of writing, generally
to meet the requirements of the task.
control of structures. There are
lacking in organisation, with misuse of
Vocabulary is sometimes used
frequent errors which hinder
cohesive devices. Requires effort from
inaccurately or inconsistently and
communication and confuse the
the reader.
there are several spelling mistakes
reader at times.
that slow the reader down.
Response is very difficult to read and
Candidate shows poor use of
The writing shows poor range and
does not communicate successfully.
Generally incoherent and poorly
vocabulary throughout. Vocabulary is
control of grammatical structures.
Tone and register have not been
organised, lacking in use of cohesive
used inaccurately or inconsistently,
The writing is generally inaccurate
taken into consideration.
devices.
spelling is generally inaccurate and
and grammatical errors cause
causes the reader some difficulty.
confusion.
The candidate has made no attempt to address the task. What the candidate has produced is insufficient and cannot be read or marked.

The response is difficult to follow.

Candidate may not have considered
the need to address tone and register.

The response does not wholly

communicate successfully. Errors
cause the reader some difficulty in
following what the writer is trying to
say. Tone and register may not be
consistently appropriate to the task.

Writing shows good use of vocabulary

used effectively and appropriately
with occasional lapses. Spelling is
generally accurate.

Writing shows highly effective use of

vocabulary to meet the requirements
of the task. Vocabulary is used
appropriately and effectively to
communicate and is accurate in all
respects.

The response generally communicates

successfully. There may be errors
which cause the reader some
difficulty but these do not impede
communication. Tone and register are
generally appropriate to the task.

Lexical accuracy and range

Communicative quality

The response communicates most

successfully, conveying the
information set out in the task using
appropriate tone and register for the
audience.

This grid should be used for marking Parts 4, 5, and 6 on Paper 1.

Assessment criteria: writing skills assessment grid

Paper 2
Listening
Answers must be grammatically logical
For word answers, candidates must write no more than 3 words or a number
Part 1
Will accept
1.
10.15
Ten fifteen / hrs/ am
2.
(The) Main Hall
In main hall
3.
Poetry
Any word which does not
cause communicative
confusion
4.
Football for Girls
Foot ball for girls (Must be
plural)
5.
Drama Studio
dramma stidio
6.
Crime
cryme
7.
Big Cats
(Must be plural)
8.
Quiz
Harry Potter Quiz / Qiz /
Kwiz(z)
9.
2.50
/pound(s) /pence 2.5 /
2.5 pounds/ 2,5 pounds etc.
Accept both
10. www.literature.ac.uk Any word which does not
cause communicative
confusion

Will not accept

pm / oclock

opposite of/the gym

a crime / in crime

Part 2
11.

12.

A & D (both required for 1 mark)

13.

14.

(The) United State(s) / US / USA/ other reasonable variations (only 3 words)

15.

Baskets (plural) / a basket

16.

Mechanic
(Will accept any word which does not cause communicative confusion)

17.

babies pushchairs / babys pushchair / baby pushchair / baby pusher /

pushchair

18.

fixed / rubber / fixed rubber

(Will not accept fix)

19.

1954 / 54

20.

in all directions (plural)/ in different directions / in every direction(s)

Part 3
21. C
22. B
23. A
24. the old building / old / old part / older building
25. C
26. D
27. B
28. C
29. 5% / five percent / per cent five
30. close (the) curtains / to close curtains / must close curtains

Paper 3 Speaking Mark grid

Marks

Communicative ability
and
content
Confidently expresses
opinions and attitudes,
and conveys a lot of
information.
Frequently justifies and
expands replies.
Takes active part in
developing discussion

Pronunciation and fluency

Lexical accuracy and

range

Grammatical accuracy
and range

Pronunciation and
intonation are consistently
comprehensible and clear.
Candidate is able to
sustain the conversation
with ease and without
undue hesitation.
Accent in no way impedes
communication.

Uses a wide range of

vocabulary appropriately,
accurately and precisely.
Candidate has appropriate
linguistic resources to be
able to overcome
problems and maintain
interaction.

Expresses opinions
without undue difficulty
and conveys a significant
amount of information.
Responds well to a wide
range of questions.
Takes initiative
occasionally.

Pronunciation and
intonation are generally
good.
Candidate generally
responds without undue
hesitation.
Accent is noticeable but
does not impede
communication.

Expresses simple opinions

and offers some personal
responses, conveying
some relevant
information.
Generally responds well
but has difficulty with
more complex questions.
Candidate needs
prompting and rarely
expands.
Opinions are limited to
basic questions and
relevant information
provided is limited.
Answers are short and
candidate shows little or
no initiative

Pronunciation and
intonation are generally
accurate though errors
may interfere with
communication.
Candidate hesitates
occasionally and accent
may impede
communication.

Uses a relatively wide

range of vocabulary,
generally used
appropriately and
accurately. Occasional
errors impede
communication though
generally candidate has
resources to maintain
interaction.
Candidate uses an
adequate range of
structures and vocabulary.
Some attempts to use
complex language though
not always successfully.
Candidate may
occasionally lack the
resources to maintain
interaction.

Uses a wide range of

complex structures
accurately and
appropriately.
Full range of tenses,
subordinate clauses etc.
are used very
competently and
appropriately to convey
information.
Generally accurate in
straightforward
language.
Some errors evident,
particularly when using
more complex
language.

Offers little relevant

information and is unable
to formulate clear
opinions.
Produces minimal
responses and is unable to
maintain interaction.
Candidate produces no
language worth rewarding

Pronunciation and
intonation are generally
poor and inconsistent, and
may impede
communication.
Candidate is hesitant and
accent regularly impedes
communication.
Pronunciation is poor and
inconsistent and
communication is hesitant
and disjointed.

Generally accurate
using simple, basic
language.
Less accurate in more
unfamiliar language
situations.
Errors are at times
significant and impact
on communication.

Range of vocabulary used

is limited and repetitive.
Candidate rarely attempts
complex language and is
unable to overcome
problems.

Generally inaccurate in
basic language.
Errors impede
communication and
candidate is unable to
use any complex
structures.

Only uses the most basic

vocabulary.
Candidate needs regular
help to maintain
interaction.

Consistently inaccurate
use of structures.

Examiners Report
IGCSE English as a Second Language (4357)

June 2006
delivered locally, recognised globally

Examiners Report

In questions 26 to 36, candidates did not seem familiar with this kind of note-taking task type. They should always take note of the instructions
regarding number of words needed to fill each gap, and they will never be expected to reformulate or change any of the words necessary to
complete the task once they find them in the text. However, the note-taking task does paraphrase the information available in the text so
candidates will need to process information both from the text and in the task to be able to find the correct answers. In this kind of note-

Part 3
This was the most challenging section of the Reading section. However, even the weakest candidates were able to answer some of the
questions.

In questions 21 to 25, most candidates found the answers successfully. However, it is important to read the instructions given to all of the tasks
as this is also part of the examination process. Those candidates who wrote full sentences or used more than three words were not given the
mark. It is important for candidates to realise that they are not expected to formulate a sentence for these types of questions or to manipulate
the information they are given in the text in any way. They will never be expected to perform any kind of grammatical transformation in these
types of questions and should simply put down the answer using the minimum number of words identified in the instructions.

Part 2
Questions 11 to 20 seemed to present few problems to candidates. They generally dealt well with the True/False answers though some had
problems spelling the words correctly. However, all misspellings were accepted as long as the candidates answer was clear. The Not Given
questions presented some problems for weaker candidates. This is a harder task for them to do and extra practice would be helpful in analysing
the text and ensuring that they are not confusing the Not Given element with what they expect to read or with information which is actually
presented as False in the text.

Part 1
There were few problems encountered by candidates here. It is important to remember that the sentences in the task will not necessarily use
the same language as is present in the text and candidates need to do some processing in order to match the information in the task with that
of the text.

Candidates generally performed well in the reading paper and seemed to encounter few problems in terms of the subject matter of the reading
texts. All texts seemed to be accessible. However, some candidates lost marks because they did not read the instructions carefully. Where
answers were mis-spelt but the response was clearly recognisable, these answers were accepted as correct.

Reading General Comments

Paper 1

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE 4357, CHIEF EXAMINERS REPORT

Candidates were asked to write an email to a friend, but those who wrote a letter were not penalised for this. However it is important that
they should read all the instructions carefully and follow them as closely as possible. The task required candidates to invite a friend to stay with
them for the weekend during the holidays. Examiners expected to see a clear invitation, identification of a particular weekend, possibly with

This task was informal and was designed to be accessible to all students and many dealt with it very competently as the scenario was familiar to
them all.

Finally it is important for candidates to keep to the word limits given. Candidates are given a broad range and should be able to meet the
minimum number of words required. Shorter texts do not provide examiners with enough evidence for them to be able to make a fair
judgement on candidates abilities.
Part 5

The students were expected to deal with all requirements of the task. There were three bullet points from which they were to select the best
choice and then explain what the advantages and disadvantages were for students AND for the school. Most candidates made their choice clear
though this was done in a variety of ways. Where a choice was not clear they were penalised under the Communicative Quality Criterion. Many
students clearly stated advantages of their choice to the students in the school but at times the advantages to the school were forgotten. This
was not penalised at this first administration of the test. But this element of the task clearly identified the stronger candidates. It is also
important for students to remember that they should not copy the scenario given in the task to add to the number of words they are writing.

All candidates seemed to understand this task and be able to attempt a response. However, many wrote a letter to their head teacher rather
than presenting their response in the form of a short report. These responses were accepted as long as the tone and register was correct.
Those who did attempt to write a report used a variety of layouts. Again all formats were accepted as long as they did not cause the reader
any confusion. Tone and register is an important element of the tasks in this part of the test and will always provide a contrast from tasks in
Part 5. It is important that candidates show they can work in a variety of different registers and produce texts which are clear and
communicate the required information to the reader, and do not cause any confusion.

Part 4

Candidates of all abilities were able to attempt all three writing tasks. Some candidates showed creativity in their responses though these did
at times tend to be inappropriate in terms of tone and register. Parts 4 and 5 ask for some creativity in the response and candidates will always
be expected to provide information themselves to be able to complete these tasks. However they must make sure that this creativity does not
hinder communication or cause confusion to the reader.

Writing General Comments

Questions 37 to 40 were dealt with quite competently by candidates and presented few problems.

taking task where they are presented with sentences, it is important for candidates to remember that the answers they provide must fit in
grammatically with the sentence they are completing, so it is important to take note of any clues which allow them to decide whether they
need a plural answer and so on.

General comments

Paper 2

In preparing candidates for this task it is important that teachers make sure they read the instructions carefully and identify both what
information they need to include and what the purpose/who the readership of the summary is. They should then produce a short text with the
information provided in such a way that allows the examiner to use all four criteria to make a judgement on the written text the candidates
have produced. Since in this task candidates are not expected to provide any information themselves or to show any creativity, issues such as
accuracy of grammar and vocabulary as well as coherence are very important.

Tone and register were also at times an issue in this task. Candidates must realise that the task will identify a reader where appropriate. In this
instance they were writing a short summary for their teacher. Some candidates chose to write in either a very informative style or to produce
texts which were inappropriate to the given context.

Plagiarism was another issue in this task. Candidates are expected to use some of the language in the text but examiners want to see how this
language has been manipulated to produce a short summary. Candidates who copied large chunks of text or long phrases were therefore
penalised.

Part 6
This Part of the Writing section was by far the most difficult for candidates to tackle. Candidates seemed to understand the text easily enough
and most were able to select the relevant information to include in their summary. Some, however, did confuse habitat with habits. In this
part of the examination it is important for candidates to identify clearly the information that they need to include in the summary and this will
generally be presented to them in the form of bullet points. One part of the task is to be able to find the information to include in the
summary and to be able to identify what information in the text is irrelevant to the task. Candidates who included irrelevant information from
the task or who included information from their own general knowledge were penalised under Communicative Quality.

Although the tone and register were meant to be familiar and informal, some levels of informality were not suitable, and these responses were
penalised under Communicative Quality, as were responses where the invitation and the particular weekend were not clearly identified. It is
important for students to take the time to read their responses and to make sure that they are communicating the required information clearly.
It is also important to keep to the word count without digressing from the topic or writing information which is irrelevant to the task. Where
these caused confusion, they were penalised under Communicative Quality.

dates, though next weekend was accepted as clear enough. Candidates were also expected to provide at least two activities that they could
do during the weekend. Many provided reasons for the invitation, which was a nice addition, and these were accepted as long as they did not
cause readers any confusion.

Candidates should be advised to follow the instructions in the rubric on how to answer questions and to adhere to the word limit.

Candidates should make good use of the time before the tape is played to predict possible answers and consider the context when providing
their answers.

It is recommended that centres prepare candidates for the listening examination by familiarising them with the style of the tests and with the
types of questions they can expect to find on the paper.

Advice to centres

In a few questions e.g. Q15 and Q20, candidates were required to complete a sentence using the correct grammatical forms. Although these
forms were given in the recording, many candidates made errors in their answers. These were the most demanding of all the questions on this
paper.

Grammar

This proved to be a problem for many candidates. The general rule applied during marking was that if the answer affected communication,
candidates were not awarded a mark. Candidates were not penalised for misspelling a word if it sounded like the target word. For example
Question 3 (answer poetry), spellings such as poetery and poetory were accepted. However, if the word sounded like a different word (e.g.
Q3 potery), candidates were not awarded a mark.

Spelling

Table/sentence completion and short answers

Generally these questions were well attempted, although there were some candidates who did not adhere to the three word limit given in the
rubric. Two issues arose out of these types of questions which require candidates to provide the word or words for the answer themselves, as
follows:

Multiple Choice
As a rule, candidates followed the instructions given in the rubric for this type of question.

There were three general types of questions this paper: multiple choice, table/sentence completion and short answers.

Detailed comments

Generally candidates did well or very well on this paper, many scoring over 20 marks. However, there was also a wide spread of marks
throughout the range. Of the three parts of the paper, Part 2 was found to be the most challenging for candidates. Most candidates coped well
with Parts 1 and 3.

Equipment
Some of the recordings were of very poor quality and it was hard for assessors to hear what candidates were saying. On occasion, the
interlocutor was more audible than the candidate.

In Part 3, several questions had a follow-up question to encourage candidates to talk more. Many interlocutors failed to ask the second part of
the question and this prevented candidates from developing their ideas more fully and thereby displaying their ability to use more complex
language.

Each group of questions in Part 3 is generally based around a theme and questions become gradually more challenging as they progress through
the group. Many interlocutors jumped about between groups of questions without considering the advantages of graduating the questions they
asked, and how the abilities of stronger students could be exploited by giving them the opportunity to answer some of the more challenging
questions within the groups.

In Part 3, many interlocutors did not ask questions in groups as indicated on the frame card but jumped about.

In Part 2, in instances where the candidate had not addressed the question on the task card, some interlocutors did not repeat the question to
ensure that the candidate fulfilled the requirements of the task (see Instructions for the Conduct of Examinations Page 7).

Interlocutors
Several of the interlocutors did not follow the instructions contained in Instructions for the Conduct of Examinations. All of the wording and
questions were provided either in the instructions or on the frame cards, yet there were interlocutors who asked their own questions based on
those on the frame cards or they improvised. On occasion, interlocutors asked questions which were not clear and some candidates were
confused about how to reply.

Detailed comments

Generally candidates did well on this paper. The paper is designed to become increasingly difficult and this proved to be so for less able
candidates who struggled the most with Part 3. Candidates responded well to the structure of the test and seemed engaged by the content. The
topics were ones which were familiar to them and they could call on their life experiences to answer the questions.

General comments

Paper 3

Candidates should consider the spelling of words when providing their answers.

Candidates should consider the grammatical fit of their answers in sentence completion questions.

Room
Centres should allocate a quiet room for speaking examinations where extraneous noise is at a minimum and where there will be no
interruptions during the course of the examination. Furthermore, if a chaperone is required, this person must be seated in the room before the
exam commences.

Equipment
Prior to the start of recording, interlocutors should ensure that the position of the microphone favours the candidate and that the volume on
the tape is checked so that the best possible recording of the candidate can be obtained.

Interlocutors should ensure that the question in Part 2 is addressed by the candidate and they should repeat the question if need be.
Furthermore, interlocutors should take care to ensure that during the course of the examination, candidates are not asked repetitive or
irrelevant questions.

For reasons of fairness, all candidates should receive the same amount of preparation time (1 minute) in Part 2.

Interlocutors should avoid using words of encouragement such as thats good and thats nice as these mislead candidates about their
performance.

Interlocutors are requested to adhere to the questions and wordings contained on the frame cards and in the Instructions for the Conduct of
Examinations.

Interlocutors
It is recommended that interlocutors spend more time preparing for the speaking examination so that they have a clear understanding of how it
is organized and what the questions are before the start of the test. Time should also be taken to examine the structure of the examination and
thereby gain an insight into the function of the various parts of the test.

Recommendations to centres

Room
The room selected for the examination was not always a quiet one, and many distracting noises can be heard on the tapes. Some candidates
were also distracted by people moving in/out or around the exam room. Such situations have the potential to disadvantage the candidate.

Optional,
separate
speaking
test

Overall award
of subject

19

87

A*

17

77

14

67

12

58

10

51

44

37

30

Note: Grade boundaries may vary from year to year and from subject to subject, depending on the demands of the question paper.

Lowes
t mark
for
award
of
grade

Grade

4357 ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE, GRADE BOUNDARIES