With the recently introduced GCSE for all high school leavers, there come considerable obstacles for the teachers and students in many parts of Vietnam. Those difficulties primarily involve the teaching, learning and finally revising for this new type of national exam. The MOET released figures on students’ performance in all the six papers have further cemented this observation of the apparent lack of a suitable approach to the exam. Accordingly, the failure ratio among testtakers of each of the eight papers, namely Mathematics, Literature, English, History, Geography, Physics, Biology and Chemistry is astoundingly high, and the most conspicuous feature can be found in English, with the most popular score being around 2 out of a tenpoint scale.
WORKSHOP PRESENTATIO N PREPARING FOR THE GCSE EXAM: THE MULTIPLE CHOICE READING TEXTS I Introduction With the recently introduced GCSE for all high school leavers, there come considerable obstacles for the teachers and students in many parts of Vietnam Those difficulties primarily involve the teaching, learning and finally revising for this new type of national exam The MOET released figures on students’ performance in all the six papers have further cemented this observation of the apparent lack of a suitable approach to the exam Accordingly, the failure ratio among test-takers of each of the eight papers, namely Mathematics, Literature, English, History, Geography, Physics, Biology and Chemistry is astoundingly high, and the most conspicuous feature can be found in English, with the most popular score being around out of a ten-point scale Being a teacher of English- the subject with the lowest average score recorded in the exam last year, I have combined my teaching experiences with the skills and knowledge gained from several professional development workshop and propose a solution to a small part of the problem In particular, I suggest familiarizing students with the types of questions commonly found what are often much dreaded- the most difficult part of the papers: the multiple choice reading texts (MCQ texts) II Aims and objectives - To provide fellow teachers with the types of questions commonly found in the English papers of the national GCSE exam - To suggest the necessary strategies for successfully completing the tasks of reading and answering questions effectively - To encourage discussion about and evaluation of the most effective teaching tips and techniques for dealing with MCQ texts III Multiple choice reading texts: An overview For the sake of brevity, the specifics of MCQ texts are presented in the table below: Number of texts Length of texts Number of questions Length of time Level of difficulty 250 words per text 10 questions per text N/ A, but possibly 12-15 minute/ text Different: text intermediate, text upper-intermediate An example of the MCQ text (upper-intermediate), with its questions is given hereby: Read the following passage and choose the correct answer to each of the questions The Winterthur Museum is a collection and a house There are many museums devoted to the decorative arts and many house museums, but rarely in the United States is a great collection displayed in a great country house Passing through successive generations of a single family, Winterthur has been a private estate for more than a century Even after the extensive renovations made to it between 1929 and 1931, the house remained a family residence This fact is of importance to the atmosphere and effect of the museum The impression of a lived-in house is apparent to the visitor: the rooms look as if they were vacated only a short while ago whether by the original owners of the furniture or the most recent residents of the house can be a matter of personal interpretation Winterthur remains, then, a house in which a collection of furniture and architectural elements has been assembled Like an English country house, it is an organic structure; the house, as well as the collection and manner of displaying it to the visitor, has changed over the years The changes have coincided with developing concepts of the American arts, increased knowledge on the part of collectors and students, and a progression toward the achievement of a historical effect in period-room displays The rooms at Winterthur have followed this current, yet still retained the character of a private house The concept of a period room as a display technique has developed gradually over the years in an effort to present works of art in a context that would show them to greater effect and would give them more meaning for the viewer Comparable to the habitat group in a natural history museum, the period room represents the decorative arts in a lively and interesting manner and provides an opportunity to assemble objects related by style, date, or place of manufacture Câu 30: What does the passage mainly discuss? A Historical furniture contained in Winterthur B How Winterthur compares to English country houses C Elements that make Winterthur an unusual museum D The reason that Winterthur was redesigned Câu 31: The phrase "devoted to" in line is closest in meaning to A specializing in B sentimental about C surrounded by D successful in Câu 32: What happened at Winterthur between 1929 and 1931? A The old furniture was replaced B The estate became a museum C The owners moved out D The house was repaired Câu 33: What does the author mean by stating "the impression of a lived-in house is apparent to the visitor"? A Few people visit Winterthur B The furniture at Winterthur looks comfortable C Winterthur does not look like a typical museum D Winterthur is very old Câu 34: The word "assembled" in line is closest in meaning to A summoned B appreciated C fundamentally changed D brought together Câu 35: The word "it" in line 10 refers to A collection B English country house C visitor D Winterthur Câu 36: The word "developing" in line 11 is closest in meaning to A evolving B exhibiting C informative D traditional Câu 37: According to the passage, objects in a period room are related by all of the following EXCEPT A place of manufacture B date C past ownership D style Câu 38: What is the relationship between the two paragraphs in the passage? A Paragraph explains a philosophy of art appreciation that contrasts with that explained in Paragraph B Paragraph explains a term that was mentioned in Paragraph C Each paragraph describes a different historical period D Each paragraph describes a different approach to the display of objects in a museum Câu 39: Where in the passage does the author explain why displays at Winterthur have changed? A lines 6-8 B lines 4-5 C lines 1-2 D lines 10-12 IV Types of MCQ reading questions and suggested strategies Again, brevity and clarity prevail, therefore the writer would like to present this section in the form of a table, which is believed to be more readerfriendly and easier to understand Further details on how to recognize certain type of questions can be presented later in the conference (if time permits) Question types Detail questions Reference and Vocabular y questions Skills tested Reading for details: Scanning Skimming Scanning Skimming Number Strategies of question s 4-5/text - Identify keywords in the questions - Scan the text to find the keywords - Read the surrounding text carefully to answer the Q 2-4/ text - Reference word may refer to a noun, or a noun phrase - Try substituting the choices for the given word - Use context clues Reading for inference Skimming Scanning 0-2/ text - Reading for main ideas Skimming Scanning 1/ text - Use word formation knowledge Go beyond the information stated in the passage Reason out what is implied The answer will not be stated word by word in the passage Wrong answer may be overly exaggerated to be precisely correct Skimming is important Read the first sentence of the passage, and the last sentence Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph Skim the text quickly to determine the correct answer The incorrect answr may be too specific, too general, or incorrect VI Discussions of the suggestions and further recommendations I have attempted incorporating this knowledge of the MCQ into my teaching in class, which seems to be effective No official research has been done to confirmed this, however From my experience, I strongly suggest dividing the questions into separate types and spending at least 1.5 to hours acclimatizing students with each category Finally, the teacher should provide students with ample opportunities for practice and remind them of the strategies as she/he correct the exercises/ tests This being a mere report on the basics of my presentation at the coming workshop Time issues not permit a lengthier explanation I would be grateful for any feedback and welcome to improve this report .. .PREPARING FOR THE GCSE EXAM: THE MULTIPLE CHOICE READING TEXTS I Introduction With the recently introduced GCSE for all high school leavers, there come considerable obstacles for the teachers... evaluation of the most effective teaching tips and techniques for dealing with MCQ texts III Multiple choice reading texts: An overview For the sake of brevity, the specifics of MCQ texts are presented... familiarizing students with the types of questions commonly found what are often much dreaded- the most difficult part of the papers: the multiple choice reading texts (MCQ texts) II Aims and objectives