Exam

Practice:
Unit 2
The Distance Delta
Paper 1 Task 1 & 2 and Paper 2 Task 2

Paper 1 Task 1 & 2 and Paper 2 Task 2

Paper 1

©️ International House London and The British Council 2021 Version

Provide the term for each definition.

Write your answers in your answer booklet. Provide only one answer per question.

a. a noun that is created by adding –ing to the verb-stem (e.g. Parking is not permitted)
gerund

b. a database of real language samples (either spoken or written texts) stored on a computer
and which can be used for investigating language use and structure
corpus

c. using the medium of English to teach a subject such as geography, natural science or history,
to learners whose first language is not English
Content based language teaching

d. a consonant sound in which the air flow is initially stopped, but then is released slowly with
friction, e.g. /tʃ/
affricative

e. the morphological process of adding a bound morpheme to the stem of a word, either at the
end or at the beginning. This can be to fulfil grammatical functions, e.g. to form the third
person by adding s to the verb use. Or, to modify the word’s meaning and / or change its
word class, e.g. adding ful to use or un to tidy.
affixation

f. a type of test which is designed to show what language skills or knowledge a learner already
has. It is often used by a teacher to find out how much a learner knows before beginning a
language course
diagnostic test

Task 2 (12 marks)

Provide a definition and an appropriate brief example or illustration for each of the terms below.

Write your answers in your answer booklet.

a. a jigsaw reading
a. An activity where learners read different texts/parts of texts and then
exchange/compare/share the information they have read Further Point Often used
in communicative language teaching/learning A task is used to encourage students
to share the information they have Creates a communicative purpose for reading
the text(s)/an information gap Allows for the integration of skills Example The same

©️ International House London and The British Council The Distance Delta - Unit 2
news item from different newspapers which learners compare / a story divided into
parts - learners exchange information to make sense of the whole

b. de-lexicalised verb
a. Basic Definition A verb with little or no (dictionary) meaning on its own / must
combine with a noun or adjective to have meaning Further Point Performs a
grammatical or collocational function Changes its meaning depending on its
collocation High frequency / used in multiple contexts Forms the verb element in
many multi-word expressions Can cause problems for learners when trying to
translate from their L1 Example Take (your time) / get (married) / make (friends) /
go (mad) / have (fun) / do (the housework) / give (money)

c. top-down processing
Basic Definition
using [either pre-existing] knowledge/information/experience [or of discourse or
topic/culture/social norms] to understand (reading/listening) texts
Further Point
mention of 'activating schemata' or 'schema theory'
contrast to bottom-up processing (where the reader is decoding the language itself)
most researchers regard reading/listening as a combination of bottom-up and top-down
processing
modern coursebooks make use of/develop/practise top-down processing through
visuals,
prediction activities, etc.
Example
when reading a text about New York, the reader creates a mental
picture/brainstorms/thinks of
related ideas before reading the text e.g. yellow cabs, The Statue of Liberty, crowds of
people / any valid example

d. intrusive /w/

Basic Definition
a linking sound /w/ that is inserted between a word which ends in a vowel sound and a
following
one which begins with a vowel sound
Further Point
eases the transition between words/a feature of connected speech
a semi-vowel
after the vowels /à/ /uÄ/ /əà/ /aà/
(links final) rounded lip vowels (to following vowel)
needs specifically teaching in some languages as students might add the wrong vowel e.g.
French you /h/ are /it does not exist in some languages
the other intrusive sounds which occur between two vowel sounds are /j/ and /r/
Example
in the phrase go out /gəʊwaʊt/ or any other example with correct phonemic script

©️ International House London and The British Council The Distance Delta - Unit 2
Paper 2
Task 2 (a 12 marks, b 12 marks, c 18 marks)

The text for this task is reproduced on pages 4 and 5.

The purpose of the extract as a whole is to enable learners to give opinions on the topic of family
roles using should / shouldn’t.

a. Identify six purposes of the exercises listed in the box below in relation to the purpose of the
extract as a whole.
Lead in 1
Lead in 2
Grammar 1
Grammar 3
Read on 1
Read on 2

b. Comment on six ways in which the exercises listed in the box below combine with the
exercises discussed in a. Do not refer to language reference and practice exercises p. 167.

Grammar 2
Grammar 4
Writing 1
Writing 2

c. Identify a total of six key assumptions about language learning that are evident in the
exercises listed in the box below. Explain why these assumptions might be considered to be
important for language learning. State which exercise or exercises each assumption refers
to.

Grammar 1

Read on 2

Write your answers in your answer booklet.

©️ International House London and The British Council The Distance Delta - Unit 2
©️ International House London and The British Council The Distance Delta - Unit 2
©️ International House London and The British Council The Distance Delta - Unit 2