DELTA Seminar

8/13/2019 DELTA Seminar

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`resepro aDELTA Module One Exam Seminars

Here are my tips for the Delta exams. They are more general tips than for each specific part.

1. If you are doing an integrated course, dont let Module Two & Three take over. Leave time

each week for Mod One practice.

2. Plan your time. Plan to cover all of the exam at least a few times, both in terms of reading to

gather knowledge on e.g. testing, but also to do timed practice of each part to get feedback on

from tutors, as well as unassessed practice. If possible, give yourself at least 1 serious final

revision session per part of the exam in the final push up to the exam,, meaning you need a

minimum of nine sessions - Paper 1 Qs 1 -5, Paper 2 Qs 1-4. Dont do these sessions on the

same day. Leave time between them to allow your brain to breathe!

3. Make up mnemonics for some of the questions. E.g. the question on testing, I made up a

mnemonic on the different things you should consider for the student the test is for. I cant

remember what mine was, but, e.g. if you want to remember these things (this is by no means afull list, just an example!!)

Level of student, Reason for learning English, Goals as a learner you could make the mnemonic

Learners are Really Great!! . Learn these off by heart, have them on paper on the wall in front

of where you work, sing them to yourself. When you open up the exam paper on the day, quickly

go through and write down the letters on the corresponding question immediately. This will avoid

you forgetting them once you get half way through the exam when your brain is tired. You can do

this for pretty much all questions in paper 2 and some of them in paper 1.

4. Stick to the timings suggested. Religiously. Practice doing this as much as possible before

the exam and dont stray, unless of course you finish one earlier and there fore have time for

later questions. Know which ones you find harder, and which ones you are likely to over run on,then practice these even more to get faster. The Mnemonics should help you here, by making

ideas come to you more quickly and easily.

Ive got some more, but Ill stop there! Good work, Dale. This is a really useful piece of work you

have made. Jem

Paper 1

Task 3

Outline five features, give one example, no more; time is money people. This task is

worth 15 marks so spending too much time on this one will eat into your time budget for

the big hitters: task 4 and 5.

Make sure that all language features are relevant to the level and the task. This point

sounds obvious but its easy under exam conditions to regurgitate pre-learned items that


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will not receive any marks. These answers will come across as too generic and wont

pick up any marks.

Exemplification needs to be adequate, e.g. chunks/formulaic expressions/functional

language to make suggestions, e.g. how about...? In this case the exemplification needs

to contain more context to the question like how about going to see a film.

Give a variety of a language features and think about the discourse structure needed to

complete the task. To gain top marks, the answer really should go beyond looking at

lexical and grammatical features that describe. Good answers tend to include a variety of

discourse-related points, e.g. language to paraphrase, language to start/hold/end a turn,

hedging devices, discourse management devices. Alternatively, if the task is written, a

good answer will need to include comment on the style and content i.e. if its a menu,

they need to include prices. Be careful to keep these under one heading. Turn-taking and

interrupting could go under the subheading speaking subskills.

Clearer answers will include clear terminology and avoid vague or unclear language. e.g.,

language for recommending - clear, the ability to express clearly their (learners)

opinions about the topic.

A bullet-point system with the example highlighted or underlines will improve the layout of

your answer.

Task 4

This task is worth 40 marks, which is nearly half the available marks for paper 1. Consequently,you will obviously need to allocate a proportional amount of time to this task in relation to its

weighting. Some people who have taken the exam found it useful to start with this task so to

avoid rushing it at the end.

Part A

Identify five features.

Again, generic answers will seem like pre-learned items to include in the exam. DELTA

really take a disliking to these so try and avoid it. To help you avoid this, analyse a variety

of texts on your own to increase your ability to pick out the salient points of an individual

text, not apply a set of guideline answers to a text.

Look for an organisation point to make. Its an easy mark. But, dont rely on content and

layout, you need to look at linguistic features too.

Remember style and tone. These are often negated in favour of grammatical/lexical


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points.

contain the maximum amount of relevant information possible. Irrelevant information will

not be negatively marked but will waste time.

Give the seemingly obvious information e.g.,

I go to the garage

First person personal pronoun, main verb, transitive, describing movement, simple present,

preposition expressing motion, definite article, single countable concrete noun.

Do not pass over information because you think its superfluous. In the example above,

simply writing pronoun would not obtain maximum marks.

Obvious this one, but make sure you have your terminology right. Cataphoric references

from Anaphoric ones and ellipsis from elision. Give full names to tenses e.g. present X present simple

Knowing the difference between intransitive/transitive, adverbs and prepositions in

phrasal verbs, collocations/binomials/fixed expressions/idiom - these all boost your

marks.

Read the rubric, if it says analyse form and pronunciation, dont analyse meaning!

As well as features of connected speech (elision, coalescence, linking, intrusion,

assimilation), you need to discuss the features of stress when analysing pron.

Again, almost half the marks in paper one are allocated to this question. Make the most of

your time to write as much information as possible.

Lay your answer out with headings (in capitals) and bullet points, make it as easy aspossible for the examiner to read.

Part 5

Part A

In this section the question given could take the form of a spoken or written extract.

Again, this question is full of marks and time is money in this exam. It might be advisable

to do this question first, then part 4, leaving you with enough time for 3, 2, and 1. A lot of

marks are lost by If you identify a lexical field, make sure the field is defined in a relevantway to the text. E.g., if the text is a website with health information, health lexical field

would not suffice.

Keep the answer short. This part contains 5 marks.

Part B


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There is no limit to the amount of information you can give in this section. Answers should

candidates who dont have time for the last two questions and rush therefore missing out

important information.

Lexis and grammar are normally areas that candidates get straight away. For extramarks, look deeper, at what IS NOT THERE. This can take the form of speaking and

writing subskills or features of discourse.

Do not be too general with your identification of weaknesses or strengths. Narrow it

down, e.g., Strength: speaking subskills: which subskills?? or Weaknesses,

Grammatical accuracy: tenses, which tenses??

The exam question can be on speaking or writing, so make sure you brush up on your

phonological aspects as well as writing skills.

You really have to include comments on how these strengths and weaknesses

contribute to the overall effectiveness of the texton the reader or listener. There are four

extra marks for this! use headings and subheadings, underline or signpost examples with highlighters or

underlining.

Do not identify more than three, the rubric says three.

Part B

In this section, when choosing an area to develop, make sure you choose the area to

which you narrowed down your point to. E.g., grammatical accuracy: past tenses -

choose past tenses, not grammatical accuracy!

The extra three marks in this section come from the justifications for your decisions.Again, DELTA markers hate pre-learned answers, so focus your preparation instead on

analysing and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of your learners work and

justifying areas to improve on with colleagues.

25 minutes for the whole task should suffice to get a good chunk of the marks.

Activities: have to come up with definitions (word cloud - match the words - come up with

definitions - provide them with the definitions)

Task 1:Use a wordle

Mood: The feature of the verb that expresses the speakers or writers attitude. In English we

have three moods: imperative, indicative and subjunctive.

Aspect: Refers to grammatical aspect. The resources provided by a language to encode


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different perspectives taken by a speaker towards activities, events and states.

Notional syllabus:A syllabus organised around speech acts, functions and notions. It contains

the meanings and concepts a learner needs in order to communicate, e.g. time, duration,

quantity and the language needed to express them.

Lexical field: also known as a semantic field: the organisation of related words and expressions

into a system that shows their relationship to one another. Lexical set e.g. banana, apple, pear,

orange; there are more semantic differences between the words in a lexical field, e.g. fruit, tree,

farm, orange, tractor, farmer

Lexical cohesion: the lexical relations between different elements of a text. It is created through

the use of lexical chains or various semantic relationships between the words in the text. E.g.

hyponymy

Exophoric reference: a type of referencing that points to something outside of the text, which isunderstood in the context, e.g. this way.

Assimilation: a phonological process in which a speech sound changes to become more like or

identical to another which precedes or follows it. This can be either progressive or regressive.

E.g. Swim the lips are shaped in anticipation for the /w/ sounds when making the /s/.

Allophone: any of the different variants of a phoneme, they are perceptively different but similar.

They do not change the meaning of the word and occur in many different environments. E.g.

spot and pot.

Fricative: a type of consonant sound that is made through a restricted but not completely

blocked release of air to create a turbulent airflow. E.g. /f/ /v/ /s/ /z/

Audiolingualism: A method of second language learning that emphasises the teaching of

speaking a listening over reading and writing, discourages the use of the mother tongue, uses

dialogues and drills, contrastive analysis.

Connectionism: a type of information processing and theory of cognitive science that is centred

on the belief that information processing is the interaction of a large number of units. Learning

takes place when learners are able to make connections between newly acquired and formally

acquired language items.

Priming:Activating the stimulating the memorisation of a lexical item.

Noticing: sometimes known as conscious raising when a feature becomes salient for the

learners and as a result consciousness of that feature is raised.


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Tonic syllable: the syllable on which the main stress falls. It is also the syllable on which the

change of pitch begins. Part of a tone unit.

Barrier test: a test aimed at differentiating between learners abilities. E.g. an IELTS course

entry test.

Bound morpheme:the smallest unit in language that affects meaning. Example s in speaks.

Task 2:

Give them some general definitions and further points.

Fricative:

B a type of consonant sound that is made through a restricted but not completely blocked

release of air to create a turbulent airflow.

F It can be voiced or unvoiced. Sibilant or labio dental, alveolar consontant sounds.

E /f/ /v/ /s/ /z/

Assimilation:

B a phonological process in which a speech sound changes to become more like or identical to

another which precedes or follows it.

F This can be either progressive or regressive. It can refer to only voicing or devoicing.

E Swim the lips are shaped in anticipation for the /w/ sounds when making the /s/. Could you.

Good girl, have to.

Bound morpheme:

D the smallest unit in language that affects meaning that only occurs attached to othermorphemes.

F can take the form of a prefix or a suffix, or verb inflection.

E s in speaks.


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Lexical field:

D also known as a semantic field: the organisation of related words and expressions into a

system that shows their relationship to one another.

F Can create lexical cohesion. Typical of certain genres like poetry.

E skin, pips, fruit, tree, farm, orange, tractor, farmer

Mood:

D The feature of the verb that expresses the speakers or writers attitude.

F In English we have three: imperative, indicative and subjunctive.

E Nobody call me during the weekend, until death do us part.

Audiolingualism:

D A method of second language learning that emphasises the teaching of speaking and listening

over reading and writing

F discourages the use of the mother tongue, uses dialogues and drills, contrastive analysis.

1960s. Often associated with Berlitz and behaviourism.

E Drills and dialogues.

Task 3:

Dos-and-donts list

1. Give one example

2. Learn lots of language features that can be given for any quesiton

3. List lots of features pertaining to grammar and lexis

4. Give a wide variety of features including style, organisation, function.5. Give very specific examples to the text type.

6. Avoid vague expressions

7. Include very clear terminology

8. Give one feature of writing or speaking subskills that can be grouped under the same heading.

E.g. speaking skills- turn taking - language to take a turn.

9. Focus on what the rubric instructs you to.


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10. Spend too much time on this task.

11. Be very specific and narrow down your point. E.g. Present perfect question forms to talk

about life experience.

12. Give a very clear and organised structure.

Separate into dos and donts. Provide students with different examples and have them separatethem into generic/specific/too wordy/vague.

1. Style:

Semi-formal style conventions for starting a report

e.g. this report will outline the the reasons for the fall in students taking part in sport

Students will need to be very aware of the types of conventions necessary for them to

be able to write a report in order to make the report the appropriate style. (too wordy,

not specific, no example).

e.g. we have come to this conclusion because

2. Lexis: Language to make recommendations

E.g. a wide selection of DVDs should be made available for students to borrow

2. Learners would need to know how to recommend. (too vague, not specific)

e.g. should

3. Discourse: Hedging devices to give the writers opinion

it could be considered beneficial to include a selection of after-school activities.

3. Language to be more formal (too vague, not specific)

e.g. It might be helpful to...

4. Organisation: structure of a report

E.g. introduction - reporting the data - giving recommendations - conclusion

5. Grammar: use of modality to describe cause and effect


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e.g. the reduction could be/may be/ might be/ due to the lack of facilities for students

5. Grammar: use of modality to describe cause and effect (bad example)

e.g. should/might/may

6. Grammar: use of present perfect to report facts relevant to the present

e.g. we have seen a drop in numbers recently at the sports centre

6. learners will need to be able to use the present perfect

e.g. we have seena drop in numbers recently at the sports centre. (example good, first part not

specific enough)

7. Modality to maintain politeness

e.g. it might be a good idea to install some new football pitches.

8. Discourse: linking devices and phrases for cause and effect

e.g. The fall in interestis due to the decrease in staff available

9. Lexis:collocations to describe changes

e.g. a sharpe fall in students participating in sporting activities.

10. lexis: lexis specific to writing reports

e.g. the report was conducted

11. Lexis specific to the task

e.g. after-school sports club

12. Discourse devices to persuade the reader.

e.g. this idea would be extremely motivating for students

13. The inclusion of percentages


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e.g. the number of students has dropped by 30%

14. Formulaic expressions to justify opinions

e.g. one of the reasons whythe facilities are below-standard is the lack of recreational areas.

15. Singposting devices to ogranise the findings of the report.

E.g. There are a number of reasons why there has been a fall in numbers.The first has to

do with recreational factors.

16. Compound nouns related to sporting sporting activities. (not relevant to the level).

E.g. swimming poolswould be a good addition.

17. Organising ideas (too generic not related to the task)

e.g. information about the different ideas the learner has

Task four:

Dos and donts

1. Include as much information as possible in part B.

2. State the obvious about language

3. Use correct terminology

4. Specify terminology e.g. pronoun X personal subject pronoun Y

5. Give full names to tenses e.g. present X present simple

6. Use the phonemic script.

7. Give more than 5 features of the text

8. Do not comment on style of the text

9. Use very generic features

10. Give an example of each feature

11. Analyse everything: meaning, form, use, pronunciation.

12. Stick to features of connected speech when analysing pronunciation.

13. Use the phonemic script.14. Have a clear way of marking connected speech.

15. Learn lots of problems students have in general and apply them to each question

16. Use subheadings and underlining to signpost.

17. Consider doing this task first if you panic or have bad time-management.

18. Spend a large proportion of your time on this task.

19. Use bullet points.


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Activity to identify the good and bad answers for task 4.

Task 5

1. Groups, come up with strengths and weaknesses in different groups. More than three. Give

them feedback.


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Accuracy of pronunciation: individual sounds and sounds in connected

speech: incorrect sentence stress tendency to always stress last word / syllable of

sentence

Example: here / me / key / nice

Accuracy of pronunciation: individual sounds and sounds in connected speech:

individual sounds

Example: // -/eni's/ /bWs/

/bsde/

2. Re-group. Give them possible effects on the listener that they then connect to their

weaknesses and strengths.

Frequently mispronouncing nouns such as birthday, which are content words of the

sentence could lead to the learner being misunderstood. This could have a knock-on

effect on the learners confidence. (pron)

Incorrect choice of word could confuse the listener. (pron)

The narrataive or macroscript of discourse is met and meets the listeners expectations.

Word stress could have a knock-on effect on the receptive skills of the learner.

Awareness of features of connected speech e.g. weak forms, helps the learner sound

more fluent but also has another benefit on the learners receptive skills; they will be more

able to segment words in connected speech.

Lack of grammatical features like determiners and articles which often carry meaning in

discourse

put a strain on the listener to understand.

Documents

DELTA Seminar