Introduction This section of the Teacher Guide provides you with guidance on the new Controlled Assessment element of the WJEC specification. It aims to familiarise you with the WJEC Specification requirements for GCSE English Language and GCSE English and help you to teach the Controlled Assessment tasks in Speaking and Listening/Studying Spoken Language.

Controlled Assessment is compulsory for all students. The activities in the Higher Tier Teacher Guide are suitable for Higher Tier students with specific ability level and differentiation advice.

Specification requirements

Task-settingCandidates are required to complete a single Controlled Assessment unit in the study of Spoken Language. Each Controlled Assessment unit may contain more than one task. Tasks must be selected from a number of comparable tasks provided by WJEC. Guidance will be given on the use of source or research material, including access to users of language beyond the classroom. Candidates make a written response. The tasks will be replaced each year.

Task-takingDuring the research and planning stage, candidates must work under limited supervision. They may work collaboratively in discussion groups and research activities to gather their samples of spoken language, but must provide individual responses which are sufficient to be assessed. Candidates may make use of research materials in the preparation period, and teachers may give advice of a general kind. Detailed writing frames or draft responses to the task should not be used, although some general guidance may be given to help focus the work. Materials used at this stage should be submitted with the final piece of work for assessment and moderation.

Final outcomes must be produced under formal supervision. Where the response takes place over a number of sessions, all candidates’ work (including research notes) must be collected and retained securely within the centre between assessment sessions. Extra

Controlled Assessment GuidanceStudy of Spoken Language

time will be allowed to those candidates who qualify for it under existing regulations.

Task-markingTeachers are expected to mark candidates’ work using the assessment criteria provided by WJEC. Work should contain both in-text annotation and a brief summative comment. The Spoken Language Controlled Assessment will be marked out of 20.

The notional relationship between marks and grades is expected to be as follows:

Grade Mark

U 0–3

G 4–5

F 6–7

E 8–9

D 10–11

C 12–13

B 14–15

A 16–17

A* 19–20

In studying spoken language, learners are expected to:• reflectandcommentcriticallyontheirownand

others’ uses of language in different contexts and discuss how they adapt language to different listeners and tasks, exploring these experiences in the contexts of wider language use and variation

• understandattitudestowardsstandardandnon-standard forms of language and how they vary over time and place

• analysethecharacteristicsof andinfluencesonspoken language.

Assessment criteria

The assessment criteria for this area of study are:

AO2 Study of spoken language• Understandvariationsinspokenlanguage,explaining

why language changes in relation to contexts. • Evaluatetheimpactof spokenlanguagechoicesin

their own and others’ use.

The Controlled Assessment assignment will be a sustained response to their own or others’ use of spoken language presented by recording, transcript

104 © Pearson Education Limited 2010

WJEC GCSE English and English Language Higher Teacher Guide

Controlled Assessment Guidance

or recollection. ‘Controlled’ implies that students will attempt their work in examination-type conditions with a strict time limit.

The nature of spoken language in its pure state (speech) is short-lived, so candidates will be allowed during the research and planning stage to gather recordings and to make transcriptions or notes that they can take into the assessment.

Task-takingDuring the 8 hours of the teaching and learning stage, students may have access to resources and advice. Transcripts and recordings can be made during this period and teachers may advise students on approaches.

In the final assessment session, students are allowed 2 hours to complete their piece of work. It is not necessary for students to produce the piece at the same assessment session, as long as the complete time taken does not exceed 2 hours.

Students are not allowed to take drafts into the final assessment session. Transcripts of spoken language may be word-processed, annotated and highlighted and taken into the Controlled Assessment.

If the assessment session is divided into shorter periods of time, all the students’ work must be collected and stored safely.

Differentiation by task and range To create tasks suitable for Foundation and for Higher Tier students a number of strategies are possible.

1 Differentiation by task

In the Foundation and Higher Student Books, similar tasks are differentiated by how many speakers the student looks at, for example: • theFoundationtierstudenttaskcanbetolookat

the language of one of the participants, e.g. just the teacher, in the language change task (see page 00).

• theHighertierstudenttaskcanbetolookatthelanguage of the teacher and of the students in the language change task (see page 00).

2 Differentiation by range

Where this is not feasible, such as in the language variation task in the Student Books, then differentiation can be by the amount of material recorded and transcribed (quantity) or by the range of language features and contextual issues discussed by the candidate. For example the Barack Obama speech (see page 00) has the immediate context of a Democrat rally and Obama shapes his words to that audience, and it was also broadcast on the main American television

networks. Barack Obama would be just as aware of that second audience. Discussion of this wider context would be a differentiator between bands 3 and 5 below.

Marking and external moderation

The work will be marked within the centre, using the assessment criteria provided by WJEC (see page 00). Each piece will be marked out of 20, using the established WJEC mark structure. The assessment criteria for spoken language are set out below. These bands can be related to the 20-mark range and the related grades.

Band 1 Candidates show:• Limitedawarenessof howspokenlanguageisused• Limitedunderstandingof factorsthatinfluence

spoken language• Alittleabilitytoexplainobviousdifferencesin

language• Alittleabilitytoanalyseandevaluatevariationsand

changes in spoken language

Band 2 Candidates show:• Someawarenessof howspeakersusespoken

language• Someunderstandingof themaininfluenceson

speakers’ language choices• Limitedabilitytoexplainhowdifferencesinspeech

may affect communication• Limitedabilitytoanalyseandevaluatehowlanguage

changes

Band 3 Candidates show:• Clearawarenessof howspokenlanguageisadapted• Clearunderstandingof thedifferentinfluenceson

speakers’ language choices• Understandingandbegintoexplaineffectsof speech

variations• Someabilitytoanalyseandevaluatehowlanguage

changes

Band 4 Candidates show:• Confidentawarenessof howspokenlanguageis

adapted• Soundunderstandingof significantinfluenceson

speakers’ language choices• Clearexplanationof thesignificanceof speech

variations• Clearabilitytoanalyseandevaluateeffectof

language changes

Band 5 Candidates show:• Confidentawarenessof howspokenlanguageis

selected and adapted• Sophisticatedunderstandingof subtleinfluenceson

speakers’ language choices

© Pearson Education Limited 2010 105Controlled Assessment Guidance

Study of Spoken Language