INSTRUCTION: Read the following text carefully and then mark the alternatives that complete the sentences in the question.

3 Tips for Teaching Reading in a Foreign Language

June 15, 2015 Giwan Persaud

Reading is a great skill to have. It’s something we can do anytime, anywhere. Today I want to share with you some tips about teaching reading skills in foreign languages to young learners. Ready? Let’s go.

1. Traffic Light Reading.

This is one of my all-time favourite exercises for teaching reading. The idea is that you pick an appropriately levelled text (this can be adapted to any level!), take the text in question, or a segment of it, and reread it three times. The first time you read with a green pen or pencil in hand and underline every single thing you understand. This is great because it includes numbers, places, and names meaning that every student is guaranteed some green on their page. What a confidence booster!

Then students re-read the text. This time with an orange pen at the ready. The orange is for those words that look familiar or could be guessed, but that students aren’t 100% sure about. There should be less of these. Encourage students to also have the green pen ready as they may notice ‘green’ words they didn’t see the first time around. And finally, as you may well have guessed, the red pen comes in and underlines every completely unknown word. Providing that the text is of the right level, there should be a nice shade of green filling the page with the odd orange and red spec.

I find this activity constantly boosts students confidence as they see a black and white page in a foreign language come to life in colour. So many students are amazing and really pleased with themselves about how much they can actually understand when they take the time to focus on a text. One of my all-time favourites.

Available at: <http://www.duolir.com/blog/2015/6/13/3-tips-forteaching-reading-in-a-foreign-language> (Adapted).

INSTRUCTION: Read carefully the next text; then mark the alternatives that answer the questions or complete the sentences in the question.

Four ways to give ELL students feedback on their writing

Larry Ferlazzo

There does not seem to be clarity among researchers about the best ways to assist ELLs in revising their writing, but they all seem to agree that one of the best things teachers can do is to give ELLs more time - more time to write, more time to think, more time to revise. This need is one of the major reasons why many researchers recommend including an opportunity for peer review and feedback - this process provides more time, as well as providing social support.

One element that we have students use in this process:

1. After students have completed their draft on the computer using Microsoft Word or Google Docs (taking advantage of the spelling and grammar tools available on each), they print out two copies of their essay - one is for their peer reviewer. Each student also gets one copy of the peer review sheet.

The first student who is getting their essay reviewed reads the essay aloud and the reviewer follows along on his/her copy. During this time, both the writer and the reviewer make notes about mistakes and improvements, primarily targeting grammar and sentence construction issues. After the writer is done reading, both he/she and the reviewer discuss the points they both noted. Then, the reviewer goes through the Peer Review sheet one section at a time taking a minute or so to silently read that section of the essay and noting suggestions on the sheet. After he/she is done with each section, the reviewer shares comments with the writer, who makes notes on his/her copy of the essay. This process is repeated until the entire sheet is completed, and then the roles are reversed.

Note that teachers will probably want to modify the Peer Review Sheet to reflect the essay their students are writing.

2. The teachers will then quickly review this “marked-up” version of the essay with the student and, depending on their English proficiency and overall confidence level, may give specific feedback on one or two grammar issues by pointing at the mistake and having students identify the correction. More importantly, they’ll note to themselves what specific skills they need to cover in future lessons.

3. Students will return to the electronic version of the essay they saved and make the revisions identified in the peer review process and in the follow-up conversation teachers had with them.

This is a simple way to provide feedback.

A number of studies suggest that correction -- either through prompts that point out the error to a student and require an immediate attempt at a “repair” or through “recasts” when teachers rephrase correctly what the student said -- can be a useful tool to assist language acquisition. When teachers see a written mistake, they commonly point to it - whether it be a word or a punctuation issue. Students are typically then able to correct it then and there.

Available at: <https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/larryferlazzo/larry-ferlazzo-four-ways-give-ell-students-feedbacktheir-writing>. Acessed on: July 15th, 2018 (Adapted).

INSTRUCTION: Now read carefully the text below; then mark the alternatives that answer the questions or complete the sentences in the question.

Amy watched six taxis avoid her and go deliberately towards other people. Then she began to realise she was suffering from advanced paranoia and that she had better cut her losses and take the tube home. She was already so late and angry, that the lurching crowded journey couldn’t make her much worse. And there was the danger that if she stood much longer on the side of the street being ignored by rush hour taxi drivers she might lose her small remaining ration of sanity. And she needed to hold on to what she had for tonight.

Tonight Ed’s sister and her husband were coming to dinner. Tonight, for the first time, she would meet the Big Mama figure in Ed’s American family, the one they all bowed to, the one Ed had practically written to for permission to marry Amy. At the time Amy had thought it funny; she had even suggested that her dental reports and Photostats of her GCE certificates be sent to New York. But three years later, after a period of watching Ed write his monthly letter to his big sister Bella, she found it less funny. She was never shown those letters and in pique she had opened one before posting it. It was an infantile report on how their life had been progressing since last month: childish details about the floor covering they had bought for the kitchen, aspirations that Ed’s salary would be reviewed and upped. Praise for a new dress that Amy had bought, minutiae about a picnic they had had with another couple. It had made Amy uneasy, because it had made Ed seem retarded. It was the kind of letter that a mother might expect from a small son who had gone off to summer camp, not something that a sister in far away America should need or want.

Ed had been euphoric about the visit. It had been planned for over three months. Bella and her husband Blair were coming to London for three days as part of a European tour. They would arrive in the morning; they did not want to be met, they preferred to recover from their jet lag alone in the privacy of a good hotel with a comfortable bedroom and bathroom.

Fully refreshed, at seven p.m. they would come and see their beloved Ed and welcome their new sister Amy to the family. Next day there would be a tour to Windsor and an evening at the theatre, with a dinner for the four of them. And on the Saturday morning, Amy might kindly take her new sister Bella shopping, and point out the best places, introduce her to the heads of departments in the better stores. They would have a super girly lunch, and then Bella and Blair should fly out of their lives to Paris.

Normally, on any ordinary Thursday, Amy came home from Harley Street, where she worked as a doctor’s receptionist, took off her shoes, put on her slippers, unpacked her shopping, organized a meal, lit the fire and then Ed would arrive home. Their evenings had begun to have a regular pattern. Ed came home tense and tired. Little by little, in front of the fire, he would unwind; little by little he relaxed his grip on the file of papers he had brought back from the office. He would have a sherry, his face would lose its lines; and then he would agree really that there was no point in trying to do too much work in the evening.

And afterwards, he would carve away happily at the table he was making, or watch television, or do the crossword with Amy; and she realized happily that she was essential to him, because only her kind of understanding could make him uncoil and regard his life as a happy, unworrying thing.

That was all before the threatened visit of Bella.

In: BINCHY, Maeve. Victoria Line, Central Line. Hodder and Stoughton: Coronet Books, 1982, p.11-12.

INSTRUCTION: Read the following text carefully and then mark the alternatives that complete the sentences in the question.

3 Tips for Teaching Reading in a Foreign Language

June 15, 2015 Giwan Persaud

Reading is a great skill to have. It’s something we can do anytime, anywhere. Today I want to share with you some tips about teaching reading skills in foreign languages to young learners. Ready? Let’s go.

1. Traffic Light Reading.

This is one of my all-time favourite exercises for teaching reading. The idea is that you pick an appropriately levelled text (this can be adapted to any level!), take the text in question, or a segment of it, and reread it three times. The first time you read with a green pen or pencil in hand and underline every single thing you understand. This is great because it includes numbers, places, and names meaning that every student is guaranteed some green on their page. What a confidence booster!

Then students re-read the text. This time with an orange pen at the ready. The orange is for those words that look familiar or could be guessed, but that students aren’t 100% sure about. There should be less of these. Encourage students to also have the green pen ready as they may notice ‘green’ words they didn’t see the first time around. And finally, as you may well have guessed, the red pen comes in and underlines every completely unknown word. Providing that the text is of the right level, there should be a nice shade of green filling the page with the odd orange and red spec.

I find this activity constantly boosts students confidence as they see a black and white page in a foreign language come to life in colour. So many students are amazing and really pleased with themselves about how much they can actually understand when they take the time to focus on a text. One of my all-time favourites.

Available at: <http://www.duolir.com/blog/2015/6/13/3-tips-forteaching-reading-in-a-foreign-language> (Adapted).

INSTRUCTION: Now read carefully the text below; then mark the alternatives that answer the questions or complete the sentences in the question.

Amy watched six taxis avoid her and go deliberately towards other people. Then she began to realise she was suffering from advanced paranoia and that she had better cut her losses and take the tube home. She was already so late and angry, that the lurching crowded journey couldn’t make her much worse. And there was the danger that if she stood much longer on the side of the street being ignored by rush hour taxi drivers she might lose her small remaining ration of sanity. And she needed to hold on to what she had for tonight.

Tonight Ed’s sister and her husband were coming to dinner. Tonight, for the first time, she would meet the Big Mama figure in Ed’s American family, the one they all bowed to, the one Ed had practically written to for permission to marry Amy. At the time Amy had thought it funny; she had even suggested that her dental reports and Photostats of her GCE certificates be sent to New York. But three years later, after a period of watching Ed write his monthly letter to his big sister Bella, she found it less funny. She was never shown those letters and in pique she had opened one before posting it. It was an infantile report on how their life had been progressing since last month: childish details about the floor covering they had bought for the kitchen, aspirations that Ed’s salary would be reviewed and upped. Praise for a new dress that Amy had bought, minutiae about a picnic they had had with another couple. It had made Amy uneasy, because it had made Ed seem retarded. It was the kind of letter that a mother might expect from a small son who had gone off to summer camp, not something that a sister in far away America should need or want.

Ed had been euphoric about the visit. It had been planned for over three months. Bella and her husband Blair were coming to London for three days as part of a European tour. They would arrive in the morning; they did not want to be met, they preferred to recover from their jet lag alone in the privacy of a good hotel with a comfortable bedroom and bathroom.

Fully refreshed, at seven p.m. they would come and see their beloved Ed and welcome their new sister Amy to the family. Next day there would be a tour to Windsor and an evening at the theatre, with a dinner for the four of them. And on the Saturday morning, Amy might kindly take her new sister Bella shopping, and point out the best places, introduce her to the heads of departments in the better stores. They would have a super girly lunch, and then Bella and Blair should fly out of their lives to Paris.

Normally, on any ordinary Thursday, Amy came home from Harley Street, where she worked as a doctor’s receptionist, took off her shoes, put on her slippers, unpacked her shopping, organized a meal, lit the fire and then Ed would arrive home. Their evenings had begun to have a regular pattern. Ed came home tense and tired. Little by little, in front of the fire, he would unwind; little by little he relaxed his grip on the file of papers he had brought back from the office. He would have a sherry, his face would lose its lines; and then he would agree really that there was no point in trying to do too much work in the evening.

And afterwards, he would carve away happily at the table he was making, or watch television, or do the crossword with Amy; and she realized happily that she was essential to him, because only her kind of understanding could make him uncoil and regard his life as a happy, unworrying thing.

That was all before the threatened visit of Bella.

In: BINCHY, Maeve. Victoria Line, Central Line. Hodder and Stoughton: Coronet Books, 1982, p.11-12.

INSTRUCTION: Now read carefully the next text; then mark the alternatives that answer the questions or complete the sentences in the question.

As it turned out, there were more than enough strawberries for supper. Julie didn’t come back.

The dinner, though delicious, could hardly be said to be festive. It was as if all the accumulated tensions of the last days had gathered that evening at the dining-table, building slowly up like the thunderheads that stood steadily on the horizon outside.

Con had come in early, rather quiet, with watchful eyes, and lines from nostril to chin that I hadn’t noticed before. Grandfather seemed to have recruited his energies with his afternoon rest: his eyes were bright and a little malicious as he glanced round the table, and marked the taut air of waiting that hung over the meal. It was his moment of power, and he knew it.

If it had needed anything to bring the tensions to snapping-point, Julie’s absence provided it. At first it was only assumed that she was late, but, as the meal wore through, and it became apparent that she wasn’t coming, Grandfather started making irritatingly frequent remarks about the forgetfulness and ingratitude of young people, that were intended to sound pathetic, but only managed to sound thoroughly bad-tempered.

Con ate more or less in silence, but a silence so unrelaxed as to be almost aggressive. It was apparent that Grandfather thought so, for he kept casting bright, hard looks under his brows, and once or twice seemed on the verge of the sort of edged and provocative remark with which he had been prodding his great-nephew for days.

I drew what fire I could, chattering shamelessly, and had the dubious satisfaction of attracting most of the old man’s attention to myself, some of it so obviously affectionate – pointedly so – that I saw, once or twice, Con’s glance cross mine like the flicker of blue steel. Afterwards, I thought, when he knows, when that restless, torturing ambition is settled at last, it will be all right …

As Grandfather had predicted, Donald’s presence saved the day. He seconded my efforts with great gallantry, making several remarks at least three sentences long; but he, too, was unable to keep his eyes from the clock, while Lisa, presiding over a magnificent pair of ducklings à la Rouennaise, and the strawberries hastily assembled into whipped cream Chantilly, merely sat unhelpfully silent and worried, and, in consequence, looking sour.

The end of the meal came, and the coffee, and still no Julie. We all left the dining-room together.

STEWART, Mary. The Ivy Tree.

Great Britain: Coronet Edition, 1987 (Adapted).

INSTRUCTION: Now read carefully the text below; then mark the alternatives that answer the questions or complete the sentences in the question.

Amy watched six taxis avoid her and go deliberately towards other people. Then she began to realise she was suffering from advanced paranoia and that she had better cut her losses and take the tube home. She was already so late and angry, that the lurching crowded journey couldn’t make her much worse. And there was the danger that if she stood much longer on the side of the street being ignored by rush hour taxi drivers she might lose her small remaining ration of sanity. And she needed to hold on to what she had for tonight.

Tonight Ed’s sister and her husband were coming to dinner. Tonight, for the first time, she would meet the Big Mama figure in Ed’s American family, the one they all bowed to, the one Ed had practically written to for permission to marry Amy. At the time Amy had thought it funny; she had even suggested that her dental reports and Photostats of her GCE certificates be sent to New York. But three years later, after a period of watching Ed write his monthly letter to his big sister Bella, she found it less funny. She was never shown those letters and in pique she had opened one before posting it. It was an infantile report on how their life had been progressing since last month: childish details about the floor covering they had bought for the kitchen, aspirations that Ed’s salary would be reviewed and upped. Praise for a new dress that Amy had bought, minutiae about a picnic they had had with another couple. It had made Amy uneasy, because it had made Ed seem retarded. It was the kind of letter that a mother might expect from a small son who had gone off to summer camp, not something that a sister in far away America should need or want.

Ed had been euphoric about the visit. It had been planned for over three months. Bella and her husband Blair were coming to London for three days as part of a European tour. They would arrive in the morning; they did not want to be met, they preferred to recover from their jet lag alone in the privacy of a good hotel with a comfortable bedroom and bathroom.

Fully refreshed, at seven p.m. they would come and see their beloved Ed and welcome their new sister Amy to the family. Next day there would be a tour to Windsor and an evening at the theatre, with a dinner for the four of them. And on the Saturday morning, Amy might kindly take her new sister Bella shopping, and point out the best places, introduce her to the heads of departments in the better stores. They would have a super girly lunch, and then Bella and Blair should fly out of their lives to Paris.

Normally, on any ordinary Thursday, Amy came home from Harley Street, where she worked as a doctor’s receptionist, took off her shoes, put on her slippers, unpacked her shopping, organized a meal, lit the fire and then Ed would arrive home. Their evenings had begun to have a regular pattern. Ed came home tense and tired. Little by little, in front of the fire, he would unwind; little by little he relaxed his grip on the file of papers he had brought back from the office. He would have a sherry, his face would lose its lines; and then he would agree really that there was no point in trying to do too much work in the evening.

And afterwards, he would carve away happily at the table he was making, or watch television, or do the crossword with Amy; and she realized happily that she was essential to him, because only her kind of understanding could make him uncoil and regard his life as a happy, unworrying thing.

That was all before the threatened visit of Bella.

In: BINCHY, Maeve. Victoria Line, Central Line. Hodder and Stoughton: Coronet Books, 1982, p.11-12.