Introduction

IGCSE INTRODUCTION
There has been growing interest in recent years in international qualifications. Spurred by
the ever growing popularity of CLIL there has been a move towards teaching and learning in
a second language. IGCSE stands for International General Certificate of Secondary
Education. There are 70 subjects available at Cambridge IGCSE, including English as a
Second Language.
The IGCSE in English as a Second Language is designed for learners who already have some
knowledge of English. The content of the exams reflect what students could be expected to
do in their normal studies. Cambridge IGCSEs are seen as academic exams and are accepted
in many universities and colleges as an entry requirement.
There isn’t a set list of language structures or vocabulary needed for this exam as it tests
functional and communicative English skills. The test is divided into the four skills of
reading, writing, listening and speaking and students are given a grade from A to G.

IGCSE in Talent
We recognise that there is a growing number of schools in Italy with an interest in
international exams. In order to reflect this interest we have introduced IGCSE exam labelling
throughout the course within the Strategy boxes. Often there is cross over between task
types in Cambridge main suite exams (Preliminary and First) and the IGCSE and where this is
the case both labels feature. Talent aims to be a course book that will appeal to different
levels of school but the focus is clearly on academic success and because of this the IGCSE
English as a Second Language exam with its focus on academic study complements the
course well.
In order to give teachers and students who may be interested in this exam a taste of what
they can expect we have also produced a complete IGCSE style exam and below describe our
test in more detail. It should be noted that this test is not an official IGCSE test paper.

Level of the exam

Within the IGCSE students have the option of studying the Core curriculum or Extended
curriculum. As the name suggests, the Extended curriculum is more challenging. The Core
papers correspond to intermediate level and the Extended level corresponds to upper
intermediate. For the purposes of Talent we have limited practice to intermediate level only.

Exam structure
The IGCSE practice test in Talent has the following sections:
–  Reading and writing
–  Listening
–  Speaking.

Reading and writing

We present 6 Reading and writing activities. These are similar to exercises in the IGCSE English
as a Second Language exam. The first two activities are based on reading comprehension,
3 and 4 involve reading and writing and 5 and 6 are testing writing skills.

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 Introduction

Exercise 1
The first exercise in our practice test presents a text based on an information
leaflet and there are seven reading comprehension questions accompanying.
The marks awarded for each answer are given in brackets next to the question.
In addition when more than one piece of information is required this is clearly
evidenced in the question.
Exercise 2
The second exercise in our practice test is a multiple matching activity. This
means we present a text broken up into parts. Students are then given eight
statements relating to the texts and are asked to match the statements to the
part of the text. This task requires detailed reading comprehension.
Exercise 3
Exercise 3 presents a long text. The text is intended to be a realistic model of
the type of article students may come across in everyday life. Students are
then asked to complete notes about the text. Note taking is an important
academic skill that often features in Talent so students should be familiar with
this type of task. In this practice test they are required to understand and find
relevant information and then transpose that information into the notes.
Exercise 4
The fourth exercise in our practice IGCSE test is summary writing. This is a challenging activity
for students but it is essential for students who want to continue in their academic studies and
this test activity provides useful practice of this important skill. With this task students’
attention should be drawn to the instructions. It’s important to point out the suggested number
of words so that students don’t waste time overwriting, but also write enough to showcase
their language skills. In order to demonstrate their language skills students should be
encouraged to include a variety of grammar structures and vocabulary. It’s also important
to point out to students that the summary must be in their own words and it’s not acceptable
to copy large parts of the text.
Exercise 5
Exercise 5 is an informal writing task with visual input in the form of illustrations. For this task it
is essential that students read the instructions carefully as they outline all the information that
needs to be included in the piece of writing. As the instructions point out students are marked
on content and the accuracy of their language. This is an informal writing task and students
should be able to demonstrate they are able to adapt their style to show this as well as show
good control of grammar and a range of vocabulary.
Exercise 6
Exercise 6 presents another writing task though this time a more formal register is needed.
Always make sure the students read the instructions carefully and draw their attention to the
word limit – overwriting or underwriting can cost marks in a real exam. This is a more formal
piece of writing and students should be able to demonstrate they are able to adapt their style
to show this as well as show good control of grammar and a range of vocabulary.

Timing
As you have seen the Reading and writing section is divided into 6 parts in our practice test.
In the official IGCSE English as a Second Language exam one hour and thirty minutes is
allowed for Core candidates so this time should be used as a guideline when doing our
practice test.

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Introduction

Listening
In all the Listening tasks in our test we suggest students listen twice. This is
standard for most exams. If you are trying to re-create exam conditions, you will
need to stop and re-play the audio.
Exercise 1
In exercise 1 students hear four short recordings. The recordings present a
variety of listening text types from adverts to informal conversations. Students
are presented with eight questions. Before listening encourage students to read
through all the questions. After the first listening they should jot down ideas and
then during the second listening either check their ideas or concentrate on the
areas that they did not understand the first time. Make sure students
understand that the answers needed are short – just 1-3 words so they
shouldn’t waste time writing long responses.
Exercise 2
In exercise 2 students are presented with partially filled notes or a table. This is
a more formal listening text and students need to listen for detailed information.
Allow the students time to read through the notes before listening.
Each gap requires either a number or between 1-3 words and students
shouldn’t write more than that. Allow time at the end for students to look over the work and
complete any gaps.
Exercise 3
This is an informal listening text and students need to match the speakers to the opinions or
descriptions. There are six speakers but seven descriptions so one description is a distractor.
As with all listening tasks allow the students to read through beforehand. This task requires the
students to understand opinions and ideas and those ideas might not be clearly stated but
implied so careful listening is required.
Exercise 4
The final part of our IGCSE style listening test presents a multiple choice listening activity.
It is based on an informal discussion and students are expected to be able to understand
thoughts and opinions expressed as well as attitudes and feelings. For all listening tasks if
students aren’t sure of an answer – it is better to make an intelligent guess than leave a
question unanswered.

Timing
As you have seen the Listening section in our IGCSE style exam is divided into 4 parts in our
practice test. In the official IGCSE English as a Second Language exam forty minutes is allowed
for Core candidates so this time should be used as a guideline when doing our practice test.

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 Introduction

Speaking
The Speaking section of our IGCSE style test is divided into 3 parts. There are
clear instructions for the teacher at the start of the test. The first 2-3 minutes
is intended as a warm up and should be treated as an informal chat. We
have provided some prompts to help you in conversation topics for example:
– Have you got any plans for next weekend?
– What do you usually do on week-day evenings?
These are just suggestions and you should feel free to talk about topics that
interest you and your students. In an actual IGCSE test this part isn’t
assessed. The assessed part of the test is a discussion based on prompt
cards. For our test we have provided three cards – before your test you
should photocopy the page and cut the three cards out so you can alternate
topics.
Each student should be given one card and be allowed 2-3 minutes to read
and prepare. Students shouldn’t write notes. The Speaking test is marked on
range and accuracy of structures used, vocabulary and how fluently the
student speaks including how well they pronounce words. We have provided
a grid that can be used to mark down notes about the students during the
test and help you arrive at a consistent marking scheme.

Timing
The Speaking test lasts approximately 10–15 minutes depending on the student and the
discussion.

SPEAKING TEST MARKING GRID

Student name Grammar Vocabulary Fluency Pronunciation Mark
■ Structures used? ■ Range? ■ Develops conversation? ■ Clear? out of 10
■ Accuracy? ■ Accuracy? ■ Needs prompting? ■ Difficult to understand?

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