The Revised ECCE exam

Last minute

test-taking strategies

May 2013 changes

Listening:

• 4 unrelated monologues in Part 2

Reading:

• 2 short expository texts

• 2 sets of 4 related texts

GVR:

• 10 minutes more- 90 minutes in total

General Test-Management Tips

• Manage your time effectively - wear a watch!

• Read / listen to instructions carefully

• Underline key words in questions and prompts

• Read all distractors before deciding on the correct answer

• Base your answers on information supplied in the text, not on your general knowledge

• Mark your answers directly on the answer sheet

• Use the appropriate strategy for each test task

Listening Part 1: Strategies

• What does each picture depict?

• What do the pictures have in common?

• What are the differences?

• Predict the question

Listening Part 2: Strategies

• Focus on the orientation statement

• Predict the context

• Use the 30 seconds given to you to skim through the questions. The questions provide clues as to the content and organization of the text

• Take notes only if it helps you

• While listening, try answering the questions without reading

the distractors

Listening Part 2: Strategies cont.

• Use the 12 seconds between questions to answer the question. You have 5 extra seconds at the turn of the page.

• Mark your answers directly on the answer sheet

• Guess, if necessary

• Learn to recognize the types of questions you may be asked

Sample Listening Part 2 Monologue

Sub-skills tested:

• understanding implication (#46)

• understanding attitudes or opinions (#47)

• paraphrasing (#48)

• recognizing salient details and rhetorical functions (#49)

• drawing inferences or conclusions (#46, #50)

• main idea/purpose

Part 2 sub-skills tested • understanding implication: What does

the speaker imply about the speech he is giving?

• understanding attitudes or opinions: According to the speaker, what is the purpose of some questions asked by adults?

• paraphrasing: What does the speaker say about future plans?

• recognizing salient details and rhetorical functions: What does the speaker encourage students to do?

• drawing inferences or conclusions: What does the speaker mean when he says: ♪

• Now, the traditional graduation speech usually involves someone telling you not to give up on your dreams, telling you that you can do anything, if you put your mind to it…Well, all that might be true, but that’s not what I want to say to you.

• They’re really just trying to find out what kind of person you are, what your interests might be – it’s more like a conversation starter.

• You don’t need to know what you plan to do with the rest of your life.

• So, my advice, when someone asks you “What do you plan to do with your life?” is to tell them that your first priority is to find out what your options are. You need to learn what you like, what you’re good at…

Global Strategies for the GVR section

• 90 minutes total. Practice managing your time; see what works for you

• Practice answering directly on the answer sheet. Use a ruler

• Don’t spend too much time on any one item. Guess if necessary

GV strategies

• Read the entire stem. Guess the answer before looking at the answer choices

• Eliminate as many answer choices as possible

• Look for clues in the stem. (tense, part of speech, etc).

• Learn the grammar of a word, not just its meaning

• Learn vocabulary in chunks. (preposition? derivatives? collocations?)

Frequently tested grammar items*

• Syntax (e.g. word order, embedded phrases)

• Simple verb tenses

• Progressive forms

• Auxiliary verb use

• Infinitives

• Adverbs, adjectives

• Wh-questions

*ECCE 05 report (©2007, ELI)

Reading

Task 1

• Two prose passages followed by 5 multiple-choice questions each

Task 2

• Two sets comprised of 4 texts each followed by 10 questions each. The 4 texts are related to each other in some way

Reading Task 2

• 2 sets of 4 related texts

• Each set is followed by 10 questions

• Total of 550 words for the set, with each text ranging from 50 to 220 words

• The texts represent realistic text found in various domains of language use, e.g.: advertisements, new articles, magazine articles, job notices, e-mails,

posters, etc.

• The texts are laid out with some visual and graphic material as they would be in authentic settings

Reading task 2: Question types

• The first few questions assess understanding of each of the texts individually

• The final questions assess the ability to integrate information from more than one of the texts

Questions assess: Global and local comprehension

• Understanding the main idea

• Understanding opinions

•Understanding explicitly stated ideas

•Understanding vocabulary in context

•Identifying referents

•The ability to synthesize ideas from across text

•Drawing inferences

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