CLMS_Teacher_Guide.pdf

Teacher’s Guide to Cambridge English Empower in the Cambridge Learning Management System CONTENTS 1 Introduction

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2 The Learning Oriented Assessment (LOA) cycle

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3 How to access your classes

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4 Cambridge English Empower in the Cambridge LMS – Quick overview

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Class Home 5 Cambridge English Empower in the Cambridge LMS – In depth Content

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Assessment and Practice

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Online Workbook

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Extension

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Resources

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Teacher’s Book

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Printable Tests

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Teacher’s Extra Resources

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Class Audio and Class Video

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Language Check

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Class Tools

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Learner Proile

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Unit Progress Test scores

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CEFR Report

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Gradebook

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Teacher view o Gradeboo Gradebook k

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Student view o Gradebook

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Dashboard

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Teacher view o Portolio

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Student view o Portolio

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6 Further Inormation

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7 What’s special about the assessment in Cambridge English Empower?

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Unit Progress Test Testss (ormative)

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Unit Speaking Tests (ormat (ormative) ive)

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Competency Tests (summat (summative) ive)

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INTRODUCTION

Who is this guide for? This guide is intended or teachers o Cambridge English Empower using using the online assessment and practice in the Cambridge Learning Management System (LMS).

What is included in this guide? This guide includes inormation on the the parts o the course course delivered online online through the Cambridge LMS LMS recommendations recommendati ons on when and how the online components components can be used the differences between teacher access and student access links to to urther inormation about about Cambridge LMS eatures. eatures. • • • •

What is not included in this guide? This guide does not include inormation about Cambridge LMS eatures that are not relevant to Cambridge English Empower .

How does this guide work? This guide is intended to help you as a teacher start using Cambridge English Empower in the Cambridge LMS immediately. A Quick overview o the Class Home offers an easy starting point or you to try out some o the main elements o the course. This is ollowed by an In depth visual walkthrough o all the Cambridge LMS eatures o the course. Further information provides links to more sources o assistance, assistanc e, including the Cambridge LMS FAQs and step by step help videos.

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THE LEARNING ORIENTED ASSESSMENT ASSESSMENT (LOA) (LOA) CYCLE

Class lesson D: Consolidation o core language via integrated skills, plus a writing ocus

Class lessons A + B: Grammar, vocabulary and mixed skills Class lesson C: Everyday English

Mid-course and Endo-course competency assessment

Retake the Unit Progress Test

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Take the Unit Progress Test Online

CEFR Report

Gradebook monitoring + reporting on test scores and practice activities

Follow the Personalised learning path (targeted online practice)

Cambridge English Empower Teacher’ Teacher’ss Guide to Empower on the LMS © Cambridge University Press 2015

As a teacher, you’ll naturally be interested in your learners’ progress. Every time they step into your classroom, you’ll note i a learner is struggling with a language concept, is unable to read at a natural rate, or can understand a new grammar point but still can’t produce it in a practice activity. This is ofen an intuitive and spontaneous process. By the end o a course or a cycle o learning, you’ll know ar more about a learner’s ability than an end-o-course test alone can show. An LOA approach to teaching and learning brings together this ongoing inormal evaluation with more ormal or structured assessment such as end-o-unit or end-o-course tests. Ideally supported by a learning management system, LOA is an approach that allows you to pull together all this inormation and knowledge in order to understand learners’ achievements and progress and to identiy and address their needs in a targeted and inormed way. A range o insights into learners and their progress eeds into total assessment o the learner. It also allows you to use all o this inormation not just to produce a report on a learner’s level o competence but also to plan and inorm uture learning. Cambridge English Empower in the Cambridge LMS provides all the necessary material and tools to help you successully achieve total assessment o your learners, including a complete assessment package with automated grading, a comprehensive range o additional activities or extensive language practice and access to all the necessary perormance data in one gradebook.

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HOW TO ACCESS YOUR CLASSES

This guide assumes that teachers are already registered and have classes set up to use Cambridge English Empower in the Cambridge LMS. For more inormation on how to register on the Cambridge LMS please go to: www.cambridgelms.org/main/

Afer logging in, the My Teaching tab lists all the Cambridge English Empower classes that have been set up or you to teach. Click on the links to access the relevant course and section.

Cambridge English Empower Teacher’s Guide to Empower on the LMS © Cambridge University Press 2015

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CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH EMPOWER IN THE CAMBRIDGE LMS – QUICK OVERVIEW

Class Home Your Class Home will look something like this: Click here to access the Assessment material, Online Workbook and Extension activities.

Click here to access a range o additional material to help with your teaching o Cambridge English Empower.

Click here to access the Forum, Message Board and Blog tools.

Click here to access all the scores and data or the students in the class.

To Do Next, Calendar and Announcements are immediately available and allow you to keep track o work that is due and to notiy learners o upcoming tasks.

Note: Logged in as Teacher, the main tabs or the course are Class Home, Content, Resources, Class Tools and Gradebook. Your learners, logged in as Students, have an extra Learner Proile tab:

There is more inormation on the Learner Profile below.

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CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH EMPOWER IN THE CAMBRIDGE LMS – IN DEPTH

Content This is where to access the Assessment material (Unit Progress Tests, Unit Speaking Tests and Competency Tests), Online Workbook and Extension activities.

Click here to access the Online Workbook and Extension activities.

Click on Show all to open the menu.

This icon shows i the activity or test is locked or unlocked.

Click this button to lock or unlock the content and the option to set time parameters or the test or activities to be available.

Indicates how much o the content has been accessed and submitted or scoring.


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Assessment and Practice There is a Unit Progress Test and Unit Speaking Test or each unit (12 units or levels A1, A2 and B1, and 10 units or levels B1+, B2 and C1) and two Competency Tests (mid-course and end-o-course) or each level o the course.

Unit Progress Tests We recommend that learners take the Unit Progress Test at the end o each C lesson as learners encounter all the language that eatures in the test in lessons A–C. However, i it suits your teaching situation, the Unit Progress Test could equally well be set or learners to take afer the D lesson or afer Review and Extension. Learners have two attempts at each Unit Progress Test. The irst attempt is timed. On completion learners receive a recommendation and links to do some personalised online practice activities (My Practice ). At the end o My Practice, learners are invited to take the test again, with no time restrictions, so they can correct those answers they got wrong the irst time. Leaners can review test answers at any time.

Unit Speaking Tests We recommend that learners take the Unit Speaking Test when the unit has been completed so that they have covered the pronunciation points and have had as much opportunity as possible to practise speaking on the topics in the unit. Learners have one attempt at the Unit Speaking Test. There are no time restrictions and these tests give ample opportunity or learners to l isten to a model, then record, listen and re-record their own answers beore submitting.

Competency Tests There are two Competency Tests: students should take the Mid-course Competency Test halway through the course, either at the end o Unit 5 or levels A1, A2 and B1, or at the end o Unit 6 or level levels B1+, B2 and C1. Students should take the End-of-course Competency Test at the end o the course. There are our sections to each Competency Test ocussing on the our skills: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. These Tests are completed online, apart rom the Speaking Test, which is conducted by the teacher (see p14, 20–21). The purpose o the Competency Test is to give as accurate a measure as possible o a learner’s perormance relative to the target CEFR level. There is, thereore, just one attempt and no Review mode or the Competency Tests. Note: To ind out more about the assessment material in Cambridge English Empower please read section 7 What’s special about the assessment in Cambridge English Empower?

Lock When you irst access your Cambridge English Empower class, all the tests are locked and appear greyed out. This means that your learners cannot access the tests until you unlock them, giving you more control over your classes. As Teacher you will always be able to access and preview the tests. Settings To unlock a test or your learners, and (i you wish) to set a period o time that it is available, click on the settings icon. You can do this either or a complete set o tests or or an individual test. We recommend that you unlock each test when you want to make it available or your learners. In this way, the learners in your class will all access the test or the same period o time and will be able to check their progress at the appropriate points in the course.

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Teacher view o Test Summary page To access a test, go to Assessment and click on the relevant test:

This opens the Test Summary page:

Note: As Teacher, there is no limit to the number o times you access any test.

Student view o Test Summary page

Here the learner can see how many attempts are allowed or the test and how many attempts they have remaining.

The (most recent) score or the test will appear here.

I you have set a time that the test is available, the time and date will appear here.


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Students have a limited number o attempts or each test: • • •

Unit Progress Test – 2 attempts Unit Speaking Test – 1 attempt Competency Test – 1 attempt or each section (Reading, Writing, Listening)

Click on Start test to open it. The test will appear in a new window and will look something like this, depending on which test you have opened (this is the opening screen or a Unit Progress Test):

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My Practice Afer taking a Unit Progress Test and submitting it or scoring, learners receive a recommendation based on their test score, to do some personalised practice activities online. Links to My Practice are provided or each o the ive language areas in the unit:

This is the score or this test attempt.

This is the score or this language section.

Click here to start the Unit Progress Test or the second attempt.

A score o 100% in this language section means there is no My Practice link.

One attempt has been made or the Unit Progress Test. There is one attempt remaining.

This is a link to the personalised online practice activities.

Learners are directed to do My Practice and then take the Unit Progress Test again.

This shows the score o the latest test attempt.

Click here to review the test attempt and see which answers are incorrect.

As teacher you can set when the test is available.

Note: I a learner scores 100% in all ive language areas in the Unit Progress Test, they receive a recommendation to do Extension activities. Every learner receives a recommendation to do Extension activities afer they have completed their second attempt at the Unit Progress Test.

My Practice is intended or sel-study and consists o a sequence o three parts: Language Check, Practice 1 and Practice 2.


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Language Check imitates the way a teacher might present language in class, incorporating context setting, language presentation and concept checking stages.

The language point rom the lesson is highlighted.

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The teacher avatar presents the language in context.

The My Practice sequence.


Practice 1 ollows Language Check and consists o a sequence o interactive activities to practise the language point. Practice 1 activities are careully selected to offer learners additional support beore they progress to Practice 2.

An example o a Practice 1 activity:


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Practice 2 ollows Practice 1. It offers an increased level o difficulty with activities ofen requiring a more productive response.

An example o a Practice 2 activity:

I a learner perorms poorly on a particular language point in the Unit Progress Test, then the My Practice link takes the learner to the Language Check at the start o the chain. The learner then proceeds through Practice 1 and Practice 2. I a learner gets a moderate score, the My Practice link begins at Practice 1 and a good score takes the learner to Practice 2. Learners starting at Practice 1 or Practice 2, i they wish to do so, can move backwards in the chain to Practice 1 or Language Check. This means that busy learners can ocus on what they really need. Afer having the opportunity to work o n their weaker areas in their personalised My Practice, learners are then ready to retake the Unit Progress Test, correct the answers they got wrong on their irst attempt and improve their score. Note: The Language Check is also available rom the Resources tab. This means that learners can access this material at any time, including as a way o catching up i they miss a class.

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Online Workbook The Online Workbook provides homework afer every lesson. It includes practice activities or all the grammar, vocabulary and unctional language plu s extended coverage o the pronunciation rom the Student’s Book. It also includes: •

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Reading and Writing skills ocussed activities, including a ree writing activity which saves to the learner’s Portfolio (see pp24–25). This activity can also be completed within the Portfolio itsel. A Review section ocussing on common errors and the Wordpower section Extra ‘vox pop’ video (only available in the Online Workbook)

Extension The Extension activities consist o two sequences o either three or our activities. Each sequence o activities practises either Reading or Listening skills based around a text (or multiple short texts) which then serves as a model or a inal ree Writing or Speaking activity. Writing activities can be saved to the learner’s Portfolio by uploading a ile. Speaking activities ofen suggest working with a partner and practising a short conversation.

Resources In Resources you will ind a range o additional materials to help with your teaching o Cambridge English Empower .

Note: Your learners, logged in as Students, do not have access to the Teacher’s Book, Printable Tests or Teacher’s Extra Resources.

Student view o Resources:


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Teacher’s Book Click on the relevant section o the Teacher’s Book to view or download as a PDF.

Printable Tests Download the PDFs o the Competency Speaking Test instructions and view the training videos.

Note: You can also ind PDFs o all the Competency Tests and Unit Progress Tests here. We recommend, however, that all tests except the Competency Speaking Test are completed online, accessed rom the Content tab. Only by doing the Unit Progress Tests online will your learners be able to do the My Practice personalised practice activities.

Teacher’s Extra Resources

There are Forum and Message Board activities or each unit, and suggestions or Blog activities that can be used with any unit. Download the relevant PDF or detailed instructions on how to set up and manage the activity. We recommend that the Forum activities are used afer the Student’s Book Lesson A or B (see the relevant activity), the Message board activities afer Lesson C and the Blog activities at the end o each unit.

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Class Audio and Class Video All the Class Audio and Class Video is available, either to play directly online, or to download. Note: Depending on the speed and reliability o your internet connection, you may preer to download the audio and video in advance o your class.

Language Check There are ive Language Check presentations or each unit, covering the grammar and vocabulary rom Lessons A and B, and Everyday English unctional language rom Lesson C. You could choose to use these in class, or direct your learners to use them or sel-study, particularly or learners who would beneit rom an extra review o a particular language point (or learners who have missed a class).

Note: Language Check presentations also orm part o the personalised online practice (see My Practice (p9) or more inormation).

Class Tools The Forum, Message board and Blog tools are available rom the Class Tools drop down menu:

There are unit by unit activities available or each o these tools either to use in class or to set students to do at home. These activities are available as printable PDFs in Resources (see p14).


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Learner Profile The Learner Proile is available to learners logged in as Students and consists o: a visual representation o Unit Progress Test scores enabling learners to see easily their progress unit by unit a CEFR Report that uses the Mid-course and End-o-course Competency Test scores to reliably measure learners against the target CEFR level

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Unit Progress Test scores As learners work through the Cambridge English Empower course, they build up a record o their perormance in the Unit Progress Tests. The Learner Proile shows both irst and second attempt scores o the tests so they can easily see how they have improved:

Learners click here to access and print their CEFR Report.

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CEFR Report The CEFR Report shows the scores or those sections o the Competency Test that have been completed. Learners need to complete all parts o the test, and the teacher must enter a score manually or the Competency Speaking Test, in order to receive an overall mark. The CEFR Report afer the End-o-course Competency Test replaces that o the Mid-course Competency Test.

Leaners receive a recommendation on which internationally recognised standard Cambridge General English test they may wish to work towards afer the End-o-course Competency Test. Learners can access and print out their CEFR Report rom the tab in the Learner Proile at any time. Note: The Learner Proile and CEFR Report are only available to your learners. As a teacher you can use the Gradebook to access all the scores or Assessment, Online Workbook and Extension material, or the whole class and or individual learners.


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Gradebook Teacher view of Gradebook The Gradebook allows you as Teacher to see a complete breakdown o scores by class or by individual learner and to access any test a learner has taken in order to review their answers. Click here to manually input scores.

This is the learner’s percentage score or the activities accessed.

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Progress shows the percentage o activities accessed.

This shows the total time the learner has spent on activities that are graded in the Cambridge LMS.

Graded Score shows the score that a teacher manually enters.


Automatically scored tests and activities All o the tests (except or the Competency Speaking Tests) and all o the Online Workbook activities (except or the Writing activity) are automatically marked, and scores are recorded in the Gradebook.

Tracked activities The Extension activities and the Online Workbook writing activities are tracked in the Gradebook. This means that when the learner accesses the Extension activities or the Online Workbook writing activity this is indicated by a percentage mark under Progress, but as these include ree practice activities, no score is given. Click on View by content to access scores and tracked activities:

This shows the percentage o activities attempted.

This shows the number o attempts at an activity.

The Writing activity is not scored because it includes ree practice.


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Extension activities are tracked and show Progress, but are not scored:

Manually added scores The Gradebook includes unctionality or teachers to manually: •

• •

add a comment to automatically scored tests (Unit Progress Tests, Unit Speaking Tests and Competency Tests) add a comment and override a score or Extension and Online Workbook activties amend an overall course score to accommodate any extra work your learners may have done either online within the LMS (or example, contributions to Blog, Forum or Message Board activities) or offline (or example, a class speaking activity).

The Competency Speaking Test scores must be manually inputted into the Gradebook so that your learners can receive a complete CEFR Report. To manually input scores into the Gradebook, click on View by content:

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Then open the olders to the relevant Competency Speaking Test, click on the settings icon select Score & Comment.

and

Follow the same process i you wish to override automatic scoring and manually input scores or Online Workbook and Extension activities. It is not possible to override the automatic scores or the Reading, Listening and Writing sections o the Competency Tests, but it is possible to add a comment:

Note: Complete instructions on how to score your learners in the Mid-course and End-o-course Competency Speaking Tests are located in the Printable Tests tab o the Resources area.


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View an individual learner’s answers To review answers or a test, Online Workbook activity or Extension activity or a particular learner, select View by content, then choose the test or activity you want to see and click on See answers via the settings button:

Then click on the

answers button next to the Student Name.

For more detailed inormation about using and customising the Gradebook, please view the step-bystep help videos (see the links in Further information).

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Student view of Gradebook Your learners can get a breakdown o their scores and amount o time they have spent on tests and activities they have accessed rom the Content area.

This shows how much o the total content the learner has accessed.

This is the learner’s percentage score in activities they have accessed.

Progress shows the percentage o activities accessed.


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Dashboard The Dashboard becomes available afer you open a test or activity rom the Content area. It gives shortcuts to the Calendar and Announcement tools, the Resources area and the Portolio.

Click here to Hide or Show the Dashboard.

Teacher view of Portfolio Your learners can keep a record o their work in their Portolio by uploading a range o ile types, including audio and video iles, or by writing directly into the Writing template. We recommend that or the Online Workbook Writing activity learners write directly into the writing template in the Task section o the Portolio. As Teacher, you can access any work that your learners upload to the Portolio.

Click here to see the work your learners have added to the Portolio.

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Click here to see the Online Workbook Writing activities your learners have added to the Task section o the Portolio.


Student view of Portfolio Leaners access the Portolio in the same way as teachers, via the Dashboard. On the Tasks tab learners can access the Online Workbook Writing activity and write directly into the writing template.

Learners can also add other work to their Portolio by clicking on ‘Create a new task’ and either writing directly into the Writing template, or by uploading a range o iles (text, audio or video).

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FURTHER INFORMATION

For general inormation about the Cambridge LMS pl ease visit the Frequently Asked Questions: www.cambridgelms.org/main/p/requentlyaskedquestions For step-by-step videos on how to use the Cambridge LMS eatures please go to: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-oYKB0D9-E3AhcZOLloAsIWc4ycsyUu5 To register as a Teacher on the Cambridge LMS please visit: www.cambridgelms.org/main/ For more inormation about Cambridge English Empower course please go to: cambridge.org/empower For more inormation about Learning Oriented Assessment rom Cambridge English please visit: http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/research-and-validation/itness-or-purpose/loa/


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WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT IN CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH EMPOWER?

The assessment material is validated and reliable. It h as been written by expert test item writers at Cambridge English Language Assessment and is based entirely on the Student’s Book content. Over 23,000 trial tests were taken as part o the thorough test development and validation process, involving learners across over 40 different countries. You can be sure that the test material provides a reliable indication o learner progress and perormance. The tests are also linked to the CEFR (Common European Framework o Reerence or Languages) levels and provide useul preparation or the internationally recognised Cambridge English exams. The course includes both formative and summative assessment.

Unit Progress Tests (formative) At the end o Lesson C in the Student’s Book, learners are directed to do the Unit Progress Test.

The Unit Progress Tests ocus on the grammar, vocabulary and Everyday English unctional language and the learners receive a score or each o the ive key language points in the unit. Afer taking the test learners receive recommendations or personalised practice (My Practice) based on their test perormance. Afer completing the personalised practice pathway, learners are directed to the test or a second time and have the opportunity to re-do the questions they got wrong in their irst attempt.

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Unit Speaking Tests (formative) These tests are available or each unit (we recommend that they are taken at the end o the unit). They test the pronunciation that has been ocused on in the unit and also test the learner’s luency in talking about the topic o the unit. Developed with Carnegie Speech – sofware specialist or assessing spoken language skills – the tests use voice-recognition sofware that assesses to what extent the learner’s pronunciation matches the required pronunciation. The sofware also assesses the learner’s luency: • The learner gets a mark that is broken down into one mark or each task. • There are three tasks in each test, using a range o the ollowing task types: • Phonemes • Number o syllables • Word stress • Read aloud • Fluency • Within the time limit o the test, the learner is able to listen to themselves again and re-record their answer as many times as they like. In this way, the tests provide both sel-assessment and practice.

Competency Tests (summative) Skills-based tests covering Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking are taken in the middle and at the end o each level. The Reading, Writing and Listening tests are automated and learners receive a score immediately afer they have completed the test. The Competency Speaking Test is a ace-to-ace test that is administered by the teacher. The Speaking tests and instructions on how to use them, as well as Speaking test training materials, are available on the Resources area o the Cambridge LMS (see p14). The teacher marks the Speaking tests and can then input their scores directly into the Gradebook (see pp20–21). This score contributes, along with the other test scores, to the learner’s overall score which is given in their CEFR report. The Competency Writing Test is marked by a Writing tool that we have developed in conjunction with a Cambridge University department. The Writing tool h as been programmed using a large bank o similar scripts and test scripts. We are thereore able to compare aspects o written perormance against all other tests in the system, allowing us to give learners a CEFR level or their writing perormance.


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CLMS_Teacher_Guide.pdf

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