The Reading Paper

I was once asked how students were able to complete the FCE reading paper in such a short time. Well, obviously the question was from a non-TEFL teacher as the answer is simple: good exam training. Students learn which tasks test which skills and are able to employ suitable strategies. My choice of 'suitable' over 'correct' is a conscious one, as we will see later that there can be more than one correct strategy for successful task achievement. Before looking at suitable strategies for answering exam questions, let me clarify what is meant by the terms 'task', 'skill' and 'strategy'.

Tasks can basically be differentiated by the question types. This is best exemplified by looking at a typical FCE reading paper which consists of: multiple matching (parts 1 & 4), multiple choice (part 2) and gapped text (part 3). However, within the same task type, for example the multiple matching, there are different skills required. The skill required in answering the multiple matching in part 1 is scan reading where students read for the gist, unlike the same task in part 4 which has a greater emphasis on scan reading to answer specific questions about the text. Although some might argue the question types for part 1 and 4 differ, they are both very different from the multiple choice task in part 2, which incorporates three distractors and thus require more intensive reading skills.

To illustrate my understanding of strategies, I will use the way in which students tackle the multiple matching task in part 4. Some students choose to read the texts first, whereas others choose to look at the questions first, then read the text. The Gold First Certificate Maximiser refers to them both (pages 8 and 88 respectively) and it is these different approaches that I would term strategies.

By the time students reach FCE level most will have had exposure to the different tasks and have had opportunities to practise the different skills. However, not many of them have an extensive repertoire of strategies. Furthermore, very few know when to employ the most suitable strategy. With 5 minutes left of an exam and just one task left to do, would you employ the same strategy as you would if you had 20 minutes? Arguably, some students would say yes, but the chances are they are the ones who have not been taught a range of strategies.

For both new and experienced teachers of FCE it is up to us to add these strategies to our students' existing repertoire and develop them through the course. The orange strategy boxes in the Gold First Certificate Maximiser may be new to you, or if you are an experienced user of the Gold series, they may have been something you took for granted your students would read. However, students will only get the most from them if they are given due attention. Moreover, by getting students to reflect on the strategy they used after each task, you will help heighten their awareness of the effectiveness of the strategy.

Practical ideas for strategy development will be coming soon on the Gold First Certificate website.

Visit the Exams site for more useful tips and material.