Conversation
Students should:
- be prepared to communicate on a variety of topics relating to their personal world
- elaborate and provide relevant details to address the questions in a way that engages with the examiner
- express ideas and opinions that justify their point of view by providing depth and insight in their responses rather than only giving short pre-prepared responses
- elaborate using a variety of vocabulary, phrases and expressions suitable to the question asked
- use a range of tenses and be prepared to reflect on the past, present and future
- manipulate the language to fulfil the requirements of the question
- avoid the repetition of the same vocabulary, phrases, expressions and grammatical structures
- be prepared to be interrupted by the examiner
- use Turkish to ask for repetition and/or clarification of the question.
In better responses, students were able to:
- respond spontaneously to questions asked
- use correct sentence structure
- use suffixes appropriately
- respond in full sentences and use compound and complex sentences
- use appropriate vocabulary relating to topic of conversation
- conjugate verbs in the correct tense depending on question asked
- use modal verbs and phrasal verbs correctly
- demonstrate knowledge of linguistic features and structures and correct application
- make use of appropriate and meaningful idiomatic expressions.
Areas for students to improve include:
- avoiding using inappropriate vocabulary or expressions not related to topic of conversation
- learning vocabulary related to prescribed topics of the syllabus
- revising correct application of suffixes
- revising correct sentence structure with compound and more complex sentences
- conjugating verbs correctly, especially applying correct conjugation to verbs of motion
- translating vocabulary and expressions literally from English to Turkish
- avoiding using English words, phrases and expressions
- revising use formal and informal registers
- avoiding using ‘like’ frequently throughout the examination
- responding to questions such as ‘Why?’ by expressing an opinion or justification
- avoiding single word responses and long pauses.
Discussion
In preparation for the Discussion
Students should:
- choose a topic that has good quality reference texts and sources available
- prepare for the discussion by referring to at least three texts in their research
- ensure that one of the texts used in their research is a literary source.
During the Discussion examination
Students should:
- support their discussion with evidence from the texts that they have sourced
- express and justify opinions and points of view on the in-depth study topic
- reflect on their research findings to help them express opinions or develop new perceptions about their in-depth topic
- manipulate language to respond in a coherent and logical way to the questions asked
- use a variety of relevant vocabulary, grammar, sentence structures and expressions
- avoid responding with pre-prepared responses that do not address the question asked
- avoid relying on general knowledge about the topic of in-depth study.
In better responses, students were able to:
- use complex sentences and suitable idioms and proverbs to strengthen their opinions
- analyse and evaluate information about their topic
- use specific vocabulary pertaining to their topic of in-depth study
- use phrases, expressions and idiomatic expressions to support their ideas and opinions
- demonstrate knowledge of the issues aligned with their topic of in-depth study
- present and explain the relevance of their in-depth topic
- compare the differences in the information from their texts
- question the reliability of the sources
- justify how their research impacted on their views and helped them gain a better understanding of the in-depth topic
- come to insightful conclusions regarding issues raised in their research
- reflect critically
- manipulate the language to present their point of view and arguments
- use published sources or texts.
Areas for students to improve include:
- avoiding depending on unreliable websites for their research on the topic of in-depth study
- avoiding recounting information learned from their sources without expressing an opinion
- relying on their general knowledge to respond to questions
- manipulating their responses to meet the requirements of questions asked
- avoiding mentioning sources at the beginning of the discussion and then not referring to them to support their ideas or opinions
- avoiding listing facts without expressing a point of view
- discussing the issues raised in their research
- avoiding quoting incorrectly from texts.
- avoiding working on in-depth study as a class project
- using published sources rather than just relying on stories told by family members and friends
- avoiding having too many sources.
