NZQA: Assessment Support
Material for ESOL unit
standards (levels 3 & 4)
Resource development brief
• One task per standard
• Resources to be designed for use by both
secondary and tertiary providers.
• Where possible, tasks to be trialled and
feedback included from assessors and
students
• Annotated student exemplars to be provided
where appropriate.
Guiding principles
1. The assessment materials are accessible to
students
• Information for students is in student-friendly language.
• A checklist is provided to encourage students to monitor
progress and reflect on whether they have met the
performance criteria.
• Annotated exemplars are included on a parallel topic so
that students can see exactly how the pcs are met.
Guiding principles
2. Assessor guidelines are comprehensive
• All special notes are covered.
• Possible learning contexts are described.
• Links are made to ELIP texts so that teachers can access
information on relevant language features.
• Assessment schedules are detailed and give clear guidelines
on expected evidence and quality/quantity of that evidence.
Guiding principles
3. A wide range of topics/contexts are used
• Topics link to curriculum areas (secondary) & tertiary
contexts.
• Topics have relevance to what students are learning.
• Wherever possible topics draw on the life experiences of
English language learners.
Topics include: migration, settlement, learning languages,
careers, listening to exam instructions, a job interview, gaining a
driving licence, preparing for a marae visit, environmental issues
Guiding principles
4. An integrated approach is used
• Links are made between receptive and productive
skills
• Wherever possible similar topics/contexts have been
used to link reading & writing standards and listening
& speaking standards to ensure the recycling of
vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Trialling standards
• Most level 3 standards and many level 4
standards have been trialled and feedback
from assessors & students has been
incorporated
• Few EAP standards have been trialled.
We need the following standards to be trialled:
Level 3: 17140; 17362
Level 4: 17369; 17146 & all EAP standards
Student exemplars
• 3 annotated exemplars: achieved, achieved
with merit & achieved with excellence
Judgment
Not achieved.
Comment
This learner has produced a text that is largely at the standard. The text
addresses the topic and he has met all but one pc. Errors are minor, do not
indicate lack of control of text and paragraph structure, vocabulary and
language features required by the standard and do not interfere with meaning.
However he has not met pc 1.7 as the bibliography does not list resources in
alphabetical order using correct layout and punctuation. The learner could be
offered a resubmission as he is very close to the required standard.
EAP standards
• A considerable jump in level from level 3
standards – not for all students
The leap between L3 and 4 is massive. I would only use the
standard if it becomes part of UE literacy.
Feedback from a trial school
• The importance of an academic pathway
• Needs to be seen as a two year course with a
lot of formative work before summative
assessment
The experience of one trial school
2010 course (Yr 12/13)
2011 course (Yr 12/13)
2.2: Formal writing
2.5: Visual text
2.7: Speech
2.8: Research
12905: Wide reading
2.2
2.5
22891: Deliver an oral presentation…
22750: Write a crafted text…
12905
Rationale for change
I was concerned that the achievement standards
seemed so detached from where these learners
were heading with their tertiary studies.
These standards go somewhere in reducing the
‘learning burden’ (Nation, 2001) that confronts
second language learners when they arrive at
university.
Angela Bland, HOD ESOL Riccarton HS
Introducing students to an EAP
pathway
Plant the seed early on – students choose a research focus
according to their intended course of study. The following areas
emerged:
Psychology
Hotel Management
Computer Science
Economics / Small Business
Journalism/Media
Health and Medicine
Astronomy
Engineering
Aviation
Research Questions
1. How does a general hotel manager affect a hotel's success or failure?
2. What are the factors which affect the orchid export business in Thailand?
3. What are the similarities and differences between Germany's and New
Zealand's National Park Management systems?
4. What are the solutions to reduce the building damage from an earthquake?
5. What is the role of mass media?
6. What is demand, and what is its impact on society?
7. How does the development of modern technology affect a commercial jet's
safety?
8. What are the causes and effects of good body image?
9. How and why did the American's join World War 2?
http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/carla.hendrix/LIB102/QuestionType.htm
Courses for 2012
As a result of trialing these EAP standards, we have changed our
course title to ‘English for Academic Purposes’. However, we are
at cross-roads. Ideally, I feel strongly that we should choose all
five EAP standards, but we are in a position where we have to
still offer two English Achievement writing standards. These five
standards are far more in tune with the future studies and
genuine needs of our ESOL learners. There is also the issue of
endorsement for NCEA. Students may shy away because they
cannot get endorsement.
Angela Bland
A closer look at two EAP standards
• In draft form only
• Changes will be made after trialling and
editing
• Formative units needed to scaffold learning
Those interested in trialling standards email:
jenniferbedford@xtra.co.nz