Methodical instructions “Preparation of fifth-graders for the school stage of the All-Russian Olympiad in English. Preparing for the All-Russian Olympiad How to prepare for the English Language Olympiad
How to prepare a student for the English Language Olympiad?
Every society needs gifted people, and the task of society is to consider and develop the abilities of all its representatives. Unfortunately, not every person is able to develop their abilities. The thirst for discovery, the desire to penetrate into the most intimate secrets of existence are born at school.
Each of the teachers has encountered students who are not satisfied with working with a school textbook, they are not interested in the work in the lesson, they read dictionaries and encyclopedias, study specialized literature, and look for answers to their questions in various fields of knowledge. That’s why it’s so important at school to identify everyone who is interested in
various fields of science and technology, to help bring their plans and dreams to life, to lead schoolchildren on the path of search in science and life, to help them fully reveal their abilities. The modern school is designed to give the student not only and not so much ready-made knowledge and experience in carrying out activities according to a model, but, above all, experience in creative activities, experience in emotional-value relationships of a personal nature. Among the numerous work methods aimed at the intellectual development of schoolchildren, subject Olympiads occupy a special place.
The Olympiads search for young talents and identify the most prepared, gifted students who have shown a special interest in the subject being studied. This means that participation in the English Language Olympiad stimulates in-depth study of the subject and serves to develop interest in the English language.
Olympiad tasks in a foreign language help expand the linguistic and regional horizons of students. Participants in the Olympiad are required to show not only a high level of mastery of program material, but also a creative approach to completing the proposed tasks, erudition, intelligence, and in some cases, linguistic insight.
When preparing students to participate in the Olympiad in a foreign language, they should remember that the tasks test the practical skills of solving communicative problems in all types of speech activity and the key competencies of the Olympiad participants. It is important to note that the tasks themselves are creatively oriented, have a problem-searching nature, and are formulated in the form of a specific communicative task.
As a rule, the content of tasks includes texts and tasks in the following sections: listening, reading, vocabulary and grammar, writing.
Analysis of the performance of Olympiad tasks from previous years allows us to formulate some general ones that are relevant for all age groups of students. recommendations:
In listening and reading, it is necessary to develop the ability not to pay attention to words on which understanding of the main content does not depend. It should be remembered that in an audio text the main idea is usually expressed in words synonymous with those used in the test question.
It is important to be able to rationally use both the playing time of audio recordings and the pauses between listening to audio texts to answer.
You must be able to highlight the requested information and ignore unimportant information.
It is important to remember that when filling in a blank, you need to enter only the missing lexical unit, without repeating words already given in the sentence.
It is important to pay more attention to the issues of compatibility of lexical units.
You should learn to analyze the differences in the meaning and use of synonyms.
It is necessary to pay attention to how grammatical construction influences the choice of lexical unit, learn to see the connection between vocabulary and grammar.
You should regularly practice writing assignments of varying lengths.
It is important to be able to analyze and edit your own written work.
It is necessary to be able to select the material necessary for the complete and accurate completion of the task in accordance with the assigned communicative tasks, and after writing the work, check it both from the point of view of content and from the point of view of form.
Holding an Olympiad in a foreign language is usually preceded by a lot of and painstaking preparatory work, both on the part of the teacher and the student. Effective forms of training students are various classes: individual with a teacher-mentor, elective classes and classes in schools for gifted children. The stages of preparation for the Olympiad include several important points. As a rule, this work begins with identifying the most prepared, gifted and interested schoolchildren. The teacher will be helped in this by his observations during English lessons, and the organization of study groups, research work, and other extracurricular activities in the subject. It is important to assess the ability of schoolchildren and analyze their performance in other philological subjects, the study of which begins earlier than the English language.
What does a schoolchild need to successfully participate in this intellectual competition? Taking into account the peculiarities of the English language, we can highlight the components of such success:
Developed linguistic and regional outlook, knowledge of linguistic and regional studies material;
Ability to perform grammatical and lexical exercises of varying degrees of difficulty, possession of the necessary language reserve for this;
Practical skills and abilities, knowledge of basic techniques of listening, reading, speaking.
These key points determine the main directions of the student’s preparation.
In the formation of linguistic and cultural horizons, a large role belongs to a variety of literature. This can be fiction, popular science literature, books about interesting discoveries, about famous people in Russian, then in English, and then about linguistic phenomena. Along with books, a lot of interesting things can be found in periodicals and on the Internet.
Another way to prepare effectively is targeted repetition of the topic. Various goals can be set, as a rule, this is a generalization, systematization of the material. This could be the creation of reference diagrams, tables, research on the topic. In search of the necessary information, a variety of sources are processed, the necessary skills are acquired, and the products created are then used as reference materials.
Also important for a student’s success at the Olympiad will be a certain culture of presentation of their work.
Of course, his participation in research work on the subject will also contribute to the preparation of schoolchildren in this direction.
All tasks of the Olympiad are creatively oriented. The format of the tasks is not a simple repetition of the Unified State Exam format.
Competition assignments in English usually include two sections: oral and written. The written part consists of:
Reading Competition
Lexico-grammatical test (Use of English)
Writing Competition
The oral part is represented by tasks of a monologue and dialogic nature. (The time for completing written tasks is 2 hours 30 minutes; the time allotted for oral speech is 10-12 minutes)
To effectively prepare for the Olympics, it is important
Familiarization with the Olympiad format(Four main types of speech activity. Oral text comprehension competition. Written text comprehension competition. Oral speech competition. Written speech competition. Lexico-grammatical test. Types of tasks. Duration of tasks.)
Strategies for preparing for the Listening section
Working with test tasks to extract the requested information
(Performing test tasks with subsequent analysis of task performance and analysis of typical errors.)
Working with test tasks for a complete understanding of what you listened to
(Performing test tasks with subsequent analysis of task performance and analysis of typical errors.)
Strategies for preparing for the Reading section
How to use the instructions? How to work with the task? How to work with text?
Working with test tasks for understanding the main content
(Performing test tasks with subsequent analysis of task performance and analysis of typical errors.)
Working with test tasks for understanding structural and semantic connections
(Performing test tasks with subsequent analysis of task performance and analysis of typical errors.)
Working with test items for complete reading comprehension
(Performing test tasks with subsequent analysis of task performance and analysis of typical errors.)
Strategies for preparing for the Use of English section
Section structure, task analysis.
Personal and impersonal forms of the verb, types of tense forms of the verb
(Repetition of verb forms, use of tenses, use of different verb forms, filling in the gaps with verbs according to the context)
Passive voice
Repetition of verb forms in the passive voice, performing exercises on the use of the passive voice)
Degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs (Repetition of the rules for forming degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs, performing practical exercises)
Plural of nouns
(Repetition of the rules for forming the plural of English nouns, exceptions to the rules, performing practical exercises)
Ordinal numbers (Repetition of the rules for the formation and use of ordinal numbers, performing practical exercises)
Working with test tasks on word formation
(Identifying parts of speech and forming new words, adding suffixes, adding prefixes, performing practical exercises)
Set phrases, phrasal verbs, idiomatic expressions
(Performing exercises on the use of stable phrases, phrasal verbs and idioms)
Methods of control in a sentence (prepositions), methods of composition and subordination (conjunctions)
Working with test tasks on lexical compatibility of units
(Thinking over a possible answer, choosing the correct answer, identifying incorrect answers, completing tasks in the Olympiad format)
Strategies for preparing for the Writing section, personal writing
Sample letters and recommended language repertoire, characteristic features of a personal letter, phrases and expressions recommended when writing various letters of a personal nature
Sample essay and recommended language repertoire, characteristics of an essay, planning an essay, expressing your own opinion
Strategies for preparing for the “Speaking” section, speech cliches
Practical instructions and exercises to overcome typical difficulties, strategies aimed at developing compensatory skills in oral communication
Dialogue to exchange information
(Various types of pragmatic dialogues, strategies for requesting and transmitting information)
Topic of monologue statement
(Presentation of the topic with discussion)
In conclusion, I would like to note that the multi-stage system of holding the All-Russian Olympiad in Foreign Languages makes it possible to involve a huge number of students in the Olympiad movement, thereby increasing their interest in learning foreign languages, assisting high school students in choosing a profession, and identifying the most capable and gifted children.
Goals:
Develop communicative knowledge for written and oral communication in English;
Study, repeat and summarize the material in those sections of grammar and vocabulary that are included in the main parts of the Olympiad;
Familiarize yourself with the format of the Olympiad;
Develop flexibility and the ability to navigate the types of Olympiad tasks;
To develop certain skills and abilities necessary for the successful completion of Olympiad tasks, namely: in the field of speaking - teach to speak on a proposed topic, express one’s opinion in a reasoned manner, discuss problems and propose solutions, maintain a conversation on general topics, pose questions correctly; in the field of writing - learn to write coherent texts of complex structure on various topics, express and justify your opinion on a wide range of general cultural and socially significant issues; in the field of listening – to develop the ability to listen to a text with an understanding of the general idea and with the extraction of information, with a detailed understanding; in the field of reading - to develop the ability to read texts with an understanding of the general idea and with the extraction of information, with a detailed understanding;
To develop compensatory competence, develop the ability to use linguistic and contextual guesswork;
Learn to analyze and objectively evaluate the results of your own educational activities;
Master the skills of completing Olympiad tasks
The main result is the readiness of students to participate in the Olympiad. By the end of this course, students generalize and consolidate lexical and grammatical material and practice certain skills in all sections of the Olympiad.
Currently, a network of correspondence subject Olympiads has been created in all academic subjects. The purpose of Olympiads of this type is somewhat different - it is to familiarize students with the tasks of subject levels and provide an opportunity to compare their successes in studying fields of science with the successes of their peers.
The participation of gymnasium students in correspondence competitions at the regional, All-Russian and International levels has a number of attractive aspects for both the student, parents and teachers:
gives students and their teachers the opportunity to defend the honor of their educational institution;
creates a situation of success, raises students’ interest in studying the subject;
attracts students from the elementary grades to participate in the Olympiads, with the results of all participants according to several criteria: by class, by region,
find out your result on the OU website;
each participant has the opportunity to receive a prize-winner or participant diploma.
1. Study the most common formats of Olympiad assignments, options for previous years’ work. Of course, you won’t be able to find out exactly what task you will get on the tour until the Olympics (and rightly so). However, certain types of tasks occur from year to year, from the municipal stage to the final one. Many of them are similar to the tasks of international language exams: FCE, CAE, TOEFL, IELTS. If you understand them, you will be able to save time at the Olympiad itself and solve tasks calmly and quickly.
2. Don't skimp on details. If the assignment requires you to underline a few words in your written work, be sure to do so. In open-ended questions, always look at how many words the answer should contain, usually all this is spelled out.
3. You will often encounter vocabulary that you see for the first time, even if you know the language well. This is normal and there is no need to be afraid of it. If you don’t understand one word, think: can you still understand the meaning of the sentence or text as a whole? It often turns out that the part of the expressions that you do not know is not so important for completing the task.
4. Don't forget about capitalization rules. If your answer contains proper nouns, they must be capitalized on your answer sheet. In the titles of your written work, only function words are written in lowercase letters. But (!) if you are afraid to forget all this out of excitement, there is a real life hack. Write your answers in the Use of English section and the headings of your written work IN CAPITAL LETTERS. Then you will definitely avoid mistakes in capitalization.
Olympics All-Russian Olympiad in English The school phase starts in September
The country's largest English language competition for grades 5-11. Winners and runners-up receive benefits upon admission
English language
5. Regional studies assignments usually seem the most frightening and unpredictable. Learning everything is a task far from reality, so you just have to constantly expand your knowledge. Read as many texts on the culture of English-speaking countries as possible, listen to podcasts, watch historical films. Know at least basic facts about the UK, USA, Australia and Canada (flags, capitals, symbols, important historical events, most prominent people).
6. Difficulties also arise with tasks on knowledge of idioms. It is convenient to memorize idioms in thematic blocks: animal idioms, time idioms, color idioms... there are a lot of them. Try to write down idioms and their meanings, look for associations with them - this makes them easier to remember. The online version of the Cambridge Dictionary, by the way, has a blog that sometimes contains entries about idioms and useful expressions in general, which is worth checking out.
7. The more you practice in the Writing section, the better. Train yourself to write at least small texts in English every day.
8. When preparing for the Olympiad, practice completing timed tasks, especially Writing tasks. At the Olympiad there is no opportunity to think about the text for a long time; you need to start writing on the topic quite quickly. Give yourself 5 minutes to plan at the beginning of the activity and leave another 5-10 minutes at the end of the round to count words and check your writing.
9. If you did not hear or missed one or two answers in a listening task, do not leave the corresponding lines blank on the answer form. Sometimes the answer to such questions can be deduced logically from the information that you were able to hear.
10. When working with the Reading section, read the questions themselves first, not the texts. This way you will start reading the text with an understanding of what you need to pay attention to and what information to look for.
J. Thomas Advanced Vocabulary and Idioms. This manual is a must-read. It allows you to expand your vocabulary and learn new idiomatic expressions. It also makes it possible to structure already familiar synonyms into a single system, which is incredibly helpful when writing the Writing part of any Olympiad.
J. Thomson, A. V. Martinet A Practical English Grammar. If you have already mastered Raymond Murphy&primes “English Grammar in Use” and would like to increase your level of knowledge and improve your skills, then this series is for you. It consists of a main textbook with theory and 2 collections with practical tasks. Very refreshing, especially when you think you've already mastered the grammar perfectly.Pauline Cullen, Amanda French The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS. The book allows you to develop and hone your skills in solving IELTS tasks, which are often found in Olympiads. In this book, pay special attention to listening and reading.
Nick Kenny, Jacky Newbrook CAE Practice Tests Plus. The collection of problems is especially attractive not only for its multifaceted and interesting tasks, but also because the keys contain evidence of the correctness of judgments given by the authors. I recommend the Listening section of this book to anyone who wants to have fun.
Mark Harrison CPE Practice Tests. Only after opening this book, you will clearly understand that you do not know English. At all. If you solve it at least half correctly, consider that you have almost won the All-Russian Olympiad.
Gulov A.P. English Language Olympiads. Use of English. This series includes all the most “scary” Use formats that exist in the world of Olympiads. It greatly expands consciousness and turns the understanding of language upside down.
Michael Vince Advanced Language Practice. Another lovely grammar book with fun and clever illustrations. Gives theory in small batches, followed immediately by practice.
Golitsynsky Yu. B. Great Britain. “What a delight these fairy tales are!” (c) A.S. Pushkin. I can say exactly the same about this book. In a form accessible to mere mortals, the author tells the story of the history of the British Empire, starting with the Celts and ending with our time. There are also nice footnotes with transcriptions and summary questions, making it easy to brush up on the material.
Internet resources
BBC. Learning english. Some winners and medalists of the Olympiads are native speakers or have lived for a long time in English-speaking countries and have perfect pronunciation. But if you do not belong to these two categories (like me), then do not be upset: it is not the gods who burn the pots. This site will help you and me.
ORORO. “It’s impossible to study 24/7,” you say. I will answer: “Perhaps.” And how Prometheus brought fire to earth and shared it with people, I will share this link with you. You can combine business with pleasure and watch your favorite TV series with subtitles that instantly translate an unfamiliar word when you hover over it.
Tolbukhina O.V.
English teacher
The main goals and objectives of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in English are to identify and develop students' creative abilities and interest in the English language, create the necessary conditions to support gifted children, promote linguistic and sociocultural knowledge related to the history and modern functioning of various varieties of the English language and history and culture of English-speaking countries.
The Foreign Language Olympiad, as you know, is one of the traditional forms of extracurricular activities. On the one hand, it is a form of testing knowledge, since the tasks are aimed at testing students’ proficiency in all types of speech activity in a foreign language, and on the other hand, the Olympiad shows the opportunities and prospects that knowledge of a foreign language opens up for a person. Olympiads at various levels today have become not only an important part of education, but also the key to admission to the most prestigious universities.
How to prepare for the English Language Olympiad? What will a strict jury require? What difficulties might participants encounter? How to learn to win these difficult and important competitions?
Participants in the Olympiad and their teachers must clearly understand what tasks the Olympiad consists of and what criteria the jury will use to evaluate their work. Firstly, the tasks of the Olympiad do not repeat the Unified State Examination in English, but they meet all the requirements of the test tasks. Secondly, to ensure a comprehensive testing of the level of communicative competence of participants, school and municipal stages of the Olympiad are held in four competitions:
listening comprehension competition
written language comprehension competition (Reading)
vocabulary and grammar test (Use of English)
writing competition.
The tasks correspond to the level of difficulty A1 and A2 (for grades 5-6), A2 and B1 (for grades 7-8), B1 and B2 (for grades 9-11).
A1 - (Breakthrough);
A2 - (Waystage);
B1 - (Threshold);
B2 - (Vantage);
C1 - (Effective Operational Proficiency);
C2 - (Mastery.)
For the first time, students take part in school competitions
in 5th grade. Accordingly, preparation should begin in primary school.
Speaking about listening, it should be noted that the initial stage of training requires a large amount of foreign language speech perceived by ear, therefore each lesson should include a listening task. Students gradually develop the ability to perceive by ear individual sounds, words, phrases, micro-situations and micro-dialogues, and then longer texts of a different nature with varying depths of penetration into their content. The volume of listening gradually increases, and the tasks become more complex accordingly. When performing listening tasks, it is recommended:
Create a communication situation and motivate students to listen to the text;
Resolve difficulties that may arise during the listening process (lexical, grammatical, sociocultural, etc.);
Give clear instructions for listening (for example: Listen to the text and say...; While listening, fill in the gaps in the text...; Find answers to the following questions in the text, Listen, look at the picture and say what inaccuracies were in the story.. . and so on.);
Organize listening to the text (once or twice depending on the level of preparation of the audience);
Check your understanding of the text;
If necessary, use the text as a support for students' oral statements.
Thus, work on the text is divided into three stages:
1) Before listening;
2) While listening;
3) After listening.
Here are examples of tasks to monitor understanding after listening:
confirm or refute statements;
select illustrations for the text;
organize the points of the plan;
mark the route plan on the map;
complete a multiple choice test (out of 3-4 statements, one is correct, the rest are distracting);
perform a recovery test (students listen to the text twice. The second time the text is presented with gaps at predetermined intervals, for example, every 7th word. The students’ task is to write down the missing words in order.);
perform an alternative test (yes - no, “+”, “-”);
select a text title from several proposed options;
determine the number of semantic parts;
depict what you hear in the form of a picture.
For effective listening learning, the choice of audio text is important. There are a number of requirements for texts for listening: educational value, interesting plot, information content, significance and reliability of the facts presented, compliance with the age level of the student’s development and specific learning goals at different stages, authenticity of the text. Authentic, semi-authentic and educational texts are used to teach listening in school. Students need to have “the opportunity to listen to both male, female and children’s voices in a foreign language. If they only perceive the speech of their teacher by ear, then there is a danger that they will not be able to understand people of the opposite sex purely psychologically.
You can develop skills in perceiving texts in English by ear, as well as develop the ability to highlight significant information, using adapted texts from famous fables and fairy tales. (See Appendix 1)
When preparing to complete reading olympiad tasks, the teacher needs to train children in reading authentic texts.
Since the purpose of teaching reading is to develop the skills of viewing, introductory and studying reading, i.e. skills to extract information in the required volume to solve a specific speech task, then reading at the Olympiad is tested from these positions.
To read effectively in a foreign language, you need to develop the following skills:
ignore the unknown if it does not interfere with the task at hand;
work with a dictionary;
use footnotes and comments provided in the text;
interpret and transform text, etc.
When monitoring reading, various forms of tasks can be used:
multiple substitution task;
multiple choice task;
text recovery;
search for specific information.
These skills are developed gradually. (See Appendix 2)
When preparing to complete the tasks of the lexical-grammatical test, the teacher needs to pay attention to the fact that students must have knowledge in the field of word formation, forming verbs, nouns, adjectives, pronouns and numerals, since a number of tasks test the skills of forming word forms and using vocabulary. A primary school graduate must have the following grammatical knowledge:
Be able to use the basic communicative types of sentences: narrative, interrogative, incentive. General and special questions. Question words: what, when, where, why, how. Order of words in a sentence. Affirmative and negative sentences. A simple sentence with a simple verbal predicate (He speaks English), a compound nominal predicate (My family is big) and a compound verbal predicate (I like to dance. She can skate well.) Incentive sentences in affirmative and negative forms. Impersonal sentences in the present tense (It is cold. It is five o’clock.). simple common sentences. Sentences with homogeneous members. Compound sentences with conjunctions and, but;
Use the connective verb to be in Present Simple, Past Simple;
Use the verb can and must;
Use verbs in Present Simple, Past Simple, Future Simple, Present Continuous;
Express communicative intentions using the grammatical forms Present Simple, Past Simple (regular and irregular verbs), Future Simple, Present Continuous, phrase to be going to, construction there is/are, construction I’d like to...modal verbs can and must;
Use singular and plural nouns (including cases of man-men, women-women, mouse-mice, fish-fish, deer-deer, sheep-sheep, goose-geese);
Use personal pronouns in the nominative and objective cases, possessive pronouns and some indefinites;
Use numerals (cardinal numbers from 20 to 100);
Use degrees of comparison of adjectives;
Operate with predicates of different types in speech;
Use the auxiliary verbs to be and to do to construct the necessary interrogative and negative constructions;
Use the most common prepositions in speech to denote temporal and spatial correspondences (on, in, under, at, to, from, with, of, in front of, behind);
Operate in speech with adverbs of time (always, often, sometimes, never, usually, yesterday, tomorrow).
Practice tests will help prepare students to successfully pass the vocabulary and grammar test.
When preparing to complete writing assignments, students need to pay attention to the following points:
A participant’s essay is considered a good essay if the participant:
Can write a coherent text of a complex structure, using details and details;
Can express his attitude to events, objects, people, phenomena;
Can reason using complex and original arguments, relying on the formulation of the topic and illustrating his thoughts with examples.
In terms of language, the participant must have:
A fairly large vocabulary;
Quite a large arsenal of grammatical structures.
In written work, originality of solution and attempts to fully solve the given communication problem are encouraged.
One of the stages of preparing the “Letter” competition is learning how to write a personal letter itself.
At the initial stage, students need to be introduced to the rules of writing a letter, which can be presented in a memo:
I ALWAYS write my greeting on a separate line. I ALWAYS put a comma after the greeting.
I ALWAYS start the 2nd paragraph with a capital letter.
I ALWAYS continue the letter on the same line, using the phrases: I’m writing to tell you about... How are you?
I ALWAYS give the necessary information and ask a question IMMEDIATELY.
I ALWAYS write the conclusion on a separate line, using the phrase: I hope to hear from you soon!
I ALWAYS start my signature with a capital letter. I ALWAYS put a comma after my signature and use the phrases: Yours, Best wishes! I don't put a period after my name.
At the next stage of practicing writing a personal letter, students are offered the following tasks:
Write a letter to your pen pal. Tell him about your new friend (about your school life, about your family, about the house you live in, etc.). Complete the sentences below. Place punctuation marks where necessary.
John wants to find a pen pal from Russia. Read John's letter and write about your hobbies. Use John's letter as a model for your letter. Answer John's questions and ask your own questions. Your letter should contain the following information: what is your name; what books do you like to read; do you play football; do you have a computer; what do you like to do in your free time. (See Appendix 3).
Having mastered the structure of the letter and the sequence of presentation of the material, you can move on to tasks without relying on the text or initial phrases.
Preparing for participation in the Olympiads is a long process. Fifth-graders enjoy taking part in subject Olympiads. This is their first start. Surely one of the current fifth-graders will become the winner of not only the school, municipal, but also the regional stage!
APPENDIX 1. LISTENING
Exercise 1
1 Listen to the audio recording of the text "The Fox and the Crow".
2 Repeat after the speaker the following words and expressions,
then read them yourself.
a large piece of cheese - a large piece of cheese
to look up - look up
also - also
beautiful - beautiful
What a pity - What a pity
to sing - to sing
to fall out - fall out
to think - to think
in mind - in the head
3 Match English words and expressions with their Russian equivalents.
4 Listen to the audio recording of the text again.
The Fox and the Crow
Once a crow finds a large piece of cheese. She sits in a tree and wants to eat it, but suddenly she sees a fox. The Fox comes up to the tree. He looks up and sees the Crow. He sees a piece of cheese also. The Fox wants to get the cheese. He has a good plan in his mind. He says: "How beautiful you are, Mrs Crow! You have such big eyes and beautiful nose. Your feathers are nice too. What a pity you cannot sing to show your voice." The Crow opens her mouth and says, "But I can sing. Caw! Caw!" When the Crow opens her mouth, the piece of cheese falls out. The Fox runs up to the cheese and eats it. "Thank you very much," he says. "The cheese is good. And you can sing well. What a pity you don"t think well." And the Fox runs away.
5 Choose the ending of the sentence that expresses the main idea of the text.
The text is about
a) the Crow who has a piece of cheese and wants to eat it.
b) the Fox who sees the Crow with a piece of cheese and wants to get it.
c) the clever Fox and the stupid Crow.
6 Choose the correct answers to the questions.
1) Why does the Crow sit in the tree?
a) Because she has a rest there.
b) Because she wants to eat there.
c) Because she is afraid of the Fox.
2) What does the Crow have in her mouth?
a) a large piece of butter
b) a large piece of cheese
c) a large piece of bread
3) Why does the Crow open her mouth?
a) Because she wants to sing for the Fox.
b) Because she wants to speak with the Fox.
c) Because she starts eating cheese.
7 Finishoffers.
a) Once a crow sits in a .
b) She has a large piece of in her mouth.
c) The Fox wants to the cheese.
d) "What a pity you cannot." says the Fox.
e) When the Crow opens her mouth, the piece of cheese.
f) "What a pity you don't well," says the Fox.
8 Take a test to understand the text you listened to. If the statement is true, then put next to the number
sign “+”, if not, then sign “-”.
a) Once a crow sits in a tree with a piece of bread.
b) The crow wants to have a rest in the tree.
c) The wolf sees the crow in the tree.
d) The Fox asks the Crow to sing.
e) The Crow opens her mouth and the piece of cheese falls down.
f) The Fox catches the piece of cheese and thanks to the Crow.
g) The Crow sings well but she doesn't think well.
3 1) h; 2) e; 3) f; 4) g; 5) b; 6) c; 7) d; 8) a; 9) k; 10) j; 11) i.
6 1) b; 2) b; 3) a.
7 a) tree; b) cheese; c) eat; d) sing; e) falls out; f) think.
8 a) - ; b) - ; c) d) +; e) +; 0 +; g) +
Task 2
Listen to the dialogue. Look at pictures No. 1 and No. 2. Answer the question: where does Mario suggest going on the weekend?
Mario, what about going to the mountains with me?
I'm afraid, I can't Ben.
It’s usually so snowy in the mountains and I don’t like cold weather. May be, it will be better for us to go to the seaside? The sea is very cold in autumn, too. We can't bathe and swim. But in the mountains we can ski, skate on the skating rink and have a lot of fun.
You are right, Ben. But, if there is a snowstorm, we will have to spend all the time indoors.
If we are indoors, we can have a cup of hot chocolate and warm up by the fireplace. My cousin Stuart can go with us. He can teach us how to put a tent in the mountains and how to cook on the open air.
Sounds interesting, Ben. May be, the weather will be good. Then we can play in the snow, build snowman and have snowball fights.
O.K.! Let’s meet tomorrow at 9 o’clock.
O.K! See you tomorrow.
Task 3
You will hear 6 statements. Match speaker statements 1 - 6 with the statements given in List A - G. Use each letter representing a statement only once. There is one extra statement in the assignment. Record your answers in the table. You will hear the recording twice.
A) Music E) Shopping
B) Restaurants F) Architecture
C) Sightseeing G) Museums and Galleries
1____ 2____ 3____ 4_____ 5____ 6_____
Welcome to London, one of the most exciting cities in the world. There are a lot of things to see and to do in London. Here are some ideas.
1 London has many beautiful old buildings and monuments. See Big Ben and the houses of Parliament, which stand on the River Thames near Westminster Abbey. Go down the river to the Tower of London, and visit St. Paul's Cathedral too.
2 People come from all over the world to visit the British Museum. For art lovers, the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square has a beautiful collection of paintings, and so has the Tate Gallery in Westminster.
3 Go to Oxford Street, where there are several large department stores. If you like small shops, there is an attractive shopping center in Covent Garden. And London has over 100 street markets.
4 London is well known for its many theatres: try and get tickets for the National Theatre, a modern building containing three theaters on the south bank of the Thames.
5 If you like classical music, go to a concert at the Royal Albert Hall or the Royal Festival Hall. You can hear excellent jazz at Ronnie Scott's club in Soho.
6 London has many excellent restaurants, serving food from almost every country in the world. Go to Soho or Charlotte Street, try food at Italian, French, Chinese, Indian, Greek... sometimes it "s hard to find an English restaurant.
Keys: 1C, 2G, ZE, 4D, 5 A, 6 V
Task 4
Listen to a story about one of the days of Queen Elizabeth II and complete the tasks
1 - 4 by circling the letter A, B, C or D that corresponds to the answer option that you think is most correct. You will hear the recording twice.
1 The Queen wakes up at
B) half past eight
D) half past seven
2 The Queen reads personal letters
A)after breakfast
C) before breakfast
D) with her personal Secretary
3 At half past five the Queen receives
A) a group of businessmen
C) foreign visitors
D) Prince Philip
4 The Queen phones to some members of the Royal Family
A) to say goodnight
B) to tell some news
C) to discuss some official papers
D) to be sure that everything goes all right.
Another Day in the Life of the Queen
Keys: 1 WITH, 2 A, 3 WITH, 4D
Task 5
Listen to Max talk about how he leads a healthy lifestyle and answer questions 1 - 5. You will hear the recording twice.
1 How many times does Max run around his house?
2 What Max eats to keep fit?
3 Where doesn't Max like to eat?
4 Why doesn't Max like to have guests at home?
5 What is Max's motto?
Hello. My name is Max. Not long ago I decided to lead a healthy life. Let me tell you something about it. I don"t get up very early but I begin my day with exercises. I go out and run about my house twenty times. Then I get hungry and have breakfast. I have a big glass of orange juice and then a cup of tea. At about" one o"clock I have my lunch. At lunch I eat a lot of vegetables: cabbage, carrots, peas, fresh cucumbers, a piece of rye bread and a cup of tea without sugar, of course. Sometimes I don" t have any lunch but it is not healthy at all. It happens when I am busy in the city. I don"t like to have meals in public places. I sometimes have dinner in the evening when I"m hungry or when I have guests at home. I don"t like to receive guests because we usually eat a lot of meat and fish and other heavy things which don"t help you to be fit. My motto is "Eat to live, but not live to eat."
2 a lot of vegetables: cabbage, carrots, peas, fresh cucumbers, a piece of rye bread and a cup of tea without sugar,
3 in public places,
4 they eat a lot of meat and fish and other heavy things,
5 "Eat to live, but not live to eat"
Task 6
You will hear a conversation in the pet store. Match statements 1 - 5 with the content of the text. Mark each statement TRUE if it matches the content of the text, FALSE if it does not match, or NOT STATED if the text does not contain accurate information. You will hear the recording twice.
1 The woman wants to buy some exotic animal.
2 The dog in the pet shop is expensive.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
3 The woman thinks that cats are unfriendly.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
4 Parrots are quiet birds.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated
5 Goldfish is the best present.
True 2) False 3) Not stated
Good afternoon, madam. Can I help you?
Yes. I"m looking for a pet for my son. Can you show me anything?
What kind of pet does he like? A cat, a dog, or something exotic?
Well, he"d like a crocodile, but he"s not going to get one.
Then take a goldfish. It isn't very noisy.
Oh yes! That's a good idea! It suits me perfectly.
Keys:1 False, 2 True, 3 True, 4 False, 5 Not Stated
Task 7
You will hear two friends talking about holidays in the UK. Answer questions 1 - 5. You will hear the recording twice.
1 What are the most popular holidays with children in Britain?
2 When is Halloween celebrated?
3 What do children do with a pumpkin?
4 Where do children put the pumpkin?
5 What is the traditional question?
Do you know any holidays which are popular with children in Britain?
I believe, Christmas with its Christmas tree and presents, perhaps, and Halloween are especially popular.
When is Halloween celebrated?
On the last night in October.
How is it celebrated?
The children cut holes in a pumpkin to imitate a nose, mouth and eyes and put a lighted candle inside.
And what do they do with them then?
Then the children put the pumpkin on the porch of their house. And after that they take a big empty bag and walk around every house and knock at the door.
Then they ask a traditional question: "Trick or treat?"
What does it mean?
It means "Give me a treat - an apple, a sweet, some candies or I"ll play a trick on you."
Keys:
1 Christmas and Halloween, 2 On the last night in October, 3 cut holes in it,
4 on the porch, 5 "Trick or treat?"
Task 8
Listen to the description of the Statue of Liberty in New York and fill in the table with
questions 1 - 7. You will hear the recording twice.
Name of the monument: Statue of Liberty
Length of feet: 5
Length of ear: 6
Length of mouth: 7
The first view of New York city from the sea is the sight that you can never forget. Hudson Bay is crowded with lots of ferry-boats with people hurrying to work in the downtown sky-scrapers. Then you pass Liberty Island with the bronze Statue of Liberty. The Statue was a gift to the United States from France in 1886. The Statue is made of iron and weights about 225 tons excluding the pedestal. The statue is about 50 meters high and stands on the pedestal of almost the same height. Its torch rises about 60 meters above the harbor and can be seen at night for many miles. You can go inside it and climb up to its head. Its foot is almost 7 meters long, the ear of the statue measures almost 1 meter from top to bottom and the mouth is 1 meter across. The Statue of Liberty is often called "the grandest lady in the world".
1- Liberty Island, 2- France, 3 -225 tons, 4 -50 meters, 5- 7 meters, 6 -1 meter, 7 -1 meter
APPLICATION 2. READING
Text1.
This is a story about two friends. They are a brown bear, Sue, and a white bear, Teddy. Teddy lives in Antarctica and Sue lives in Russia. Sue doesn't often see Teddy. So, she often writes letters to Teddy.
The 1st of July is Teddy’s birthday, and he gets many presents: new skates, a nice ball and a box of sweets. This summer Teddy also gets a present from Sue. Teddy decides to write a letter to her.
Soon Sue gets Teddy's letter. She opens the letter and reads: “Hello, Sue! I hope you are fine. Thank you for your birthday present. It's nice. You know, it is always cold and snowy in Antarctica, even in summer. So, I have tea with your tasty honey every evening. What do you do in summer? I play snowballs with penguins. They are my friends.”
Sue is happy to answer her friend’s letter: “Hi, Teddy! It’s hot and sunny in summer in Russia.
Complete the sentence by choosing one option from the three proposed.
Sue often writes letters to Teddy because...
her friend lives in Russia.
her friend lives far from her.
her friend likes her long letters.
Choose the correct answer to the question.
Why does Teddy decide to write a letter to Sue? - Teddy wants...
to tell Sue about his friends.
to ask Sue for some honey.
to thank Sue for her present.
What birthday present does Teddy get from Sue? - Teddy gets...
a box of sweets.
Choose the statement that HE corresponds to the content of the fairy tale.
Sue has got a friend in Antarctica.
Teddy has got his birthday in the summer.
Sue sends Teddy a tasty present.
Teddy decides to visit Sue this summer.
Arrange the sentences in accordance with the fairy tale you read.
Sue invites Teddy to come to her place and have fun.
Teddy likes a tasty birthday present from Sue.
The two friends can't meet very often.
That day Teddy has a lot of different presents.
Teddy wants to thank Sue and writes her letter.
Text 2
Read text paragraphs 1 - 7 and put them in logical order. Enter
your answers in the table.
Arthur left Sir Kay and quickly went to the church. There were no longer any knights outside by the stone because they were at the tournament. Arthur climbed down from his horse and went to the stone. He took the sword in his hand and pulled. It came out of the stone easily. He ran back to his horse with the sword.
2. The sword came out as easily as knife out of butter. Sir Ector saw this and took Arthur's hand. "You are my king," he said. Arthur did not understand. What did his father mean? "Arthur," Sir Ector said slowly, "I love you very much but I am not really your father. Merlin, the famous man of magic, brought you to me when you were a small child."
3. Every knight tried to pull the sword out of the stone. Nobody could do it - the sword did not come out. The knights pulled and pulled but they could not move the sword. Ten knights remained and guarded the sword. Others went to invite all the great men in the country to London for a tournament. They hoped one of those strong men could pull out the sword.
4. Some minutes later, he met Sir Kay and Sir Ector again, and he showed them the sword. "Where did that come from?" Sir Ector asked. He knew about the words on the stone. They went back to the place outside the church, and Sir Ector put the sword in the stone again. "Now pull it out," he said to Arthur. Arthur pulled it out.
5. Then they went to the knights and told them everything. The knights were angry. They did not think that Arthur was really the king. So Merlin called all of them to the stone. Arthur put the sword back into the stone. As the knights watched, he pulled it out easily. Then the knights believed. Everybody shouted, "Arthur is our king! Arthur is our king!"
6. One day, when Arthur was a young man, Merlin and all the knights went to
London. They met in a large church. When they came outside, they saw something strange in front of the church. It was a very big stone with a great sword in it. The sun shone on the sword and it looked very strong. On the stone were the words: "Only the king can take the sword from the stone."
7. Sir Ector, the king, came to the tournament with his two sons, Sir Kay and young Arthur. Arthur was sixteen years old. The young men wanted to fight with the other knights but Sir Kay did not have the sword. Arthur was a kind young man. He wanted to help his brother. "There is a sword in a stone outside a church. I saw it on the way here," he said. "I can go and get it for you."
APPLICATION3 . LETTER
Write a letter to your pen pal. Tell him about your new friend. Complete the sentences below. Place punctuation marks where necessary.
Dear_________________
I’m writing to tell you about___________________________________________
His name is______________________________________________________________
He is_________________________________old.
His hair is________________________________________________________________
He has got__________________________________________________________
He loves wearing_________________________________________________________
His favorite food is_________________________________________________
His hobbies are______________________________________________________________
We like to__________________________________________________________
What about__________________________________________________________?
What___________________________together?
I hope_________________________________
Best_________________________________
John wants to find a pen pal from Russia. Read John's letter and write about your hobbies. Use John's letter as a model for your letter. Answer John's questions and ask your own questions. Your letter should contain the following information:
What is your name;
Do you play football?
Do you have a computer;
What do you like to do in your free time?
Hi! My name is John. I’m writing to tell you about my hobbies. I have many hobbies. I love studying and reading. In the evenings I usually read an interesting story. I like to read stories about animals. What books do you like to read? I also like to play with my friends outdoors, at the sports-ground or at the stadium. We like to play football. Can you play football? Sometimes I watch TV with my father and play computer games. I have a lot of fun. Have you got a computer? What do you like to do when you have free time?
I hope to hear from you soon!
Bibliography:
Veselova Yu.S. Collection of training and testing tasks. English language. 5th grade (in GIA format)/Yu.S. Veselova. - 2nd ed., rev. - M.: Intellect-Center, 2013. - 112 p.
Testing and measuring materials. English: 4th grade/Comp. G.G. Kulinich. - M.: VAKO, 2011. - 80 p.
Sigal T.K. Listening for schoolchildren: grades 5-6. - M.: Iris-press, 2004. - 128 p.
Solovova E.N. English language. Final certification for a primary school course (basic level): thematic test tasks. Russia and the countries of the language being studied. - M: Center for the Study of English by Elena Solovova, 2012. - 64 p.
Solovova E.N. Methods of teaching foreign languages: Basic course of lectures: Pos. for pedagogical students universities and teachers. 2nd ed. M.: Education, 2003. 239 p.
Tikhonova T.E. English language. 4th grade. Universal preparation for the final certification: reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, listening: educational and methodological manual. Rostov n/d: Legion, 2014. -224 p.
Tikhonova T.E. English language. 4th grade. Universal preparation for the final certification: 20 training tests, oral speech training: educational and methodological manual. Rostov n/d: Legion, 2014. -144 p.
Nadezhda Alexandrovna BESYADOVSKAYA,
English teacher, additional education teacher
GBOU "Academic Gymnasium No. 56" of St. Petersburg
USE OF INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATION MATERIALS IN THE PROCESS OF PREPARING SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR THE FINAL STAGE OF THE ALL-RUSSIAN OLYMPIAD. REPRODUCTIVE ASPECTS
(MATERIALS FROM WORK EXPERIENCE)
Preparing schoolchildren for the English Language Olympiad is a complex and multi-level process. To ensure high-quality and complete training, it is necessary to solve a number of problems, one of the most important is the selection of materials for training. In this article, we will look at how effective it is to use tests from a number of international exams and the Unified State Exam, what difficulties arise in the process of using ready-made tests, and how you can cope with them. We present observations and understanding of this problem from the point of view of a practicing trainer, we understand the inevitability of the appearance of incorrect terms and inaccuracies associated with the limitations of this position.
We will limit ourselves to comparing the test materials of the Cambridge exams FCE (First Certificate in English) - level B2 on the Council of Europe scale, CAE (Cambridge Advanced English) - level C1 on the Council of Europe scale, CPE (Cambridge Proficiency English) - level C2 on the Council of Europe scale; IELTS exam and the Unified State Exam - level B2-C1 on the Council of Europe scale with materials from the regional and final stages of the All-Russian Olympiad for Schoolchildren in English - level B2-C1 on the Council of Europe scale. We analyzed the materials of the regional and final stage of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren over the past five years, with the exception of the aspects of Writing and Speaking, where the coverage of the material expands to seven years.
The All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in English consists of four competitive tests: an integrated competition of Listening and Reading (understanding oral and written text), Lexico-grammatical test, Writing, Speaking (oral speech). The Listening (comprehension of spoken text) and Reading (comprehension of written text) competitions have been combined since 2011. In this article we will consider only reproductive competitions, i.e. Listening and Reading competition, Lexico-grammatical test.
The international exams we are considering and the Unified State Examination exam consist of five aspects: Listening and Reading are separated. The exception is the IELTS exam, which does not have a Lexico-Grammar test. For convenience, we will consider all aspects separately, following the structure of the exams. We will also look at possible ways to solve problems immediately after describing each aspect. The given statistics of the coincidence of examination tests with the materials of the Olympiad are pure convention, which, at the same time, is a vivid and clear illustration of our observations.
Aspect Listening (understanding spoken text)
The first aspect we will address is understanding spoken text. At the All-Russian Olympiad in this aspect, there are tasks of three types: classification of statements as “true” or “false”, multiple choice, classification of statements as “expressed” or “unexpressed” in an audio text and/or in a reading text. In the first type of task, the number of questions can be five or ten, the text is listened to once or twice. This type of task is found only in the Unified State Examination, however, students choose from three options: “true”, “false” or “no information”. During the exam, the text is always listened to twice. The second type of task is found in all the exams we consider, with the only difference being that it is based on a dialogue rather than a monologue. As for the task of the third type, it is unique and does not appear in any of the exams under consideration.
To practice the skills of understanding spoken text, we use the following techniques. Unified State Exam materials are used to train the first type of task. The fact that the task itself is more difficult is compensated by the fact that the level of texts is lower than at the Olympiad. We also use reading assignments to explore the difficulties and nuances of choosing between two possible options. The second type of task is the most familiar to students. A monologue is usually easier to understand than dialogue. The last integrated task for understanding oral and written text is unique, and therefore the most difficult. Students must read a written text, then listen to a spoken text on the same topic, then classify the statements as “mentioned in both texts,” “mentioned only in the audio text,” “mentioned only in the written text,” or “not mentioned anywhere.” Difficulties arise, firstly, due to the fact that the task is based on a monologue on a popular scientific topic: physics, biology, ecology, etc. . Such texts are used only in the third task of the Listening section and only in the IELTS exam, which means a very limited number of students who have ever encountered such content in a foreign language. And while schoolchildren have some idea about pesticides, the Higgs boson caused serious difficulties in understanding the text. When working with texts, a task can be formally considered as a separate oral text and a separate written one. Then the task seems very simple: classifying statements as “mentioned”, “not mentioned”. But as soon as we try to correlate the results, the question of correspondence or non-correspondence of synonyms arises, which is sometimes simply impossible to solve unambiguously. As a result, the problem of individual interpretation arises, heated debates during the analysis of tasks, which, unfortunately, lead nowhere.
If we translate all of the above into the dry language of numbers, then almost half (45%) of the materials in the oral speech comprehension competition are unique. From the materials of the international exams under consideration, we can only use the task of the second type (multiple choice) with the caveat of replacing the dialogue with a monologue. Additionally, we can use the Unified State Exam materials to work with the task of the first type (classifying statements as “true” or “false”), adjusted for the absence of the “not mentioned” category. Using tasks from other sections (Comprehension of written text - to train tasks of the first type) helps, but does not solve the existing problem. To practice the last task, you can only use the third task of the IELTS listening section, for which you need to independently select written texts and formulate questions, which presents serious difficulties.
Aspect Reading (comprehension of written text)
The next aspect we will look at is written comprehension, or Reading. The following types of tasks are found in the materials of the All-Russian Olympiad. The first is choosing an answer from the proposed options. There are 10 questions given, with 4 answer options each. The second type of task is to match the statements with the parts of the text in which they are mentioned. 15 statements and from five to eight parts of text or separate texts are given. The third is filling in the gaps with deleted sentences from the text (five sentences are given, four gaps). The fourth is the correlation of parts of the statement. The fifth is the classification of statements as “true”, “false” or “no information” (five questions). The sixth is the classification of statements as “expressed” or “unexpressed” in the audio text and/or in the reading text (ten to fifteen questions).
The first and second types of tasks are found in the aspect of understanding written text in all the exams we consider. In the first type of tasks, the number of questions and the number of proposed options for the Unified State Exam (7 questions, 3 options), FCE (8 questions, 4 options), CAE (3 texts with 2 questions each - 6 questions, 4 options and one text), CPE ( 7 questions, 4 options), IELTS (4 options, number of questions may vary). In the second type, the number of questions and the number of parts of the text or texts of the Unified State Exam (7 texts, 8 headings), FCE (15 statements, 4 parts), CAE (15 statements, 6 parts of text), CPE (5 texts 10 statements), IELTS ( the number of questions and paragraphs may vary). The third type is posterior - filling in the gaps with deleted sentences from the text - found only in the FCE exam, where you need to insert 7 sentences or headings. However, there are variations of this task in the Unified State Examination, CAE and CPE exams. The difference is that in the first one it is necessary to insert parts of sentences (7 gaps, 8 options), and in the last two - deleted paragraphs (6 gaps, 7 options and 7 gaps, 8 options, respectively). The fourth and fifth types of tasks are found only in the IELTS exam. And the last, sixth type of task, which we discussed in detail in the section understanding oral text, is unique and is found only in tasks of the All-Russian Olympiad.
If we consider the percentage of application of various exam tests, the most useful are the IELTS exam materials, which cover about a quarter of the possible options for tasks, the percentage of participation of other exams varies from 15% to 18%. And yet, about a fifth of unique materials remain, for the training of which teachers and trainers have to develop tasks on their own.
Aspect Lexico-grammatical test
The third aspect, the lexical and grammatical test, is the richest in terms of the variety of tasks and the most unpredictable in terms of the specific content of each stage. The first type of task, correlation, has two modifications: correlating parts of a statement and correlating words and expressions with explanations. The second variety is multiple choice, the third is word formation, the fourth is searching for an extra word in a line, the fifth is deciphering abbreviations, the sixth is searching for words hidden “at the junction” of other words. The seventh variety, filling in the blanks, has three possible modifications: from the proposed options, no options were offered, in one word in one form in three different sentences. And the last, eighth, variety, solving a crossword puzzle, also has three possible options: filling in synonyms for phrasal verbs, synonyms of a different style, filling in gaps with full-valued words in sentences.
The first type of task in the first modification is found in the IELTS exam. It is worth recalling that in this exam there is no separate Lexico-Grammar test. Therefore, this task is included in the reading section and is based, among other things, on the content of the text read. In the Olympiad tasks, only the skills of coordinating grammatical elements and lexical compatibility are tested, without connection with the content of any text. The second option of the first type - correlating words and expressions with explanations - is not found in the test materials of any of the exams. However, this task is widely used in the process of preparing for exams of any level in all textbooks. Therefore, it is easy to find materials to practice the necessary skills. Multiple choice and word formation tasks are found in all exams except IELTS, due to the latter's lack of this section as a whole. Only the number of multiple choice options varies (from three to four), and the number of questions in both types of tasks. Tasks of the fourth type - finding an extra word in a line - used to be part of the FCE, CAE exams. Tasks of this type can be easily found in textbooks for preparing for these exams. The fifth and sixth types of tasks are not found in the exam materials. Similar tasks can be found in collections of games, tasks for additional and extracurricular activities. However, it is almost impossible to find tasks that completely coincide with the latter. The first option of the seventh type, like the second option of the first type, is widely found in textbooks and manuals for preparing for any exams. First of all, it is used to practice new vocabulary. The second option of the seventh type is used in Cambridge exams (open close). We can find the third option of the seventh type in the CAE and CPE tests. The crossword, on the one hand, is a unique form of task that is not found in any of the exams. On the other hand, tasks for selecting synonyms for phrasal verbs (first option) are found in textbooks and manuals for preparing for the Cambridge exams, although they are not included in the test materials. The second option is to select synonyms of a different style - one of the tasks of the Lexico-Grammar Test of the CAE exam; such tasks are also found in textbooks and manuals at the CPE level. The third version of this task is truly unique; it is not found either in manuals or in the materials of any exam. It is aimed at identifying stable lexical combinations and clichés, both colloquial and official business style. To practice this type of task, you can use texts with multiple choice, removing the proposed options, adding a crossword puzzle grid. Instead of a crossword puzzle, students may be offered gaps in the text or sentences, where the number of letters is given by dashes, and some letters are indicated. Like a crossword puzzle, this form of task allows you to avoid multiple answer options.
In percentage terms, the IELTS and Unified State Examinations play the most insignificant role in preparation for the Olympiad in terms of the Lexico-Grammar Test. The first is due to the absence of this section, the second is due to a limited set of tasks. Cambridge exams make approximately the same contribution to this process. And yet, about a third of tasks of various types remain unique, going beyond the scope of exam tests.
[ 1 ] All-Russian Olympiad. English language. Issue 4. Assignments of the regional and final stages. With answers and comments: study guide / Comp. Yu.B. Kurasovskaya, L.A. Gorodetskaya, L.L. Zelenskaya, K.S. Makhmuryan, N.E. Medvedeva, A.N. Kolesnikova, V.N. Simkin, T.A. Simonyan, E.D. Schwartz. M.: University Book, 2013. P.6.
[2] Ibid. P.30-31, 99-100
http://www. cambridgeenglish. org/images/139293-cambridge-english-first-fce-specs-and-samples-document. pdf
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