Page 69

BE

C H

IGH

ER

A DETAILED LOOK AT THE TASKS

Part One

This is a matching task involving either a single text or fiverelated shorter texts. Examples are a set of related productdescriptions, a set of advertisements (for instance, fordifferent types of services), notices, book reviews, shortnewspaper items on related topics or a single magazinearticle divided into five sections.

Texts may be edited, but the source is authentic. They areidentified as texts A – E.

There are eight items, each of which is one sentence,numbered 1 – 8. Each sentence is a statement which can bematched with only one of the texts. The candidate’s task is toread the sentence and then scan the texts for the one towhich the sentence applies. Candidates are tested onwhether they can understand the language of the item andrelate it to the meaning of the text, which is expressed indifferent language.

Preparation

• Present students with sets of related short texts (e.g. jobadvertisements, hotels, etc.) from newspapers,magazines, brochures.

• Longer texts may also be divided into sub-headedsections.

• Students should be encouraged to identify facts orideas within each text, describing how the texts aresimilar and what differences they contain.

• The register or style of the task sentences is likely todiffer from that of the texts, and students should begiven practice in recognising the same information indifferent styles, e.g. by rewriting advertisements intoobjective prose.

• The task is designed to go beyond simple word-matching and students will need to practiseparaphrasing.

• Activities that help students to identify targetinformation among otherwise superfluous text (e.g.choosing what to watch from TV listings) would bebeneficial.

• Above all, students should treat the task as an exampleof information-processing skills which are frequentlyemployed in social and professional life.

A D E TA I L E D G U I D E TO B E C H I G H E R

TEST OF READING

Timing: 1 hour

Number ofPART Main Skill Focus Input Response Questions

1 Reading for gist and global meaning Authentic business-related text – Matching 8either a single text or 5 short, related texts (approx. 450 words in total)

2 Reading for structure and detail Authentic business-related text Matching 6(approx. 450 – 500 words) with sentence-length gaps

3 Understanding general points and Longer text based on authentic 4-option multiple 6specific details source material (approx. 500 – choice

600 words)

4 Reading – vocabulary and structure Single business-related text with 4-option multiple 10 primarily lexical gaps (approx. 250 choice clozewords)

5 Reading – structure and discourse Single business-related text with Rational deletion 10features structure and discourse gaps Open cloze

(approx. 250 words)

6 Reading – understanding sentence Short text (approx. 150 – 200 words) Proof reading 12structure; error identification Identification of additional

unnecessary words in text

Page 70

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Part Two

This is a gapped text with six sentence-length gaps. The textcomes from an authentic business-related source, although itmay be edited. Sources include business articles fromnewspapers or magazines, books on topics such asmanagement, and company literature such as annual reports.Candidates have to read the text and then identify thecorrect sentence to fill each gap from a set of eight sentencesmarked A – H. Sentence H is the example, and one othersentence is a distractor which does not fit any of the gaps.Understanding, not only of the meaning of the text but ofsome of the features of its structure, is tested.

Preparation

• This task requires an overt focus on cohesion andcoherence to which many students may not beaccustomed.

• It would be helpful for students to reassemble texts thathave been cut up, discussing why texts fit together asthey do.

• It would also be useful for students to discuss whysentences do or do not fit together.

• Students could benefit from altering the cohesion oftexts to make sentences that do not fit together do so,and vice versa.

• Since culture affects discourse, including the order ofargument development, discussions exploring thiswould be beneficial.

• The cut and paste functions of word-processing, whereavailable, could be exploited for this task.

Part Three

This task consists of a text accompanied by four-optionmultiple choice items. The stem of a multiple choice itemmay take the form of a question or an incomplete sentence.There are six items, which are placed after the text. Sourcesof original texts may be the general and business press,company literature and books on topics such asmanagement. Texts may be edited, but the sources areauthentic.

Preparation

• Multiple choice questions are a familiar and long-standing type of test; here they are used to testopinion and inference rather than straightforward facts.

• Correct answers are designed not to depend on simpleword-matching, and students’ ability to interpretparaphrasing should be developed.

• Students should be encouraged to pursue their owninterpretation of relevant parts of the text and thencheck their idea against the options offered, rather thanreading all the options first.

• It could be useful for students to be given perhaps one

of the wrong options only, and for them to try to writethe correct answer and another wrong option.

Part Four

This task is a modified cloze: in other words, a gapped textin which the gaps are carefully chosen. There are tenmultiple choice items, most of which test vocabulary. Thetext is based on authentic source material of one of the texttypes listed above. The candidate’s task is to choose thecorrect option from the four available to fill each gap.

Preparation

• It is important for students to appreciate that thecorrect answer in each case is correct in relation to thegap itself, rather than in relation to the other threeoptions.

• It is worth emphasising that this task tests lexical andcollocational knowledge, and that the best (if not theonly) route to this knowledge is to read widely withinthe kinds of texts that the task employs.

• It is worth discussing what aspects of linguisticknowledge are tested (collocations, fixed phrases,register, etc.).

• It might be useful to give students gapped texts andhave them produce alternative words which fit or donot fit the gaps.

• Any vocabulary-building activity is likely to be helpfulin preparing for this task.

Part Five

This task is an open cloze: a gapped text in which thecandidate has to supply the word to fill each gap. There areten items. Gaps are formed by rational deletion, being chosenrather than being simply those which occur if (for example)every seventh word is deleted. The focus is on structure, andcoherence/cohesion in the text. Items tested may includeprepositions, auxiliary verbs, pronouns, conjunctions, etc.

The text is based on authentic material.

Preparation

• The kinds of words which are gapped may wellcorrespond to the kinds of errors students make; andtherefore discussion of photocopied examples ofstudents’ compositions could be helpful.

• Students should be encouraged to circle the word orwords in the text that dictate what the answer is, inorder for them to see that such clues to the answermay be adjacent to the gap or several words distant.

• Students should brainstorm various likely words whichmight fit a particular gap, and then discuss why othersdo not fit.

Page 71

• Students could be given several possible answers for agap and discuss why the correct answer is correct.

• This task tests grammatical and structural aspects oflanguage, and any practice in these areas should bebeneficial.

Part Six

In this task, candidates identify words that have beenintroduced into a text in error.

This exercise can be related to the authentic task of checkinga text for errors, and suitable text types therefore includeletters, publicity materials, etc. The text contains twelvenumbered lines, which are the test items. Further lines at theend may complete the text, but these are not test items.

Preparation

• Students should be reminded that this task represents akind of editing that is common practice, even in theirfirst language.

• Any work on error analysis is likely to be helpful forthis task.

• A reverse of the exercise (giving students texts withmissing words) might prove beneficial.

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Page 72

BE

C H

IGH

ER

3

AD

BE

C

The

gro

wth

of

outs

ourc

ing

mea

ns t

hat

a nu

mbe

r

of M

SSs

are

find

ing

them

selv

es d

raw

n in

to t

he

esta

blis

hed

man

ager

ial

thin

king

of

thei

r O

WO

s

to

a po

int

whe

re

thei

r re

puta

tion

be

com

es

depe

nden

t on

the

OW

O’s

per

form

ance

– i

n bo

th

posi

tive

an

d ne

gati

ve

way

s.

Thi

s an

d ot

her

cons

eque

nces

of

gr

owth

ar

e ge

nera

ting

ca

lls

from

M

SS

s fo

r bo

th

the

priv

ate

sect

or

and

gove

rnm

ents

to

thin

k m

ore

stra

tegi

cally

abo

ut

thei

r re

latio

nshi

p w

ith M

SSs,

rat

her

than

on

a

disj

oint

ed c

ontr

act-

by-c

ontr

act b

asis

.

The

gro

wth

in

outs

ourc

ing

has

coin

cide

d –

and

may

co

ntin

ue

to

coin

cide

–

wit

h in

crea

sing

inte

rest

in

the

conc

ept

of t

he v

irtu

al o

rgan

isat

ion

– on

e w

hich

ch

oose

s to

ou

tsou

rce

alm

ost

ever

ythi

ng s

o th

at it

can

con

cent

rate

on

hand

ling

rela

tions

hips

with

its

clie

nts.

How

ever

, a

rece

nt

repo

rt

war

ns

that

th

e no

tion

of

vi

rtua

l

orga

nisa

tion

s m

ust

be

bala

nced

ag

ains

t th

e

nega

tive

poss

ibili

ty

of

‘hol

low

’or

gani

satio

ns,

left

with

onl

y a

‘fra

gile

she

ll re

mai

ning

’. T

he

repo

rt a

lso

expr

esse

s co

ncer

n th

at s

ome

larg

e

MS

Ss

have

‘g

radu

ally

ta

ken

cont

rol

of

sign

ific

ant

part

s of

pu

blic

se

ctor

ac

tivi

ties

’,

chan

ging

th

e ba

sis

on

whi

ch

the

succ

ess

or

othe

rwis

e of

thos

e ac

tiviti

es is

ass

esse

d.

Est

imat

es o

f th

e sc

ope

and

valu

e of

man

aged

serv

ice

supp

lyin

g va

ry

acco

rdin

g to

th

e

defi

nitio

ns u

sed

of w

hat a

ctiv

ities

are

incl

uded

or

excl

uded

in

calc

ulat

ions

. A

lthou

gh s

ome

MSS

s

are

larg

e –

for

exam

ple,

the

Alf

is G

roup

is,

with

200,

000

empl

oyee

s,

one

of

the

ten

bigg

est

priv

ate

sect

or e

mpl

oyer

s in

Eur

ope

– th

ey e

njoy

litt

le

of

the

publ

ic

nam

e re

cogn

itio

n of

th

e

OW

Os

for

who

m th

ey w

ork.

At t

he s

ame

time,

in

fiel

ds

such

as

IT

and

rese

arch

, O

WO

s no

w

outs

ourc

e no

t on

ly n

on-c

ore

activ

ities

but

als

o

thos

e w

here

the

y be

lieve

spe

cial

ist

MSS

s ca

n

brin

g ad

ditio

nal e

xper

tise.

The

re a

re s

igns

that

the

spre

ad o

f co

ntra

ctin

g ou

t

to M

SSs

is im

pact

ing

on th

e w

ay O

WO

s ar

e ru

n,

gene

ratin

g a

need

for

hig

h-le

vel s

taff

who

will

be

skill

ed a

t ne

gotia

ting

and

hand

ling

rela

tions

hips

with

pa

rtne

r or

gani

satio

ns

rath

er

than

si

mpl

y

givi

ng

inte

rnal

di

rect

ions

. M

eanw

hile

, m

any

MSS

s fa

ce

new

em

ploy

men

t an

d re

crui

tmen

t

issu

es a

s th

eir

wor

kfor

ces

ofte

n co

nsis

t of

sta

ff

inhe

rite

d fr

om d

ozen

s of

org

anis

atio

ns i

n bo

th

the

publ

ic a

nd p

riva

te s

ecto

rs.

Bas

ic a

ctiv

ities

suc

h as

cat

erin

g, c

lean

ing

and

secu

rity

wer

e of

ten

the

firs

t to

be

cont

ract

ed o

ut

as b

oth

the

priv

ate

and

publ

ic s

ecto

rs y

ield

ed t

o

the

1990

s’ph

iloso

phy

of c

once

ntra

ting

on c

ore

acti

viti

es.

As

a re

sult

of

ou

tsou

rcin

g,

man

y

cant

eens

hav

e lo

st t

heir

ins

titut

iona

l at

mos

pher

e

and

rese

mbl

e hi

gh-s

tree

t re

tail

outle

ts,

boos

ting

both

th

e ra

nge

of

prod

ucts

an

d fa

cilit

ies

for

wor

kers

and

the

MSS

s’tu

rnov

er. P

rofi

ts f

rom

the

grow

ing

UK

out

sour

cing

mar

ket

are

help

ing

the

bigg

est

cate

ring

MSS

s to

exp

and

over

seas

as

the

indu

stry

dev

elop

s a

glob

al d

imen

sion

.

Turn

Ove

r �

2

AB

CD

E

PAR

T O

NE

Qu

esti

on

s 1

– 8

•Lo

ok a

t th

e st

atem

ents

bel

ow a

nd a

t th

e fiv

e ex

trac

ts f

rom

an

artic

le o

n th

e op

posi

te p

age

abou

t

orga

nisa

tions

whi

ch o

utso

urce

(O

WO

s).T

hese

are

org

anis

atio

ns w

hich

giv

e co

ntra

cts

for

som

e

of t

heir

activ

ities

to

be r

un b

y m

anag

ed s

ervi

ce s

uppl

iers

(M

SS

s).

•W

hich

art

icle

(A,

B,

C,

Dor

E)

does

eac

h st

atem

ent

1 –

8 re

fer

to?

•F

or e

ach

stat

emen

t 1

– 8,

mar

k on

e le

tter

(A,

B,

C,

Dor

E)

on y

our

Ans

wer

She

et.

•Yo

u w

ill n

eed

to u

se s

ome

of t

hese

lette

rs m

ore

than

onc

e.

•T

here

is a

n ex

ampl

e at

the

beg

inni

ng,

(0).

Exa

mp

le:

0T

here

are

sig

ns t

hat

som

e M

SS

s ar

e m

ovin

g in

to fo

reig

n m

arke

ts.

0

1T

here

is a

ris

k th

at o

utso

urci

ng t

oo m

any

oper

atio

ns c

ould

wea

ken

an O

WO

.

2O

WO

s ar

e fin

ding

tha

t th

ey n

eed

to a

dapt

the

ir m

anag

emen

t m

etho

ds a

s a

resu

lt of

the

incr

ease

d ou

tsou

rcin

g th

ey c

omm

issi

on.

3T

here

are

diff

eren

t w

ays

of a

sses

sing

the

tot

al f

inan

cial

wor

th o

f ou

tsou

rced

bus

ines

s.

4T

here

may

be

impr

ovem

ents

for

an O

WO

’s s

taff

whe

n it

outs

ourc

es s

ervi

ces.

5D

espi

te t

heir

succ

ess

in b

usin

ess

term

s, M

SS

s m

ay n

ot b

e hi

gh p

rofil

e.

6O

WO

s m

ay n

ot h

ave

cons

iste

nt p

olic

ies

with

reg

ard

to M

SS

s.

7It

is t

heor

etic

ally

pos

sibl

e fo

r th

e m

ajor

ity o

f an

OW

O’s

act

iviti

es t

o be

con

trac

ted

to M

SS

s.

8O

utso

urci

ng is

affe

ctin

g th

e w

ay p

erfo

rman

ce is

mea

sure

d in

som

e ar

eas

of b

usin

ess.

READING SAMPLE PAPER

Page 73

BE

C H

IGH

ER

AB

CD

EF

GH

AIt

wou

ld b

e fa

r be

tter,

thou

gh,

if di

ssid

ents

in t

he o

rgan

isat

ion

rais

ed t

heir

doub

ts

befo

reha

nd,

and

wer

e lis

tene

d to

.

BT

hey

wan

t to

be

reco

gnis

ed a

s ha

ving

chan

ged

the

com

pany

in a

way

tha

t hi

stor

y

will

rem

embe

r.

CT

his

is n

ot t

o ar

gue

that

com

pani

es s

houl

d

neve

r at

tem

pt a

nyth

ing

brav

e or

ris

ky.

DTo

o m

uch

mon

ey h

as b

een

spen

t an

d to

o

man

y re

puta

tions

are

at

stak

e to

thi

nk

abou

t st

oppi

ng a

t th

is s

tage

.

EO

ne s

olut

ion

is t

o se

t ta

rget

s fo

r a

proj

ect

and

to a

gree

in a

dvan

ce t

o ab

ando

n it

if

thes

e ar

e no

t m

et.

FA

fter

all,

peop

le w

ho p

ersi

sten

tly p

oint

to

pote

ntia

l pitf

alls

are

see

n as

neg

ativ

e an

d

disl

oyal

.

GB

ut t

hey

ofte

n re

ly o

nly

on t

hose

par

ts o

f it

that

sup

port

the

ir ca

se.

HC

oupl

ed w

ith t

his,

the

y in

sist

tha

t th

e

failu

re w

as s

omeo

ne e

lse’

s fa

ult.

5

0

Exa

mp

le:

Turn

Ove

r �

PAR

T T

WO

Qu

esti

on

s 9

– 14

•R

ead

this

tex

t ta

ken

from

an

artic

le a

bout

how

com

pani

es’d

ecis

ion-

mak

ing

can

go w

rong

.

•C

hoos

e th

e be

st s

ente

nce

from

the

opp

osite

pag

e to

fill

eac

h of

the

gap

s.

•F

or e

ach

gap

9 –

14,

mar

k on

e le

tter

(A–

H)

on y

our

Ans

wer

She

et.

•D

o no

t us

e an

y le

tter

mor

e th

an o

nce.

•T

here

is a

n ex

ampl

e at

the

beg

inni

ng,

(0).

4

Tho

se w

ho m

ake

disa

stro

us b

usin

ess

deci

sion

sge

nera

lly

exhi

bit

two

char

acte

rist

ic

type

s of

beha

viou

r.

Fir

st

they

m

ake

a se

lect

ive

inte

rpre

tatio

n of

the

evid

ence

whe

n de

cidi

ng to

go

ahea

d w

ith a

pro

ject

. (0)

...H

... .

How

do

su

ch

bad

deci

sion

s co

me

abou

t?O

ne

reas

on

is

that

th

e pe

ople

in

co

ntro

l ar

ede

term

ined

to

m

ake

thei

r m

ark

by

doin

gso

met

hing

dra

mat

ic.

(9).

......

.. . O

nce

the

lead

erha

s de

cide

d to

put

his

or

her

nam

e to

a p

roje

ct,

man

y in

th

e or

gani

satio

n be

lieve

it

polit

ic

tosu

ppor

t it

to

o,

wha

teve

r th

eir

priv

ate

doub

ts.

(10)

....

....

. T

hese

do

ubte

rs

know

th

at

such

a

perc

eptio

n w

ill

clou

d th

eir

futu

re

care

ers.

The

desi

re

to

agre

e w

ith

the

boss

is

ty

pica

l of

com

mitt

ees,

w

ith

grou

p m

embe

rs

ofte

n ta

king

colle

ctiv

e de

cisi

ons

that

they

wou

ld n

ot h

ave

take

nin

divi

dual

ly. T

hey

look

aro

und

the

tabl

e, s

ee t

heir

colle

ague

s no

ddin

g in

ag

reem

ent

and

supp

ress

thei

r ow

n do

ubts

. If

all

thes

e in

telli

gent

peo

ple

belie

ve t

his

is t

he r

ight

thi

ng t

o do

, th

ey t

hink

to

them

selv

es,

perh

aps

it

is.

It

rare

ly

occu

rs

toco

mm

ittee

mem

bers

tha

t al

l th

eir

colle

ague

s ha

vem

ade

the

sam

e du

biou

s ca

lcul

atio

n.

Res

pons

ible

man

ager

s us

ually

ask

to

see

the

evid

ence

bef

ore

reac

hing

a d

ecis

ion.

(11

)....

.... .

Eve

n th

ose

who

con

side

r al

l th

e ev

iden

ce,

good

and

bad,

fai

l to

take

acc

ount

of

the

fact

that

exp

ert

pred

ictio

ns a

re o

ften

wro

ng. T

he r

easo

n fo

r th

is is

that

fee

dbac

k is

onl

y ef

fect

ive

if i

t is

rec

eive

dqu

ickl

y an

d of

ten;

and

sen

ior

exec

utiv

es r

arel

ybe

com

e th

e ex

pert

s th

ey c

laim

to b

e, b

ecau

se th

eym

ake

too

few

big

dec

isio

ns t

o le

arn

muc

h fr

omth

em.

So

whe

n it

beco

mes

cl

ear

that

di

sast

erlo

oms,

man

y ex

ecut

ives

ins

ist

on p

ress

ing

ahea

dre

gard

less

. (12

)....

.... .

The

rep

ercu

ssio

ns o

f do

ing

so c

an b

e da

untin

g.So

w

hat

can

be

done

to

pr

even

t co

mpa

nies

mak

ing

bad

deci

sion

s? (

13).

......

. . A

noth

er i

s to

dele

gate

the

deci

sion

on

whe

ther

or n

ot to

con

tinue

to p

eopl

e w

ho a

re n

ot i

n th

e th

ick

of t

he d

ecis

ion-

mak

ing,

su

ch

as

the

non-

exec

utiv

e di

rect

ors.

(14)

....

....

.

But

th

ey

shou

ldn’

t ex

pect

an

ygr

atitu

de:

peop

le w

ho h

ave

mad

e hu

ge m

ista

kes

are

not

goin

g to

say

‘T

hank

you

, w

e sh

ould

hav

epa

id a

ttent

ion

to y

ou in

the

firs

t pla

ce.’

Ba

d b

usi

ne

ss d

ec

isio

ns

are

ea

sy t

o m

ake

Page 74

BE

C H

IGH

ER

7

15W

hat

criti

cism

doe

s th

e w

riter

mak

e of

man

ager

s in

the

firs

t pa

ragr

aph?

AT

hey

lose

inte

rest

in t

he is

sue

of in

com

pete

nt e

mpl

oyee

s.

BT

hey

fail

to t

ake

a fir

m li

ne w

ith in

effic

ient

em

ploy

ees.

CT

hey

have

littl

e id

ea o

f w

hat

is r

eally

req

uire

d of

the

ir st

aff.

DT

hey

ofte

n m

ake

bad

deci

sion

s w

hen

choo

sing

new

sta

ff.

16W

hat

is t

he e

ffect

of

the

first

of

the

met

hods

sug

gest

ed fo

r de

alin

g w

ith in

com

pete

nt s

taff?

AIt

has

only

a s

hort

-ter

m e

ffect

on

the

prob

lem

.

BIt

mea

ns t

hat

bette

r w

orke

rs w

ill n

ot h

ave

to w

ork

so h

ard.

CIt

mak

es g

ood

wor

kers

aw

are

that

pro

blem

s ar

e be

ing

deal

t w

ith.

DIt

send

s a

nega

tive

mes

sage

to

thos

e w

ho d

o th

eir

job

wel

l.

17In

bot

h th

e se

cond

and

thi

rd in

effe

ctiv

e m

etho

ds o

f de

alin

g w

ith in

com

pete

nt e

mpl

oyee

s, t

he

man

ager

s’ai

m is

to

Aha

ve a

ll of

the

inco

mpe

tent

sta

ff w

orki

ng in

the

sam

e pa

rt o

f th

e co

mpa

ny.

Bim

prov

e th

e at

titud

e of

the

inco

mpe

tent

sta

ff to

wor

k by

giv

ing

them

pro

mot

ion.

Cpu

t th

e in

com

pete

nt s

taff

in a

situ

atio

n w

here

the

y ca

n do

as

little

har

m a

s po

ssib

le.

Dm

ake

the

wor

k so

una

ttrac

tive

that

the

inco

mpe

tent

sta

ff w

ant

to le

ave.

18T

he w

riter

say

s in

the

fift

h pa

ragr

aph

that

em

ploy

ees

who

are

giv

en a

low

mar

k on

the

ir

appr

aisa

l for

m w

ill

Ade

man

d a

deta

iled

expl

anat

ion

of w

hat

they

hav

e do

ne w

rong

.

Bcl

aim

tha

t sp

ecia

l circ

umst

ance

s ha

ve h

ad a

n ef

fect

on

thei

r w

ork.

Cde

ny t

hat

thei

r w

ork

has

been

in a

ny w

ay u

nsat

isfa

ctor

y.

Dar

gue

that

the

y fin

d th

e w

ork

they

hav

e ha

d to

do

frus

trat

ing.

19In

the

six

th p

arag

raph

the

writ

er s

ays

that

whe

n ta

lkin

g to

an

inco

mpe

tent

em

ploy

ee a

man

ager

shou

ld

Am

ake

no r

efer

ence

to

the

mos

t re

cent

app

rais

al m

ark.

Bco

mpa

re t

he w

ork

of t

he e

mpl

oyee

with

tha

t of

mor

e ef

ficie

nt w

orke

rs.

Cm

ake

clea

r w

hat

will

hap

pen

if pe

rfor

man

ce d

oes

not

appr

ove.

Dex

plai

n to

the

em

ploy

ee h

ow h

e or

she

can

gai

n a

bette

r ap

prai

sal m

ark.

20W

hat

does

the

writ

er s

ugge

st a

s a

way

to

deal

with

inco

mpe

tent

em

ploy

ees

who

fail

to r

espo

nd

even

to

a pr

oble

m-s

olvi

ng a

ppro

ach?

AS

et t

hem

tar

gets

whi

ch it

wou

ld b

e im

poss

ible

to

atta

in.

BG

ive

them

a t

est

desi

gned

to

iden

tify

thei

r st

reng

ths.

CP

ay t

hem

a s

um o

f m

oney

to

leav

e th

e co

mpa

ny.

DG

et a

n ou

tsid

e co

nsul

tant

to

find

them

ano

ther

job.

Turn

Ove

r �

PAR

T T

HR

EE

Qu

esti

on

s 15

– 2

0

•R

ead

the

follo

win

g ex

trac

t fr

om a

n ar

ticle

abo

ut in

com

pete

nt e

mpl

oyee

s, a

nd t

he q

uest

ions

on

the

oppo

site

pag

e.

•F

or e

ach

ques

tion

15 –

20,

mar

k on

e le

tter

(A,

B,

Cor

D)

on y

our

Ans

wer

She

et fo

r th

e an

swer

you

choo

se.

6

Eve

ry o

rgan

isat

ion

has

its

sh

are

of

emp

loye

es-f

rom

-hel

l: th

e la

zy,

del

ud

ed,

hyp

och

on

dri

ac

un

der

-

per

form

ers.

Th

ey a

re d

iffi

cult

to

man

age

and

m

iser

able

to

wo

rk w

ith

. T

hei

r p

rod

uct

ivit

y is

low

an

d t

hei

r ab

ility

to

po

iso

n

staf

f m

ora

le

hig

h.

Th

ey

are,

alas

, al

way

s w

ell-

entr

ench

ed

and

m

anag

emen

t-re

sist

ant.

Inte

rest

ing

ly,

thei

r n

um

ber

s in

any

org

anis

atio

n h

ave

mo

re t

o

do

wit

h m

anag

emen

t’s r

efu

sal t

o

dea

l w

ith

th

e si

tuat

ion

th

an w

ith

po

or

sele

ctio

n.

Th

at

is,

thei

r

exis

ten

ce i

n t

he

org

anis

atio

n i

s

nea

rly

alw

ays

du

e to

a l

on

g l

ine

of

wea

k m

anag

ers

wh

o

hav

e

dec

lined

to

tac

kle

the

pro

ble

m.

Trad

itio

nal

ly,

ther

e ar

e th

ree

clas

sic

inef

fect

ive

way

s o

f

dea

ling

w

ith

th

e in

com

pet

ent.

Th

e fi

rst

is

to

ign

ore

th

e

pro

ble

m,

ho

pin

g t

hat

it

will

go

away

. R

ath

er

than

co

nfr

on

t

lazi

nes

s o

r se

rio

us

abse

nte

eism

,

the

man

ager

giv

es t

he

emp

loye

e

less

wo

rk t

o d

o.

Th

is i

nev

itab

ly

lead

s to

fru

stra

tio

n o

n th

e p

art o

f

the

go

od

har

dw

ork

ing

sta

ff w

ho

see

the

pro

ble

m

emp

loye

e

get

tin

g a

way

wit

h it

.

Th

e se

con

d a

pp

roac

h, w

hic

h h

as

trad

itio

nal

ly

bee

n

the

mo

st

favo

ure

d,

is

to

pas

s th

em

on

.

Th

ere

is u

sual

ly a

par

t o

f an

y

bu

sin

ess

wh

ere

peo

ple

bel

ieve

the

po

or

per

form

er c

an d

o n

o

dam

age.

A

lter

nat

ivel

y,

po

or

per

form

ers

can

b

e m

ove

d

to

ano

ther

bra

nch

in

th

e d

rear

iest

par

t o

f to

wn

, or

to a

no

ther

to

wn

,

or

even

to

an

oth

er

cou

ntr

y.

A

clev

er

vari

ant

of

this

ta

ctic

is

to

her

d

all

the

inco

mp

eten

t

emp

loye

es i

nto

on

e p

art

of

the

com

pan

y th

at i

s th

en s

old

off

or

pri

vati

sed

.

Th

ere

is a

th

ird

ap

pro

ach

wh

ich

is t

o p

rom

ote

th

e in

com

pet

ent.

Th

is

sou

nd

s b

izar

re

and

exce

edin

gly

st

up

id

bu

t is

n

ot

infr

equ

entl

y ad

op

ted

. Th

e id

ea is

that

, al

tho

ug

h

thes

e p

ost

s ar

e

qu

ite

sen

ior

and

wel

l-p

aid

, th

e

actu

al

job

s ar

e fa

irly

p

oin

tles

s

on

es

in

wh

ich

in

com

pet

ent

peo

ple

can

hid

e w

ith

ou

t d

oin

g

any

seri

ou

s d

amag

e.

Th

e

emp

loye

e is

th

us

con

firm

ed

in

his

o

r h

er

del

usi

on

s o

f

com

pet

ence

.

All

thre

e o

f th

ese

stra

teg

ies

are

the

resu

lt o

f n

ot

dea

ling

wit

h t

he

pro

ble

m

earl

y o

n.

Man

y

man

ager

s fi

nd

d

eali

ng

w

ith

inco

mp

eten

ce v

ery

dif

ficu

lt.

Th

e

scen

ario

th

at

all

man

ager

s

hat

e is

as

fo

llo

ws:

sh

ow

a

sub

ord

inat

e a

low

mar

k o

n t

hei

r

app

rais

al

form

. T

he

emp

loye

e

firs

t w

ants

th

e b

ehav

iou

r

def

ined

; th

en w

ants

an

exa

mp

le

of w

hen

this

beh

avio

ur

occ

urr

ed;

then

ar

gu

es

abo

ut

ho

w

this

inci

den

t o

ccu

rred

an

d

ho

w

typ

ical

it

was

. T

he

net

res

ult

is

a

row

ab

ou

t th

e p

ast

and

fru

stra

tio

n o

n t

he

par

t o

f b

oth

.

A d

iffe

ren

t an

d m

ore

su

cces

sfu

l

met

ho

d i

s th

e p

rob

lem

-so

lvin

g

app

roac

h.

Th

is i

nsi

sts

that

on

e

still

sh

ow

s th

e lo

w

sco

re

bu

t,

rath

er th

an a

ttem

pti

ng

to e

xpla

in

it,

on

e d

escr

ibes

wh

at n

eed

s to

be

do

ne

dif

fere

ntl

y to

ach

ieve

a

hig

her

sco

re. T

he

emp

has

is is

on

the

futu

re n

ot t

he

pas

t; o

n a

cle

ar

des

crip

tio

n

of

the

des

irab

le

beh

avio

ur,

no

t th

e in

com

pet

ent

beh

avio

ur.

T

he

tou

chy

or

sen

siti

ve

emp

loye

e n

orm

ally

resp

on

ds

to th

is r

easo

nab

ly w

ell.

Nev

erth

eles

s,

ther

e ar

e th

ose

wh

o c

ann

ot,

or

will

no

t, r

esp

on

d

to g

oo

d m

anag

emen

t. T

hey

may

be

un

able

to

do

th

e jo

b d

ue

to

no

t h

avin

g t

he

abili

ty t

o l

earn

ever

-ch

ang

ing

task

s fa

st e

no

ug

h.

Th

ey

may

b

e d

istr

acte

d

by

pro

ble

ms

at h

om

e o

r m

ore

like

ly

they

hav

e b

een

man

aged

ver

y

po

orl

y in

th

e p

ast.

Th

ere

is

real

ly

on

ly

a ve

ry

limit

ed

nu

mb

er

of

thin

gs

that

can

b

e d

on

e w

ith

th

e re

ally

inco

mp

eten

t.

Bu

y th

em

ou

t,

wh

ich

may

be

the

bes

t so

luti

on

for

all c

on

cern

ed; r

aise

th

e g

ame

by

mak

ing

su

re t

hey

are

giv

en

ever

h

igh

er

bu

t re

ach

able

targ

ets.

A

fi

nal

st

rate

gy

is

to

insi

st t

hat

th

ey h

ave

an a

nn

ual

psy

cho

log

ical

te

st

wh

ere

a

dis

inte

rest

ed o

uts

ide

con

sult

ant

do

es a

mo

tiva

tio

n a

nal

ysis

an

d

has

th

e p

ow

er

to

reco

mm

end

that

th

ey

be

let

go

–

no

t

enco

ura

ged

to

g

o

to

ano

ther

par

t o

f th

e o

rgan

isat

ion

, bu

t in

to

the

bra

cin

g

wat

ers

of

the

job

mar

ket.

Page 75

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Exa

mp

le: A

st

ared

B

se

en

C

insp

ecte

d D

gl

ance

d

21A

solu

tion

Ban

swer

Cke

yD

secr

et

22A

patie

ntB

resi

gned

Cto

lera

ntD

cont

ente

d

23A

foun

d ou

tB

cam

e ac

ross

Cra

n in

toD

met

with

24A

eval

uate

Bac

coun

tC

estim

ate

Dre

ckon

25A

appo

intin

gB

sign

ing

Cre

gist

erin

gD

enlis

ting

26A

dang

erB

haza

rdC

risk

Dpe

ril

27A

exam

inin

gB

prob

ing

Cex

plor

ing

Din

vest

igat

ing

28A

talk

Bdi

scus

sC

say

Dte

ll

29A

prep

arat

ion

Bre

adin

ess

Cpr

ecau

tion

Dan

ticip

atio

n

30A

set

Bpu

t C

plac

eD

hold

9

AB

CD

0

Turn

Ove

r �

PAR

T F

OU

R

Qu

esti

on

s 21

– 3

0

•R

ead

the

artic

le b

elow

abo

ut li

fe c

oach

ing

– re

gula

r m

eetin

gs b

etw

een

a bu

sine

ss p

erso

n an

d a

neut

ral c

onsu

ltant

to

disc

uss

wor

k-re

late

d pr

oble

ms.

• C

hoos

e th

e co

rrec

t w

ord

or p

hras

e to

fill

eac

h ga

p fr

om A

, B, C

or

D o

n th

e op

posi

te p

age.

•F

or e

ach

ques

tion

21 –

30,

mar

k on

e le

tter

(A,

B,

Cor

D)

on y

our

Ans

wer

She

et.

•T

here

is a

n ex

ampl

e at

the

beg

inni

ng,

(0).

8

Why

I Fo

und

A L

ife C

oach

Any

one

who

has

eve

r (0

) D t

hrou

gh a

sel

f-im

prov

emen

t bo

ok

has

prob

ably

lea

rned

tha

t su

ch b

ooks

do

not

hold

the

(21

)..

....

.

of p

erso

nal

happ

ines

s. H

avin

g re

ad t

oo m

any

of t

hem

with

out

succ

ess,

I w

as (

22)

....

...

to s

tayi

ng v

ague

ly d

issa

tisfi

ed f

or t

he

rest

of

my

life.

But

whe

n I

(23)

....

...

a ne

wsp

aper

art

icle

abo

ut

a ne

w k

ind

of c

onsu

ltant

, ca

lled

a lif

e co

ach,

I b

ecam

e cu

riou

s,

and

deci

ded

to le

arn

mor

e.

I w

as l

ooki

ng f

or a

mor

e pe

rson

al w

ay t

o (2

4)..

....

.m

y lif

e:

I’d

achi

eved

my

mat

eria

l go

als

befo

re (

25)

....

...

the

supp

ort

of

a co

ach,

but

pro

fess

iona

l ch

alle

nges

, lo

ng h

ours

and

not

hav

ing

som

eone

ne

utra

l to

ta

lk

to

wer

e pu

ttin

g m

y w

ork

and

rela

tions

hips

at (2

6)..

....

..

I re

alis

ed I

nee

ded

to l

earn

how

to

deal

with

pro

blem

s be

fore

they

occ

urre

d.

My

life

coac

h is

ver

y go

od a

t as

king

me

(27)

....

...

ques

tions

whi

ch h

elp

me

to d

isco

ver

wha

t I’m

dis

satis

fied

with

in m

y lif

e,

and

to u

nder

stan

d w

ho I

am

. It’s

goo

d to

hav

e so

meo

ne y

ou c

an

trus

t and

res

pect

to (2

8)..

....

.th

ings

ove

r w

ith.

I so

met

imes

pic

k to

pics

in (2

9)..

....

.of

our

dis

cuss

ions

, suc

h

as s

ituat

ions

at

wor

k, o

r co

nflic

ts b

etw

een

me

and

colle

ague

s,

thou

gh I

don

’t a

lway

s (3

0)..

....

.an

age

nda.

And

I k

now

tha

t

ever

ythi

ng I

say

to m

y co

ach

is in

the

stri

ctes

t con

fide

nce.

I’m

far

bette

r at

tac

klin

g di

ffic

ult

situ

atio

ns n

ow,

and

best

of

all,

I fe

el

muc

h m

ore

at e

ase

with

my

life.

Page 76

BE

C H

IGH

ER

PAR

T S

IX

Qu

esti

on

s 41

– 5

2

•R

ead

the

text

bel

ow a

bout

writ

ing

good

cov

erin

g le

tters

.

•In

mos

t of

the

line

s 41

– 5

2th

ere

is o

ne e

xtra

wor

d.It

is e

ither

gra

mm

atic

ally

inco

rrec

t or

does

not

fit

in w

ith t

he m

eani

ng o

f th

e te

xt. S

ome

lines

, ho

wev

er,

are

corr

ect.

•If

a lin

e is

cor

rect

, w

rite

CO

RR

EC

Ton

you

r A

nsw

er S

heet

•If

ther

e is

an

extr

a w

ord

in t

he li

ne,

writ

e th

e ex

tra

wo

rdin

CA

PIT

AL

LET

TE

RS

on y

our

answ

er s

heet

.

•T

he e

xerc

ise

begi

ns w

ith t

wo

exam

ples

, (0

) an

d (0

0).

Exa

mp

les

0C

OR

RE

CT

00Y

OU

0W

hen

yo

u’r

e ap

ply

ing

fo

r a

job

, wh

at c

an y

ou

do

to

en

sure

th

at y

ou

r

00

cove

rin

g le

tter

do

esn

’t ju

st g

et ‘f

iled

’ in

th

e ru

bb

ish

bin

? Fi

rstl

y, y

ou

41

alw

ays

rem

emb

er t

hat

th

e p

urp

ose

of

a co

veri

ng

lett

er is

th

ere

to

42

com

ple

men

t fo

r yo

ur

CV.

Th

is m

ean

s it

sh

ou

ld f

lesh

ou

t an

d e

xpla

in

43

clea

rly

thro

ug

h a

ny

po

ints

th

at t

he

CV

alo

ne

do

esn

’t d

eal w

ith

an

d t

hat

44

ther

efo

re m

igh

t o

ther

wis

e b

e m

isse

d o

ut

by

pro

spec

tive

em

plo

yers

.

45

For

exam

ple

, if

you

’re

loo

kin

g t

o c

han

ge

in in

du

stri

es, t

hen

yo

ur

lett

er

46

ou

gh

t to

exp

lain

th

em w

hy

you

wan

t to

mak

e th

e m

ove

, wh

at y

ou

r

47

mo

tiva

tio

n is

, an

d w

hat

yo

u h

op

e to

ach

ieve

. If

you

r C

V s

ho

ws

that

yo

u

48

do

n't

ho

ld a

rel

evan

t q

ual

ific

atio

n t

hat

th

e jo

b a

d h

as s

pec

ifie

d it

(sa

y,

49

a u

niv

ersi

ty d

egre

e o

r a

voca

tio

nal

dip

lom

a), s

o y

ou

’ll n

eed

to

exp

lain

50

wh

y yo

u s

ho

uld

sti

ll b

e co

nsi

der

ed. I

t’s n

ot

easy

, an

d o

ften

wri

tin

g t

he

51

lett

er c

an t

ake

twic

e as

lon

g a

s w

riti

ng

yo

ur

CV.

Bu

t b

ecau

se t

o s

om

e

52

exte

nt

that

is h

ow

it s

ho

uld

be:

a C

V is

a f

orm

al, w

ith

str

uct

ure

d d

ocu

men

t

that

sim

ply

imp

arts

info

rmat

ion

, wh

erea

s a

lett

er is

yo

ur

chan

ce t

o m

ake

an

imp

ress

ion

.

11

DO

N’T

GE

T “

FIL

ED

IN

TH

E B

IN”

An

in

crea

sin

g

nu

mb

er

of

peo

ple

ar

e fi

nd

ing

(0)

....

..

nec

essa

ry t

o s

pen

d a

t le

ast

par

t o

f th

eir

wo

rkin

g l

ife

abro

ad.

An

in

tern

atio

nal

car

eer

use

d t

o b

e so

met

hin

g p

eop

le o

pte

d

into

fro

m c

ho

ice,

bu

t(3

1) .

....

.m

any

it h

as n

ow

bec

om

e a

req

uir

emen

t o

f st

ayin

g

in

wo

rk.

You

d

o

no

t h

ave

to

be

wo

rkin

g in

a h

ug

e m

ult

i-n

atio

nal

co

rpo

rati

on

to

fin

d(3

2) ..

....

bei

ng

ask

ed t

o w

ork

ab

road

. Co

mp

anie

s th

at n

ot

so(3

3) ..

....

year

s ag

o

rese

rved

fo

reig

n

trav

el

for

dir

ecto

rs,

are

no

w

sen

din

g m

idd

le m

anag

ers

and

eve

n n

ew r

ecru

its

on

pro

ject

s

ove

rsea

s.

Th

e ch

arac

teri

stic

s o

f in

tern

atio

nal

trav

el w

ill v

ary

wid

ely.

Fo

r

som

e p

eop

le i

t w

ill m

ean

th

at t

hey

will

occ

asio

nal

ly h

ave

to

spen

d a

(34)

....

..d

ays

in a

fore

ign

cit

y, w

hile

for

oth

ers

it w

ill

mea

n t

hat

th

ey w

ill c

on

stan

tly

be

mo

vin

g f

rom

(35)

...

...

cou

ntr

y to

an

oth

er

un

til

they

ev

entu

ally

lo

se

tou

ch

wit

h

(36)

....

..o

rig

inal

nat

ion

al id

enti

ty.

Th

e g

row

ing

d

eman

d

for

peo

ple

w

ith

th

e sk

ills

an

d

exp

erie

nce

to

w

ork

in

cr

oss

-nat

ion

al

con

text

s p

lace

s a

pre

miu

m o

n t

ho

se w

ho

hav

e d

evel

op

ed t

he

skill

s to

en

able

them

to r

ise

to th

at c

hal

len

ge.

(37)

....

..is

nee

ded

is fl

exib

ility

and

ad

apta

bili

ty,

bo

th o

f(3

8) ..

....

aris

e fr

om

a s

tate

of

min

d

rath

er t

han

fro

m i

nn

ate

abili

ty.

Team

wo

rkin

g s

kills

are

als

o

imp

ort

ant

and

(39)

..

....

is

the

abili

ty

to

com

mu

nic

ate

effe

ctiv

ely,

es

pec

ially

(40)

..

....

lon

g

dis

tan

ces,

vi

a n

ew

com

mu

nic

atio

ns

tech

no

log

ies,

su

ch

as

vid

eoco

nfe

ren

cin

g

and

tel

eco

nfe

ren

cin

g.

An

inte

rnat

ion

al c

aree

r re

qu

ires

a v

arie

ty o

f ski

lls. T

he

tim

e to

beg

in p

rep

arin

g f

or

such

a c

aree

r is

no

w.

WO

RK

ING

AB

RO

AD

PAR

T F

IVE

Qu

esti

on

s 31

– 4

0

•R

ead

the

artic

le b

elow

abo

ut w

orki

ng a

broa

d.

•F

or e

ach

ques

tion

31 –

40,

writ

e on

e w

ord

in C

AP

ITA

L LE

TT

ER

S o

n yo

ur A

nsw

er S

heet

.

•T

here

is a

n ex

ampl

e at

the

beg

inni

ng,

(0).

Exa

mp

le0

IT

10

Page 77

BE

C H

IGH

ER

READING ANSWER KEY

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six

1 E 9 B 15 B 21 D 31 FOR/WITH 41 THERE2 D 10 F 16 D 22 B 32 YOURSELF 42 FOR3 B 11 G 17 C 23 B 33 MANY 43 THROUGH4 A 12 D 18 A 24 A 34 FEW 44 OUT5 B 13 E 19 D 25 D 35 ONE 45 IN6 C 14 A 20 C 26 C 36 THEIR 46 THEM7 E 27 B 37 WHAT 47 CORRECT8 E 28 A 38 WHICH 48 IT

29 D 39 SO 49 SO30 A 40 OVER/ACROSS 50 CORRECT

51 BECAUSE52 WITH

Page 78

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Part

5

32

31

01

01

34

01

01

35

01

31

32

33

34

35

36

01

37

01

36

37

38

01

39

01

38

39

40

01

40

33 P

art

6

42

41

01

01

44

01

01

45

01

41

42

43

44

45

46

01

47

01

46

47

48

01

49

01

48

49

50

01

50

43

51

01

51

52

01

52

Superv

isor:

HI

GH

ER

BE

C H

igh

er R

ead

ing

An

sw

er S

heet

00

00 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Ca

nd

ida

te N

am

eIf

no

t alr

ead

y p

rin

ted

, w

rit

e n

am

e

in C

AP

ITA

LS

an

d c

om

ple

te t

he

Can

did

ate

No

. g

rid

(in

pen

cil).

Ca

nd

idate

’s S

ign

atu

re

Exam

inati

on

Tit

le

Ce

ntr

e

If t

he

ca

nd

ida

te is A

BS

EN

T o

r h

as

WIT

HD

RA

WN

sh

ad

e h

ere

Can

did

ate

No

.

Cen

tre N

o.

Exam

inati

on

Deta

ils

9Pa

rt

2 �

Tu

rn

ov

er f

or P

arts

5 a

nd

6

Ins

tru

cti

on

s

Use

a P

EN

CIL

(B

or

HB

).

Ru

b o

ut

an

y a

nsw

er

yo

u w

ish

to

ch

an

ge

with

an

era

se

r.

Fo

r P

arts

1 t

o 4

:

Ma

rk o

ne

bo

x f

or

ea

ch

an

sw

er.

Fo

r e

xa

mp

le:

If y

ou

th

ink C

is t

he

rig

ht

an

sw

er

to t

he

qu

estio

n,

ma

rk y

ou

r a

nsw

er

sh

ee

t like

th

is:

Fo

r P

arts

5 a

nd

6:

Write

yo

ur

an

sw

er

cle

arly in

CA

PIT

AL

LE

TT

ER

S.

Write

on

e le

tte

r in

ea

ch

bo

x.

Fo

r e

xa

mp

le:

AB

C0

0

10

11

12

13

14

15P

art

3

16

17

18

19

20

21P

art

4

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

1Pa

rt

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

BE

C H

- R

DP

46

2/3

62

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

AB

CD

E

AB

CD

E

AB

CD

E

AB

CD

E

AB

CD

E

AB

CD

E

AB

CD

E

AB

CD

E

Page 79

A DETAILED LOOK AT THE TASKS

For BEC Higher, candidates are required to produce twopieces of writing:• a short report based on graphic input;

• one of the following (of the candidate’s choosing):

• a longer report;

• a piece of business correspondence;

• a proposal.

For definitions of these task types please see page 49.

Part One

This is a guided writing task, in which the candidateproduces a brief (120-140 word) report. The task provides arealistic situation in which it is necessary to analyse graphicinformation and express it in words. The input may consistof graphs, bar charts or pie charts of the type frequently usedin the business pages of newspapers, company reports andbrochures.

Part Two

In most parts of the BEC Writing tests, all candidates arerequired to perform the same task because there is no dangerof individuals or groups of candidates being disadvantagedby that task. The exception is BEC Higher Writing Part Two:in order to generate the range of language which ischaracteristic of this level of language learner, the taskcontains no input or minimal input, resulting in a relativelyhigh background knowledge requirement from thecandidate. In the absence of a choice of tasks this coulddisadvantage some candidates, so a choice of tasks is given.

Candidates choose from three options: a report, proposal or apiece of business correspondence. The task is supplied by therubric, which provides an authentic reason for writing, andindicates for whom the piece of writing is being produced. Theinput is therefore more detailed and specific than that of thetraditional ‘essay question’ task type.

There is no significant difference between the formatrequired for proposals and reports. At this level, reports mustbe clearly organised and should make some attempt at reportformat, for example paragraphs, heading, introduction and/orconclusion. There is no particular requirement forsubheadings, and some widely taught subheadings such as‘introduction’, ‘terms of reference’, ‘findings’, etc. will notnecessarily be appropriate for all tasks.

Preparing for the Writing Questions

The first writing task involves the kind of graphic input ofinformation which is common in the business world, andcandidates should be exposed to a wide range of examplesof graphs and charts from newspapers, magazines, companyliterature, etc. The interpretation involved is the translating ofthe graphic input into prose, rather than the recommendingof action. Candidates should have practice in the clear andconcise presentation of written information. Specificvocabulary and phrasing should also be developed.

The second writing task requires candidates to plan carefullyin order to be able to produce successful answers. Exposureto, and discussion of, as wide a range as possible of relevanttexts would be beneficial. Candidates should be givenpractice in considering:

• the target reader

• the purpose of writing

• the requirements of the format (letter, report, etc.)

• the main points to be addressed

• the approximate number of words to be written foreach point

• suitable openings and closings

• the level of formality required.

For the BEC Higher Writing component, candidates writetheir answers in pen in their question paper booklet.

BE

C H

IGH

ER

TEST OF WRITING

Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

PART Functions/Communicative Task Input Response Register

1 e.g. describing or comparing figures Rubric and graphic input Short report (medium may Neutral/from graphic input, making be memo or e-mail) formalinferences (120 – 140 words)

2 Report: describing, summarising Rubric, possibly supplemented by Candidates choose from Neutral/brief input text, e.g. notice, advert report (medium may be formal

Correspondence: e.g. explaining, memo or e-mail) orapologising, reassuring, complaining proposal (medium may

be memo or e-mail)Proposal: describing, summarising, or business correspondencerecommending, persuading (medium may be letter, fax

or e-mail) (200 – 250 words)

Page 80

BE

C H

IGH

ER

4PAR

T T

WO

Qu

esti

on

s 2

– 4

•W

rite

an a

nsw

er t

o o

ne

of t

he q

uest

ions

2 –

4 in

thi

s pa

rt.

•W

rite

200

– 25

0w

ords

on

page

s 5

and

6.

•W

rite

the

ques

tion

num

ber

in t

he b

ox a

t th

e to

p of

pag

e 5.

Qu

esti

on

2

•Yo

ur m

anag

er is

kee

n to

intr

oduc

e ne

w p

ract

ices

into

you

r co

mpa

ny.H

e ha

s as

ked

you

to w

rite

a

repo

rt w

hich

incl

udes

det

ails

of

two

prac

tices

fro

m a

noth

er c

ompa

ny w

hich

you

wou

ld s

ugge

st

adop

ting

in y

our

own

com

pany

.

•W

rite

the

rep

ort

for

your

man

ager

, in

clud

ing

the

follo

win

g in

form

atio

n:

•w

hat

you

adm

ire a

bout

the

oth

er c

ompa

ny

•w

hich

tw

o of

its

prac

tices

you

wou

ld a

dopt

•w

hy y

our

com

pany

wou

ld b

enef

it fr

om t

hem

.

Qu

esti

on

3

•Yo

ur c

ompa

ny h

as e

mpl

oyed

an

outs

ide

cons

ulta

nt t

o or

gani

se a

n ex

hibi

tion

of y

our

prod

ucts

, to

be h

eld

next

mon

th.H

is w

ork

is u

nsat

isfa

ctor

y, a

nd y

our

boss

has

now

dec

ided

tha

t yo

u sh

ould

take

ove

r fu

ll re

spon

sibi

lity

inst

ead.

Your

bos

s ha

s as

ked

you

to w

rite

to t

he c

onsu

ltant

to

expl

ain

why

he

has

been

rep

lace

d.

•W

rite

the

lett

erto

the

con

sulta

nt:

•gi

ving

tw

o re

ason

s w

hy h

e ha

s be

en r

epla

ced

•te

lling

him

he

will

be

paid

for

this

wor

k

•as

king

him

to

brie

f yo

u on

the

cur

rent

situ

atio

n.

Qu

esti

on

4

•Yo

ur c

ompa

ny h

as d

ecid

ed t

o co

nduc

t an

inve

stig

atio

n in

to t

he p

ossi

bilit

y of

incr

easi

ng t

he

num

ber

of w

ays

in w

hich

tec

hnol

ogy

is u

sed

thro

ugho

ut t

he o

rgan

isat

ion.

You

have

bee

n as

ked

to w

rite

a pr

opos

al c

once

rnin

g th

e us

e of

tec

hnol

ogy

in y

our

depa

rtm

ent

for

the

Man

agin

g

Dire

ctor

.

•W

rite

your

pro

po

sal,

incl

udin

g th

e fo

llow

ing:

•a

brie

f ou

tline

of

the

curr

ent

uses

of

tech

nolo

gy in

you

r de

part

men

t

•a

desc

riptio

n of

wha

t te

chno

logi

cal i

mpr

ovem

ents

cou

ld b

e m

ade

•an

exp

lana

tion

of t

he b

enef

its t

hese

cha

nges

mig

ht b

ring

•re

com

men

datio

ns fo

r th

e ki

nd o

f tr

aini

ng t

hat

wou

ld b

e ne

cess

ary.

2

PH

OT

OC

OP

IER

CO

ST

S

$0$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,0

00

$1,2

00

Car

daK

DS

ebu

Pur

chas

e pr

ice

War

rant

yR

unni

ng c

osts

Exp

ecte

d to

tal c

osts

for

initi

al 2

-yea

r pe

riod:

C

arda

– $

1,90

0

KD

– $

1,80

0

Seb

u –

$1,8

00

PAR

T O

NE

Qu

esti

on

1

•T

he b

ar c

hart

bel

ow s

how

s th

e co

st o

f bu

ying

thr

ee d

iffer

ent

phot

ocop

iers

, th

e co

st o

f a

war

rant

y

on e

ach

mac

hine

, an

d th

eir

expe

cted

run

ning

cos

ts fo

r th

e fir

st t

wo

year

s.

•U

sing

the

info

rmat

ion

from

the

cha

rt,

writ

e a

shor

t re

po

rtco

mpa

ring

the

cost

s fo

r th

e th

ree

mac

hine

s.

•W

rite

120

– 14

0w

ords

on

page

3.

WRITING SAMPLE PAPER

Page 81

ASSESSMENT OF WRITING

An impression mark is awarded to each piece of writing. TheGeneral Impression Mark Scheme is used in conjunctionwith a Task-specific Mark Scheme, which focuses on criteriaspecific to each particular task. This summarises the content,organisation, register, format and target reader indicated inthe task.

The band scores awarded are translated to a mark out of 10

for Part 1 and a mark out of 20 for Part 2. A total of 30marks is available for Writing.

The General Impression Mark Scheme is interpreted atCouncil of Europe level C1.

A summary of the General Impression Mark Scheme isreproduced below. Examiners work with a more detailedversion, which is subject to regular updating.

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Summary of General Impression Mark Scheme

Band 5 Full realisation of the task set.• All content points included.• Controlled, natural use of language; minimal errors.• Wide range of structure and vocabulary.• Effectively organised, with appropriate use of cohesive devices.• Register and format consistently appropriate.Very positive effect on the reader.

Band 4 Good realisation of the task set.• All major content points included; possibly minor omissions.• Natural use of language; errors only when complex language is attempted.• Good range of structure and vocabulary.• Generally well-organised, with attention paid to cohesion.• Register and format on the whole appropriate.Positive effect on the reader.

Band 3 Reasonable achievement of the task set.• All major content points included; some minor omissions.• Reasonable control, although a more ambitious attempt at the task may

lead to a number of non-impeding errors.• Adequate range of structure and vocabulary.• Organisation and cohesion is satisfactory.• Register and format reasonable, although not entirely successful.Satisfactory effect on the reader.

Band 2 Inadequate attempt at the task set.• Some major content points omitted or inadequately dealt with; possibly

some irrelevance.• Errors sometimes obscure communication and are likely to be numerous.• Limited range of structure and vocabulary; language is too elementary for this level.• Content is not clearly organised.• Unsuccessful attempt at appropriate register and format.Negative effect on the reader.

Band 1 Poor attempt at the task set.• Notable content omissions and/or considerable irrelevance.• Serious lack of control; frequent basic errors.• Narrow range of structure and vocabulary.• Lack of organisation.• Little attempt at appropriate register and format.Very negative effect on the reader.

Band 0 Achieves nothing. Either fewer than 25% of the required number of words or totally illegible or totally irrelevant.

Page 82

QUESTION 1

EXAMINER COMMENTS

Report: Photocopier Costs

Of the three types of photocopiers, Carda, KD and Sebu, the purchase price of the Carda is the lowest. It isslightly more than $600 but its expected running cost for the first two years is the highest with its warrantycost at the mid-level of the three photocopiers.

In comparison, the purchase price of the KD is a little more than that of the Carda which is $700; whereasthe expected running cost of the KD is much less than that of the Carda which is $1,200. However, the KD’swarranty cost is the highest of the three at $200. In comparison the Sebu’s purchase price is the highest of thethree, i.e. $1000, but it costs consumers the least in warranty and running for the first two years.

What’s more, the expected total cost of the Carda for the initial 2-year period is $1,900, more than that ofboth the Sebu and KD, $1,800.

In conclusion it would be advisable to buy the KD photocopier which is generally more advantageous in costthan its competitors.

CANDIDATE A

Full realisation of the task set with a natural use of languageand appropriate use of linkers.

Band 5

EXAMINER COMMENTS

This report was compiled to present the data about the costs of buying three different photocopiers, the costof a warranty on each machine, and their expected running costs for the first two years. The photocopiersbeing described are Carda, KS and Sebu.

Certainly the most expensive one is Carda as its total cost for initial 2-year period is $1,900. This includesrunning costs of $1,200 and cost of a warranty which is $100. The remaining part of costs – about 30% ofthe total costs – is the purchase price.

Total costs of both KD and Sebu photocopiers are equal, however their particular ingredients differ. KD’swarranty is the most pricey and costs $200 whereas Sebu’s costs $70. Running costs of KD and Sebuphotocopiers are $900 and $800, respectively. Taking into consideration purchase price, the most expensiveone is Sebu which costs $1000 whereas KD’s is cheaper than Sebu by $200. Total costs for the 2-year periodof these machines is $1,800.

I trust that the above data will be useful and helpful for the buyer to make the best possible choice.

CANDIDATE B

Good realisation of the task set with all content pointsincluded. Ambitious range of structure and vocabulary,which is not always successful. Generally well-organisedwith evidence of internal cohesion.

Band 4

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Page 83

EXAMINER COMMENTS

This report compares the costs of three photocopiers, called Carda, KD and Sebu.

Firstly, we will consider running costs. Far the highest is Carda’s ($1200) followed by KD’s which is equal to$1000 and the lowest one at the moment is Sebu’s ($600). It also has the lowest warranty cost which is about$100. That is very close to the cost of Carda machine, which is just a bit higher ($630). But KD’s cost is forabout 100 percent higher than the mentioned two. If we look at purchase prices and start with the highest wefirstly have to mention Carda. It’s purchase price is $600, moving to KD with a price of about $700 and finishwith the highest purchase price which is $1200 and comes from Sebu.

If we analyse the facts I mentioned above we can calculate the expected total costs for initial 2-year period.Carda has the highest total cost which is $1900, so it would be cheaper buying the other two, which bothhave a total price of $1,800.

CANDIDATE C

This is a well-organised response to the task which displaysinternal coherence. All content points are covered. Theregister is more informal than might generally be consideredappropriate, but is used consistently. There are errors butthese are generally non-impeding.

Band 3

EXAMINER COMMENTS

The upper is the comparison of the costs of 3 different photocopiers, including the purchase price, warrantycosts and expected running costs for initial 2-year. From that, we can see Carda gets the higest expected totalcosts of $1,900. The others, KD and Sebu are likely the same reaching $1,800.

The reason why Carda is the most expensive is due to its running costs, which covers more than 60 percentin the expected total cost. While KD and Sebu cost lower than that, no more than $1,000. In which Sebu’scost in running cost is only $800 around. But Sebu’s buying cost the higest over $1,000. At the same time,Carda costs only $600, KD $700 or so. As to the cost of a warranty on them, KD is more than $200, Carda$120 and Sebu less than $100.

CANDIDATE D

Inadequate attempt at the task set due mainly to the lowlevel of language. Errors sometimes obscure communication‘the upper’, ‘in which Sebu’s cost in running cost is only$800’. However, the major content points are addressed andthe writing has reasonable organisation.

Band 2

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Page 84

BE

C H

IGH

ER

EXAMINER COMMENTS

Good organisation and realisation of the task set; all contentpoints are included. Natural use of language with a widerange of vocabulary and reasonably accurate use of structureand cohesive devices.

Band 4

EXAMINER COMMENTS

The purpose of this report is to established which practices should we accept in our company from company“Johnson”. The company Johnson is well respected company in Europe. They own their succes to inovationand team work. This is a well organised company with 300 employees. All their employees know what isexpected from them. The company is devided in to departaments; Production, finances, marketing and salles.

They have strict behavior rules which includes non smoking and clothing polici. Inspite of this strict rulesthere is an open-level management. Every two weeks the main director receves employees that come withnew ideas and they are reworded if the idea is accepted. Johnson has also an complain service in whichpesonel can come to express their dissatisfaction.

In our company I would strongly sugest that we also adopt open-level management where we could widenour prospectives and get new ideas.

I also reccomend complain service center where we could find out how to motivate our staff.

CANDIDATE F

Inadequate attempt at the task set. All content pointsaddressed but not always adequately dealt with. Errors(particularly of spelling) are numerous and sometimesobscure communication.

Band 2

QUESTION 2

Report on the introduction of new practices.

The report sets out to describe the most attractive features of the Olive Garden chain restaurants StaffManagement policies and to suggest introduction of several items into the restaurant department of theHinton Firs hotel. The presented information has been obtained during the Assistant Manager’s visit to theformer company.

It was found that one of the American chain restaurants is exposed to an exceptionately innovativemanagement that has recently developed a new policy in order to maintain high standards in all aspects ofthe service provided to their guests.

It seems that two of its recently introduced practices may be well borrowed and implemented in our business.

Firstly, all the waiting staff are exposed to a check-up before starting their lunch and dinner shifts so as toensure maintenance of hygene and compliance with the company’s dress code.

Secondly, the evening briefings conducted on a regular basis in order to inform the staff about the basicchanges in the menu and wine supplies have proved effective, and therefore could be applied in ourrestaurant department as well.

It is clear that a successful introduction of the two procedures is sure to reflect on the quality of such servicein issues of the waiting staff’s better awareness and an improvement in the hotel’s image.

CANDIDATE E

Page 85

BE

C H

IGH

ER

QUESTION 3

Dear Mr Jones

My name is Svenja Pietzonka, I am an employee of a company Ardo, where you were employed. I have beengiven this unpleasant job of contacting you and explaining why you have been replaced. Another reason forwriting you is to inform you that I will take over your responsibility and to ask for your help.

The reasons for your replacement are, as you can assume, that you didn’t know our products well enough.You obviously didn’t quite understand which are the features of our products that attract potential customersand what our marketing strategies are. This led to the lack of ideas that you had. We know that youintroduced a few ideas, but we think you would agree that none was satisfactory. We hope that youunderstand why we decided so.

We confess that your failure to succeed is also our fault. We should have introduced you to our productsbetter and we should have let you know what the objectives of our company are and which market strategieswe use to achieve them. Taking all these factors into account, we agreed that we should pay you the workyou have done.

I would like to ask you if you could brief me on the current situation. You probably know that it is extremelyhard to start a project when someone was working on it before you, so I honestly hope that you will beprepared to assist me with your help.

I am looking forward hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerelySvenja Pietzonka

CANDIDATE G

EXAMINER COMMENTS

Good achievement of the task set, mainly due to tone andcontent, which would have the desired impact on the targetreader. However, there are some non-impeding errors and anoccasional awkwardness in expression.

Band 4

Page 86

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Dear sir,

Thank you for the work you have done to organise an exhibition. Most things are kept in order in the initialstage of the whole process and your job is confirmed and phrased by our boss to some extent. However,there still remains some shortcomings. As is known to all, you are a very excellent consultant in manyrespects. You have lots of experience in advising. But that it is based on outside conditions does not fit usvery much. The policies, the strategies seem a bit different from what we own. And that causes some barriersamong our people. So with the development of the process, the organising work may not be well done. Toavoid such shortcomings, we may appreciate someone with local experience in the next stage of the process.Probably he will be helpful to the co-operative work, and accepted by the inside ones. He may not be ascreative as you but somehow suits the situation now.

We will pay you according to your creative work and helpful advice and you will be thanked for your favourin our company.

As I will take your place and hopefully I intend to get some help from you. If you could brief the work on thecurrent situation, I shall be very grateful. Thank you very much again.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Regards.

Jessica ChoiCompany Adviser

CANDIDATE H

EXAMINER COMMENTS

All content points are included. Reasonable register andformat. However, an ambitious attempt at language results infrequent impeding errors and lack of clarity.

Band 2

Page 87

BE

C H

IGH

ER

QUESTION 4

EXAMINER COMMENTS

PurposeAs requested, the purpose of this proposal is to describe and analyse the possible use of technology in theMarketing Department.

Current use of technologyUp to now the members of our department have taken advantage of technological equipment i.e. computers,in order to launch our products most successfully. Not only have we arranged promotional and advertisingcampaigns but we have also conducted market research via the internet so as to meet our consumers growingdemands.

Technological ImprovementsIn our work we have used computer software and hardware which has already become obsolete and urgentlyneeds modernisation. Therefore, the purchase of up-to-date programmes and equipment is of primeimportance.

BenefitsThere is no denying that these improvements will bring vast profits to the company. Our team will be able towork faster, more effectively and make greater use of technological innovations. Moreover, our company willbe more likely to easily overcome fierce competition in the market.

TrainingIt seems obvious that our staff does not possess the knowledge of how to use new software. Thus, training onthe use of modern programmes would be recommended as necessary.

ConclusionTo sum up, it seems obvious that the introduction of new technology into the Marketing Department willenable the company to gain huge profits. Our position in the market will be strengthened.

CANDIDATE I

Very good realisation of the task with good use of structureand vocabulary. Well-organised and cohesive with naturaluse of language.

Band 5

Page 88

BE

C H

IGH

ER

EXAMINER COMMENTS

The purpose of the proposal is to explain why our Design Department need to improve technology in ourdepartment regarding the introduction of more portable PCs and laser printers, and recommend somenecessary training.

As designers in Design Department, it is our routine job to design our product consistent with therequirement of our clients. With the expanding of our company, we receive more orders. Most of ourequipment, fax machines, color boards, etc. perform less help to us with our heavy workload. Our efficiencywas affected.

There is therefore an urgent need for us to buy some more computers. Because, so many things can be doneby computers, you can choose colors, textile types, etc on them. And it is amazing to see the whole processon computer. Furthermore it is faster and quality is improved too.

We usually attend some seminars or shows abroad. And we feel it is very inconvenient to take many designpapers, and documents with us, and sometimes they are in a mess. So I think we should buy some portablecomputers for our designers, if possible.

Besides that, it is paramount for us to get the latest information from all over the world. We could get themthrough internet with our portable computers anywhere, any time.

As our routine work has little connection with computers and internet, most of us can’t use them freely. So itis necessary for us to bring in some training courses of computers and internet.

CANDIDATE J

Reasonable achievement of task set. All content points areincluded and the organisation is satisfactory. However, anambitious attempt at the task results in errors of structure andvocabulary, although these are mainly non-impeding.

Band 3

Page 89

A DETAILED LOOK AT THE TASKS

Part One

This is a sentence-completion, gap-filling or note-taking task.The candidate has to supply only the key words of theanswer, which will not be more than three words per item.

The spoken text lasts about two to three minutes and is amonologue (or a single long turn by more than one speaker).The text is heard twice. It is informational and focuses on aseries of identifiable facts. Topics might involve instructions,changes in arrangements or instructions, the programme foran event or meeting of some kind or details of theorganisation of an event. The setting for the task could besomeone giving information over the telephone, or a speakeraddressing a roomful of delegates at a conference or peopleon a training course.

Listening tasks may be based on recorded material takenfrom authentic sources or more usually on scripted material.There are twelve items, which are distributed evenlythroughout the text, so that candidates have time to recordtheir answers. Answers to items may be numbers or amountsof money, but these will not involve the candidate in anycalculations. Items of information are tested in the sameorder in which the information occurs in the text. Correctspelling of the words in the answer is expected.

Part Two

This is a matching task based on five short extracts linked bytheme or topic and spoken by five different speakers, inmonologue form. The texts last a total of approximately threeto four minutes.

There are two tasks for each of the five extracts. These tasksrelate to the content and purpose of the extracts, andcandidates are asked to do any combination of thefollowing: identify speakers, interpret context, recognise the

function of what is said, identify the topic, understandspecific information, identify a speaker’s opinion or feelings.

The series of extracts is heard twice, and candidates mustattempt both tasks during this time. It is for the candidates todecide whether they choose to do the first task the first timethey listen to the text, and the second task the second time,or whether to deal with the two tasks for each extracttogether. For each task, they have a list of eight options tochoose from.

Materials for this task are scripted, and relate to a businesstopic or situation.

Part Three

This task consists of a dialogue, usually with two or morespeakers. There are eight items, which are three-optionmultiple choice. The task relates to a topic of interest orconcern in the world of work. The text is heard twice.

Preparing for the Listening Paper

All listening practice should be helpful for students, whetherauthentic or specially prepared. In particular, discussionshould focus on:

• the purpose of speeches and conversations ordiscussions

• the roles of speakers

• the opinions expressed

• the language functions employed

• relevant aspects of phonology such as stress, linkingand weak forms, etc.

In addition, students should be encouraged to appreciate thediffering demands of each task type. It will be helpful notonly to practise the task types in order to develop a sense offamiliarity and confidence, but also to discuss how the three

BE

C H

IGH

ER

TEST OF LISTENING

Time: approx. 40 minutes including 10 minutes’ transfer time

Number ofPART Main Skill Focus Input Response Questions

1 Listening for and noting Informational monologue Gap-filling requiring limited 12specific information written responses (i.e. no more

than 3 words)

2 Listening to identify 5 short monologues linked by theme Multiple matching 10topic, context, function or topic, from 5 different speakersspeaker’s opinion, etc.

3 Listening for gist, specific Conversation/interview/discussion 3-option multiple choice 8information, attitudes, etc. between 2 or more people

Page 90

task types relate to real life skills and situations.

• The first is note-taking (and therefore productive), andstudents should reflect on the various situations inwhich they take notes from a spoken input. Theyshould also be encouraged to try to predict the kinds ofwords or numbers that might go in the gaps.

• The second is a matching (with discrimination)exercise, featuring differing styles and registers.

• The third involves the correct interpretation of spokeninput, with correct answers often being delivered bymore than one speaker.

In all three tasks, successful listening depends on correctreading, and students should be encouraged to make full useof the pauses during the test to check the written input.

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Page 91

BE

C H

IGH

ER

PAR

T T

WO

Qu

esti

on

s 13

– 2

2

•Yo

u w

ill h

ear

five

diffe

rent

bus

ines

s pe

ople

tal

king

abo

ut t

rips

they

hav

e re

cent

ly b

een

on.

•F

or e

ach

extr

act

ther

e ar

e tw

o ta

sks.

For

Tas

k O

ne,

choo

se t

he p

urpo

se o

f ea

ch t

rip f

rom

the

list

A –

H.F

or T

ask

Two,

cho

ose

the

prob

lem

des

crib

ed f

rom

the

list

A –

H.

•Yo

u w

ill h

ear

the

reco

rdin

g tw

ice.

TAS

K O

NE

– P

UR

PO

SE

•F

or q

uest

ions

13

– 17

, m

atch

the

ext

ract

s w

ith t

he p

urpo

ses,

list

ed A

– H

.

•F

or e

ach

extr

act,

choo

se t

he p

urpo

se s

tate

d.

•W

rite

one

lette

r (A

– H

) ne

xt t

o th

e nu

mbe

r of

the

ext

ract

.

13..

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

14..

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

15..

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

16..

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

17..

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

TAS

K T

WO

– P

RO

BL

EM

•F

or q

uest

ions

18

– 22

, m

atch

the

ext

ract

s w

ith t

he p

robl

ems,

list

ed A

– H

.

•F

or e

ach

extr

act,

choo

se t

he p

robl

em d

escr

ibed

.

•W

rite

one

lette

r (A

– H

) ne

xt t

o th

e nu

mbe

r of

the

ext

ract

.

18..

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

19..

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

20..

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

21..

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

22..

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

0353

/3 (

T02

6) N

ov02

3

Turn

Ove

r �

Ato

sup

ervi

se s

taff

trai

ning

Bto

hol

d jo

b in

terv

iew

s

Cto

intr

oduc

e ne

w p

olic

y

Dto

vis

it po

ssib

le n

ew p

rem

ises

Eto

obs

erve

wor

king

pra

ctic

es

Fto

mee

t a

new

man

ager

Gto

sig

n a

new

con

trac

t

Hto

dea

l with

a c

ompl

aint

AI

forg

ot a

doc

umen

t.

BM

y ho

tel w

as n

oisy

.

CI

was

late

for

a m

eetin

g.

DI

didn

’t un

ders

tand

som

e fig

ures

.

ET

he s

ervi

ce a

t m

y ho

tel w

as b

ad.

FI

had

som

e w

rong

info

rmat

ion.

GI

didn

’t ha

ve a

n in

terp

rete

r.

HI

expe

rienc

ed c

ompu

ter

prob

lem

s.

203

53/3

(T

026)

Nov

02

PAR

T O

NE

Qu

esti

on

s 1

– 12

•Yo

u w

ill h

ear

the

intr

oduc

tion

to a

sem

inar

, ca

lled

the

Bus

ines

s M

aste

r C

lass

, ab

out

the

use

of

Info

rmat

ion

Tech

nolo

gy in

the

wor

kpla

ce.

•A

s yo

u lis

ten,

for

ques

tions

1 –

12,

com

plet

e th

e no

tes,

usi

ng u

p to

thr

ee w

ords

or

a nu

mbe

r.

•Yo

u w

ill h

ear

the

reco

rdin

g tw

ice.

THE

BUSI

NES

S M

AST

ER C

LASS

SEM

INA

R N

OT

ES

Arr

ange

men

ts f

or p

arti

cip

ants

1Th

e ev

ent

will

take

pla

ce o

ver

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

....

2Se

min

ar o

rgan

ised

by ..

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

......

3Th

e tit

le o

f the

last

ses

sion

will

be .

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

..

4To

use

the

New

City

Hot

el c

ar p

ark,

dele

gate

s m

ust

obta

in a

......

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

.

Dr

Sang

alli

5D

r Sa

ngal

li ha

s ad

vise

d m

any

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

.......

6Th

e na

me

of h

is co

nsul

tanc

y is

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

...

7H

e is

the

auth

or o

f .....

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

8In

Eur

ope,

he is

the

bes

t-kn

own

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

The

Bus

ines

s M

aste

r C

lass

Two

prob

lem

s fo

r co

mpa

nies

:

9to

bec

ome

mor

e ....

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

.....

10to

est

ablis

h ne

w .

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

..

Two

outc

omes

of s

essio

n:

11de

sign

your

ow

n ....

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

.......

12ta

ke a

way

doc

umen

ts c

onta

inin

g ac

tual

......

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

........

...

LISTENING SAMPLE PAPER

Page 92

BE

C H

IGH

ER

28W

hen

wor

king

to

prod

uce

a ba

tch

of c

loth

es

Aea

ch t

eam

is r

espo

nsib

le fo

r a

part

icul

ar o

pera

tion.

Bea

ch m

embe

r of

the

tea

m p

rodu

ces

a co

mpl

ete

item

.

Cea

ch p

erso

n ca

rrie

s ou

t on

e pa

rt o

f th

e pr

oduc

tion

proc

ess.

29W

hat

chan

ge h

as b

een

mad

e to

the

ran

ge o

f go

ods?

AA

sm

alle

r nu

mbe

r of

diff

eren

t ite

ms

is p

rodu

ced.

BE

ach

item

is n

ow m

ade

in s

mal

ler

quan

titie

s.

CF

ewer

new

sty

les

are

intr

oduc

ed e

ach

year

.

30W

hat

is s

aid

abou

t th

e m

achi

nist

s?

AM

ore

of t

heir

wor

k is

falli

ng b

elow

the

req

uire

d st

anda

rd.

BS

ome

of t

hem

are

ear

ning

less

tha

n th

ey u

sed

to.

CT

hey

have

to

spen

d lo

nger

lear

ning

to

oper

ate

new

mac

hine

s.

You

no

w h

ave

ten

min

ute

s to

tra

nsf

er y

ou

r an

swer

s to

yo

ur

An

swer

Sh

eet.

0353

/3 (

T02

6) N

ov02

5

PAR

T T

HR

EE

Qu

esti

on

s 23

– 3

0

•Yo

u w

ill h

ear

part

of

a co

nver

satio

n be

twee

n a

man

agem

ent

cons

ulta

nt a

nd t

he H

uman

Res

ourc

es M

anag

er o

f Je

nkin

s, a

com

pany

whi

ch m

anuf

actu

res

child

ren’

s cl

othi

ng.

•F

or e

ach

ques

tion

23 –

30,

mar

k on

e le

tter

A,

Bor

Cfo

r th

e co

rrec

t an

swer

.

•Yo

u w

ill h

ear

the

reco

rdin

g tw

ice.

23W

hat

is s

aid

abou

t th

e ow

ners

hip

of J

enki

ns?

AT

he fo

unde

r ha

s so

ld t

he c

ompa

ny t

o so

meo

ne e

lse.

BJe

nkin

s ha

s m

erge

d w

ith a

noth

er c

ompa

ny.

CT

here

has

bee

n no

cha

nge

of o

wne

rshi

p.

24W

hat

does

the

Hum

an R

esou

rces

Man

ager

see

as

the

mai

n ex

tern

al t

hrea

t to

Jen

kins

?

AT

heir

reta

ilers

are

bec

omin

g le

ss w

illin

g to

pay

the

ir pr

ices

.

BC

onsu

mer

s ar

e bu

ying

mor

e to

p-of

-the

-ran

ge c

hild

ren’

s cl

othe

s.

CM

ore

and

mor

e co

mpa

nies

are

pro

duci

ng c

hild

ren’

s cl

othe

s.

25T

he H

uman

Res

ourc

es M

anag

er s

ees

the

com

pany

’s m

ain

stre

ngth

as

the

fact

tha

t

Ait

has

seve

ral l

ong-

term

con

trac

ts.

Bit

mak

es p

rodu

cts

of h

igh

qual

ity.

Cits

dis

trib

utio

n sy

stem

is e

ffici

ent.

26T

he H

uman

Res

ourc

es M

anag

er b

elie

ves

that

Jen

kins

’s m

ain

wea

knes

s at

pre

sent

is t

hat

Ath

e m

achi

nery

is in

adeq

uate

for

curr

ent

requ

irem

ents

.

Bth

e m

anag

emen

t st

yle

is o

ut o

f lin

e w

ith m

oder

n de

man

ds.

Cth

e re

latio

ns b

etw

een

man

agem

ent

and

wor

kers

are

poo

r.

27A

ccor

ding

to

the

Hum

an R

esou

rces

Man

ager

, w

hy d

o m

any

mac

hini

sts

choo

se t

o le

ave?

AT

hey

thin

k th

at t

hey

can

get

bette

r pa

id w

ork

else

whe

re.

BT

hey

feel

tha

t to

o m

uch

is e

xpec

ted

of t

hem

.

CT

hey

lack

con

fiden

ce in

the

com

pany

’s f

utur

e.

403

53/3

(T

026)

Nov

02

Page 93

BE

C H

IGH

ER

LISTENING ANSWER KEY

Part One Part Two Part Three1 THREE DAYS 13 F 23 C2 GLOBAL CONFERENCES PLC 14 C 24 A3 TOMORROW’S SOFTWARE/ 15 D 25 B

TOMORROWS SOFTWARE 16 B 26 C4 PERMIT 17 E 27 B5 LARGE CORPORATIONS 18 A 28 C6 LOGIC SOLUTIONS 19 B 29 B7 INTELLIGENT CHANGE 20 F 30 A8 IT ANALYST 21 C9 CUSTOMER(-)DRIVEN 22 D10 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES/

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES11 FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION12 (REAL-LIFE) CASE STUDIES

TAPESCRIPT

PART ONE. QUESTIONS 1 to 12.

F: Good morning everyone and welcome. Thanks forcoming. My name is Jane Watson and I lookforward to meeting you all personally. Some of youare here just for today, others, I know, will beattending for all three days. I’m just going to say afew words on behalf of my company who haveorganised this event, Global Conferences plc. Asyou know today’s seminar is The Business MasterClass to be conducted by our distinguished guestwho I will introduce in a moment. But first a fewquick points of organisation which perhaps you’dlike to note. All the sessions will take place in thishotel except for the last session on Tomorrow’sSoftware, which will be at the New City Hotel. Wewill meet there at 2pm and this will give us achance to see in action some of the things we havebeen discussing. A map with directions to the NewCity Hotel is available from me if you wish to makeyour own way. Alternatively there will be a busgoing there at 1.30pm. There is limited car parkingat the New City Hotel so if you wish to drive thereyou will need a permit. You can get one from theconference office.Now to the reason we are all here. We are veryfortunate to have a seminar today led by Dr MartinSangalli, one of the most prominent and well-respected commentators in the world businesscommunity. He has been asked to advise manylarge corporations. He is a specialist in the strategicuse of information technology in banking,pharmaceuticals and retail. He has his owncompany called Logic Solutions which consultswith some of the biggest names in the world of

business. He is also an adviser to Intertel and a non-executive director of Global Conferences.Thousands of business and technology managershave benefited from reading his best-selling book,Intelligent Change. Always inspiring and thought-provoking, his ideas have helped hundreds oforganisations to gain a glimpse of the future. He isEurope’s most famous IT Analyst. Dr Sangalli –welcome.

M: Thank you Jane for that flattering introduction. Ihope I can live up to it. So to begin. There are twomain difficulties facing all corporations today.Firstly, how to make themselves more customer-driven. Secondly, and as a result of that, is thequestion of how to go about the major task ofdeveloping and implementing new organisationalstructures. This is a senior management session andis designed to provide you with two things. I hopethat by the end of the session you will be equippedto design your own framework for action. To helpyou do this you will also be able to take awaydocumentation of real-life case studies that I havebeen involved in. So, if you would like to look atthe screen…

PART TWO. QUESTIONS 13 TO 22.

M: Of course, I was looking forward to it. I mean, itmeant seeing the results of quite a lengthy processto find the right person, which I myself had investedquite a lot of time in. It’s a demanding post, with alot of responsibility. I think the potential we thoughtwe’d spotted is being realised, and that she’s goingto deliver the sort of new initiatives we hoped for.She’s already got the team adapting to herapproach. But I did feel a bit stupid in the meeting,

Page 94

sitting there without the right figures. I just can’tbelieve I didn’t pick up the chart. I could still see it,sitting on my desk.

F: Well, the whole thing was a serious challenge, andif I’m honest I didn’t really feel up to it in the firstplace. It wasn’t a good time to be going away fromthe office, and I certainly didn’t feel happy, beingasked to present pretty different ideas at this stage ofthe game. I completely understand that the lastthing they wanted was to have someone droppingin from above, as it were, and saying, oh, well,we’ve decided to change the rules, etcetera. They’dbeen applying the system as it was in good faith.And then I was just so tired. What with the weddingcelebration going on in the hotel, I definitely didn’tget enough rest, and that left me disorientated andso I under performed.

M: I wasn’t happy to be going out there when therewas so much that had to be dealt with, just leftthere on my desk. My secretary’s extremely good,but she can’t do the impossible, obviously. But itwas clearly crucial to get some kind of idea of whatit looked like, whether we were on to the right kindof thing. Getting the right location and space isvital. I’m more or less convinced that this is right forwhat we want. It will attract customers. The troubleis, I had out-of-date architect’s plans with me, so Ikept getting confused about the dimensions. But thehotel staff were really helpful when we were tryingto get the up-to-date stuff faxed through.

F: It’s the first time I’ve been over there since wedecided to go ahead with the expansion and I mustsay I was impressed with the number of really goodcandidates there were. It really is a good region, interms of being able to attract and recruit the rightpeople and I’m confident we chose the right people.I wish the same thing was true for the otherbranches. What I just can’t believe is that I managedto set such a bad example by arriving a whole hourafter we should have started. I felt like a real fool,going on about heavy traffic, when I’d never acceptthat kind of excuse myself!

M: They said it was all different, and they certainlyweren’t wrong! I could hardly believe some of it! It’sdefinitely eye-opening to see what policy can meanin reality. But the way they’re applying it, I meanthe actual techniques, really is impressive. I didn’tsay anything, of course, just took my notes, and Iwill be drawing up my report as soon as I can. I’lldefinitely be recommending that some of their waysof going about things get applied in the otherbranches. It was confusing at the same time, I haveto admit. They were showing me all these graphs,different models of analysis, and I couldn’t reallyfollow that way of presenting the data. And thenthat guy’s accent! Great hotel, though.

PART THREE. QUESTIONS 23 TO 30.

F: Good morning, nice to meet you. Do sit down.M: Thank you.F: Now you’re Human Resources Manager of Jenkins,

aren’t you? Give me some background on thecompany – so I get a general picture.

M: Stephen Jenkins founded the company nearly thirtyyears ago, and named it after himself, and he ran itfor a long time. Last year one of our competitorsproposed combining, with the idea that separatelythe two companies were too small to survive. Theywere probably right, but anyway Stephen turneddown the offer. Then, because he was getting on, hehanded over the day-to-day running to his daughter,Catherine, while retaining full control himself.

F: And you make children’s clothes, don’t you? Aren’tthere problems in the sector?

M: Well, we mostly sell to retail chains, which sellthem under their own brand labels. Things aren’t aseasy as they were, what with cheap imports, andthe more expensive children’s boutiques makinginroads at the top end of the market. But weposition ourselves in the middle range, so we’re nottoo badly affected. We’re under increasing pressureto cut our profit margins, though, because ofgrowing competition between high street retailers.

F: What would you say is the company’s strength?M: It certainly helps that we supply those large retailers

I mentioned, and in fact some of them have beencustomers for years. I suppose, though, that wewouldn’t have survived this long if it wasn’t that wedon’t send anything out unless it meets veryexacting standards. Our customers appreciate that,plus the fact that we aim to keep the time fromorder to delivery very short, and they’re prepared topay a premium for it.

F: What about weaknesses?M: Well, we’ve got a poor record in providing training

on the machines we’re currently using. And I haveto say that Stephen used to run the company in avery old-fashioned, autocratic way, which alienateda lot of the workers. Despite Catherine’s moreenlightened approach, it’s an uphill struggle to try tochange attitudes and improve co-operation.

F: Never an easy task!M: No.F: You mentioned on the phone that there’s a problem

with a particular group of workers.M: Yes, there’s very high turnover among the

machinists, that’s the people who actually make theclothes. They say they’re faced with unreasonabledemands all the time, like having to learn to operateseveral machines instead of just one or two. Manyof them think they could get an easier job for themoney, because there are plenty of other jobs onoffer locally. The reasonably healthy state of ourorder books gives them a certain amount of job

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Page 95

BE

C H

IGH

ER

security, but they just don’t seem to care.F: How’s their work organised?M: We’ve changed to a ‘sectionalised flow’ approach,

which means the machinists work in teams. Ratherthan each machinist being assigned a complete itemof clothing, the work is divided into batchesinvolving various operations, each of themundertaken by one machinist. As that personfinishes, the work is passed on to the machinistresponsible for the next stage.

F: Has that had any impact on what you produce?M: Yes, it’s enabled Catherine to introduce a policy of

rapid diversification of the product range, so thenumber of itemised clothes has leapt. That’s thetotal number of different styles, in all the differentsizes. And that’s reduced batch sizes: long runs onan item are a thing of the past. At least half thestyles used to be carried through from one year tothe next, but now only a quarter are, so as you cansee, it’s had quite an impact on the rate of change.

F: What’s the effect on the machinists?M: That policy was part of a raft of changes, one of

which is that the machinists are now paid on apiecework basis, rather than at an hourly rate.They’re furious about that, though to be fair, the ratethat’s paid for learning to use a new machine hasbeen calculated so as to make sure that no-oneloses out in the short term. And they’re alsoaggrieved because so much is new, and far morebatches of work fail quality inspections and have tobe redone.

F: Now tell me something about training…

Page 96

Part

1 c

on

tin

ue

d

16

15

175

01

5

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

Part

2 -

Ta

sk O

ne

23

AB

C

14

13

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

Part

3

25

24

26

AB

C

AB

C

AB

C

27

28

AB

C

AB

C

29

AB

C

6

01

6

7

01

7

8

01

8

9

01

9

10

01

10

11

01

11

12

01

12

Part

2 -

Ta

sk T

wo

21

20

22

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

19

18

AB

CD

EF

GH

AB

CD

EF

GH

30

AB

C

Superv

isor:

HI

GH

ER

BE

C H

igh

er L

iste

nin

g A

nsw

er S

heet

00

00 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Can

did

ate

Nam

eIf

no

t alr

ead

y p

rin

ted

, w

rit

e n

am

e

in C

AP

ITA

LS

an

d c

om

ple

te t

he

Can

did

ate

No

. g

rid

(in

pen

cil).

Can

did

ate

’s S

ign

atu

re

Exam

inati

on

Tit

le

Cen

tre

If t

he

ca

nd

ida

te is A

BS

EN

T o

r h

as

WIT

HD

RA

WN

sh

ad

e h

ere

Can

did

ate

No

.

Cen

tre N

o.

Exam

inati

on

Deta

ils

Ins

tru

cti

on

s

Use a

PE

NC

IL (B

or

HB

).

Rub o

ut any a

nsw

er

you w

ish to c

hange w

ith a

n e

raser.

Co

ntin

ue

on

th

e o

the

r sid

e o

f th

is s

he

et

�

Fo

r P

arts

2 a

nd

3:

Mark

one b

ox for

each a

nsw

er.

Fo

r e

xa

mp

le:

If y

ou thin

k C

is the r

ight answ

er

to the q

uestion, m

ark

your

answ

er

sheet like this

:

AB

C0

Fo

r P

art

1:

Write

your

answ

er

cle

arly in C

AP

ITA

L L

ET

TE

RS

.

Write

one letter

or

num

ber

in e

ach b

ox.

If the a

nsw

er

has m

ore

than o

ne w

ord

, le

ave o

ne b

ox e

mpty

betw

een w

ord

s.

Fo

r e

xa

mp

le:

Part

1

1

01

1

2

01

2

3

01

3

4

01

4

0

BE

C H

- L

DP

46

4/3

64

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Page 97

BE

C H

IGH

ER

A DETAILED LOOK AT THE TASKS

Part One

For this part of the test, the interlocutor asks the candidatesquestions on a number of personal or work-related subjects.

Part Two

In this part, each candidate’s task is to choose one topicfrom a set of three, and to talk about it for one minute.Candidates have one minute in which to prepare, andshould use this time to make brief notes. While onecandidate speaks, the other listens, and then asks a questionat the end of the talk. Candidates may make notes whilelistening to their partner. Each candidate is given a differentset of three tasks from which to choose.

It is wise to structure the one-minute talk, with anintroduction and conclusion (however brief these must, ofnecessity, be), and to make the structure explicit whengiving the talk, in order to show some evidence of planning.Candidates should approach the task as if giving apresentation in a business environment.

Examples of topic areas include: advertising, careerplanning, communications, customer relations, finance,health and safety, management (personnel, production,transport, etc.), marketing, recruitment, sales, technology,training and travel.

Part Three

This is a two-way collaborative task based on a promptwhich is given to both candidates. The prompt consists ofseveral sentences presenting a business-related situationfollowed by two discussion points. Candidates are giventime to read the prompt and then discuss the situationtogether.

Candidates need to approach the task as a simulation,imagining themselves in a work environment, faced with areal situation to discuss, and on which they should try toreach decisions. The opinions they express, however, will betheir own, as they are not required (as in some kinds of roleplay) to assume particular attitudes or opinions.

Preparing for the Speaking Paper

Candidates should be made familiar with the seatingarrangements and paired assessment procedures that theSpeaking test employs. Any speaking practice should be ofbenefit, in particular paired and small group work.

• Activities designed to develop fluency will be ofconsiderable benefit, as the students need todemonstrate as wide a range of language as possiblewithin the time limits of the test.

• It should be noted that the test is designed to minimisethe possibility of attempts to use rehearsed speech, andthat examiners will quickly identify it.

TEST OF SPEAKING

Time: 16 minutes

PART Format/Content Time Interaction Focus

1 Conversation between the About 3 minutes The interlocutor encourages the candidates interlocutor and each candidate. to give information about themselves and to

express personal opinions.Giving personal information and expressing opinions.

2 A ‘mini-presentation’ by each candidate About 6 minutes The candidates are given prompts which on a business theme. generate a short talk on a business-related

topic.Organising a larger unit of discourse.Giving information and expressing and justifying opinions.

3 Two-way conversation between About 7 minutes The candidates are presented with a discussioncandidates followed by further on a business-related topic. The interlocutorprompting from the interlocutor. extends the discussion with prompts on related

topics.Expressing and justifying opinions,speculating, comparing and contrasting,agreeing and disagreeing, etc.

Page 98

• For Part Two, candidates need to develop the ability toprepare effectively for their ‘long turn’. They should begiven help in building up a range of discourse featuresto make their speech both coherent and cohesive. It isalso important for them to listen to each other’s talks,and be ready to ask relevant questions.

• For Part Three, candidates will benefit from practice insimulations where they are placed in a workenvironment and required to collaborate whilstdiscussing and deciding issues. They should be helpedto build up a range of resources for turn-taking and thegeneral negotiating of ideas and opinions.

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Page 99

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Task

She

et 2

A:

Ad

vert

isin

g:h

ow to

adv

ertis

e a

new

pro

duct

effe

ctiv

ely

B:

Sta

ff M

anag

emen

t: th

e im

port

ance

of a

sses

sing

sta

ff pe

rfor

man

ce e

ffect

ivel

y

C:

Pro

du

ct D

evel

op

men

t:ho

w to

dec

ide

whe

n it

is th

e rig

ht ti

me

to w

ithdr

aw a

pro

duct

from

the

mar

ket

BE

C H

ighe

r – P

AR

TT

WO

BE

C H

ighe

r – P

AR

TT

WO

Task

She

et 1

A:

Tim

e M

anag

emen

t:th

e im

port

ance

of p

unct

ualit

y in

all

aspe

cts

of w

ork

B:

Rec

ruit

men

t:ho

w to

ens

ure

that

job

adve

rtis

emen

ts a

ttrac

t app

ropr

iate

app

lican

ts

C:

Cu

sto

mer

Rel

atio

ns:

how

to s

et u

p an

effe

ctiv

e cu

stom

er s

ervi

ces

syst

em

Task

She

et fo

r C

andi

date

A

SPEAKING SAMPLE TASKS

Task

She

et fo

r C

andi

date

B

C:

Pro

duct

Dev

elo

pmen

t:th

e fa

ctor

s in

volv

ed in

dec

idin

g w

hen

to w

ithdr

awa

prod

uct

from

the

mar

ket

A:

Adv

erti

sing

:how

to

adve

rtis

e a

new

pro

duct

effe

ctiv

ely

B:

Sta

ff m

anag

emen

t:th

e im

port

ance

of a

sses

sing

sta

ff pe

rfor

man

ce e

ffect

ivel

y

C:

Cus

tom

er r

elat

ions

:how

to

set

up a

n ef

fect

ive

cust

omer

ser

vice

s sy

stem

A:

Tim

e m

anag

emen

t:th

e im

port

ance

of p

unct

ualit

y in

all

aspe

cts

of w

ork

B:

Rec

ruit

men

t:ho

w t

o en

sure

tha

t jo

b ad

vert

isem

ents

att

ract

app

ropr

iate

appl

ican

ts

Page 100

BE

C H

ighe

r – P

AR

TT

HR

EE

Att

end

ing

Tra

de

Fai

rs

Your

com

pany

has

bee

n in

vite

d to

take

par

t in

a tr

ade

fair,

whi

ch w

ill ta

ke p

lace

durin

g th

e bu

sies

t tim

e of

the

year

. Yo

u ha

ve b

een

aske

d to

dec

ide

whe

ther

sta

ff

shou

ld b

e se

nt to

this

trad

e fa

ir.

Dis

cuss

and

dec

ide

toge

ther

:

• w

hat t

he a

dvan

tage

s an

d di

sadv

anta

ges

are

of a

ttend

ing

trad

e fa

irs

• w

hich

mem

bers

of s

taff

wou

ld m

ost u

sefu

lly re

pres

ent a

com

pany

at a

trad

e fa

ir

BE

C H

IGH

ER

Can

dida

tes’

Task

She

et

BEC Higher – PART THREE

ASSESSMENT OF SPEAKING

Candidates are assessed on their own performance and notin relation to each other, according to the followinganalytical criteria: Grammar and Vocabulary, DiscourseManagement, Pronunciation and InteractiveCommunication. These criteria are interpreted at Higherlevel. Assessment is based on performance in the whole testand is not related to particular parts of the test.

Both examiners assess the candidates. The Assessor appliesdetailed, analytical scales, and the Interlocutor applies aGlobal Achievement Scale which is based on the analyticalscales.

Grammar and Vocabulary

This refers to range and accuracy as well as the appropriateuse of grammatical and lexical forms. At BEC Higher level arange of grammar and vocabulary is needed to deal with thetasks. At this level grammar is mainly accurate andvocabulary is used effectively.

Discourse Management

This refers to the coherence, extent and relevance of eachcandidate’s individual performance. Contributions should beadequate to deal with the BEC Higher level tasks. Candidatesshould produce utterances which are appropriate in length.

Pronunciation

This refers to the candidates’ ability to producecomprehensible utterances. At BEC Higher level, meaningsare conveyed through the appropriate use of stress, rhythm,intonation and clear individual sounds, although there maybe occasional difficulty for the listener.

Interactive Communication

This refers to the candidate’s ability to take an active part inthe development of the discourse. At BEC Higher level,candidates should be sensitive to turn-taking throughoutmost of the test and hesitation should not demand patienceof the listener.

Attending Trade Fairs

Your company has been invited to take part in a trade fair, which will take place

during the busiest time of the year. You have been asked to decide whether staff

should be sent to this trade fair.

Discuss and decide together:

• what the advantages and disadvantages are of attending trade fairs

• which members of staff would most usefully represent a company at a trade fair

Your company needs to relocate several members of staff to a new branch opening inanother part of the country. You have been asked to submit ideas on how to makerelocation attractive for staff.

Discuss, and decide together:

• which types of financial incentives the company could offer to staff

• what information staff would need to know about the new location

Staff Relocation