Münchner Volkshochschule CELTA Course

Interview selection task (A)

Name: _____________________________

Time allowed: 75 minutes

Aims:
Section 1 to check candidates’ ability to distinguish between form and meaning
Section 2 to check candidates’ awareness of grammatical terminology
Section 3 to ascertain to what extent candidates can already contextualise
language for the classroom
Section 4 to check candidates’ awareness of lexis and pronunciation

Marks (for office use only)

Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Total

(out of 10) (out of 24) (out of 9) (out of 22) (out of 65)

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Section 1 – Form and meaning

Look at the sentences below. In each set, which is the odd one out? Give a reason for your
answer.

Example:
a. John is learning to drive
b. I’m having singing lessons at the moment so I can’t come to rehearsals on Tuesday
evenings.
c. We’re flying to Bangkok on Thursday.
d. She’s taking a cookery course at the adult education institute so that she can do the
catering for her daughter’s wedding.

Answer: c is the odd one out. a, b and d are talking about present situations (present
continuous), c is talking about the future.
1.
a. She had an awful shock when she opened the door and found burglars had
ransacked the place.
b. We broke our journey and had a picnic.
c. Tuscany was wonderful and the weather was gorgeous. We had dinner on the
terrace every evening.
d. I wish we had a dog, but it’s difficult as we live in a flat.

Answer: a. is the odd one out. The word “had” in the sentences b, c and d is used as past
simple, from the word “have”. When in the sentence “a” the verb “had” is used as an
auxiliary verb.

2.
a. They’ve been waiting in the queue to buy tickets for centre court since this morning.
b. She’s been working for Siemens since 2008.
c. Sorry I’m so dirty. I’ve been changing the oil in the car.
d. She’s been living in Bristol since she graduated ten years ago.

Answer: c. is the odd one out. a, b and d are talking about actions that have started in the
past and they are continuing in the present. c, the action has just finished and emphases the
result.

3.
a. Were it not for the headmaster’s support she would have given up her job in the
school long ago.
b. Where were you when I phoned yesterday?
c. The children were very excited at the prospect of going to the circus.
d. Were the houses you looked at as suitable as they sounded in the blurb?

Answer: a. is the odd one out. b, c and d are talking about past situations (be-were), “a” is
an example of inverted conditional, where the headmaster prevented a particular outcome.

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section 1 continued

4.
a. An avalanche has engulfed a small Swiss village.
b. The Prime Minister has announced his retirement from politics.
c. She has lived here all her life.
d. The Dow Jones has fallen twenty points in the last half hour.

Answer:___________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5.

a. I’d rather you didn’t.

b. I’d have rung if I’d known.
c. I’d finished dinner by the time my husband came home.
d. I’d like a cheese sandwich please.

Answer: c. is the odd one out. The sentences a, b and d are expressing desire and polite
requests. c, is showing which of the actions has happened the first (past perfect).

_____
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Section 2 - Describing Language

In the following letter there are 14 mistakes. Can you correct the mistake and explain the
reason why it is wrong? Two mistakes have been corrected for you as examples.

Dear Harold

This is to wish you a very happy birthday next week. (í) I think often of you. I don't hope
(ii) that it rains on your birthday. It is raining (1) here since (2) three days. I arrived in
London before (3) four days and my course starts tomorrow.

I'm stay (4) with a nice English family. Mr Robertson is a (5) engineer. His wife's name is
Barbara and she's an engineer too. They are friendly but they speak very quick (6) and
sometimes I don't can (7) understand them. Mine (8) room is very comfortably (9) with a
big desk where I can make (10) my homework. I hope when I will come (11) home my
English will be a lot more better (12) than it is now!

Would you like to visit me in London?

Write soon
Love Angela

i. correct version: I often think of you

reason: wrong word order. The adverb of frequency often comes before the main verb and
not after it.

ii. correct version: I hope it doesn't rain on your birthday.

reason: wrong negative form. With the verb "hope" the verb following it is made negative
not the verb hope itself.

1. correct version: it has been raining

reason: ___________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. correct version: for three days

reason: ___________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. correct version: four days ago

reason: ____________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

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section 2 continued

4. correct version: I am staying

reason: __________________________________________________________________

5. correct version: Mr. Robert is an engineer

reason: words beginning with vowel sounds must be used with an article “an”

6. correct version: very quickly

reason: an adjective can not be used in that sentence because only an adverb can describe
the verb. Quick+ly

7. correct version: I can not understand them

reason: ____________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

8. correct version: My room

reason: ____________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

9. correct version: room is very comfortable

reason: room is a noun and it can be described by an adjective not an adverb.

10. correct version: Where I can do my homework

reason: we can not make homework because the word make means create something, we
must say do homework (do is complete the task)

11. correct version: I hope when I come home

reason: it is first conditional, the construction is (when present simple then future simple in
the other clause)

12. correct version: better than it is now

reason: the word good as an exception in comparative adjectives and it can be changed to
better, more can not be used.

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Section 3 - Contextualizing Language (3 marks per question)

i) What is the difference in meaning between these pairs of sentences?

ii) How might you illustrate to your students the difference in meaning between the following
pairs of sentences?
iii) What problems do you think students might have (think about problems with
pronunciation/meaning/structure).

Example

She used to drive on the left.

She's used to driving on the right.

i) The first sentence is talking about something that she did in the past but no longer does
now. The second sentence describes an action has now become familiar to the subject.

ii) set up a situation where someone has moved from UK to Germany. She used to drive on
the left when she lived in the UK and when she moved to Germany she had a lot of
problems on the road. Now she is used to driving on the right.

iii) the students might mix up the two sentences and say used to do when they mean be
used to doing and vice versa.
the students might mistake it for the verb "use"
the students might confuse the form that comes after the main verb e.g. I'm used to get up
early

1. I have never been to Florida

I have never been to Florida before

1) The first sentence is talking about the action that has never happened. The second
sentence describes the action that has never happened until now. Means I am now in Florida
but I am here for the first time.

2) Set up a situation where you are buying a ticket to Florida and telling to travel agent that
you have never been to Florida. And now imagine that you are already in Florida meeting
your friends and telling them that you have never been to Florida before this day.

3) the students might mistake auxiliary verb “have” with the main verb.

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section 3 continued

2. If I become Prime Minister, I'll reduce income tax.

If I became Prime Minister, I'd reduce income tax.

3. Have we got any sugar?

Did you get some sugar?

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Section 4 – Lexis (2 marks per question)

1. Which of the items in each group is different from the others and in what way?

a) b) c) d) Answer

rice cheese milk cream a) rice - the

others are all
dairy products

to love to hate to like to speak d) to speak –

the others are
all feelings

he was interesting he was smiling he was smoking he was reading a) he was

interesting – the
others are all
people’s actions

walk stroll run amble c) run – the

others mean
walking slowly
or without
hurrying.

He did a good job He did the job It was a boring It was an b) he did the
well job interesting job well – a, c
job. and d are using
adjectives.
(well-adverb)

cottage house flat farm d) flat – the

others are all
places for living

great big large huge a) great – the

others indicate
the size of the
items.

sugar sand money people d) people – the

others are
inanimate
objects

spoke smiled paid were

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2. What sort of problems do you think learners may have with the pronunciation of the
following words and phrases?

a) trough / through / bought / bough / cough / caught

_________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

b) knife / palm / bomb / mortgage

_________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

c) touch and go / flesh and blood / give and take / thick and thin

_________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

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That is the end of the test!

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