Ent ry Level

Edexcel Ent ry Level Cert if icat e in

Modern Foreign Languages

French (8924)/ German (8926)/ Spanish (8928)

Summer 2005

Examiners’ Report
French (8924)/ German (8926)/ Spanish (8928)
Edexcel Ent ry Level Cert if icat e
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Summer 2005
Publicat ions Code W017076
All t he mat erial in t his publicat ion is copyright
© Edexcel Lt d 2005
 Contents

French (8924) Examiners’ Report 1

German (8926) Examiners’ Report 5

Spanish (8928) Examiners’ Report 7

Edexcel Lt d holds t he copyright f or t his publicat ion. Furt her copies of t he Examiners’
Reports may be obt ained f rom Edexcel Publicat ions.
 Entry Level Certificate in Modern Foreign Languages
French (8924) Examiners’ Report - June 2005

Cent res are now f amiliar wit h t he administ rat ion of Edexcel Ent ry Level Cert if icat e in
French 8924 and seem t o f ind t he moderat ion syst em, which is a very similar
procedure t o GCSE, easier t o administ er as moderat ors receive f ewer queries each
year.

Unf ort unat ely as in past years a minorit y of cent res, and not only t hose new t o t his
specif icat ion, did experience some real administ rat ive dif f icult ies as regards what ,
when and where t o send t he work and t he OPTEMS. Edexcel does send f ull
inst ruct ions t o cent res and t he requirement s are also clearly explained in t he f ile of
t asks. Teachers responsible f or t eaching and administ ering French 8924 are advised
t o ask t heir examinat ion of f icer f or a copy of t he inst ruct ions well in advance of t he
deadline as a caref ul reading of t hese can save t he school t ime.

It was clear t his year t hat some cent res wait ed t o f ind out which candidat es' work
was t o be included in t he sample bef ore f iling and recording t he work. This would
seem t o have result ed in inaccuracies, especially where t he candidat es t hemselves
had f illed in t he record sheet s. This is a pract ice not t o be recommended because, as
t he work is of t en carried out over a period of t ime t hese sheet s soon become
t at t ered. Some cent res did not realise t hat a coursework record sheet should also be
complet ed and sent wit h t he coursework. It is helpf ul if t hese can be f iled wit h t he
candidat e's work and not sent separat ely.

For a minorit y of cent res t here was some uncert aint y over what t o send. For t hose
candidat es ast erisked on t he Opt ems all assessment t asks, including recordings of t he
speaking t est s f or t hat cent re, should be sent as well as t he coursework t oget her
wit h t he relevant record sheet s t o t he designat ed moderat or. The work of t he
remaining candidat es should be ret ained by t he cent re in case a f urt her sample is
required f or moderat ion, as did happen on several occasions t his year.

Individual t eachers in a cent re should not send t heir work separat ely. This pract ice
would suggest a lack of st andardisat ion. All t he work f or a cent re should be
dispat ched t o t he moderat or at t he same t ime; alt hough it is appreciat ed t hat large
cent res may need t o send more t han one package. It is suggest ed t hat work is
removed f rom hardback f older prior t o post ing. Each candidat e's work should be
f irmly secured e. g. wit h a t reasury t ag. The maj orit y of cent res did manage t o meet
t he deadlines.

1226 Examiners’ Report Summer 2005 1

 Moderat ors are always grat ef ul f or t he caref ul record-keeping and packing
undert aken by t eachers f or t his specif icat ion, but t here are st ill a f ew cent res who
are not f illing in t he levels f or t he t asks complet ed on t he record sheet s. The
specif icat ion clearly st at es t he number of t asks required t o reach t he various levels.
It is cert ainly not necessary t o t ot al up a candidat e's marks f or all t he assignment s.
An increasing number of cent res claimed levels f or which insuf f icient t asks and/ or
coursework had been complet ed. This result s in ext ra administ rat ion f or cent res as
moderat ors are inst ruct ed t o send f or f urt her samples of work.
There were some Opt ems t hat were complet ed incorrect ly or not signed and in some
cases t he t op copy was sent t o t he Moderat or inst ead of t o Edexcel. The green copy
should be ret ained by t he cent re.

The nat ure of t asks undert aken f or coursework was f airly predict able e. g. t ourist
brochures, school t imet ables, f amily t rees but did st ill allow f or more creat ive open-
ended work. Many candidat es t ook f ull advant age of t his and made excellent use of
t heir ICT and art ist ic skills and were a pleasure t o view and t o read.
Unf ort unat ely a number of cent res f ailed t o ensure t hat a suf f icient number of words
were used or relied t oo heavily on repet it ion e. g. il y a and c'est . This would hardly
seem t o be in t he spirit of t he specif icat ion. It is import ant f or t eachers t o not e t hat
a minimum of t hirt y words in t he t arget language should be used in each piece of
coursework alt hough candidat es do not have t o use sent ences or phrases.
MFL Teachers' co-operat ion is sought in order t o ensure t hat t he requirement s of
coursework are not abused. As so of t en happens, accuracy of language was
somet imes sacrif iced in t he quest f or advanced ICT perf ect ion. Fort unat ely t his
involved relat ively minor point s which did not impede communicat ion. Many
candidat es get pleasure f rom t he f reedom of choice of f ered in coursework. Perhaps
t hose cent res whose coursework consist ed solely of writ t en work lacked a dimension;
alt hough it is appreciat ed t hat t he t imet able may limit t he t ime available.

It is expect ed t hat t eachers will have checked and marked t he coursework bef ore
ent ering it on t he coursework record sheet and sending it t o t he moderat or. Cent res
were generally caref ul t o demonst rat e a broad coverage of t he f ive Nat ional
Curriculum Areas of Experience and t he f our language skills. This is an aspect of t he
specif icat ion which has great ly improved over t he years. As candidat es may revisit a
t ask if t hey are unsuccessf ul at t he f irst at t empt t here is lit t le point in sending t hese
unsuccessf ul at t empt s in t he f olders. In a f ew cases it was a pleasure t o award a
higher level t han t hat originally awarded by t he t eacher.

1226 Examiners’ Report Summer 2005 2

 More cent res are now ent ering candidat es at t he end of Year 9 or 10. Cert if icat ion
provides proof of st udy and may well present an opport unit y f or f urt her st udy lat er in
lif e. Alt hough t he t asks are Nat ional Curricul um Level 3 t hey are suit able f or pract ice
f or t he less able st udent s t aking GCSE. Coursework t asks can be used as preparat ion
f or bot h t he speaking and writ ing papers.

In conclusion as pract ising t eachers ourselves we recognise t hat f or many candidat es

t he f olders we see represent real achievement and t hat cert if icat ion is very
import ant . At t he same t ime we do not underest imat e t he help and encouragement
t hat t hese st udent s have received f rom t heir t eachers. Moderat ors do appreciat e t he
t ime t aken by t he maj orit y of cent res t o administ er ELC French correct ly and hope
t hat t he comment s above f acilit at e t he work next year.

1226 Examiners’ Report Summer 2005 3

1226 Examiners’ Report Summer 2005 4
 Entry Level Certificate in Modern Foreign Languages
German (8926) Examiners’ Report - June 2005

Ten cent res submit t ed work f or moderat ion and all t hree Levels available were
awarded. The samples of f ive cent res can be described as generally well present ed,
making t he moderat or’ s t ask st raight f orward.

In t wo cent res, however, t here were serious dif f erences in t he int erpret at ion of t he
syllabus crit eria, wit h one t eacher underst anding t he requirement s correct ly and
anot her needing t o have several candidat es re-graded or no award given. This
highlight s t he need f or rigorous int ernal moderat ion so t hat all t eachers in a cent re
are applying t he crit eria as necessary. It would be unf air t o penalise candidat es
unduly f or minor short comings in administ rat ion by st af f . It is of course bet t er t hat
t his does not have t o be brought int o play and t his can be done by ensuring each
candidat e has at least t he minimum number of t asks complet ed f or t he Level and f or
each skill, ideally one or t wo more t han t he minimum so t hat even a f ew problems do
not result in f alling seriously below t he required t ot als.

There were some very good examples of coursework, bot h using handwrit t en and ICT.
On occasions, however, marking was over-generous, wit h t he awarding of t wo point s,
when one would be more appropriat e – f or work wit h many errors and not always
hit t ing t he t arget minimum number of words.

The st andard of t he t aped recordings was generally good t o very good wit h j ust a
small number being unclear. It is most helpf ul when t he t ask about t o be at t empt ed
is announced on t he t ape.

Alt hough many cent res mast ered most of t he administ rat ion, t here were some
aspect s which gave cause f or concern:

OPTEMS forms
• leading zeroes not f illed in
• wrong copy sent t o moderat or
• if an ast erisked candidat e is wit hdrawn, t he work of anot her
candidat e should be sent
• if t he select ed sample does not cover all levels awarded, ext ra
samples should be included

Candidate Record Sheets

• t asks somet imes recorded in t he wrong skill
• t asks somet imes recorded t wice, perhaps in more t han one skill
• t ask B18 (a & b) is t o be recorded as only one t ask, not t wo
• t asks recorded as successf ully complet ed when evidence does not
support t his
• no signat ure

Coursework Record Sheet

• somet imes no sheet complet ed
• no signat ure

1226 Examiners’ Report Summer 2005 5

 In conclusion, t he cert if icat e cont inued t o provide t he opport unit y t o produce work
t hat is meaningf ul and rewarding. The hard work of t eachers who help candidat es t o
achieve t his is acknowledged and applauded. It is hoped t hat t he comment s above
will help all involved t o administ er t he syllabus more easily and ef f ect ively in t he
next session.

1226 Examiners’ Report Summer 2005 6

 Entry Level Certificate in Modern Foreign Languages
Spanish (8928) Examiners’ Report - June 2005

It was very pleasing t o see t hat t he number of cent res ent ering candidat es f or
accredit at ion t his year had been maint ained f rom 2003. The course cont inues t o
of f er candidat es plent y of opport unit ies t o succeed in t heir st udy of Spanish at Ent ry
Level.

The work of candidat es f rom 13 cent res was moderat ed t his year. The moderat or
agreed t he marks f rom 11 of t hese cent res. Where adj ust ment s were made, it was
due t o candidat es not having complet ed t he required number of t asks or not having
submit t ed t he correct number of pieces of coursework t o claim an award at a
part icular level. The requirement s f or each of t he dif f erent levels are as f ollows:

Level 1 40 assessment t asks + 1 coursework t ask.

Level 2 50 assessment t asks (20 t o be at level 2 or 3) + 2 coursework t asks.
Level 3 50 assessment t asks (20 t o be at level 3) + 3 coursework t asks.

This year awards were claimed at all levels.

The use of ICT f or coursework product ion is very encouraging and t here were some
excellent examples produced and present ed f or moderat ion. Some coursework t asks
submit t ed consist ed of ext ended writ ing t asks, which were of an excellent st andard.

Some administ rat ive issues came t o light during t he moderat ion period, which are
wort h ment ioning here:

Date for submission – Please ensure t hat t he samples of st udent work reach t he
moderat or by t he specif ied dat e. Any lat e submissions af f ect t he moderat ion process
and could lead t o a delay in candidat es receiving t heir result s.

Optems – Cent res should writ e t he number 1, 2 or 3 (according t o t he level claimed)

in t he blank space alongside each candidat e’ s name and t he appropriat e box, 1, 2 or
3 should also be shaded.

Record Sheet – This is a vit al document and should be checked caref ully prior t o
submit t ing cent re marks. Some cent res are st ill using an out of dat e record sheet
t hat does not have a column indicat ing t he level of each t ask. This is a usef ul check
f or cent res and t he moderat or t o ensure t hat a candidat e has complet ed enough
t asks in each skill t o claim an award at a part icular level. It is also import ant t o t ick
against each t ask t hat has been successf ully complet ed.

Task Evidence – It is import ant t hat all t asks t hat appear on t he record sheet are
act ually submit t ed f or moderat ion and t hat t hey have been marked using t he current
markscheme.

Tapes – Some t apes submit t ed were of very poor recording qualit y. It is import ant
t hat t he candidat e’ s name and t he cent re number are given at t he beginning of t he
t asks and also t hat each t ask is ident if ied (e. g. - B3). Each candidat e should provide
t ape-recorded evidence of having complet ed t hree speaking t asks. If sending a
composit e t ape f or moderat ion, please send only t he recordings of t he candidat es
request ed in t he sample.

1226 Examiners’ Report Summer 2005 7

 Coursework - Please remember t hat t o claim level 1, one piece of coursework must
be submit t ed, 2 pieces f or level 2 and 3 pieces f or level 3. A correct ly complet ed
cover sheet must accompany t he coursework.

1226 Examiners’ Report Summer 2005 8

1226 Examiners’ Report Summer 2005 9
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Order Code UG W017076 Summer 2005

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