Course Content
Paper 1 Reading
• Demonstrate understanding of written texts, and of the words and phrases within them • Summarise and use material for a specific context • Develop, analyse and evaluate facts, ideas and opinions • Demonstrate understanding of how writers achieve their effects and influence readers • Select appropriate information for specific purposes • Recognise and respond to linguistic devices, figurative language and imagery. In developing reading skills, candidates should engage with a range of genres and text types from the twentieth and/or twenty-first centuries, including literature, fiction and non-fiction, and other forms of writing, such as discursive essays, reviews and articles. This study should include focus on writers’ use of language and style and the ways in which writers achieve effects and influence readers. Candidates should study how influence may include fact, ideas, perspectives, opinions and bias. Candidates will be assessed on their ability to: Demonstrate understanding of how writers achieve effects and influence readers Select and use information for specific purposes.
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Comprehension Task
06:23
Summary Task
06:41
Short-Answer Questions
Language Task
Extended Response to Reading
Paper 2 Directed Writing and Composition
• Express what is thought, felt and imagined • Organise and convey facts, ideas and opinions effectively • Demonstrate a varied vocabulary appropriate to the context • Demonstrate an effective use of sentence structures • Demonstrate an understanding of audience, purpose and form • Demonstrate accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar. As developing writers themselves, candidates should be introduced to a range of writing skills, including the ability to create and compose texts with a variety of forms and purposes, e.g. descriptive, narrative, discursive, argumentative and persuasive. This study should include a focus on the following text types: letter, report, article, journal, speech, interview and summary. Candidates will be assessed on their ability to: Use register appropriate to context Make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
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Discursive/Argumentative/ Persuasive Speech (Directed Writing)
Letter Writing (Directed Writing)
Article Writing (Directed Writing)
Descriptive Writing (Composition)
Narrative Writing (Composition)
Paper 3 Speaking (Component 4)
• Describe and reflect on the experience, and express what is thought, felt and imagined • Organise and convey facts, ideas and opinions effectively • Understand and convey complex ideas • Communicate with clarity, focus and purpose • Communicate appropriately for the context • Engage appropriately in conversation. Candidates should explore a range of speaking and listening skills, including the ability to participate in engaging conversations and to respond spontaneously to questions and prompts. This study should include a focus on presentation skills in employing and organising content, and language devices, such as irony, tone and emphasis. Candidates will be assessed on their ability to: Use register appropriate to the context Listen and respond appropriately in conversation
Paper 4 Listening (Component 4)
• Describe and reflect on the experience, and express what is thought, felt and imagined • Organise and convey facts, ideas and opinions effectively • Understand and convey complex ideas • Communicate with clarity, focus and purpose • Communicate appropriately for the context • Engage appropriately in conversation. Candidates should explore a range of speaking and listening skills, including the ability to participate in engaging conversations and to respond spontaneously to questions and prompts. This study should include a focus on presentation skills in employing and organising content, and language devices, such as irony, tone and emphasis. Candidates will be assessed on their ability to: Use register appropriate to the context Listen and respond appropriately in conversation
IGCSE English – First Language (0500)
About Lesson

Comprehension Task

 

 

 

  • First, simply skim through the texts and get an idea of what it is about. Skimming, is simply glancing through the text to catch words and phrases. Find out what kind of text it is (travel brochure, newspaper article, leaflet etc.) and the main idea of each paragraph. For exercise 2, the texts are very similar, designed to confuse you, so it’s easier to look through the questions first and then read the text.

 

 

  • Read the questions. Underline the keywords in the questions. Understand what the question is asking you; is it, what, why, when, were or how? Also underline the other key phrases or words (nouns and verbs that tells you what you should look for). Questions can be confusing sometimes so make sure you read the question thoroughly and can pinpoint on what exactly they are asking for. Be wary of questions with signpost phrases like ‘apart from’, ‘rather than’, or ‘according to the graph’; they tell you what exactly you need to find. 

 

 

 

 

eng2

 

 

 

 

  • find the answers, by locating the keywords (noun and/or verb) from the question, in the passage. Then read that sentence properly to get the answer. It is also worth noting that, usually, answers will be found in chronological order within the passage. The first questions’s answer will mostly be in the introduction paragraph and the next one in the second paragraph and so on. (However, for the last question of Exercise 2 you will need to scan the entire passage to find the answer).

 

  • Some questions are very specific, so the answers are very easy to find.

 

  • Others you will have to read between the lines– you have to look at what the author is implying- what he means. Some questions will also use synonyms of the words used in the passage simply to confuse you! So make sure you know your vocabulary!

 

  • Remember, you don’t have to come up with your own answers, everything is there in the passage itself; it’s a reading exercise, not writing. 

 

  • For exercise 2, you have to match each point to the corresponding person/thing. You will have to examine each paragraph closely and choose which para the given point matches to.

 

  • Write the answer of a question once you’ve found it from the passage. You won’t lose marks for spelling and grammar mistakes, again, because it is a reading exercise. You can copy the text from the passage itself; you don’t have to write in your own words! You don’t even have to write in full sentence! As long as the answer is correct, no worries! For exercise 2, just write the person/thing the point corresponds to, given in the text. Nothing more.

 

 

 

Time Management

 

For the core paper 1, spend about 15 minutes on the first two reading exercises.

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