ESOL & Literacy Revision — SEG Awards English For Speakers of Other Languages
Complete SEG Awards English For Speakers of Other Languages ESOL & Literacy specification revision resources. Tailored syllabus coverage with topic breakdowns, quizzes, and practice questions.
Specification Topics
- Reading and Use of English
- Dialogue in a non-roman language
- Listening
- Dialogue in a roman language
- Reading and Written Response in a non-roman language
- Writing
- Speaking
- Express and Exchange Information in British Sign Language
- Community Interpreting Practice
- Dialogue in British Sign Language
- Reading and Written Response in a roman language
- Signing and Receiving Skills in British Sign Language
- British Sign Language Conversational Skills
- Express and Exchange Opinions in British Sign Language
- Receiving Skills in British Sign Language
- Reading in a non-roman language
- Listening in a non-roman language
- Understanding Community Interpreting
- British Sign Language Productive Skills
- Reading in a roman language
- Listening in a roman language
- Signing in British Sign Language
- British Sign Language Receptive Skills
- Speaking in a roman language
- Writing in a non-roman language
- Speaking in a non-roman language
- Writing in a roman language
Top Exam Board Tips
- Read the questions before the text to know what information to look for and activate appropriate reading strategies.
- Pay attention to linking words and paragraph structure to understand how ideas are connected in argumentative texts.
- Manage your time carefully; don't spend too long on unfamiliar vocabulary—use context clues to infer meaning.
- Review basic grammar rules, especially those that change meaning, so you can accurately interpret complex sentences under exam conditions.
- In spoken assessments, practice reacting naturally to questions without long pauses; use filler phrases like ええと (eeto) to buy thinking time if needed.
- For written tasks, ensure legible handwriting of hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji; illegible characters may lose marks.
- Memorize set phrases for common transactional situations (e.g., すみません、…はどこですか？) to handle dialogues smoothly.
- Focus on particles and sentence endings as they carry crucial meaning and demonstrate grammatical control.
- During role-plays, show awareness of cultural norms like bowing and using appropriate honorifics (さん, 様) to enhance authenticity.
- Practise speaking in complete phrases rather than isolated words to demonstrate fluency
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Misinterpreting the writer's stance in argumentative texts due to not recognising discourse markers and cohesive devices.
- Over-reliance on word-for-word reading instead of using skimming and scanning techniques, leading to time management issues.
- Confusing literal and figurative language, particularly with idiomatic expressions or phrasal verbs in personal texts.
- Grammatical misunderstanding, such as misreading a conditional sentence as a factual statement or confusing the subject and object in passive constructions.
- Confusing the use of は (topic marker) with が (subject marker), leading to ungrammatical sentences.
- Omitting the copula です/だ in polite or plain forms, resulting in incomplete sentences.
- Using Roman alphabet (romaji) instead of the target script when writing dialogues, which is often not accepted at this level.
- Mispronouncing long vowels and small つ (sokuon), which can alter meaning and impair comprehensibility.
Key Terminology & Definitions
- 1. Be able to read and understand factual and personal texts2. Understand main points and ideas from argumentative texts3. Be able to use reading strategies to understand texts4. Understand syntax and grammar to convey meaning
- 1. Be able to participate in a dialogue in the target language.
- Basic conversational exchanges
- Pronunciation and intonation
- Polite versus casual speech registers
- Non-roman script awareness
- Listening for gist and detail
- 1. Be able to obtain information from verbal communication2. Be able to listen for grammatical and phonological detail to convey meaning
- 1. Be able to take part in a simple dialogue in the target language.
- Recognition of hiragana and katakana characters
- Basic kanji for daily life
- Reading comprehension of simple messages
- Written response in target language
- Accuracy in character formation
- 1. Be able to plan and draft a piece of writing2. Be able to produce a piece of writing in different formats on familiar topics3. Be able to use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar in written texts to enhance meaning