STAGE 1A
TESTING THE STUDENT'S ARTICULATION
Testing Narrative skills:
Read the story and re-tell it using your own words:
A. Once upon a time, there lived a shepherd boy who was bored watching his flock of sheep on the hill. To amuse himself, he shouted, “Wolf! Wolf! The sheep are being chased by the wolf!” The villagers came running to help the boy and save the sheep. They found nothing and the boy just laughed looking at their angry faces.
“Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when there’s no wolf boy!”, they said angrily and left. The boy just laughed at them.
After a while, he got bored and cried ‘wolf!’ again, fooling the villagers a second time. The angry villagers warned the boy a second time and left. The boy continued watching the flock. After a while, he saw a real wolf and cried loudly, “Wolf! Please help! The wolf is chasing the sheep. Help!”
But this time, no one turned up to help. By evening, when the boy didn’t return home, the villagers wondered what happened to him and went up the hill. The boy sat on the hill weeping. “Why didn’t you come when I called out that there was a wolf?” he asked angrily. “The flock is scattered now”, he said.
An old villager approached him and said, “People won’t believe liars even when they tell the truth. We’ll look for your sheep tomorrow morning. Let’s go home now”.
Testing Descriptive skills:
A.Look at the picture and describe:
B. Once upon a time, a farmer had a goose that laid a golden egg every day. The egg provided enough money for the farmer and his wife for their day-to-day needs. The farmer and his wife were happy for a long time. But one day, the farmer got an idea and thought, “Why should I take just one egg a day? Why can’t I take all of them at once and make a lot of money?”
The foolish farmer’s wife also agreed and decided to cut the goose’s stomach for the eggs. As soon as they killed the bird and opened the goose’s stomach, to find nothing but guts and blood. The farmer, realizing his foolish mistake, cries over the lost resource!
The English idiom “kill not the goose that lays the golden egg” was also derived from this classic story.
C. A tortoise was resting under a tree, on which a bird had built its nest. The tortoise spoke to the bird mockingly, “What a shabby home you have! It is made of broken twigs, it has no roof, and looks crude. What’s worse is that you had to build it yourself. I think my house, which is my shell, is much better than your pathetic nest”.
“Yes, it is made of broken sticks, looks shabby and is open to the elements of nature. It is crude, but I built it, and I like it.”
“I guess it’s just like any other nest, but not better than mine”, said the tortoise. “You must be jealous of my shell, though.”
“On the contrary”, the bird replied. “My home has space for my family and friends; your shell cannot accommodate anyone other than you. Maybe you have a better house. But I have a better home”, said the bird happily.
I take a lot of photos so it’s hard for me to pick just one, but if I had to I would choose a photo of a hippo in a lake. Last year I went on holiday to South Africa for the winter, and I visited a place called St. Lucia. They have a lot of amazing wildlife in South Africa and in St. Lucia there are many crocodiles and hippos. I was overwhelmed when I saw them, and for several days I walked around taking photos of these amazing creatures.
One day, I got the courage to walk right into the middle of a sand bar and shoot some photos as the sun was setting over the lake. The result was a series of beautiful red and orange-tinged shots with a variety of wildlife dotting the landscape. In one photo, however, a huge hippo came out of the water and opened its mouth really wide! I didn’t even realize until I got home what happened, but the whole experience stuck in my mind. The photo is now printed and framed on my wall so that I never forget the feeling of being among such incredible animals in a place of such natural beauty.
The picture was probably taken in the morning, because there is a coffee and a coffee pot. The person owns a tablet and is possibly involved in design, because there is an open magazine and a stack of design magazines. There is sunlight coming through the window. The table looks like it might be a picnic table or an outdoor table, but there is also a window and a curtain. An interesting thing to notice about the picture is that it is mostly in black and white: the cup is white, the coffee and the pot are black. The tablet is black on a white table. The curtain is also white and the light is white. Only the pictures in the open magazine have any color, and it's brown.
Describe a photograph of you that you like. You should say
- where the photo was taken
- what you were doing when it was taken
- who took it
- and explain why you like the photo.
Testing Expository skills:
Students can practice explaining these topics or use the list to come up with topics of their own. The important thing to remember is that these expository questions are based on facts rather than the writer's beliefs or feelings.
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Explain why you admire a particular person.
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Explain why someone you know should be regarded as a leader.
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Explain why parents are sometimes strict.
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If you had to be an animal, which would you be and why?
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Explain why you especially enjoy a particular teacher.
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Explain why some cities have curfews for teens.
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Explain why some students are forced to leave school once they are sixteen.
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Explain how moving from place to place affects teens.
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Explain why getting a driver's license is an important event in the lives of many teenagers.
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Describe the major stressors in teens' lives.
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Explain why you like or don't like working in a team.
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Describe some nonmaterial things that make you happy.
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Explain why some teens commit suicide.
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Explain how music affects your life.
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Explain the impact of different music genres on society.
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Explain why students listen to a particular type of music.
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Explain why some teens skip school.
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Explain the likely consequences of skipping school.
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Describe the likely consequences of doing poorly in school.
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Explain why teens do drugs.
Testing Argumentative skills:
The student will try to provide an argument about his or her beliefs in a topic that’s provided.
Easy argumentative topics
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Education should be free for everyone
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Why are the US citizens rapidly becoming more obese?
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Internet access must be limited to students
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Young people must have a right to choose when it comes to military
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Each student must have a right to pick only those disciplines he is interested in
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What are the advantages US educational system offers to international students?
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Which secondary languages are worth studying today?
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Is education too commercialized nowadays?
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Is current academic grading helpful in performance?
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Are tests like SAT and ACT effective?
Controversial argumentative topics
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Third World War should be Prevented by Russian and US Governments
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Existing public school policies must be changed
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Is gun control an effective way to control the crime?
Classical argument topics
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It should be forbidden to use species of animals for research purposes and cruel experiments
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Should rainforests destructions be punished?
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To what extent are electric vehicles a solution to global pollution?
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Pros and cons of globalization.
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Earthquakes and their consequences.
Testing Presuasive skills:
The student will try to provide statements in 1-2 minutes to persuade the listener to his or her thoughts.
Easy and Simple Persuasive Speech Topics
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People should not text while driving.
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Celebrities who break the law should receive stiffer penalties.
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Teachers should pass a basic exam every few years to renew their certification.
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Cities should offer free bike-sharing programs.
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People should eat less junk food.
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We should do more to end poverty and world hunger.
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We should value the elders in our society and learn from their wisdom.
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Money can’t buy love or happiness.
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Children should be offered incentives for doing right, rather than punishment for wrongdoing.
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More recycling should be encouraged.
Animal Persuasive Speech Topics
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Adopting pets is the best choice.
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The benefits of having pets.
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Why cats make the perfect pet.
Automotive Persuasive Speech Topics
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Drivers should have to take three courses before getting a license.
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Hands-free cell phone use in cars should be promoted.
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The danger of texting and driving.
Business Persuasive Speech Topics
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Why introverts make good leaders.
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Owning a business means you will lose your friends.
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Business will harden you.
Interview Process
In ICAN, the purpose of the interview test is not only to test the students' abilities to function in an English-speaking environment and see to what extent they have developed their communication skills, but also show the students that they have indeed a lot to master in terms of the objectives the company sets forth for them at the start of the term.
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The interviews are done twice per season. Once in a form of an initial interview, and the other in a form of final interview.
Articulation Scores
After each interview, the interviewer fills out a form.
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In this form, the students info filled out such as the student's name, age and grade. The date of the interview as well as the interviewer is also included.
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The exact questions are reflected on the form to ensure that assessment is accurately graded. The set of questions are divided into three sections: grade school, middle/highschool, and adult.
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The student's interview will be graded based on
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- Pronunciation/accent
- Fluency
- Comprehension
- Insight
- Vocabulary/Mechanics
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As well the 5 articulation skills, which is tested using this:
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- Narrative
- Descriptive
- Expository
- Argumentative
- Persuasive
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An in-depth analysis is provided by the assessor to give the management an overview of the student's overall speaking skills.
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Finally, the student is categorized based on the final score.
The assessment is done twice.