The Reading / Listening - Spelling Mistakes - Level 0

A university said students will not lose marks for language mistakes. It thinks asking students to have a high level of written English is unfair to ethnic minorities. It is also unfair to poorer students with lower grades. The university wants to make tests fairer. It wants to stop poorer students from dropping out.

Asking for well-written English is unfair to people with dyslexia. They have problems using letters and words. It is harder for them to write with no mistakes. The university also said it could stop overseas students from going to university. Another university said it is fairer to focus on students' ideas and not their spelling.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Spelling Mistakes - Level 1,  Spelling Mistakes - Level 2   or  Spelling Mistakes - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9457171/Fury-education-regulator-tells-universities-marking-students-bad-spelling-ELITIST.html
  • https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/universities-told-marking-students-down-for-bad-spelling-is-elitist/ar-BB1fwa3k
  • https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/its-elitist-to-mark-down-bad-spelling-universities-insist-bmw5j2jlf


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. students will not
  2. language
  3. a high level
  4. unfair to ethnic
  5. unfair to poorer
  6. lower
  7. make tests
  8. stop poorer students from
  1. of written English
  2. dropping out
  3. students
  4. lose marks
  5. fairer
  6. mistakes
  7. grades
  8. minorities

Paragraph 2

  1. Asking for well-
  2. unfair to people
  3. They have
  4. using letters
  5. harder for them to
  6. overseas
  7. Another university said it is
  8. focus on students' ideas and
  1. write with no mistakes
  2. problems
  3. and words
  4. not their spelling
  5. written English
  6. fairer
  7. with dyslexia
  8. students

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A university (1) ___________________ not lose marks for language mistakes. (2) ___________________ students to have a high (3) ___________________ English is unfair to ethnic minorities. It (4) ___________________ to poorer students with lower grades. The university (5) ___________________ tests fairer. It wants to stop poorer students (6) __________________.

Asking for well-written English (7) ___________________ people with dyslexia. They have problems (8) ___________________ words. It is harder for them to write (9) ___________________. The university also (10) ___________________ stop overseas students (11) ___________________ university. Another university said it is fairer to focus on students' (12) ___________________ their spelling.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Auniversitysaidstudentswillnotlosemarksforlanguagemistakes.Itthi
nksaskingstudentstohaveahighlevelofwrittenEnglishisunfairtoethni
cminorities.Itisalsounfairtopoorerstudentswithlowergrades.Theuni
versitywantstomaketestsfairer.Itwantstostoppoorerstudentsfromd
roppingout.Askingforwell-writtenEnglishisunfairtopeoplewithdysl
exia.Theyhaveproblemsusinglettersandwords.Itisharderforthemto
writewithnomistakes.Theuniversityalsosaiditcouldstopoverseasstu
dentsfromgoingtouniversity.Anotheruniversitysaiditisfairertofocus
onstudents'ideasandnottheirspelling.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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