Thursday 6 June 2019

BTS Final Oral Exam (CCF): Example of Assessment Paper and Useful Expressions

Students learn how to present orally a set of documents using the appropriate expressions (linking words, verbs...) and practise their reading, writing and speaking skills. 

(CCF exam paper for final oral exam of BTS students and possible production) 





In this post, you will find an assessment paper that I made last year to prepare students for their final oral exam (BTS TSMA Sujet CCF), along with an example of what a possible presentation might look like. 

I have also included lists of useful expressions that I put together and that can be used to describe a picture, to make a presentation and to talk about a text. 

1. Assessment paper (BTS TSMA Situation d'évaluation 1 Sujet CCF)



Document 1: Article


When and Why to Hire a Full-Time Agronomist


“Our advice is unbiased regarding inputs; whether you spray or don’t spray or what seed you choose has no effect on us. Customers feel like this is a place where they can get good advice from our agronomists...”


It was apparent and became more so over time, that the agronomic decisions producers are making depend on the equipment. And it’s important that we understand those agronomic intentions so that we can ensure the machine is delivering what the producer wants. Our belief has grown stronger over time that we, as an equipment dealer, must understand this.


Hiring Agronomists for an Iron Dealership

Students learn how to present orally a set of documents using the appropriate expressions (linking words, verbs...) and practise their reading, writing and speaking skills.  (CCF exam paper for final oral exam of BTS students and possible production)


Our intention in hiring an agronomist was to understand the relationship between the equipment and the seed, nutrient and application prescriptions. Being on staff, he would deal with the prescriptions to equipment and potentially develop prescriptions for farmers who had the technology on their seeding and spraying equipment. The first thing that was obvious was the need for an experienced agronomist because our reputation would depend on the advice given out. Providing professional advice on how much of an input to put down is a significant decision and we needed someone with a good track record. That certainly was the right decision. Plus, it also helped on the revenue side to have someone come in with a plan of what they can bring to the table. The agronomist we hired had about 10 years of experience, with a fair amount of clients who were common customers.





Document 2: Picture


Students learn how to present orally a set of documents using the appropriate expressions (linking words, verbs...) and practise their reading, writing and speaking skills.  (CCF exam paper for final oral exam of BTS students and possible production)


2. Possible production (BTS TSMA Situation d'évaluation 1 Sujet CCF)



AGRONOMY, FARMERS AND DEALERSHIPS


This set of documents consists of 1 text - an article which was taken from the website “farmequipment.com” (dot com) and 2 pictures. It deals with agronomy, farming and farm equipment. The core of the question is what are the links between agronomy, farming and farm equipment. Also, it raises the issue of what agronomists can bring to farmers and dealerships in terms of equipment use, yield improvement, farm management, and also reputation building.


First, agronomy is a key element in farming. Farmers rely on machines for their work and it is paramount (very important) that they know how to use it and take the full advantage of it. In the text, the author argues that the expertise of the agronomist can help the farmer figure out (understand) how to use the equipment that they have by for instance telling them how much fertilizer or nutrient to spray on their crop. The first picture shows a man holding a computer in the middle of a cornfield and there is no doubt that he is an agronomist. With his computer, he analyses the field with precision farming tools. Those tools are designed to gather (rassembler) data about the soil, the crop, the weather … etc… so they give valuable information to the agronomist, who can then advise the farmers on the amount of nutrient that the crop needs for example.


Also, because agronomists are so valuable to farming, they can be a great addition to a dealership providing (pourvu que) they have enough experience and already existing customers, who would then become dealership’s customers. Indeed in the second part of the text, the author points out that hiring an agronomist is a great way to consolidate a dealership reputation and increase their income. The dealership can sell their equipment and have an in-house agronomist who gives useful advice to the farmer on how to make the most of it. For example on the second picture, the equipment is a self-propelled sprayer. We can’t see the logo but the green and yellow colours indicate that is a John Deere. Only John Deere can put these colours together on their farm equipment. Another brand recently tried to use them and John Deere sued them in court in the US and won. So green and yellow are officially and unmistakably part of John Deere’s trademark. Such equipment is used to spray inputs on the crop and thanks to the in-house agronomist, the dealership can give extensive advice to the farmers so that they are able to achieve their goals in terms yields. In doing that, he builds himself a reputation and strengthens his link with the farmers.


In my opinion, the documents - and especially the article - are very interesting and informative. It presents a useful and efficient way for the dealership to increase their list of clients and therefore also their income. Nowadays with the increasing number of pollution issues and the fact that the world population is about to reach 9 billion people in 2050, I believe that agronomy has an important role to play in order the help farmers meet the world’s needs and reduce the environmental risks linked to pollution and global warming.


(537 words)

3. Lists of useful expressions

Students learn how to present orally a set of documents using the appropriate expressions (linking words, verbs...) and practise their reading, writing and speaking skills.  (CCF exam paper for final oral exam of BTS students and possible production) eaching Mecanical and technical English in BTS. Expressions utiles pour pour enseigner à faire des exposés, décrire une photo ou un texte, et préparer les étudiants au CCF du BTS industriel TSMA.

 
Fiche d'expressions utiles pour les exposés en anglais.

Fiche d'expressions utiles pour décrire une photo.


Fiche d'expressions utiles pour parler d'un texte.


Cécile Sohier 


Friday 1 February 2019

Tractor Failure: Contact Between a Customer and the Dealership. Speaking, Listening, and Grammar (past simple and progressive).

Students learn useful expressions to deal with a customer when diagnosing a mechanical breakdown, practise their speaking and listening skills through a role play, and revise how to talk about the past.



Useful expressions

Students learn useful expressions to deal with a customer when diagnosing a mechanical breakdown, practise their speaking and listening skills through a role play, and revise how to talk about the past.
Students can also practise and learn the expressions by using the following website that contains the dedicated list I created for them:




Grammar: Talk about what happened (past simple and progressive)

Students learn useful expressions to deal with a customer when diagnosing a mechanical breakdown, practise their speaking and listening skills through a role play, and revise how to talk about the past.



Roleplay

Writing:
Think of three mechanical issues farmers can have on their tractor.

(This list allowed me to create the flashcards below)

Speaking:
Imagine a dialogue between a farmer and a mechanic.
The farmer explains to the mechanic what is wrong with his tractor.
The mechanic asks questions to understand the problem and explains what he is going to do.

Students learn useful expressions to deal with a customer when diagnosing a mechanical breakdown, practise their speaking and listening skills through a role play, and revise how to talk about the past.




Rubric (evaluation chart)

Students learn useful expressions to deal with a customer when diagnosing a mechanical breakdown, practise their speaking and listening skills through a role play, and revise how to talk about the past.
Cécile Sohier 

Sunday 27 January 2019

How Well Do You Know Your Tractor Features? - English For Mechanics

Students read and answer questions related to tractor features. They practise their reading, speaking skills and learn some new technical vocabulary for mechanics.




You can check the answers by filling out the online version of the quiz with your students:


You can print the following JPEG version of the quiz if you don't plan to modify it

Students read and answer questions related to tractor features. They practise their reading, speaking skills and learn some new technical vocabulary for mechanics.
Cécile Sohier 




How well do you know your tractor features in English?

Try out this quiz and find out how much you know about tractor features!

1. What does "PTO" stand for?
  1. Power Took-Off
  2. Power Take-Off
  3. Power Take-Over

2. Depending on where the PTO is located on the tractor, we say it is a
  1. rear, mid or front PTO
  2. back, side or up PTO
  3. left, right or wrong PTO

3. Which one is a synonym for "driver"?
  1. buyer
  2. commander
  3. operator

4. Which one is an option that helps you steer the wheel?
  1. power steering
  2. all-wheel steering
  3. power direction

5. What is the advantage of a diesel particulate filter (DPF) on a tractor?
  1. less fuel consumption
  2. less exhaust emissions
  3. more operator comfort

6. Which engine specification can be measured in foot-pounds (ft.-lbs.)?
  1. hydraulic power
  2. flow
  3. torque

7. What does "rpm" stand for?
  1. rotation per minute
  2. round per minute
  3. rent per month

8. What is the result of this equation torque (N.m) x rotation speed (rad/s)"?
  1. flow
  2. horsepower
  3. hydraulic power
9. Which one is used for attaching ploughs and other implements to a tractor?
  1. PTO
  2. three-point hitch
  3. counterweight

10. What do you measure at the three-point hitch?
  1. HP
  2. RPM
  3. lifting capacity

11. Gears can be:
  1. back and forth
  2. front and rear
  3. forward and reverse

12. When a vehicle is equipped with a transmission system which provides power directly to all four wheels, we say it is a
  1. two-wheel drive
  2. power-wheel drive
  3. four-wheel drive

13. The main advantage of a four-wheel drive system on a vehicle is
  1. less fuel consumption
  2. less exhaust emissions
  3. better control on slippery ground

14. In the cab, the space between the seat, the steering wheel and the pedals is called
  1. legroom
  2. feetspace
  3. feetroom

15. What is the difference between a basic model and a deluxe model?
  1. the deluxe model is less comfortable than the basic model
  2. the basic model is more expensive than the deluxe model
  3. the deluxe model has more options than the basic model
16. Which one is not a synonym for basic model?
  1. standard model
  2. economy model
  3. regular model
  4. comprehensive model

17. How do you measure the hydraulic flow in the US and the UK?
  1. in rpm
  2. in ft-lbs
  3. in gpm

18. What does "gpm" stand for?
  1. gear per month
  2. gallon per minute
  3. gallon per month

19. How many liters are in a US gallon?
  1. 3.78541
  2. 3.14159
  3. 3.52653

20. How much is 1 hectare in acres?
  1. 0.40
  2. 2.47
  3. 1.47

21. What is the advantage of adjusting the tyre pressure?
  1. less gas emission
  2. less compaction of the ground for better yields
  3. a tighter turning radius

22. A longer wheelbase means:
  1. a smaller surface area of contact with the ground
  2. a tighter turning radius
  3. a more stable and comfortable ride

Saturday 17 November 2018

First Lessons: ABC, Numbers and Past Simple (Speaking, Listening and Writing Activities)

Plenty of ideas on what to teach or revise with students during a first lesson: ranging from numbers, the ABC to past simple.






In this post, you will find activities and worksheets on:

1. Numbers

2. The ABC

3. Past Simple (Speaking Activity Holiday Liars)


1. Numbers


What students ought to know very well when they learn technical English are numbers. Therefore it is useful to revise them at the very beginning ... and also a few times along the way ;)

Numbers worksheet

Numbers powerpoint answers

Once you have been through numbers, you can get students to play a guessing game with numbers to practise saying and listening to numbers. Student A chooses a number and the rest of the group has to guess which number it is. Students A has to tell students if the number that he has in mind is higher or lower by saying 'more' or 'less'.

Example:
B. 500
A. more
C. 1000
A. less
D. 750
A. more
...

Finally, you can introduce them to the American pronunciation of numbers. Students are often taken aback by the American pronunciation of numbers, which leads them to miss crucial information during listening activities. Here is a listening activity for them to practice understanding numbers when they are said by North-American people within a flow of spoken information, namely a presentation.

Students listen and write down 4 numbers that are said by R. Saik during the first minute of his TedxTalk.

Pushing the Boundaries of Agriculture

There is a whole set of activities based on this talk in this article:

 TEDx Talk Listening, Grammar and Pronunciation Skills Lesson: How to Introduce Yourself, Present Perfect Progressive, Since and For  



2. ABC

The objective is to revise the pronunciation of the letters of the alphabet and more specifically those that are confusing for students such as A, E, I, G, J, R.

ABC sounds

Then by spelling PARIS, you can check if students really got their heads around the pronunciation of A, I and R. Then they can practise in groups by choosing names of places, people and/or technical references of parts or vehicles



3. Grammar

Here is a speaking activity that will enable your students to practise speaking using the past tense, while also practising their listening skills.

Holiday Liars: Students talk about their summer break, whether they worked or just stayed home. But they must include a lie. The rest of the class has to listen and find the false element in their description.

It is a good idea to revise the pronunciation of -ed beforehand through a simple exercise like this one:

Pronunciation of -ed

You can also find an A3 printable poster of my making for the classroom in this article:

Poster: Pronunciation of Final -ED

Cécile Sohier 

Sunday 5 August 2018

Difficult Keywords Explained - Roxana: The Fortunate Misstress Glossary

A glossary of difficult words from the novel by Daniel Defoe, Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress. For each word, this glossary provides a definition in English and a page number.

Given that I am such a "word lists freak", I thought of doing this glossary on the last novel that I read and sharing it on this blog. 

The glossary can be used upfront, by reading it before starting the novel. This way you know what to expect and watch out for. It is also probably more effective in memorizing the words. I have managed to narrow the glossary down to 36 difficult words which are either critical to understanding important passages of the novel, or recurrent throughout the novel. That way I have managed to make the glossary fit on one page so that it is more manageable should you wish to print it out and use it as a reference.


A glossary of difficult words from the book by Daniel Defoe, Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress. For each word, this glossary provides a definition in English and a page number.

Here is the link to the Google Doc Document:

Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress Glossary

Also, the edition of the novel that I worked with uses the original edition of 1724 so the spelling is sometimes different (i.e. myrth (mirth), sculk (skulk), dumfounded (dumbfounded)...) 

The page number allows the reader to find the words in the book, providing you have the same edition of course, namely:


Daniel Defoe. Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress [1724]. John Mullan, ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World’s Classics), 2008.

To finish I would like to share a little story with you. Until recently I was never really aware that it was a little weird to enjoy listing vocabulary so much, I just thought it was the sinequanon condition to effective language learning. As I was trying to praise the virtues of listing to my students (rather painfully I have to say), I shared an anecdote with them on how I used to place vocabulary lists on top of one another on my bedroom wall. I was living in Russia as an English teacher at the time so I had a myriad of words to memorize in both English and Russian. Then I heard one of the students say:"We don't have the same idea of fun." It really took me aback at first but I quickly (and as kindly as I could)replied: "This is not how I have fun, This is how I learn vocabulary". 

I often tell students that the best way to effectively memorize vocabulary is to use it and/or to see it in context (i.e. in a text or audio). Good luck trying to use 'dismal' or 'hitherto' in a conversation, unless you want to sound like you are a Quaker who travelled through time.

If I had to rewrite the above story using the words from the glossary (by no means would I ever pretend to write in Defoe's style), it would probably go like this (although most are words I have quite frankly just found out about so there might be some inaccuracies):

I was extolling the virtues of listing to my students when one of them slighted me with the most inappropriate comment that I had not forboded. I was dumfounded and a little fuddled. But I own he was only jesting so I did my best not to take it as slander and scold or harangue him, lest the lesson should not be glutted with the usual myrth and laughter. I got out of this snare notwithstanding the dismal particulars of the situation :). 

I can't really think of a situation in which I would want or need to write like this, but I have to admit I am likely to remember these words for some time! 

Cécile Sohier