PEAT guide for candidates

Background of the PEAT

The assessment of English language competence was introduced in 1991 by the NSW Department of School Education (DSE), now known as the NSW Department of Education and Communities (NSW DEC). Overseas trained teachers from language backgrounds other than English whose qualifications have been recognised by the Department as commensurate with Australian qualifications are required to demonstrate their English language proficiency by taking the PEAT. The University of New South Wales Institute of Languages, is responsible for the design and administration of PEAT on behalf of the NSW DEC. Both the design and administration are supervised by the PEAT Advisory Committee. The goal of the PEAT is to determine the level of your English language proficiency. It is not an assessment of subject matter competence but an assessment of English language skills within the educational context. The Band Level attained in each component of the PEAT is designed to determine whether your English proficiency is of a standard which would enable you to teach and interact effectively and confidently in a school setting in NSW.

Length of assessment
The Listening, Reading and Writing components of the PEAT take approximately 3 hours beginning at 9.30am. The Speaking component lasts approximately 25 minutes. The interview times are given out on the day of the assessment and you may be waiting for an hour or more after the other components of the PEAT. Please be prepared for this wait.

Security measures
For security reasons, no copies of the test papers or answer booklets are allowed to be circulated. The PEAT Supervisor collects all papers after the test and all papers must be accounted for. No extra paper is allowed into the assessment room, and no mobile phones. The PEAT Supervisor has the authority to dismiss any candidate believed to be engaged in Academic Misconduct and Cheating, (see Conditions of Candidature pages 5-10). The candidates paper will receive no score. PEAT papers are held for six months and are then destroyed.

Format of the PEAT

The PEAT comprises four components: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, conducted in that order. Time limits for each question are suggested and will be announced by the PEAT Supervisor but it is up to you to observe the limits. All items in each of the PEAT components are discrete. If you need to retake any component in the PEAT, the assessment tasks will be different each time.

Component A: LISTENING
Duration: 1 hour Time: 9.30am to 10.30am, approximately If you are taking this component alone, please arrive between 8.30 and 9.00am. Component A: Listening assesses your listening skills in educational contexts. Before the test, the Test Supervisor will give instructions about the test procedures. The Listening component consists of 3 listening sections which are simulations of school situations and are played at authentic native speaker speed. Each listening is played twice.

Section 1: A two-way discussion, where two people are talking, 2.5 minutes per listening Section 2: A three-way discussion, where three people are talking, 2.5 minutes per listening Section 3: A monologue, where one person is talking, 4 minutes per listening

Section 1: Two-Way Discussion

Approximate duration: 10-12 minutes First you will hear the instructions and then you will have 4 minutes to read the task and become familiar with the questions. You will then listen to two people talking. The speakers could be two colleagues, a parent and a teacher, or a student and a teacher. You will hear the two-way discussion twice. This section includes multiple-choice questions. You will have to answer 10 questions. While you listen, look at the questions and circle A, B, C, or D next to the correct answer. When the dialogue is finished you will have 90 seconds to check your answers.

Section 2: Three-Way Discussion

Approximate duration: 10 -12 minutes First you will hear the instructions and you will then have 4 minutes to read the task and become familiar with the questions. You will then listen to 3 people talking. The speakers could be colleagues (teachers), students, parents or officials. You will hear the three-way discussion twice. This section includes multiple-choice questions. You will have to answer ten questions. While you listen, look at the questions and circle A, B, C, or D next to the correct answers. When the discussion is finished you will have 90 seconds to check your answers

Section 3: Monologue
Approximate duration: 25 minutes First you will hear the instructions and you will then have 1 minute to read the topics. The speaker will be a Principal / Deputy Principal addressing a regular staff meeting. You will then listen and make notes about the information under the topic headings given. You will hear the monologue twice. You should make notes while you are listening. In your Answer booklet you will have a page on which to write your Draft notes and a page to transfer your notes as a Final Draft. When the monologue is finished you will have 15 minutes to transfer your notes to the Final Draft page. Only the Final Draft will be marked. You do not need to write in full sentences so point form is acceptable, but your notes must be sensible, contain the important information, be logical and unambiguous. NOTE: There will be a 5 minute break between the end of Component A: Listening and the beginning of Component B: Reading.

Component B: READING
Duration: 50 mins Time: 10.40am to 11.30am, approximately. Component B: Reading assesses your reading skills. Texts are drawn from NSW DEC school contexts and policy documents. Reading questions will include evaluation and inferencing as well as comprehension of the factual content of the material. Before the test, the Test Administrator will give instructions about the test procedures. The Reading Component consists of 3 Sections each with one reading text.

Section 1 The reading text is from a NSW DEC Policy Document. The text is approximately 900 words in length. There are 10 multiple choice questions. To answer the questions you will be required to circle A, B, C, or D next to the correct answers. Section 2 The reading text is from a NSW Schools workplace related context (for example, a school policy/procedure document). The text is between 700 and 900 words in length. There are 8 multiple choice questions, and a summary cloze with 4 single words missing. To answer the questions you will be required to circle A, B, C, or D next to the correct answers, and to complete the cloze.

Section 3 The reading text is an authentic sample of Student Writing of approximately 250 to 280 words in length. The Student Writing is an opinion text written by a student from the upper primary to lower secondary school level. The text is typed using handwriting font. There are 5 multiple choice questions. To answer the questions you will be required to circle A, B, C, or D next to the correct answers.

NOTE: In the test you will be given a separate Reading Texts booklet and a separate Reading Questions booklet. However, in the following Exemplars, the texts and questions are combined. The Test Supervisor will give you a five-minute warning before the end of the Reading Component. The Reading Component is marked using an administrative template. There is no discretion in the marking of this component.

Component C: WRITING
Duration: 1 hour 10 mins Time: 11.30am to 12.40 pm approximately If you are taking this component alone, please arrive by 10.15am. Enrolment closes at 10.30am. Component C: Writing assesses your ability to write effectively to fulfil teaching requirements and professional duties in New South Wales government schools. The writing tasks are taken from authentic school contexts and documents. Before the test, the Test Supervisor will give instructions about the test procedures. The Writing Component consists of 3 sections. Each section is aimed at different audiences ranging from colleagues, students, parents/caregivers to executive members of staff.

Section 1 requires you to write an Incident Report using cue material appropriate to the school context. You should write approximately 180 words. Section 2 requires you to write a Letter to parents/caregivers using cue material appropriate to the school context. You should write approximately 200 words. Section 3 requires you to mark and comment on an authentic sample of Student Writing (typed). The Student Writing will be either a factual report, a recount or an opinion text of approximately 200 words, written by a student from the upper primary to lower secondary school level . You are required to identify one (1) example each of a spelling and a grammar error. You will then be required to write comments and suggestions in response to the students work. You should write about six to eight sentences or approximately 120 words.. NOTE: In the test you will be given a separate Writing Questions booklet containing the questions for all 3 sections, and 3 separate Writing Answer booklets, one for each Section. However, in the following Exemplars, the writing questions are combined with the answer pages. The Test Supervisor will give you a five-minute warning before the end of the Writing component.

Component D: SPEAKING
Duration: 25 mins If you are taking this component alone, please arrive by 11.45am. Enrolment closes at 12.00pm. Component D: Speaking assesses your oral proficiency in a variety of educational contexts for a variety of purposes. The Speaking component consists of 3 sections: The Interview and Discussion (5 minutes) The Role Play (9 minutes) Presentation (9 minutes)

The Speaking Component takes 25 minutes including preparation time. On the day of the PEAT assessment, when you register, you will find your name on a list with your allocated time and room for the Speaking Assessment. These times are not available before the assessment day. The Speaking Component will be recorded. Section 1 is an interview where the assessor will ask about your education and teaching background and then you will have a discussion on an educational topic based on a standard policy area in NSW education. Section 2 is a role play based on an interaction within the school context. You will be expected to take part in the role play as yourself a teacher working in the NSW school system. You will be interacting with the assessor, who will play the role of a student, parent or colleague according to the assessment task. Section 3 is a presentation of a passage from an educational text appropriate to your teaching area. You will be expected to teach the text, not just read it aloud. This will involve spontaneous instruction around the task as well as good use of non-verbal communication techniques and voice projection.

When you have finished your speaking component, the PEAT is complete. NOTE: Do not ask the assessor for any feedback on your performance at the time of the assessment or ask for special consideration for any reason. All such enquiries should be directed to the Administrator.