SABER 11 - STUDENTS

Succeed at Saber 11 English component

Eleventh graders’ objective is to reach the B1 level.

Colombian Ministry of National Education (M.E.N)

A B1 student can…

• understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.

• work out how to communicate the main point(s) he/she wants to get across.
• describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

Test Features

• 45 questions

• Multiple Choice questions

• 1 hour

• 7 parts

The English test consists of 45 multiple-choice questions with single response. It is distributed as follows:

Possible Difficulties: Reading Comprehension:

• Making inferences from a text
• Grammar in use

Time Management

Tomado de: ICFES (2013) Sistema Nacional de Evaluación Estandarizada de la Educación. Alineación del Examen Saber 11.

Grammar and Lexical Knowledge

Inferential Reading

Literal Reading Comprehension

Grammar Knowledge

Pragmatic Competence

Lexical Competence

Communicative Competence

Test Sections

Recognize the communicative purpose of different signs or notices and where they may appear

Part 1: Pragmatic Competence (5 questions)

Where can we find this banner?

Part 1: Example

Part 1:

Practice:

What key words do you need to know in order to identify the correct answer?

In this part of the exam the students must relate two columns. On the left column there are 5 descriptions that define a word on the right column. The right column has two extra words.

Part 2: Lexical Competence (5 questions)

Which word matches the description?

Part 2: Example

Part 2:

Practice:

Which are the nouns or verbs that might help you get the correct answer?

In this section students are asked to be part of a communicative situation or event. Based on the message transmitted by one speaker, the students must play the role of the second speaker and choose the most suitable answer. There are 3 different answers for students to choose.

Part 3: Communicative Competence (5 questions)

Complete las conversaciones.

Part 3: Example

Part 3:

Practice:

What do you need to know so you can chose the correct answer?

Based on a text, students must show their grammatical knowledge by selecting the most suitable words to complete a text. The students have 3 different options to chose from.

Part 4 : Grammatical Competence (8 questions)

Read the paragraph and fill in the gaps with the right word.

Part 4: Example

Part 4:

around

Practice:

What grammar topics should you know in order to identify the correct answer?

Students must read a text and answer some literal reading comprehension questions. In other words, the students need to look for specific information and select the most suitable option.

Part 5: Literal Reading Comprehension (7 questions)

Read the paragraph and choose the correct option

Part 5: Example

Part 5:

Practice:

In which line can you find the answer? How can you identify the correct date?

Inferential comprehension can involve inferring figurative language, drawing conclusions, predicting outcomes, determining the mood, and judging the author’s point of view.

Part 6 : Inferential Reading (5 questions)

Read the paragraph and choose the correct option

Part 6: Example

Part 6:

Practice:

It can be inferred from the text that,

1. Traveling is very expensive
2. Traveling is worthy
3. Not everybody can travel
4. Everybody likes traveling

What’s an inference? How can you answer these type of questions?

Students have to choose the most suitable words to complete a text

TASK

Part 7 : Grammatical and Lexical Knowledge (10 questions)

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the right word.

Part 7: Example

Part 7:

Practice:

What would help you identify the correct answer?

ARE YOU READY TO PRACTICE?

3.

1. at the disco
2. in a library
3. In a park

Part 1

2.

1. in a hospital
2. at the church
3. in a library

¿Dónde puede ver estos avisos? 1.

1. at the airport
2. in a parking lot
3. in a restaurant

4. You correct mistakes with this. 5. You use it to store pens and colors. 6. You use it to measure things.

Part 2

Part 3

Completa las conversaciones 7. Who’s the man over there?

1. Yes, he is. B. He’s fine. C. John

8. Math is too difficult for me. I don’t understand!

1. Don’t give up! B. Congratulations! C. How is she?

9. It looks like its going to rain in the afternoon. A. I love horses. B. I better take C. That’s a mistake. my umbrella.

13

12

11

10

13

12

11

10

Part 4

14. Hurricanes are named based on…

1. the place where they emerged.
2. the city where the vanished
3. Their level of intensity

15. What happened in the World War II?

1. US meteorologists started to work in the Pacific Ocean
2. Some climate experts began to put names to other natural phenomena.
3. The tropical cyclones became quicker than hurricanes

16. When was the first female name used for a hurricane?

1. In the late 1940s
2. Six years after hurricane George
3. after 1979

17.How were the hurricanes named after 1979? a. Only with female names. b. With a male and a female name every time c. Taking turns with a male and then a female name

Part 5

Hurricanes names Hurricanes didn’t use to have names. Forecasting hurricanes was only beginning to emerge in the late 1940’s. Only the most severe ones were given names, it was usually the place they did the most damage, like the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. During World War II, US meteorologists working in the Pacific Ocean began naming tropical cyclones, because they were often tracking many storms at the same time. It was quicker to name them than to refer to each one by its location. The first US unofficially named hurricane was George, which hit in 1947. Later, in 1953, it is not clear why, meteorologists name them after women, in alphabetical order. That year there were hurricanes Alice, Barbara, Dolly, Florence, Hazel, Susie and Vicky. This went on until 1979, when men and women’s names began to be alternated to name the storms.

18. Who could be more interested in social networks?

1. Celebrities’ fans
2. Athletes
3. Famous people

19. What can be inferred about Lady Gaga’s dressed?

1. It had never been seen before
2. It was absolutely beautiful
3. It was inappropriate for a ceremony

20. What can be inferred about Adele?

1. Her account had too many followers
2. She and Ashton probably hated Steve Jobs
3. She probably regrets having posted pictures of her baby

21. What is the writer’s purpose?

1. Criticize how twitter works
2. Show twitter’s pros and cons
3. Promote twitter among his followers.

Part 6

22. a. that b. where c. not d. there

23. a. Theirs b. there c. their d. they

1. a. have b. change c. changing d. having
2. a. become b. going c. to d. grow

Part 7

25

24

23

22

Read the text and choose the right word to fill the in the gap.

• 1: C
• 2: A
• 3: B
• 4: D
• 5: H
• 6: E
• 7: C
• 8: A
• 9: B
• 10: A
• 11: B
• 12: C
• 13: B
• 14: C
• 15: B
• 16: B
• 17: C
• 18: A
• 19: A
• 20: C
• 21: B
• 22: A
• 23: C
• 24: C
• 25: B

Answers: Peer Correction

What was the easier part? What was the most difficult part? What can I do to be better prepared for the test?

16 - 20

21 - 25

10 - 15

1 - 9

How was your performance?