The Unit 5 portrait
Read your Unit 5 portrait again — it is four units old. Say two things about it: one that is better now, one that is exactly the same.
One question before the review.
1. What changed most across Term 2?
What Term 2 covered
Term 2 — Connecting
| Unit | Grammar | Portfolio piece |
|---|---|---|
| 5 · People I Know | Adjective order; comparatives; as … as; hedging | 140-word portrait |
| 6 · What I Do | Present continuous; state verbs; third-person -s again | 150-word piece + 90-sec intro |
| 7 · Plans | Three futures; the modal rule; polite refusal | 150-word email + role-play |
| 8 · Stories I Love | Past continuous; -ed/-ing adjectives | 150-word review + 3-min summary |
Six rules from the term. Match each to the one-line version you should be able to say from memory.
What survived the term
What still needs watching in Term 3
| Error | First treated | Revisited in |
|---|---|---|
| Third-person -s under speed | Unit 1 | Unit 6, then Unit 11 |
| Continuous for permanent | Unit 6 | B1 throughout |
| -ed / -ing adjectives | Unit 8 | Unit 11, then B1 |
| Choosing between the three futures | Unit 7 | Unit 12, then B1 |
| that for than | Unit 5 | Whenever comparatives appear |
Nothing on this list is a failure. The revisit column is the syllabus design: l1-transfer.json schedules every one of these for a second and third treatment, because one unit makes a rule known and only repeated encounters make it automatic.
One error each, one from every unit of the term. Rewrite each in full.
1. She is more kind than her sister.
2. He is a man very quiet.
3. I am knowing the answer.
4. I will to call you tomorrow.
5. I was very boring during the film.
6. Suddenly she was standing up and was leaving.
The two pieces
Task card · Assessment · Portfolio
A spoken recommendation, recorded, then the finished 150-word review.
Both go in your portfolio. The recommendation is assessed on whether it persuades; the review on the Lesson 7 rubric.
- Part 1 (8 min, recorded). Three minutes: summarise the thing, tell one scene in full, say who it is for. Then answer three questions about it — none of which asks what happens at the end.
- Part 2 (12 min). Write the final review, using what your reader told you in Lesson 7.
- Then (2 min). Check every -ed/-ing adjective. Count your words and write the number at the bottom.
Answer after the recording, before you write.
1. Did the scene fill its ninety seconds this time?
2. Compared with Lesson 5, what was different?
The portfolio, side by side
Eight pieces from four units, plus everything from Term 1. This is the longest reflection in the course so far.
A2 Term 2 can-do — CEFR 2020 Companion Volume, adapted
| I can… | Not yet | With effort | Comfortably |
|---|---|---|---|
| describe a person, with evidence rather than labels | □ | □ | □ |
| describe my work and what I am doing at the moment | □ | □ | □ |
| talk about plans using the right future for the meaning | □ | □ | □ |
| decline a suggestion politely and offer an alternative | □ | □ | □ |
| tell a story with background and events | □ | □ | □ |
| recommend something so that somebody could decide | □ | □ | □ |
Play the Unit 6 recording and today's back to back. Then answer.
1. The most obvious difference between the two recordings is —
2. Which of the term's four grammar targets is most automatic?
3. What do you most want from Term 3?
Term 2 milestone — the syllabus asks for four things:
- A six-minute speaking interview covering personal, professional and plan-talk — Units 5, 6 and 7.
- Four written pieces in the portfolio — the portrait, the "What I Do", the email, the review.
- Self-assessment against the A2 can-do statements — the table above.
- A second Vocabulary Size Test, against the Term 1 baseline.
Label everything Term 2 and date it.
Into Term 3
Eight lessons, four rules. Match each to the lesson that taught it.
Term 3 — Consolidating. Unit 9 is choices: modals of obligation and advice, and the language for saying what you should, must and might do. Unit 10 returns to work; Unit 11 to media and the third pass at everything this term did not finish; Unit 12 closes A2.
Before Lesson 1 of Unit 9: think of one decision you are genuinely trying to make at the moment. Do not prepare anything to say about it — just have it ready.