"British Bulldog"-
international competition in English, one of the projects of the Institute for Productive Learning of the Russian Academy of Education (St. Petersburg) under the guidance of Academician M.I. Bashmakova.
For the first time in Russia, the competition was held in 2007 and gathered more than 200,000 participants, and in recent years the number of participants has exceeded 900,000.
The form of the competition is similar to its "brothers" - competitions "Kangaroo", "Russian Bear" and others. However, there is an element in it that distinguishes the British Bulldog from other similar competitions - this is listening. All competitive tasks contain questions that participants answer after listening to the text in English.
The competition is part of the Productive Game Competitions program of the Institute for Productive Learning under the guidance of Academician of the Russian Academy of Education M.I. Bashmakov and is supported by the Russian Academy of Education. The program is focused on the development of schoolchildren in the framework of extracurricular activities and the enrichment of the learning environment. Participation in productive gaming competitions contributes to the formation of analytical skills, the systematization and consolidation of knowledge, the expansion of the information environment, the search for new ways to achieve results, as a result of which students increase motivation, including the study of individual subjects, develop cognitive activity and individual abilities.
The content of the British Bulldog competition is focused on different levels of English proficiency (elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate) and is built taking into account the school curriculum. The tasks also include questions based on cognitive material that contributes to the expansion of cultural horizons. Awakening and formation of interest in learning English, acquaintance with the history and culture of the English-speaking world are one of the means of familiarization with universal aesthetic values, and also contribute to the development of communicative competencies (speech, language, intercultural).
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In 2010, the British Bulldog International Game Contest in English was held in Russia for the fourth time. The number of participants - students of grades 10-11 in 2009 amounted to more than 40 thousand people. All of them study English in different conditions: some study in linguistic gymnasiums or classes with in-depth study of a foreign language, attend elective courses and electives in English, some work with tutors, prepare to take the exam. Many listen to songs, watch movies in English and try to understand both the meaning of statements and the exact meaning of individual words, memorize phrases and expressions. More and more schoolchildren travel abroad, entering into a real process of communication with native speakers or foreigners who speak English. There are also those who learn the language using a computer, using well-known Internet dictionaries, electronic manuals, visiting sites for English learners, joining groups for English learners on social networks, playing various computer games. As a result, teenagers who are interested in English have different strategies for understanding foreign language speech.
It can be argued that everyone who expressed their willingness to take part in the competition, find out their level of language proficiency, compare themselves with their peers, enjoy the competition: showing good results, completing a difficult task, learning something new and interesting about the language and culture of the English-speaking countries. The competition is massive, and every year someone takes part in it for the first time.
Participation in the competition can be divided into three stages: preparatory, stage of direct participation, stage of reflection and analysis of their answers.
At the preparatory stage, it is useful to familiarize yourself with the tasks of the competition of previous years using the presentation. The competition task consists of 6 sections with 10 questions each. Most of the tasks are aimed at testing the skills of listening, reading, knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. In different years, assignments from the course "Business English", "Conversational English", "English and American Literature" were also included.
Section 1 "Auditing". In past years, texts on the topics "Tourist trip abroad", "Learning foreign languages", "Tourism", "Excursion around the ancient city" were presented for listening. The format of the task is multiple choice “one out of three”. Having familiarized yourself with the questions before the first listening, you must independently determine the topic of the text and pay attention to the numerals, you may not only have to hear this or that number, but also calculate something. This task may contain low-frequency vocabulary, for example, exquisite- refined dreadful- horrible, loathsome- disgusting, recess break, change. Numerals, as well as unfamiliar words, it makes sense to whisper in advance in order to set yourself up for listening.
Section 2 "Reading". Read the text with the missing words and fill in the gaps by choosing the correct form of the word (see the tense form of the verb, cognate nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, synonyms, articles). In addition to the multiple choice format, which implies a detailed understanding of the meaning of the text, this task can use the “true - false - no information” format, which involves understanding and extracting the necessary information. In the British Bulldog - 2007, an excerpt from the work of Lewis Carroll "Alice in Wonderland" was offered for reading, in 2008 a text on the topic "Ecology" was offered, in 2009 a text about a guide dolphin, in 2010 - a parable about a nightingale and rose. The assignment may include:
- unfamiliar vocabulary, for example:
peep- peek, peek
Daisy- chain- a wreath of daisies. - complex grammatical phenomena
Every time we turn on the television or open a newspaper, there are new horror stories about how pollution … an adverse(hostile) … on our planet.
There are two gaps in this proposal that must be filled. In the first case, the choice is: A)ishavingb) hasc) have.
Despite the fact that the two actions develop in parallel, "we turn on TV or open newspaper” and watch or read scary stories about “pollution renders hostile impact on our planet”, the Present Continuous form is used. This is the so-called stylistic use, which allows you to create a more lively, real picture. The use of the Present Indefinite form is also grammatically justified, but the continued form of Present Continuous makes the sentence more expressive. So you see how forests die, animals, birds and fish suffer. Form ishaving used for reasons of style brilliance.
To fill in the second gap, the options are: a) effectb) affectc) influence. affect, if the test is not related to psychology, where the state of affect means a state of strong excitement, is a verb. Here we see that before the phrase « adverse …» worth the article an, then the missing word is a noun, and you should choose between words effect And influence. effects is a noun that translates as "result, impression", influence- "influence". In fact, these words are synonymous. If you turn to a dictionary, for example, www.oup.com/elt/oald, you can find information about what exactly effect combined with an adjective adverse: anadverseeffect, and the noun influence used with an adjective bad: badinfluence.
Let's consider one more example. It is known that nouns can be countable and uncountable, and many uncountable nouns can become countable, and vice versa, in the process of narrowing or expanding the meaning. When deciding on the use of features of countable nouns, such as the article, plural, it is necessary to take into account whether a particular word is used in a broad or narrow sense. For example, in a sentence Asmoreandmorerainforestis destroyed, thethreattowildlifeincreases the word rainforest means tropical forest in a broad sense, as a climatic zone, is uncountable and is used with a verb in the singular.
Difficulties may also arise when choosing the following options for substitution in a sentence:
The nightingale begged the rose tree … how to get a red rose.
A) to say
b) to tell
c) tell to
Verb tosay most often used when one specific phrase is pronounced, but it is after it that the preposition can be used to, if there is an addition: tosayto(her) . Verb totell implies some story or story, often used with interrogative pronouns when, where etc. when requesting any information or factual material. Therefore, option c) totellto- is definitely wrong. We see that the nightingale needs exactly information, in the sentence this is evidenced by the pronoun how- How. The correct option would be b) tell.
The exam in English includes writing a formalized statement (essay) with elements of reasoning. When writing an essay, it is mandatory to know and use the means of speech coherence ( linkingwords) - introductory words and phrases for introducing arguments, developing thoughts, contrasting and generalizing. The developers of the British Bulldog competition tasks did not ignore such words. Recall the meanings of some of them that the participants of the competition had to face:
- however- however
- although- Although
- eventually- over time, eventually
- more over- moreover
- brief- in short
- firstly, secondly, thirdly- Firstly Secondly Thirdly
- for a start, to start with- to start
- eventhough- used in strong contrast, opposition
- despite = in spite of …- despite ... (requires a gerund)
While reading the text and filling in the gaps in it, you need to pay attention to the rules for coordinating times. If the verb-predicate in the main clause is in the past tense, then the so-called “temporal shift” occurs in the subordinate clause: all tenses are shifted into the past (in comparison with the Russian language), for example:
- He said he knew her. He told that he knew her.
- He said he knew her. He told that he had known her.
- He said he recognized her. He told hat he would know her.
The transformation of direct speech into indirect speech is one of the special cases of tense coordination. Since there have never been tasks for converting direct speech into indirect speech in the competitive tasks over the past four years, they can be expected next year.
Section 3. "Vocabulary and Grammar". Twice these were tasks for the read text, once tasks were presented for knowledge of vocabulary in the course "Business English" and once - tasks for phrasal verbs (verbs with prepositions that change their meaning).
Of course, it was easier to perform lexical tasks for the read text, but you could meet unfamiliar vocabulary in them:
- colloquies- colloquial
- museon- to contemplate, to think
- claim- speak with pathos
- fumes(plural) - evaporation
The assignment for the course "Business English" touched on many grammatical topics, such as: comparison of a feature using the absolute form of possessive pronouns: Mycarisnotsobigashers, adverbs much – many, few – little with countable and uncountable nouns. The greatest difficulties were caused by the use of a gerund, a complex object, cases of the use of inversion, the rules for the formation of adjectives from numerals.
Gerund is an impersonal form of a verb that has the characteristics of a verb and a noun. The gerund is formed by adding an ending to the verb – ing. It makes sense to pay attention to the following difficult cases of using the gerund:
- after verbs admit, avoid, consider, deny, enjoy, fancy, feel like, finish, can't help, involve, mean, mind, dislike, miss, practice, risk, can't stand, suggest. For example: Hedislikesmyleavingworkearly.
- in expressions with it’ s: It’ sworthgoing…
- after the verb to spend: I spend my time swimming and sunbathing.
- after suggestions: Are you interested in joining a tennis club? I must apologize for arriving late.
It should be noted that after the verbs tostop, totry, toremember both gerund and infinitive with a particle are used to.
Let's consider the complex addition in more detail. It consists of two parts: a noun in the general case or a pronoun in the object case and the infinitive of the verb. Offers are built in the following order:
I |
want(s) |
me |
to do |
the books |
A complex object is translated into Russian with the help of an additional subordinate clause.
After verbs of sense perception, for example, tohear, tosee, toNotice, towatch, tofeel, toconsider, and also after the verb tomake particle to not placed before the infinitive. Therefore, in the proposal Theystoodandwatched thechild … bothsandwiches of the proposed options
a) eat
b) ate
c) eats
choose a) eat.
Adjectives are formed from numerals as follows: atwo- dayconference, atwo- hourssession, athree- monthholiday. This option is also possible: Atwo days' conference,Atwo hours' sessionAthree months' holiday.
The compilers of the competitive tasks did not forget about one of the most difficult phenomena of the English language - inversion (reverse word order), choosing the following cases of inversion for inclusion in the task:
Rarely have I read anything so well written.
Should you see her in London, give her my regards.
Only when I hear from you will I relax.
Unless I hear from you I won't relax.
There are a lot of phrasal verbs in English, and you should try to remember them. Over the years, the participants in the British Bulldog contest had to deal with such verbs, here is a list of them:
- bringup- bring up
- carryon- do business, carry out duties
- comeacross- to meet by chance, to come across, to attack
- goon- continue
- keepup- catch up, catch up. Go slow, I can't keep up with you Ican’ tkeepupwithyou).
- makeup- make up a percentage
- takeafter- to be like
- take off- take off
- take off- undress
- takeup- take up space
- turn up- come, arrive. We arranged to meet Dave last night, but he didn't turn up.
Section 4 "Stylistics". In this section, model texts related to conversational style, official business style (business letter, dialogue with a colleague) were presented.
A feature of the conversational style is the presence of phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions, for example:
- runaround- aimlessly running around
- runground- run aground
- runfoulof- collide
- runforluck- run as hard as you can to chase your luck,
- cutandrun- flee, run away
- runringsaround- plug into the belt (surpass), outshine
The task concerning the official business style was to test the knowledge of the commonly used vocabulary of business correspondence: attention- attention, approval- acceptance, approval, consideration– consideration, inconnections- due, reply, response- answer, appreciated- welcome prompt- fast, early.
It was interesting to reflect on the difference in the use of words economic(economic) - economical(economical, for example, fuel consumption); shadow(shadow) - shade(hue, shadow, hatching). And of course the speaker makes a speech makesaspeech in front of an audience audience but not in front of the crowd crowd and not in front of onlookers onlookers.
Section 5 "Synonyms". Knowing synonyms is very useful. This helps to avoid repetition by rephrasing sentences. Here are examples of interesting tasks (the correct answer is in bold):
- There has been a protracted discussion over the issue.
a) explosive
b) heated
c) length - She paid the delivery man grudgingly (reluctantly).
a) generously
b) unwillingly
c) quickly - The plans for reorganization were acclaimed by the employees.
a) criticized
b) praised
c) accepted - Peep
a) glance-fastsight,
b) peenge - whimper, whimper, complain,
c) glare - fierce look - Considering
a) thought - thought,
b) think overponder,
c) think away - throw out of your head - Daisy-chain
a) wreath-wreath,
b) fetter - leg shackles,
c) shackle - shackle - Trouble
a) labor - labor,
b) Calamity -trouble, disaster, misfortune, catastrophe,
c) beshrew - curse, curse, invite trouble - Our position was undermined by the opposite party.
a) conspired (conspire)
b) splintered(split, split)
c) weakened(loosen)
There were tasks for the synonymous replacement of whole sentences, for example: I came across his report while clearing out my office – I found his report by chance.
Section 6 "Language and Literature". In this section, tasks were presented on the knowledge of grammatical structures and established phrases characteristic of literary English, such as:
- It is difficult (for me) (to do something).
- tohavesomethingdone to do something with the help of another person
- tochangeone’ smind- change point of view
- bychance- by coincidence, inadvertently;
- incase- if…
- inchargeof- be responsible for
- most- majority
The developers of the competition paid attention to the formation of the plural of compound nouns: editors- in- head(chief editors) forget- me- nots(forget-me-nots), words that are exceptions to the rule: phenomenon(phenomenon) - phenomena(phenomena), data(information, data, this word is used only in the singular), billiards(playing billiards), as well as news that do not have a plural.
There were also cases of the use of verbs with words denoting the amount of money, a period of time, distance: Threedaysisn't ’ t longenoughforagoodholiday, inversion with words so, neither: SodoI, …. NeitherdidI.
The participants showed great interest in tasks in English and American literature.
In general, Sections 3-6 of the British Bulldog competition of previous years were aimed at testing (and developing) language knowledge and covered almost all grammatical topics, including the most difficult ones. There were no tasks to test knowledge of factual material on regional studies, with the exception of tasks on English and American literature. This is a very extensive layer of material, and it is impossible to know everything. Participation in the Internet Olympiad of the foreign publishing house Macmillan " TowardsthebritishCulture”, etc. Probably, in the coming years, such tasks will also be presented in the competitive booklet.
Note that the basis for the development of foreign language abilities are attention, memory, thinking and speech. You need to read more, including the Russian language, develop your memory, memorizing some interesting facts about regional studies, be attentive, analyze the occurring linguistic phenomena, creating your own associative connections, listen more to sounding speech and speak.
During the competition, each participant receives a colorful booklet with tasks and an answer sheet in which you need to fill in personal data and carefully mark the correct answers.
After the competition, the booklet with the tasks remains with the participants of the competition. It is good if they look for information at home to verify their answers with the established language norm. In the next lesson, it is advisable to allocate time for discussion of the competition tasks. In January of the year following the next contest, the organizers of the contest post tasks and correct answers on the website www.runodog.ru.
Literature
Fedotkina E.V., Matveeva N.V. Development of the abilities of students of a non-linguistic university for foreign languages with the help of computer technologies / Bulletin of the Moscow State Linguistic University, Issue 567 Pedagogical sciences: Developing education in the system of foreign language training: problems, innovations. Perspectives. - M .: IPK MGLU "Rema", 2009. pp. 165-175.
We present to your attention questions and answers to the British Bulldog competition for 2015-2016 for grades 3-4.
Listen
text
:
Listen to the recording and answer the questions
1. Where is Tony?
Answer options:
C) At the shops D) At the sports ground
2. What is Tony doing now?
Optionsanswers:
A) Swimming B) Playing football
C) Shopping D) Talking on the phone
3. On what day of the week does he usually play football?
Optionsanswers:
A) Sunday B) Saturday
C) Friday D) Thursday
4. Where is Tony's mother?
Optionsanswers:
A) At home B) At the swimming pool
C) At the shops D) In the park
5. Who did Tony's mother go to the shop with?
Optionsanswers:
A) Tony B) Her daughter
C) Her friends D) Her husband
6. How often do they usually do the shopping?
Optionsanswers:
A) Twice a week B) Once a week
C) Everyday D) At weekends
7. What is Mary doing at the moment?
Optionsanswers:
A) Doing shopping B) Chatting with friends
C) Swimming D) Lying on the beach
How to make such paper snowflakes - look.
8. How does the woman who is calling Tony feel?
Answer options:
A) Happy B) Pleased
C) Fine D) Disappointed
9. What does the woman want Tony to do when he returns home?
Optionsanswers:
A) To go to the shop B) To swim in the pool
C) To call her back D) To send her a message
10. Who does the woman want to speak to? Select the option where the names are in the right order.
Optionsanswers:
A) Tony, Mary, mother B) Mary, Tony, mother
C) Tony, mother, Mary D) Mother, Tony, Mary
Read the text. For each question choose the correct answer
Sylvia Venner is a 12-year-old dancer. She’s from Australia but lives in Whitstable, England, with her parents, her older sister Gloria and younger brother Charlie. She dances in competitions. Her dream is to dance on stage in a London theatre. When Sylvia was four, her mother started dancing with her for fun. A year later, Sylvia joined a dance school in the town where she lives. She works hard at dancing. “I practice for two hours every day after school and for three hours every Saturday morning. My feet are still growing. It’s important to make sure you have the right size shoes when you dance in competitions so last month I went to London to buy some new ones.”
11. Whose family lives in the UK?
Optionsanswers:
A) Sylvia B) Parents C) Sylvia's D) Her parent
12. Which child is the oldest in their family?
Optionsanswers:
A) Gloria B) Charlie C) Sylvia D) Their mother
13. What's Sylvia's greatest wish?
Optionsanswers:
A) To go to Australia B) To go to the theater
C) To buy new shoes D) To dance in a London theater
14. How old was Sylvia when she started dancing?
Optionsanswers:
A) Three B) Four C) Six D) Seven
15. How old was Sylvia when she began to study at a dance school?
Optionsanswers:
A) Four B) Five C) Six D) Seven
16. On what days does Sylvia study dancing in the morning?
Optionsanswers:
A) At weekends B) On Saturdays
C) On Sundays D) On all weekdays
17. What is Sylvia's problem?
Optionsanswers:
A) She is tired B) Her feet are growing
C) She feels bad D) She often falls down
18. In Sylvia's opinion, what is important when dancing in competitions?
Optionsanswers:
A) To be tall B) To have nice shoes
C) To be thin D) To have the right size shoes
19. When did Sylvia go to London?
Optionsanswers:
A) Next month B) Last month
C) This month D) Last year
20. Why did Sylvia go to London?
Optionsanswers:
A) To buy new shoes
B) To take part in a dance competition
C) To consult the doctor
D) To enjoy her free time
Do you know who they are?
Choose A) B) C) or D)
21. He/She cannot go to the ball because he/she doesn't have beautiful clothes.
22. He/She lived in Sherwood Forest.
23. He/She ate a piece of an apple and died.
24. His/Her Fairy Godmother gave him/her a pair of glass shoes.
25. He/She helped the poor.
26. He/She was raised by a pack of wolves.
27. He/She lived in a wood with the dwarfs.
28. He/She is a character in The Jungle Book.
29. The black panther and the bear were his/her friends.
30. His/Her beautiful dress disappeared at midnight.
Put the words in the right categories.
Choose A) B) C) or D)
31. Cupboard
32. Felt-tip pens
33. Tangerine
34. Apron
35. Apricot
36. Eraser
37. Arm chair
38. Trousers
39.Pencil sharpener
40.Shirt
Choose the correct answers
41. Lory is … girl in my class.
Optionsanswers:
A) the youngest B) the youngest
C) youngest D) young
42. Whose cat is this? It's... .
Optionsanswers:
A) mine B) me C) mine D) mine
43. There aren't … cups in the cupboard.
Optionsanswers:
A) some B) much C) a D) any
44. Tony … three foreign languages.
Optionsanswers:
A) speaks B) cans speak C) spoken D) is speaking
45 Look! It….
Optionsanswers:
A) snow B) snows C) snowing D) is snowing
46. Billy is … in fantasy books.
Optionsanswers:
A) interest B) interest C) interest D) interesting
47. Tom wasn't … school this morning.
Optionsanswers:
A) at B) to C) of D) out
48. My sister … speak English very well.
Optionsanswers:
A) can to B) cans C) can D) will can
49. Mary … her homework at the moment.
Optionsanswers:
A) does B) is doing C) is doing D) do
50. …friends do you have?
Optionsanswers:
A) How many B) How much C) How long D) How often
Find the correct answers
51. The Thames is a river flowing through … .
Answer options:
A) London B) Paris
C) Budapest D) New York
52. The most famous lake monster in Scotland is said to live in ….
Answer options:
A) Loch Shin B) Loch Awe
C) Loch Ness D) Loch Lomond
53. This is the largest island in Europe.
Answer options:
A) Rhodes B) Crete
C) Sardinia D) Great Britain
54. The colors on the British flag are ... .
Optionsanswers:
A) white, red, blue B) white, orange, green
C) white, blue, black D) red, blue, gold
55. When children knock on the door on Halloween they say: “… !”
Optionsanswers:
A) Trick or life B) Trick or money
C) Trick or treat D) Trick or treat
57. Originally Guy Fawkes Night is a/an … celebration.
Optionsanswers:
A) German B) English
C) Indian D) American
58. Which country was contemporary football first played in?
Answer options:
A) USA B) Spain
C) Brazil D) Great Britain
59. The Beatles are from this city.
Answer options:
A) Glasgow B) London
C) Liverpool D) Manchester
60. The oldest underground in the world is in … .
Optionsanswers:
A) London B) Beijing C) Moscow D) New YorkA
Game competition in English « britishBulldog" will take place December 12, 2018.
The content of the competition is built taking into account the school curriculum. Participants complete tasks at school outside school hours during 75 minutes under the supervision of school organizers and office attendants. Competitive tasks are made for four age groups: 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 and 9-11 classes. Pupils of grades 2 can take part in the competition, but a separate version of the tasks is not provided for them, so they answer questions for grades 3-4. Participation of 1st grade students is not allowed. The competition tasks are divided into blocks aimed at different types of language activities, and consist of 60 questions, for each of which it is necessary to choose one of four answer options.
An important feature of the competition is the mandatory inclusion of audio materials in the tasks., on which the first 10 questions of each age option are built. The content complex also includes blocks with questions aimed at working with visual materials, in which knowledge of the language becomes more of a means to complete the task. In all age options, questions based on cognitive material are presented; tasks for high school students may include questions about the most significant events and outstanding personalities of English-speaking countries. Such blocks become an additional means of motivation for learning the language and expanding the lexical and cultural range. The performance of competitive tasks also contributes to the development of foreign language communicative competencies (speech, language, intercultural). The contents of previous competitions can be found on our website in the "British Bulldog" section.
Participation in the competition is voluntary. The competition is held for all comers without pre-selection. You can take part in the project on the basis of an educational organization. A student in grades 2-11 who has paid the registration fee can become a participant. The right to free participation may be granted to orphans, students of orphanages, schools attached to hospitals and sanatoriums.
The participation of educational organizations in the competition is carried out through regional and national organizing committees. If the school has students who want to take part in the competition, the representative from the school needs to contact the regional organizing committee, where he can clarify information about the conditions for participation, the form and deadlines for registering an application, receiving materials, and also receive the necessary documents and instructions. Contact information of the Regional Organizing Committee can be found by writing a letter to the Central Organizing Committee at the e-mail address runodog@mail.en .
For teachers of educational institutions organizing the British Bulldog competition in the current academic year, With 15 to 23 December 2018 on-line testing will be carried out British Bulldog Teachers' Contest. Detailed information about the project and the rules of participation can be found on the website in the section"BBTC" . Participation in testing is free.
This section contains the Regulations on the competition and its schedule for the regional organizer, general instructions. We draw attention to the fact that deadlines for accepting applications for participation in the competition from schools in individual regions may differ, so follow the details contact the regional organizing committee.
