EOI & SECONDARY CIVIL EXAM

How to Calculate Final Score of Secondary Civil Exam Madrid 2023

EOI & SECONDARY ENGLISH CIVIL EXAM

or HOW TO BECOME AN OFFICIAL ENGLISH TEACHER IN SPAIN.

This article is going to summarise the information about the EOI English Civil Exam for June 2023. You can also find the similarities and differences with the Secondary Civil Exam.

Along this article you'll also find highlighted words to practice pronunciation. See the charts with the phonetic transcriptions and pay special attention to those words because they are frequently mispronounced by Spanish speakers.

Every call (convocatoria) and community have its own terms and conditions so make sure you get all the little details right at the right time.

I began to prepare myself for it in the summer of 2018, when I realised that studying it in depth was -and still is- the best nurturing decision I could have possibly made for my professional and personal growth. The Covid-19 changed all our lives and so the civil exam was postponed. On February 2021 the call was announced for June 2021 and this time I did not get the application days correctly, -dammit!- yes, this can easily happen to you if your are not fully attentive and that's why I applied for this June 2023. (Bear also in mind that Primary Education Civil Exam alternates with EOI & Secondary Civil Exam)

So, my intention with this article is that you can see and value for yourself the difficulties and challenges we, English teachers, have to face and go through in order to be "an official teacher" (profesora funcionaria) in Spain, either in Official Language Schools or in Secondary Education. Here I leave the comparative between the lists of themes for these two modalities of teaching.

Do not confuse this exam with the official exams that people normally do to certify their level of English.

This civil exam I am talking about is for teachers, for those professionals- like me- who have specialised themselves in teaching English and its Literature as a foreign language, and want to teach in EOI ("Escuela Oficial de Idiomas") here in Spain. The same call is also for Secondary Education but they have different exams and lists of themes or units to study. Keep reading to know the differences.

Just in case you wonder how much EOI teachers earn, here I am going to say, simplifying a lot and being down-to-earth, that these teachers earn around 2000€ gross a month in 14 payments, I guess. They belong to the A1 subgroup as the official payment system in Spain says and may also vary depending on their community.

There are differences between teaching at EOI (0592) and teaching in High Schools (0590), you can guess... for instance, that people who choose to go to EOI are usually adults, although it's true that from 14 years old, teens have access to any language that they fancy learning at these Official Language Academies.

To me, to my taste, to my skills already developed through all these years working for academies, private lessons and even some high schools... I can already see and say that the teaching process at EOI suits me better and appeals me more. In terms of syllabus, classroom management, tutoring, the characteristics of the teaching body ("claustro") and even because of the building itself the work is and must feel different.

You can read the info and see the differences in the call here, if you are not my coachee, ask me for permission to peer these document, and leave a nice comment bellow, thank you! 😄

Having said that, let's continue with the structure of this civil exam.

The first part to face is called "El práctico o prueba práctica", to simplify we are going to call it from now on as "EXAM 1"- it tests your linguistic and literature knowledge- and it has two parts: PART A and PART B.

EXAM 1- PART A - Linguistics

Duration: no more than 3h

Assessment: 0-10 points, with a minimum of 2,5 points to pass it. But in the weighted average, important! this part counts as a 70%.

In this Part A you are going to do:

a) a Text analysis in 80 min approx, the text is from the XX or XXI century and can be prose, literary or journalistic.

- Related to the reading comprehension.They can ask you to summarize the text in one sentence; answer few questions; say what type of text is and justify your answer giving reasons; comment on its communicative functions.

- In relation to the use of the language, they can ask you to explain the process of word formation in terms taken from the text; provide a synonym, an antonym or a definition for words and expressions according to their meaning in the text.

- Questions about the pragmatics of the language, its semantics, syntax, morphosyntax and the style of writing: identify the figure of speech in certain sentences from the text; justify few linguistic features of the author if known.

(Other years in this part they also asked: multiple choice exercise; fill the gap exercise with phrasal verbs or with prepositions; derive words or word formation; complete sentences with word given (like the Use of English Part 4 from Cambridge Proficiency Exam); correct the mistake; select one word for three sentences; one suitable word.

In Phonetics they asked to provide a phonetic transcription of some words or sentences; )

b) Do a Listening in 50 min approx. The recording is 5 or 6 minutes long and it will be played twice. You will have to answer questions about the recording and they may vary: from summarizing the recording in 200 words aprox to writing a composition in relation to something form the audio in 250 words aprox.

(Other years they asked: fill the gap exercise; say if it's true or false; explain the meaning of certain terms or choose words or expressions similar or closest in meaning to that in the audio.)

c) Work on two translations of two literary or journalistic texts of 200 words approx each during 50 minutes. Without dictionary you need to translate one text form Spanish into English and the other from English into Spanish.

ATTENTION! * If you are preparing the Secondary Civil Exam this is how your EXAM 1- PART 1 is, it will last no more than 3h. See the similarities & the differences with the EOI one:

a) From a listening of 5 minutes of duration approx -that it will be played twice- you need to answer the questions that the tribunal asked. Everything in 45 minutes (including the listenings).

b) Analysis of a text in contemporary prose and not necessarily literary. Identify type and genre; its communicative functions, principals and secondaries; its linguistic features; and answer the questions that the Tribunal asked. Time estimated 75 minutes.

c) Translate two contemporary texts, literary or journalistic without dictionary. One from Spanish into English, the other from English into Spanish. The timing of this part will be determined by the tribunal selected.

EXAM 1- Part B- Write a theme

Duration: 2h

Assessment: 0-10 points, with a minimum of 2,5 points to pass it. But in the total score or weighted average, this part counts as a 30%.

In this Part B you are going to:

Study 68 themes, and select one from the few that have randomly been selected by the tribunal at the time of the exam. This June 2023 with this number of themes you have 4 options, other years were 5. Write your theme down in 2h.

ATTENTION! * Time, options and punctuation may vary depending on the call, community and specialty. Read your papers carefully.

Now, here I leave you THE LIST OF THEMES FOR EOI CIVIL EXAM are 68.

I still don't understand why they give us the names of the themes in Spanish if we are studying and writing everything in English. I'll write here my English version of each theme:

1. Language and communication. Language functions. Communicative competence: its components.

2. Communicative situation and its elements. The language in use. Negotiating the meaning.

3. Concept and teaching of the Grammar. Grammar in function of the use of the language.

4. Oral language. Oral Communicative situations. Elements and rules that regulate the oral speech. Communicative Oral strategies.

5. Written Language. Written Communicative situations. Structures and formal features. Rules that regulate the written text.

6. Oral language and written language. Autonomy, dependency and interactions.

7. Linguistic Macro functions to express the communicative intentions.

8. Discourse analysis. Cohesion and coherence: connectors and linkers. Anaphora and cataphora. Deixis. References.

9. Direct and indirect Speech.

10. Narrative text. Structure and characteristics.

11. Descriptive text. Structure and characteristics.

12. Expository text. Structure and characteristics.

13. Argumentative text. Structure and characteristics.

14. Instructional text. Structure and characteristics.

15. Dialogic text. Structure and characteristics.

16. Discursive and expository form. Types of enunciation.

17. Expressing assertion, objection and emphasis.

18. Expressing command, exhortation and prohibition.

19. Quantity Expression.

20. Quality Expression, grade and comparative.

21. Space localization. Place, direction and distance.

22. Time localization. Duration and frequency.

23. Simultaneity, posterity and previousness expression.

24. Mode, means and instrument expression.

25. Opinion, desire, preference and mood expression.

26. Condition and hypothesis expression.

27. Certainty, doubt and probability expression.

28. Cause, consequence and purpose expression.

29. English clause structure: assertion, question, negation and exclamation.

30. The verb: tense verb and real time. Aspect and Mood.

31. The verb: types of verbs. Auxiliary verbs: "Do, be, have" and modals.

32. Present tense. Forms and uses.

33. Past tense. Forms and uses.

34. Future tense. Forms and uses.

35. Infinitive, gerund and participle. Uses and functions.

36. "Multi-word verbs".

37. Passive voice. Forms and uses.

38. Nominal group. The substantive: types. nominalisation, premodification and postmodification.

39. Substantive. Gender and number. Expressing possession. English Possessive.

40. The substantive: determinants and modifiers.

41. The pronouns: characteristics, function and classification. Special use.

42. The adjective: characteristics, function and classification.

43. The adverb: characteristics, function and classification. Relation between adjectives and adverbs. Adverbial locutions.

44. The preposition: function and uses.

45. English lexicon. Structure and word formation. Loans.

46. Words as a linguistic sign. Homonym, synonym, antonym, polysemy. False friends. Lexical Creativity.

47. The acquisition of lexicon and its didactic implications. Criteria for selecting texts to use in class.

48. Phonetic English system (1): types. Correspondence between sound and phonetic spelling.

49. Phonetic English system (2): the vowels. Diphthongs. Semivowels. Correspondence between sound and phonetic spelling.

50. Phonetic English system (3): the consonants. Correspondence between sound and phonetic spelling.

51. Phonetic English system (4): accent, rhythm and intonation. Strong and weak forms.

52. English as an international language. Extension and variety of English language in the world: unity and diversity.

53. Sociolinguistic varieties of English language. Records and areas of use.

54. Different kinds of language: scientific, technologic, commercial and administrative.

55. Means of communication in English language. Press, radio, TV. Journalism language and publicity.

56. The role of Literature in the syllabus of teaching English as a foreign language.

57. Contemporary short British novel, story, and essay: selection of texts and analysis of a representative work.

58. Modern novel in Britain: selection of texts and analysis of a representative work.

59. Modern Irish Narrative: selection of texts and analysis of a representative work.

60. Contemporary short American novel, story, and essay: selection of texts and analysis of a representative work.

61. Modern novel in UUEE: selection of texts and analysis of a representative work.

62. Contemporary English poetry: selection of texts and analysis of a representative work.

63. Contemporary theatre plays in English language: selection of texts and analysis of a representative work.

64. Text Analysis Strategies.

65. Translation and interpretation of speeches in different languages.

66. Cinema in English language. Its evolution and trends in this field.

67. Sociocultural aspects in the syllabus of English as a foreign language. Treatment and interpretation of cultural facts depending on students' cultural background and age.

68. Society and culture. Myths and traditions in the modern Anglo-Saxon world. Intercultural reflexion: management and overcoming stereotypes and topics.

ASSESSMENT of EXAM 1:

(Part A 70% + Part B 30% )

to pass this EXAM 1, one has to get minimum a weighted averaged of 5.

Now, the second part of the civil exam is called "prueba de aptitud pedagógica", to simplify we are going to call it from now on as "EXAM 2"- it tests your aptitude as a teacher- and it has two parts: PART A and PART B.

EXAM 2- Part A- The syllabus

Duration: I usually recommend writing it in no more than 3 months. Teachers: summer time is a great time to do it. It can take you months or even years, depending on your speed at writing something original and accurate. It also depends on how much you want to complicate yourself in the design and presentation.

Assessment: 0-10 points. Important! in the total score or weighted average this part counts as a 30%.

In this part, you will give or hand in " La Programación Didáctica" or "The Syllabus" in the day, time and place they tell you after passing the first exam.

This paper work is a complete course programme with the right structure, a minimum of 15 Didactic Unites and the proper output. Guidelines are given in the call of your community. For example, in Madrid, they say: a maximum of 80 pages, DIN-4A, written in Arial 12 in a PDF format.

* Please, read carefully your official convocation to see the tiniest details about it. Don't leave it till the end. *

Here you can watch some videos about it:

EXAM 2- Part B- The Board

Duration: 1h and 3 parts.

Assessment: 0-10 points. But in the total score or weighted average this part counts as a 70%. (percentages can also change depending on the call and specialty)

In this Part B of EXAM 2 you are going to do:

a) A Syllabus defence in 20min. When this day arrives you are more than prepared to vigorously defend your syllabus in front of the tribunal, they are usually official EOI teachers themselves, or from Secondary Education, and they will carefully listen to your speech.

Here you can see the PPT I organised and showed to the board to defend my Syllabus Design, because you can make use of the Internet at the time of your exhibition.

b) A Didactic Unit exposition in 30min and 1h preparation. The exposition of one Didactic Unit selected out of three chosen previously at random. During the preparation time, you can't have access to the Internet and it's a time given to organise your ideas. You can write or bring from home some guidelines of each D.U; and they should occupy maximum 1 page.

c) A Debate in 10min. At the end, a debate with the tribunal that will last no more than 10min.

ASSESSMENT of EXAM 2

(Part A 30% + Part B 70% ) to pass this Exam 2, one has to get minimum a weighted averaged of 5.

HOW TO CALCULATE THE FINAL SCORE:

The final score cannot exceed 10 points, so, this is how to calculate it:

In arithmetic sum:

EXAM1: (A70%+B30%) = C

EXAM2: (A30%B70%) = D

EXAM1 (C)+ EXAM2 (D) = E,

E:2= F

and the sum of 2/3 of F + 1/3 of G (The Competitive Examination points) will give you the final score!!

For example: