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Cambridge TKT study materials
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Cambridge TKT practice questions

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Question 1Background to language learning and teaching

A learner of English says she is studying the language because she wants to become part of an English-speaking community and feels close to its culture. Her motivation is best described as:

  1. integrative motivation Correct answer.
  2. instrumental motivation
  3. extrinsic motivation
  4. intrinsic motivation

Explanation

Integrative motivation comes from a wish to identify with the target-language community and its culture; the goal is social belonging rather than a practical reward. Instrumental motivation, by contrast, is driven by external benefits such as a job or an exam.

Question 2Background to language learning and teaching

A student explains that she remembers new vocabulary best when she sees it written on the board and organises it into mind maps and colour-coded charts. Her preferred learning style is most likely to be:

  1. auditory
  2. kinaesthetic
  3. tactile
  4. visual Correct answer.

Explanation

A visual preference means the learner takes in and stores information most efficiently through written text, diagrams and other images. Seeing words and mapping them visually is exactly that kind of processing.

Question 3Background to language learning and teaching

Which activity would best match a learner with a strong kinaesthetic learning preference?

  1. reading a grammar reference and taking notes
  2. listening to a recorded dialogue and answering questions
  3. watching a video and writing a summary
  4. moving word cards around to build sentences Correct answer.

Explanation

Kinaesthetic learners learn best when they can move and physically manipulate materials, so handling cards engages them directly. The other activities centre on reading, listening or viewing rather than on movement.

Question 4Background to language learning and teaching

A child acquiring her first language says 'I goed' and 'two mouses'. These forms most clearly show:

  1. transfer from another language
  2. overgeneralisation of a rule Correct answer.
  3. a delay in speech development
  4. imitation of adult speech

Explanation

The child has worked out a regular pattern (past -ed, plural -s) and applies it to every word, including irregular ones. This creative overgeneralisation is a normal stage of first language acquisition and shows rule-building rather than copying.

Question 5Background to language learning and teaching

A learner who sets her own study goals, chooses extra materials without being asked and reviews her own progress is best described as:

  1. a dependent learner
  2. a reflective learner
  3. an autonomous learner Correct answer.
  4. an instrumental learner

Explanation

Autonomy means taking responsibility for one's own learning: setting goals, selecting resources and evaluating progress with little teacher direction. Dependence is the opposite, and being reflective is only one component of autonomy.

Question 6Background to language learning and teaching

Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences suggests that teachers should:

  1. avoid activities that involve music or movement
  2. vary tasks to suit different learner strengths Correct answer.
  3. teach grammar through explicit rules only
  4. group learners permanently by measured ability

Explanation

Multiple intelligences theory holds that learners differ in the relative strength of abilities such as linguistic, logical, musical and interpersonal intelligence. Teachers therefore plan varied tasks so that each learner can work from a strength at least some of the time.

Question 7Background to language learning and teaching

A learner says she keeps studying English because she simply enjoys the lessons and finds the language fascinating. Her motivation is best described as:

  1. integrative
  2. extrinsic
  3. instrumental
  4. intrinsic Correct answer.

Explanation

Intrinsic motivation comes from interest and enjoyment in the activity itself, without any external reward or pressure. The learner's pleasure in the lessons is the reason she continues.

Question 8Background to language learning and teaching

Compared with adult learners, young children learning a second language generally:

  1. benefit more from written translation exercises
  2. learn through play and hands-on activity Correct answer.
  3. have a wider range of learning strategies
  4. analyse grammar rules more consciously

Explanation

Young learners are still developing literacy and metalinguistic awareness, so they rely more on concrete, physical and repeated activity than on abstract explanation. Adults, by contrast, can draw on explicit rule analysis and a wider strategy repertoire.

Question 9Background to language learning and teaching

When a learner meets an unknown word in a text and works out its meaning from the surrounding sentences, the learner is using:

  1. a social strategy
  2. a memory strategy
  3. a compensation strategy Correct answer.
  4. a metacognitive strategy

Explanation

Compensation strategies help learners keep comprehension or communication going when knowledge is missing, for example by guessing from context or paraphrasing. Metacognitive strategies, by contrast, involve planning and monitoring one's own learning.

Question 10Background to language learning and teaching

A French speaker says 'I have twenty-five years' instead of 'I am twenty-five years old'. In second language acquisition this is best explained as:

  1. a slip of the tongue
  2. a developmental error
  3. an error of overgeneralisation
  4. first language transfer Correct answer.

Explanation

The pattern copies the French way of expressing age (avoir plus a number of years), so the first language has been carried into English. This kind of influence from the L1 is known as transfer or interference.

Question 11Background to language learning and teaching

A learner who knows the present perfect well says 'I have went' once in a hurry and immediately corrects himself. This is best described as:

  1. a fossilised error
  2. a slip Correct answer.
  3. a systematic error
  4. an interference error

Explanation

A slip is a performance mistake: the learner's underlying knowledge is correct and the error appears because of tiredness, hurry or distraction, so he can self-correct. Errors, by contrast, reflect gaps or wrong hypotheses in the learner's current system.

Question 12Background to language learning and teaching

The term for the learner's own evolving system of rules, which is neither the first language nor fully the target language, is:

  1. the learner's register
  2. first language interference
  3. interlanguage Correct answer.
  4. a pidgin variety

Explanation

Interlanguage is the developing rule system a learner builds between the first language and the target language, and it changes as new knowledge is taken in. It is a system in its own right rather than a random mixture of two fixed systems.

Question 13Background to language learning and teaching

In Krashen's model, 'acquisition' differs from 'learning' because acquisition:

  1. requires explicit study of grammar rules
  2. is subconscious and grows from communication Correct answer.
  3. depends on immediate correction of errors
  4. is only possible after formal instruction

Explanation

For Krashen, acquisition is an unconscious process driven by comprehensible input in genuine communication, similar to the way children pick up their first language. Learning, in contrast, is the conscious study of rules and is far more limited in what it can do for fluency.

Question 14Background to language learning and teaching

In Krashen's input hypothesis, 'i + 1' refers to:

  1. the first language plus a second one
  2. one correction for each error made
  3. input a little beyond the current level Correct answer.
  4. one hour of input each day

Explanation

In the formula, 'i' stands for the learner's present level of competence and '+1' is the next small step beyond it. Understanding input that contains a little new language is what, in this hypothesis, drives development.

Question 15Background to language learning and teaching

During a fluency activity, a teacher briefly stops the class to draw attention to the past-tense ending the learners keep omitting, then returns to the activity. This is an example of:

  1. a focus on form Correct answer.
  2. silent-period methodology
  3. a test-teach-test lesson
  4. a focus on meaning

Explanation

Focus on form means drawing learners' attention to a language feature briefly while they are engaged in communication, without abandoning the communicative task. A full grammar lesson separated from meaning would be a different kind of attention to form.

Question 16Background to language learning and teaching

In language teaching, 'aptitude' refers to:

  1. a preferred way of processing input
  2. willingness to communicate in class
  3. the learner's level of motivation
  4. a natural ability to learn languages Correct answer.

Explanation

Aptitude is an underlying cognitive capacity for language learning, often described in terms of sound discrimination, grammatical sensitivity and memory for language. It is distinct from motivation, which is about effort and direction of interest, and from learning style, which is about preferred ways of working.

Question 17Background to language learning and teaching

Before a business English course begins, the teacher interviews each student about their job, their reasons for learning and the situations they will use English in. This procedure is called:

  1. a progress check
  2. a needs analysis Correct answer.
  3. a diagnostic test
  4. a placement test

Explanation

A needs analysis gathers information about what learners will use the language for and what they still need to learn, so that course aims and content can be planned. Tests may form part of the process, but gathering information about needs is the defining purpose here.

Question 18Background to language learning and teaching

A child who has recently arrived in an English-medium school spends several weeks listening carefully but saying very little. The most appropriate response is to:

  1. move the child to a lower-level class immediately
  2. regard it as a normal stage and continue input Correct answer.
  3. stop using English with the child until she speaks
  4. insist on spoken answers to check understanding

Explanation

Many second language learners go through a silent period in which they take in language before they are ready to produce it. Forcing early production can raise anxiety, so continued comprehensible input and low-pressure participation are recommended.

Question 19Background to language learning and teaching

A learner refuses to read a text unless every word is understood and will not speak unless the teacher has corrected every error first. This learner most clearly shows:

  1. a strong visual learning style
  2. a low tolerance of ambiguity Correct answer.
  3. a high level of risk-taking
  4. a high level of learner autonomy

Explanation

Tolerance of ambiguity is the ability to work with incomplete understanding without undue anxiety. This learner needs full certainty before acting, which suggests a low tolerance and can slow down the guessing and risk-taking that language use requires.

Question 20Background to language learning and teaching

A teacher briefly uses the learners' shared first language to explain a difficult concept before returning to English. Which statement best justifies this choice?

  1. It replaces the need for English input
  2. It shows that the first language is not valued
  3. It can aid comprehension and reduce anxiety Correct answer.
  4. It prevents learners from hearing enough English

Explanation

Judicious, brief use of the first language can make a demanding concept accessible and lower affective barriers, after which the lesson continues in the target language. The key is that the L1 serves the learning of English rather than replacing it.

Question 21Background to language learning and teaching

The critical period hypothesis, as applied to language, claims that:

  1. children learn grammar more slowly than adults in all respects
  2. motivation is the only factor in successful language learning
  3. adults cannot learn a second language successfully
  4. the capacity to acquire language declines after childhood Correct answer.

Explanation

The hypothesis holds that there is an age window, ending around puberty, during which the brain is best able to acquire language, so native-like attainment becomes harder afterwards. It is a claim about declining capacity, not an absolute bar on adult learning.

Question 22Background to language learning and teaching

A learner has lived in an English-speaking country for ten years and receives lessons, but still consistently omits third-person 's' despite being aware of the rule. This is best described as:

  1. a slip of the tongue
  2. first language interference
  3. a silent period
  4. fossilisation Correct answer.

Explanation

Fossilisation is the persistent retention of a non-target feature in a learner's interlanguage, even where there is exposure, instruction and awareness of the rule. It is a feature of a stabilised system rather than a momentary performance mistake.

Question 23Background to language learning and teaching

A learner can pick out a single grammar pattern from a long, messy text and analyse it without being distracted by the surrounding material. This learner shows:

  1. a communicative style
  2. field independence Correct answer.
  3. a reflective style
  4. field dependence

Explanation

Field independence is the ability to separate a relevant detail from its surrounding context and analyse it in its own right. Field-dependent learners, by contrast, tend to see elements as part of the whole context and may find such isolation harder.

Question 24Background to language learning and teaching

Which statement about age and second language learning is best supported by research findings?

  1. Older learners never reach a high level of proficiency
  2. Age has no measurable effect on language learning
  3. Older learners often make faster initial progress Correct answer.
  4. Younger learners always learn grammar faster than adults

Explanation

Studies generally find that older learners, with more developed cognitive and literacy skills, progress faster in the early stages, while younger starters are more likely to reach native-like pronunciation over the long term. Age therefore affects rate and eventual attainment in different ways.

Question 25Background to language learning and teaching

Early contrastive analysis predicted that learners' difficulties could be worked out by comparing their first language with the target language. Later research showed that this prediction was:

  1. relevant mainly to young learners
  2. fully confirmed by later studies of learner errors
  3. rejected because learners make no errors
  4. only partly supported by error data Correct answer.

Explanation

Contrastive analysis predicted difficulty from differences between the two languages, but many learner errors turned out not to come from the first language at all. Errors such as overgeneralisation are developmental and appear across learners with different first languages, so L1 comparison can explain only part of the picture.

Question 26Background to language learning and teaching

According to behaviourist views of second language learning, language is learned mainly through:

  1. memorising rules and analysing structures
  2. imitation, repetition and reinforcement Correct answer.
  3. negotiating meaning with other speakers in interaction
  4. an innate language acquisition device

Explanation

Behaviourism treats language as verbal behaviour: habits are built up through stimulus, response and reinforcement, with imitation and repetition playing a central role. Errors are seen as bad habits to be corrected quickly. Later cognitive and interactionist views challenged this account.

Question 27Background to language learning and teaching

A learner can complete a task successfully with the help of a more knowledgeable partner but cannot yet manage it alone. In Vygotsky's terms, this task lies:

  1. at the learner's fixed developmental ceiling
  2. outside any level the learner can reach
  3. at the learner's current independent level
  4. within the learner's zone of proximal development Correct answer.

Explanation

The zone of proximal development is the gap between what a learner can do unaided and what the learner can achieve with support from a more capable other. Tasks in this zone are the ones where teaching and collaboration are most productive.

Question 28Background to language learning and teaching

A learner of English says: 'I want to speak English well so that people in my new neighbourhood accept me and I feel part of the community.' This is best described as:

  1. a learning style preference
  2. extrinsic motivation
  3. integrative motivation Correct answer.
  4. instrumental motivation

Explanation

Integrative motivation comes from a desire to identify with, and become part of, the target language community. It differs from instrumental motivation, which is driven by practical goals such as a qualification or a job.

Question 29Background to language learning and teaching

A learner remembers new words best when she sees them written on the board or in colour-coded diagrams. Which learning style does this suggest?

  1. auditory
  2. visual Correct answer.
  3. kinaesthetic
  4. interpersonal

Explanation

A visual preference means the learner takes in and retains information most easily through written, printed or graphic presentation. Teachers can accommodate it with board work, mind maps and colour coding.

Question 30Background to language learning and teaching

A learner says 'He don't like it' every time, even when speaking slowly and after the correct form has just been modelled. In second language acquisition terms this is:

  1. an error, because it is systematic Correct answer.
  2. a slip caused by hurried speech
  3. a mistake, because it is accidental
  4. a random performance lapse

Explanation

An error is systematic: it reflects the rule the learner currently holds and the learner cannot self-correct it on demand. Mistakes and slips, by contrast, are performance failures that the learner can usually put right when attention is drawn to them.

Question 31Background to language learning and teaching

A young learner produces 'I goed to the park' and 'two mouses'. These forms most clearly show:

  1. fossilised pronunciation
  2. avoidance of difficult forms
  3. first language transfer
  4. overgeneralisation of a rule Correct answer.

Explanation

Overgeneralisation happens when a learner applies a regular pattern, such as -ed for past tense or -s for plurals, to items that are irregular. It is evidence that the learner is actively constructing rules rather than simply copying input.

Question 32Background to language learning and teaching

A two-year-old calls every four-legged animal she sees 'dog'. In first language acquisition this is an example of:

  1. telegraphic speech
  2. overextension of meaning Correct answer.
  3. underextension of meaning
  4. overgeneralisation of a grammar rule

Explanation

Overextension means using a word more broadly than its adult meaning, so that one label covers a whole category of similar objects. It is a normal feature of early vocabulary development and shows the child is categorising the world.

Question 33Background to language learning and teaching

A learner's grammar is accurate, but she cannot adjust her English for a formal job interview and does not know when it is her turn to speak. She mainly lacks:

  1. lexical resource
  2. linguistic competence
  3. communicative competence Correct answer.
  4. grammatical accuracy

Explanation

Communicative competence covers appropriacy to setting and audience, the ability to manage discourse and turn-taking, and strategies for coping when language fails, as well as grammatical knowledge. Accurate grammar alone therefore does not guarantee successful communication.

Question 34Background to language learning and teaching

In Krashen's monitor model, a high affective filter is likely to:

  1. increase the learner's intake of new language
  2. speed up the learner's classroom progress
  3. encourage the learner to monitor their own output
  4. reduce the learner's intake of input Correct answer.

Explanation

The affective filter is an emotional barrier of anxiety, low motivation or low self-confidence that can stop comprehensible input from being taken in and used for acquisition. A low filter allows input through.

Question 35Background to language learning and teaching

A learner writes new words on cards, groups them by topic and draws a small picture to link each word to its meaning. These are best described as:

  1. communication strategies
  2. metacognitive strategies
  3. memory strategies Correct answer.
  4. social strategies

Explanation

Memory strategies are ways of storing and retrieving language, such as grouping, imagery, keyword links and physical response. They belong to the broader family of cognitive learning strategies.

Question 36Background to language learning and teaching

According to Halliday, a young child's use of language to satisfy needs and get things done, as in 'want milk', is the:

  1. instrumental function Correct answer.
  2. interactional function
  3. regulatory function
  4. representational function

Explanation

In Halliday's account of early language functions, the instrumental function is used to satisfy material needs and obtain goods or services. It is distinguished from the regulatory function, which controls other people's behaviour.

Question 37Background to language learning and teaching

A child says 'Mummy shoe' and 'no bed' at around two years old, leaving out articles and auxiliaries. This stage of first language development is called:

  1. the holophrastic stage
  2. formulaic speech
  3. babbling
  4. telegraphic speech Correct answer.

Explanation

Telegraphic speech consists of short utterances in which content words are kept and function words are omitted, much as in a telegram. It typically appears in the second year and shows early word combining.

Question 38Background to language learning and teaching

A learner chats easily with classmates at break but struggles with the abstract written language of a science textbook. This contrast is usually described as the difference between:

  1. acquisition and learning
  2. BICS and CALP Correct answer.
  3. receptive and productive skills
  4. fluency and accuracy

Explanation

Cummins distinguished basic interpersonal communicative skills, which are context-embedded and develop in a year or two, from cognitive academic language proficiency, which is context-reduced and takes much longer to develop. A learner may therefore sound fluent socially while still struggling academically.

Question 39Background to language learning and teaching

Swain's output hypothesis claims that producing the language is valuable mainly because:

  1. learners notice gaps and refine their message Correct answer.
  2. it lets learners check their work for errors
  3. it builds habits through repeated drilling
  4. it lowers anxiety before speaking tasks

Explanation

Swain argued that when learners are pushed to produce comprehensible output, they notice what they cannot yet express and are forced to test and adjust their language. This makes output a driver of development, not merely a practice of already-known forms.

Question 40Background to language learning and teaching

A teacher gives learners a set of example sentences containing the target structure, asks them in pairs to work out the pattern, then checks their rule before moving to practice. This is:

  1. presentation, practice, production
  2. a deductive approach to presenting grammar
  3. a test–teach–test approach to a grammar lesson
  4. an inductive approach to grammar Correct answer.

Explanation

In an inductive approach learners meet examples first and are guided to work out the rule for themselves, which can make the rule more memorable and encourage cognitive engagement. A deductive approach would give the rule first and then illustrate it.

Question 41Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching

In a lesson plan, what does the main aim describe?

  1. The key learning outcome Correct answer.
  2. The materials needed by the teacher
  3. The activities planned for each stage
  4. The order of stages in the plan

Explanation

The main aim states the central learning outcome that the lesson is designed to achieve. Activities, materials and stage order belong to the procedure and resources sections of the plan, not to the aim itself.

Question 42Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching

Why is a lead-in stage included at the start of a lesson?

  1. To give learners a quiet reading task
  2. To check the homework from the previous lesson
  3. To raise interest and activate schemata Correct answer.
  4. To present new grammar points in detail

Explanation

A lead-in prepares learners for the topic by arousing interest and activating the knowledge they already have. This helps them connect new language or content to familiar ideas before the main stage begins.

Question 43Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching

Which interaction pattern is described when the teacher talks to the whole class?

  1. Pairs talking together
  2. Groups talking together
  3. Learners to learners
  4. Teacher to class Correct answer.

Explanation

Teacher-to-class interaction is a whole-class pattern in which the teacher addresses all learners at once. The other options describe learner-to-learner patterns such as pair work and group work.

Question 44Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching

What is meant by 'realia' in language teaching?

  1. Recordings of native speakers
  2. Grammar reference tables
  3. Pictures cut from magazines
  4. Real objects used in class Correct answer.

Explanation

Realia are genuine objects brought into the classroom, such as food packaging, tickets or clothing. They give learners concrete, contextual support for understanding and using language.

Question 45Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching

In a lesson plan, what does 'anticipated problems' refer to?

  1. Likely problems and responses Correct answer.
  2. The aims written at the top
  3. The homework set at the end
  4. The seating arrangement chosen

Explanation

Anticipated problems are the difficulties a teacher expects learners may have during a lesson. Good planning pairs each predicted problem with a possible response or solution.

Question 46Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching

What is a common classroom use of flashcards?

  1. To present new vocabulary Correct answer.
  2. To record learners' test scores
  3. To assess writing accuracy
  4. To replace the coursebook

Explanation

Flashcards are small cards showing words or pictures and are mainly used to present and practise vocabulary. They provide quick visual prompts that support recall and drilling.

Question 47Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching

What is a 'mingle' activity?

  1. Learners move and talk to partners Correct answer.
  2. Learners listen to the teacher only
  3. Learners read a text in silence
  4. Learners stay seated and write individually

Explanation

In a mingle, learners stand up and move around the room to speak with different classmates. This pattern increases individual speaking time and gives repeated practice with the target language.

Question 48Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching

Why is homework often set after a lesson?

  1. To practise and consolidate work Correct answer.
  2. To test learners without preparation
  3. To replace the next lesson
  4. To introduce a completely new topic

Explanation

Homework usually gives learners extra practice and helps them consolidate what was covered in class. It extends learning time outside the classroom rather than introducing new teaching.

Question 49Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching

In a PPP lesson shape, what happens after the presentation stage?

  1. A test, then a second test
  2. Free production, then controlled practice
  3. Controlled practice, then production Correct answer.
  4. A project, then a presentation

Explanation

PPP stands for presentation, practice and production. After the teacher presents the language, learners do controlled practice before moving to freer production.

Question 50Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching

What is the usual order of stages in a task-based lesson?

  1. Reading, listening, writing, speaking
  2. Task, report, language focus Correct answer.
  3. Lead-in, test, test again
  4. Presentation, practice, production

Explanation

A task-based lesson typically begins with a task, followed by planning and reporting on it, and then a language focus stage. The language work comes after learners have used language for a communicative purpose.