Catalonia PAU Foreign Language - English case studies
Catalonia PAU Foreign Language - English · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The PAU English exam (Llengua estrangera: Anglès) is the foreign-language component of Catalonia's university entrance assessment, taken by students finishing Batxillerat and by candidates entering through other routes. It is used by Catalan public universities as part of the admission score, and the mark can also count towards the specific-phase weighting for degrees that treat English as a relevant subject. The Catalonia PAU Foreign Language - English case studies are 5 cases and about 3,262 words.
1The survey detail that looks like the answer
Laia, a 17-year-old student, is practising the reading section of the PAU under timed conditions: 50 minutes for a 480-word article and four items. The article describes how a mid-sized Catalan city appointed a 'night mayor' in 2021 to mediate between bar owners, residents and the police.
588 words, about 3 min2The opinion essay that became a story about a cousin
Pau, a 17-year-old candidate, chooses the PAU opinion-essay option: 'Some people think mobile phones should be banned in secondary schools. Write an opinion essay of 120-150 words giving your opinion and mentioning at least two arguments.' His handwritten draft is 191 words.
666 words, about 3 min3Six cloze errors that all feel right by ear
Marta, 17, has just done a 10-item cloze on a text about a school exchange in Dublin. Her wrong answers include: 'I hope I don't do a mistake at the host family's house' (target: make); 'My host mother is very sensible to noise, so I keep the music low' (target: sensitive); 'Actually I live in Girona, but I study in Barcelona' (target: currently, in a sentence about her present routine); 'We attended to a concert at the National Concert Hall' (target: attended); 'I want to take part of the school choir' (target: in); and 'I am used to get up early' (target: used to getting).
643 words, about 3 min4The conditional that keeps coming back
During a mock PAU writing task, a 17-year-old student produces these sentences: (1) 'If the town council would have installed more recycling bins, the beach would be cleaner now.' (2) 'The neighbours which complained last summer are happy with the new schedule.' (3) 'I am living in this neighbourhood since 2015.' (4) 'Despite of the noise, I like it here.' The teacher has 15 minutes of class time and wants to prioritise errors that cost most marks in the grammar-and-accuracy criterion. The student can explain the rule for (2) when asked but repeats the same error in new writing.
670 words, about 3 min5The refund email with three contrast linkers and no clear 'they'
Imma, 17, writes a formal email to a language school after a cancelled weekend course. Her draft contains these sentences in this order: (1) 'Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to ask for a refund.' (2) 'However, I paid 200 euros in March.' (3) 'Besides, the course was cancelled two days before it started.' (4) 'They told me by phone, but nobody answered my emails.' (5) 'On the other hand, I could not attend the replacement class.' (6) 'Therefore, please answer me as soon as possible.' She has used three contrast/additive linkers without checking the logical relation, and 'They' has no clear antecedent.
695 words, about 3 min