TKT Language and Skills Description 2 — Questions and Answers

Question 1: What is the term for the grammatical relationship between a verb and the subject or object it is associated with?

Concord (Correct answer)
Cohesion
Collocation
Conjunction

Correct answer: Concord

Concord (or agreement) refers to the grammatical correspondence between subject and verb (e.g., 'she runs' not 'she run') or other grammatical relationships within a sentence.

Concord, also called grammatical agreement, refers to the requirement that certain grammatical elements match in features such as number, person, or gender. In English, subject-verb concord requires that a singular subject takes a singular verb form (e.g., 'The child plays') while a plural subject takes a plural verb form (e.g., 'The children play'). TKT Module 1 expects candidates to identify and explain grammatical features including concord, which can be a source of learner error, particularly for speakers of languages where agreement operates differently.

Question 2: What does 'lexical chunk' refer to in language description?

A single word that can stand alone as a complete utterance
A multi-word unit that is stored and used as a single item, such as 'as a result' or 'on the other hand' (Correct answer)
A grammatical label for compound nouns
A type of idiom found only in academic writing

Correct answer: A multi-word unit that is stored and used as a single item, such as 'as a result' or 'on the other hand'

Lexical chunks are multi-word units — phrases, collocations, or formulaic expressions — that are stored and retrieved as single vocabulary items rather than being assembled word by word.

The concept of lexical chunks comes from Lewis's Lexical Approach and corpus linguistics. Lexical chunks are fixed or semi-fixed multi-word units that native speakers store and use as single items. They include collocations (e.g., 'make a decision'), idioms (e.g., 'kick the bucket'), discourse markers (e.g., 'on the other hand'), and sentence frames (e.g., 'Would you mind if I…?'). Teaching learners to recognise and use lexical chunks can improve fluency and naturalness. TKT candidates should be familiar with the concept and be able to identify chunks in texts.

Question 3: Which of the following describes 'coherence' in a written or spoken text?

The use of linking words such as 'however', 'therefore', and 'in addition'
The logical flow of ideas and meaning that makes a text easy to follow and understand (Correct answer)
The grammatical accuracy of individual sentences
The vocabulary range displayed by the writer or speaker

Correct answer: The logical flow of ideas and meaning that makes a text easy to follow and understand

Coherence refers to the overall logical and semantic organisation of a text — how ideas connect and flow meaningfully — whereas cohesion refers to the grammatical and lexical links between sentences.

Coherence and cohesion are both aspects of discourse-level language. Cohesion refers to the surface features that link sentences, such as pronouns, connectors, and lexical repetition. Coherence, however, is deeper — it refers to the extent to which a text makes logical sense and develops its ideas consistently. A text can be cohesive without being coherent if the linking words are used incorrectly or ideas are unrelated. TKT candidates should understand both concepts and be able to evaluate written and spoken texts for how well they achieve both.

Question 4: What is 'weak form' in English phonology?

A reduced, unstressed pronunciation of a function word, such as 'can' pronounced /kən/ (Correct answer)
The pronunciation of a word in its citation form in a dictionary
A regional accent variant of a standard English word
The way learners mispronounce words due to L1 interference

Correct answer: A reduced, unstressed pronunciation of a function word, such as 'can' pronounced /kən/

Weak forms are the unstressed, reduced pronunciations of grammatical words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries) in natural connected speech, such as 'and' /ənd/ or 'for' /fə/.

In natural spoken English, many function words (articles, prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, pronouns) have two pronunciations: a strong form used when stressed or cited in isolation, and a weak form used in unstressed positions within the stream of speech. For example, 'can' in 'I can do it' is typically pronounced /kən/ rather than /kæn/. Weak forms are a key feature of connected speech and contribute to the rhythm of English. TKT candidates in Module 1 should be able to identify and explain features of pronunciation including weak forms.

Question 5: Which language skill involves understanding the overall meaning of a spoken text without paying attention to every word?

Scanning
Intensive listening
Listening for gist (Correct answer)
Inferring meaning

Correct answer: Listening for gist

Listening for gist means understanding the main topic or general meaning of a spoken text, without attempting to process every detail.

Listening for gist is a top-down listening skill used to understand the general topic, purpose, or main idea of a spoken text. Learners do not need to comprehend every word; instead, they use prior knowledge, context, and key words to construct overall meaning. Gist listening tasks include identifying the topic of a conversation, distinguishing between types of text (formal/informal, factual/opinion-based), or matching a short talk to a summary. TKT Module 1 covers the receptive skills — reading and listening — and expects candidates to know the range of sub-skills involved in each.

Question 6: What is 'elision' in the context of connected speech?

The blending of two vowel sounds at word boundaries
The omission of a sound, typically at the end of a word in rapid speech (Correct answer)
The addition of an intrusive sound between words
The change in pitch used to show surprise

Correct answer: The omission of a sound, typically at the end of a word in rapid speech

Elision is the dropping of a sound in natural connected speech, such as the final /t/ in 'last night' being omitted to produce 'las' night'.

Elision is a phonological process in connected speech where one or more sounds are omitted, particularly in fast or informal speech. Common examples in English include the omission of the /t/ or /d/ in consonant clusters (e.g., 'last year' → /lɑːs jɪə/, 'and' → /ən/). Elision is one of several connected speech phenomena — alongside assimilation, linking, weak forms, and intrusion — that make natural English difficult for learners to understand. TKT candidates should be familiar with these features so they can help learners develop their listening comprehension.

TKT Language and Skills Description 2

What is the term for the grammatical relationship between a verb and the subject or object it is associated with?