Experiences of a teacher of English

  Maybe often we have to train candidates for B2 or C1 levels of a foreign language. Those levels are upper-intermediate and advanced respectively. How can we sure we’re doing well? We can imagine we ourselves have to pass those levels and we’ll know what to do! And we’ll have clear ideas that we have to practice listening, speaking, reading and writing, plus grammar and vocabulary. What would we do to train those language skills plus grammar and vocabulary in order to pass an exam? And so we will be able to train our candidates for those levels. Thus when planning our lessons we could think: What have I to do to improve for example at speaking or at listening? And we’ll go for it in a practical way. For me listening and speaking are the most demanding and difficult skills to improve. As well we can think about what we did when we had to pass B2, C1 or C2. This latter level is the highest one in a language, and when we get a thorough C2 level, that means we are biling...

  In many schools here in Granada they’re changing their methodology for teaching English into something more communicative, and more and more you can hear youngsters speaking in English on the street, above all with other American young people. Speaking in English is just essential, and I’m glad the thing is changing into mastering English. Many students train for B2 and C1 for example, which are levels within the Common European Framework. They’re equivalent to First Certificate of Cambridge and Advanced Certificate, also of Cambridge University. And I propose all should be said in English in our classes, both for senior adult students and kids alike. Or 99%, but if we let us ourselves speak a bit, a very small bit in Spanish, in the end you can catch yourself having spoken in the mother language more than what should be wanted. Anyway we’ve got to keep speaking in English to our students, but at a level they can understand, low it may be anyway. Or better, at a l...

Some people say that before an oral exam in English, or in other foreign languages it’s sound to read for a while in that language.  I was thinking for example of Cambridge Examinations of English: First Certificate, Advanced, Proficiency, but evidently this is valid for any kind of oral examination. I can assure you it’s true.  Also if you’re an English language teacher, and can get some time, it’s advisable before a class: you’ll feel more fluency.  Why is it so? We in Spanish say that “cambias el chip”, which means that your brain refreshes the language you know. / Photo from: www stripes com. climbing a mountain

Young people just need English for finding a job.  It’s indispensable.  One way is to have one of the Cambridge Examination titles, from First Certificate of English onward.  In the past summer course of English I assisted we told the three teachers to train the students as much as possible within the frame of those exams. The three teachers, René (pronounced as “Run”), Mick and Richard also implemented the stuff they usually utilize in their language center: it was useful for those exams. / Photo from: Gibraltar www 101viajes com. Gibraltar is like a colony of the UK in the south of Spain. One day of the course of our English camp we traveled to the Rock

I understand you when you tell me that we teachers of English should adapt our syllabuses to the levels of the Common European Framework for languages, if this is possible in our school.  And we can find references in the Internet: we can find a lot about those levels.  Today in Spain many youngsters who are registered in different degrees or they have finished their degree, train above all for B1 and B2, above all but not all of them: some students train for C1 or C2, with the following similarities or equivalences: B2 with First Certificate, C1 with the Certificate in Advanced English, and finally C2, which is equivalent to the Proficiency exam, all of them from Cambridge University examinations.  So today many candidates for a job train in First Certificate, at least.  Up to some extent and roughly speaking, the main point is to be capable of speaking in English about any topic, and at a rather high level of English.  No longer are ...

The communicative methodology of learning languages is centered on the student’s process of acquiring and learning English, or another language. It isn’t centered on the teacher, but on each student and how he can acquire the language.  However, if you want a methodology of this kind the teacher has to prompt and conduct the class a lot, I repeat, a lot, so also we have the teacher is another protagonist.  He implements activities that make and force the students to speak in English.  The syllabus or planning of the course is providing grammar patterns and vocabulary that can be helpful and useful for the students to speak further. We teachers have got to plan each class, with an aim (at least), which can be a necessary grammar pattern for speaking about such or such topic. Or such and such vocabulary for talking about for example feelings and sentiments.  Classes, moreover, could be addressed to train students for TOEFL or Cambridge examinatio...

When you’re a proficient speaker of certain language, you acquire the sense of language.  You get info from outside and use it when writing for example. With that sense of the language you can infer that that word there… is not correctly used, although you have never use that word, but the proficiency tells you so.  Sorry for my mistakes and errors. / Photo from: vintage-woman-writing rabbitmontaut wordpress com

Today I have talked with the principal of the English language summer camp we run within few days.  We have sixty students and three teachers.  The point now is to prepare and train candidates for Cambridge examinations. Let’s see if there are candidates for B1, B2, C1. I hope so.  Thank God Spanish students have changed their mind: the point now is to really learn and acquire English. It’s a serious thing. No more just general English.  As I said, minds are changing and they take learning and acquiring languages in a more serious way.  Their age? They’re fourteen through sixteen or seventeen. Things are changing. / Photo from: www flowenglish com

Yesterday I was at the semi-Olympic swimming pool which is near my house.  After having swum for a while I was in the locker room (changing room), and I heard two twin brothers talking; I know them because of other days.  One of them said he had to make English exercises, and math perhaps.  What I mean here is that I felt as if English was just one more school subject where you work and study, but not a practical and communicative subject.  At my tutoring sessions at Alayos I listen that they make a lot of translation, textbook exercises, and some other rather theoretical things.  Fortunately things are changing among youngsters, and schools and teachers, and they train to pass B1 or B2 for example – it’s the way the levels of English are displayed, according to the Common European Framework of reference for languages.  There are three letters A, B and C, with two levels within each letter; for example the CAE, Certificate of ...

You know what?  A few days ago I played a piece of CD for my students of English, and they understood something.  Its level was C1, within the Common European Framework, so equivalent to the Advanced level exam of University of Cambridge, while my class level is A2, B1, B2. Awesome. Just amazing.  The contents was some dialog. / Photo from: www britishcouncil co ke

Yesterday one of the meetings I had was with the vice-president of a special center for college students. It was nice, thank you.  When returning home I passed by a center of languages, a prestigious one in Granada, to greet the workers and let them know I’m going to have informal classes of speaking with the students nearby.  The school I passed by was Inlingua, a famous one, as I said. I introduced myself, etc., and I could see one young female teacher with a line of young kids learning vocabulary I guess.  She was singing and acting out.  The school is decorated with colorful posters and so. Another nice visit, I assure you.  I know other Inlingua centers in Spain. Their methods and methodology are so interesting, and their students massively pass Cambridge examinations of English. / Photo from: kindergarten class ts www pbs org

Another course or program for the current academic year is a class-discussion with college students of various degrees.  The point to start is a worksheet I make up. We work and talk about the activities of the worksheets, and from there we naturalistically proceed into their experiences.  The topic of the first worksheet is flying by plane.  The students’ levels, as far as I know so far are B1, B2, and perhaps, even likely, some C1.  I don’t train them for the examinations of Cambridge, yet speaking once a week helps great. I’ll be telling you how it turns out. If somebody wants, I could publish some worksheet. I've done it already, and they're free. 

The examinee of an official diploma of English should face up with the exam with a mentality of winning: he has been training and has studied and worked for long.  The real exam is one more time to take exams that sort.  So he can attend the exam relaxed, tentatively but it’s a realistic mood, believe me.  Besides he’s asked his angel to help him out.  So this person, this candidate will move with serenity, also because he’s a son of God. He shall not be alone: he has Heaven on his side and close to him, and to his classmates. / Photo from: www cyclicx com

At the listening part of exams of English or another different language the examinee should write down quick notes about each person who speaks, if the case.  Later the candidate will probably have to give the same information about each character in other different words.  This demands the examinee ought to have a lot of English internalized.  Remember that rather to aim at an exam the diploma will certify that you are proficient at each level, say First Certificate, Advanced or Proficiency, in relation to the examinations of the University of Cambridge.  By the way, aural parts of these exams, namely speaking and listening may be the most difficult of the tasks. / Photo from: radio show

I start a new label or tag today, due to the growing interest in the examinations of Cambridge, Trinity and TOEFL. For further previous posts you can type into the Search box.