Tag Archives: tips

Pruebas de Certificación Tips and Practice

General, Students' Corner,

 



The SPEAKING TEST consta de tres partes .

  • En la primera parte ,(1 ó 2 m) el examinador hará preguntas de carácter general cuyas respuestas no contarán de cara a la nota final. No tiene otro objetivo que ayudar a que el alumno se sienta más cómodo.
  • La segunda parte del examen es la INTERACCIÓN . En esta parte el examinador interactuará con el alumno. En el Nivel Básico, se le dará al alumno una situación (role-play) donde tendrá que asumir el papel que se le indique. En el Nivel Intermedio , el examinador elegirá un tema y hará preguntas al candidato.
  • La tercera parte del examen es lo que denomina DISCURSO CONTINUO . Aquí el candidato tendrá que hablar sobre unas fotografías ( máximo tres) sin ninguna intervención por parte del examinador . En el Nivel Básico se pedirá al candidato que compare y describa , y en el Nivel Intermedio que describa y compare las fotos y hablé ,además ,sobre el tema sugerido en las mismas.

ALGUNOS CONSEJOS SOBRE EL EXAMEN ORAL.
El examen oral es tu oportunidad de brillar .El examinador espera de ti que utilices variedad de estructuras y vocabulario adecuado al nivel del que te examinas. Si estás en Intermedio y utilizas vocabulario y estructuras de Nivel básico , aunque no tengas errores no es probable que apruebes . Es importante que respondas a las preguntas del examinador con respuestas largas, desarrollando tus ideas. No esperes a que el examinador te pregunte “por qué” a una pregunta que te ha realizado, lo normal es que tu ofrezcas esa explicación y que el profesor no necesite aclaración ninguna. No te olvides además de usar conectores para enlazar tus ideas, no utilices siempre los mismos , recuerda que es tu momento de brillar.
Mira este video. Ilustra muy bien lo que intento explicarte arriba.


 

En el examen oral , como ya te he explicado, tienes que utilizar variedad de estructuras . Mira este video de 5 m para aprender diferentes expresiones para substituir I like/ I don’t like. Aquí

Enlaces a páginas que  pueden ayudarte a preparar el examen

NIVEL BASICO
♥EXAMEN ORAL
DESCRIPCION   DE FOTOGRAFIAS
1. Blog de Cristina .Descripción de personas , Descripcion de una foto
2. Writefix.com . Al pasar el cursor por encima de las fotos, te ofrece sugerencias de vocabulario y estructuras para ayudarte a describir.La sección se llama PET SPEAKING.
3. El British Council en su web , publica un video donde dos estudiantes describen una fotografia . Video aqui, tapescript aqui
4. Blog de Cristina. Ejemplos de descripcion de fotografias realizadas por alumnos de la EOI
aquí y  aqui

ROLE PLAYS

1. Blog de Cristina con ejemplos ( algunas interactivos) de distintos role-plays. Aquí
2. Twominenglish.com. Videos para practicar role-plays : at the restaurant, shopping or at the airport. Repetiras las frases más comunes para cada una de estas situaciones.
3. http://simpleesl.com/coleccion de 16 role-plays para continuar practicando

♥READING

Esl-bits.net. Haz clic en uno de los Tests ( numerados del 1 al 19 ) y elije que tipo de ejercicio quieres hacer (signs,details,matching..,)

NIVEL INTERMEDIATE

♥SPEAKING

INTERACCIÓN

1 Blog de Cristina. Temas variados acompañados de fotografias .

2. Eslconversationquestions.com/

3. Teflpedia.com/

4. En Ielts Speaking puedes preparar 16 temas de examen (Towns and Cities, Clothes and fashion…etc ) . Leerás las preguntas que hacen los examinadores y las respuestas que a los examinadores les gustaría oir con el vocabulario especifico marcado en negrita.

5.En Digilander.libero.it/puedes ver algunas Useful expressions for the speaking exam que tal vez te sirvan de ayuda.

♥READING
1. The British Council en su sección para teens puede ayudarte

2. Blog de Cristina . Sección Reading (scroll down)

♥WRITING

WriteFix.com ofrece ejemplos de expresión escrita . Solapa CAUSE AND EFFECT:HOME y ESSAY LIST OLDER.

Blog de Cristina. Sección de writing ( scroll down)

Espero haberte ayudado. Si conoces algun enlace que pueda resultar útil para preparar este examen no dudes en mandármelo

NO OLVIDES INSCRIBIRTE!


Listening:What are the best ways to memorise new vocabulary?

Listening, , , , , , ,

Have you ever asked yourself how you acquire new vocabulary? Have you ever wondered if things such as sticking post-its on the walls of your bedroom (or bathroom) really help you memorise new words? Well folks, I should say it might work when your aim is just passing a written test – I have tried this little trick plenty of times, especially when trying to learn long lists of irregular verbs,  but when your target is learning to speak a language, trust me , this little trick won’t work.

For example, what’s the point of learning the word “listen” if you don’t know that it collocates with the preposition “to”? I’ll tell you what, you’ll end up writing or saying things such as “I’m listening you”; does it ring a bell?

I could try to explain what has always worked for me but I’ve found this useful video where an expert, Michael McCarthy from Cambridge University Press, pretty much sums up what I wanted to write  and gives you tips about the best way to learn new words. Stick to it! It really works!

Listening Task: Listen to the video and write down the four tips the expert gives about the best ways to learn new vocabulary. Play the video and stop when you get to 2.20 . Play it again if necessary. Check your answers ; you’ll find them at the end of the video.

Blog de Cristina is also on Facebook. Click to follow!!

Learning Saxon Genitive:A tip for Spanish Students

A word on Grammar, , ,

I got this tip from Vaughan ( yes, the archifamous Vaughan ) by sheer chance.

I normally subscribe and unsubscribe to tons of different sites which, at some poin, find interesting and then I get  bored and unsubscribe. When I decide to unsubscribe from a mailing list, it  is because I’ve been for some time too bored to read the same kind of stuff all over again. I was about to do likewise with Vaughan when I decided to give him a last chance. I opened the email and Voîla! a great tip about Saxon Genitive for my students.

The thing is that I normally teach  Saxon Genitive the way he does, that is, by using translation and by pointing out that what you say first in English is what you say last in Spanish but it had never ocurred to me to use numbers… and numbers are very visual and… visual things work very well when learning.

So, here’ s his tip, which I’m dying to try with my students. I’m going to use his same examples.

♥El perro(1) del vecino(2) de mi tío(3) es ciego. My uncle’s(3) neighbour’s(2) dog(1) is blind.    La mesa de trabajo(1) de la jefa(2) de mi jefe(3) está desordenada.My boss’s(3) boss’s(2) desk(1) is messy.

♥A bit more complicated ???La novia(1) del médico(2) de la hermana(3) de Carlos(4) está embarazada. Carlos'(4) sister’s(3) doctor’s(2) girlfriend(1) is pregnant.

♥ Even more…? Mi gato se comió al canario(1) del vecino(2) de la tia(3) de la mujer(4) de mi jefe(5).My cat ate my boss’s(5) wife’s(4) aunt’s(3) neighbour’s(2) canary(1).

Now, can you solve this puzzle? Remember Spanish  1,2,3 …. English 3,2,1

My name’s Frank. Who is my mother’s younger sister’s father’s bother-in-law’s wife’s father’s only great grandson? My uncle is called John and his father is called Jim. Jim has got two brothers Jack and Jeremy

What’s your guess? Check here

 

The Writing Process

Writing, ,

We all know how hard it is to write , even in our own language so when the task is writing in a foreign language it seems  like a higher mountain to climb.

Why do students find writing such a difficult process?

The reasons are several and they can vary from student to student. I find that most of my students leave their written assignment until the last minute and writing requires time ; most students ,when they finally get down to writing , don’t really know what they want to say or where to start , there isn’t any  brainstorming process and students, very seldom , write a first draft.These are important strategies to consider , especially when your essay is going to be graded.

This is my small contribution to helping you write better. I only hope you find it useful!

A Book Review

Lesson Plan: Advanced, Reading, Resources, Writing, ,

You have been reading your books for a while now and I sincerely hope you are enjoying it. But… hurry up if you haven’t finished because your writing test is coming… sorry to give you bad news. I have already made up my mind to do it on Thursday April 22 in class.
Here are some considerations and tips about writing book reviews. I hope you find them useful.What is the difference between a book report and a book review? A book report is completely factual. It includes information on the author, title, place and year of publication as well as a summary of the content of the book. A book review, on the other hand, is much more personal. It is really an expression of the reader’s opinion of the work, or of specific aspects of the work. The review will probably include much of the same factual content as the report, but it is the reader’s personal opinions that are most important.

You have read your book. Your next step will be to organize what you are going to say about it in your report. Writing the basic elements down in an outline format will help you to organize your thoughts.What will you include in the outline?
The description should include such elements as:

•The setting-where does the story take place?
•The time period-is the story set in the present day or in an earlier time period? Perhaps it is even set in the future!
•The main character(s)-who is the story mostly about? Give a brief description. Often, one character can be singled out as the main character, but some books will have more than one
•The plot-what happens to the main character? WARNING! Be careful here. Do not fall into the boring trap of reporting every single thing that happens in the story. Pick only the most important events. Here are some hints on how to do that. First, explain the situation of the main character as the story opens. Next, identify the basic plot element of the story-is the main character trying to achieve something or overcome a particular problem? Thirdly, describe a few of the more important things that happen to the main character as he/she works toward that goal or solution. Finally, you might hint at the story’s conclusion without completely giving away the ending.

WRITING TIPS

Continue reading A Book Review →