1. This is the pre-CAE class. That means you aren't expected to be able to pass the CAE yet. If you keep coming to class, completing the homework, and working on your progress on your own, you'll be in better shape by the end of the term. Imagine how much you'll improve if you take the CAE class afterwards.
2. The point of the Progress Exam is exactly that: to test your progress. By considering your performance on the exam, what you did well and what you need to improve upon, you'll be better equipped to strategize your studying. That means focusing on specific weaknesses and determining how you can best address them.
3. The same applies to me. After reading your suggestions and marking your exams, I have a clearer idea of what skills we need to emphasize in class.
SO, with that in mind...
TIPS FOR CONQUERING USE OF ENGLISH
I'm not going to go too deep here, since we'll talk about this in class. However, a few things:
- OUTSIDE EFFORT : This is huge guys. No matter how much work we do in class, we will never cover all the possible things you will encounter on the exam, especially in Use of English. Vocabulary and usage issues are a question of exposure and practice; you get both in class, but you need much more to excel on the exam and (let's not lose sight of this) in an English speaking culture. So, what are some ways to improve on your own? Let's hear some ideas. I can offer a few: vocabulary notebooks, word wheels (look in your book, p. 44 if you don't know what I'm talking about), reading English newspapers/magazines/etc., websites like this one...WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO??
- ORGANIZATION: An extension of what I said earlier. Figure out exactly what you need to work on, and, more importantly, WHY. What mistakes do you keep making? This means correcting yourself, which means being your own teacher.
- USE WHAT YOU HAVE: While it's true that the burden of improvement lies on you, CSIM and I have provided you with a lot of useful resources. The workbook is one example (bring it Saturday!); this blog is another. It's important to bridge the outside learning you do with what we do in class. That's what the blog is for. It's up to all of us to make it serve its purpose.
Lastly: English is hard. It's hard to become competent, and exponentially more difficult to be become proficient. It's important to stay positive and keep working regardless of "setbacks," since there's really no such thing in language learning. It's all an opportunity to improve.
Maybe you've seen this poem before. It sums up pretty well some of the frustrations English learners have...and it doesn't even touch on phrasal verbs. See you Saturday.
Hello everybody!
ReplyDeleteWell, it's pretty difficult to add something different and as precise as the points that Andrew already made...but let's try it!
We all agree that PRACTICE is the key, don't we?
But in my opinion we should complement the 'outside effort'(doing extra activities,seeking the meaning of those works that we saw in class and we didn't understand...) with other kind of activities that each of us relate more to the leisure time than to the duty.
According to that, we should think of some of our favorite hobbies...and how we could bridge them with learning english.
For example, I do love going to the cinema...but for the last 4 years I only go under condition of watching the original version (Ok, to be honest, the first and ultimate requirement is to have the almost 10e that it costs...but we can always count on our very best friend THE INTERNET ;))
Do you usually reed the newspaper/ a magazine? Most of the notice that you find there belongs to international press agencies, so you can skip a step and go directly to the original source.
And above all, BE CONSTANT, at least for me, it's kind of hard getting back into routine once I quit.
Ok guys, it's your turn now! Looking forward to read your tips :)
Have a nice week and see you on Saturday!
Hello all!
ReplyDeleteI think that as Ana says the really important thing is PRACTISE.
If we only focus our learning on Saturday's class and we don't do "outside efort" means we are going to UCM to do regional tourism.
All of us are studying very hard careers so I know that it's really difficult to find time for english, especially when we are talking about perseverance practising, but we must try!
I think one of the big problems is to understand all the difficult vocabulary and new verbs and expressions, so we should have a "Advanced Vocabulary Book" to check and train at least 15 minutes everyday.
See you on Saturday!
Thanks for your comments Ana and Sara! And a hearty "hear, hear!" to Sara's "regional tourism" comment. I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think practice is key. I also recognize that it's not always easy (or cheap) to find.
As Ana said, movies in original version are an excellent resource; they are also normally expensive, and getting more expensive all the time.
I have one specific recommendation about this: some friends of mine opened a cafe/cinema in Lavapies that shows movies in original version (mostly English) for only two euros, and serves food and drinks in the cinema. It's called Cafe Kino; the website is www.cafekino.es. Although I'm completely biased, I highly recommend it.
I also recommend trying to organize, if possible, a conversation exchange with an English speaker. There are various websites that can help facilitate this; just google what you want (english spanish conversation exchange madrid, for example) and you'll find multiple possibilities.
All of this requires effort on your part. LIke Sara said, you're all busy with studies and work, so any extra effort won't come easy. But I promise it will pay off in the end.
See you Saturday!