domingo, 11 de junio de 2017

Trucos para aprobar el Speaking

¿Sabéis cuáles son los mejores trucos para aprobar el speaking de la ESCUELA OFICIAL DE IDIOMAS o de los exámenes de CAMBRIDGE como PET, FIRST CAE?
Os he preparado un artículo lleno de ideas que vamos aplicando en clase con nuestros alumnos y que funcionan siempre.
*** Si tenéis más ideas, no dudéis en dejárnoslas en los comentarios del final de esta entrada. Thank you.***

Today we are going to focus on the structure of the monologue for EOI and the use of some nice expressions for both, the monologue and the dialogue for level B2 and C1.
The monologue must be well-structured thus, divide it in 3 or 4 parts and spend about 1 minute expanding the main ideas that you have written down during the 10 minutes available to prepare both tasks. Start your monologue with some general ideas and then move to the specific ones.
Remember you have about 10 minutes to show what you know so, don’t waste this time beating around the bush (irse por las ramas) and go to the point. What is also very important is your attitude. Try not to be apathetic and speak just for the sake of it. Make an effort to sound enthusiastic and show interest in the topic even though it’s not your cup of tea. Be aware that everything is assessed from fluency, content, coherence, pronunciation to grammar so, don’t rush, and speak slowly and clearly.
To make your speech sound more natural try to personalize it and to make it make it sound more sophisticated use some of the following expressions:
  • Speaking from my personal experience
  • That is a topic that is particularly close to my heart
  • That is a topic that I’m not very keen on
            To give yourself time to think use some of these expressions or rephrase what you’ve just said:
  • Let me see
  • Well, it’s difficult to say really
  • That’s an interesting question
  • I haven’t given it much thought until now
  •  What I mean is….
  •  What I’m trying to say is……
  • In other words
  • To put it another way….
  • Basically what I’m saying is…..
            To impress the examineruse some of these expressions:
  • Another point I’d like to add is…
  • It’s also worth bearing in mind that…..
  • Coming back to what I said about….
  • I’d also like to point out ….
  • The vast majority of people tend to think that….
  • I reckon it’s important not to forget that……
  • At the end of the day…..
When you do the dialogue the most important thing in not to forget that what is assessed is your ability to interact so, show interest in what your partner says and to agree or disagree make use of these expressions:
  •   We see eye to eye /we don’t see eye to eye
  •   We’re on the same page
  •    You took the words right out of my mouth
  •    I couldn’t agree more/less
  •    You have appoint there /I take your point but
  •    I’m with you 100% on this one
  •     I tend to disagree with you there
  •     That’s not always the case
  •     I beg to differ
MAY THE LUCK BE WITH YOU!

domingo, 4 de junio de 2017

2nd Year Advanced Level TOPICS

1. Self-portrait. Family, relatives
2. Working world
3. Languages Learning
4. Novels/ Reading/ Review of a novel
5. Childhood
6. Revenge
7. Dating people
8. Cinema. Review of a film/Spoilers
9. History
10. Phobias
11. Talking to strangers
12. Translations: books, films, advertising slogans…
13. Multitasking
14. Time/ Waiting for things
15. Human Relationships/Marriage
16. How to… tips to get over different “difficult” situations
17. Apology formal/informal letter/e-mail
18. Complaining formal/informal letter/e-mail
19. Cover Letter

1st Year Advanced Level TOPICS

1. Extreme Interviews. Work. Apply to a job.
2. Unbelievable happenings
3. Different Personalities
4. First Aids. Illnesses and injuries
5. How to face the pass of time and physical changes
6. Fashion/Clothes/Physical Appearance
7. Travel/Airports/Planes/Problems when travelling
8. Self-defense/ Crimes
9. Reading Habits
10. Eco-friendly and Eco-guilty people/Measures to preserve the environment
11. The weather
12. Taking Risks
13. Transports/Driving/Travels/Journeys/Trips
14. What would you do in a difficult situation?
15. Things that irritate us
16. Regrets
17. Music & Emotions
18. Sleeping Habits

2nd Year Advance Level Grammar

THIS IS THE GRAMMAR WE’VE SEEN ALONG THE COURSE (or we are seeing in short)

1. To Have (Auxiliary or Main verb)
2. Discourse Markers(1) (linkers depending on the speaker’s aim)
3. The Past: Narrative Tenses used to describe Everyday Events and Specific happenings: 4. Simple Past, Past Continuous and The Past Perfect simple or continuous.
5. To Get: a verb with several meanings
6. Discourse Markers (2) Adverbs and adverbial expressions
7. Modal Verbs (Speculation and Deduction): must, may, might, can’t, should, ought
8. Adding Emphasis (1) Inversion
9. The Passive Voice with verbs of saying and reporting
10. Distancing Expressions: apparently, according to, may/might
11. Unreal uses of past tenses (“wish”, “if only”, “I’d rather”)
12. Verb + Object + Infinitive or Gerund?
13. Conditional Sentences
14. Permission, Obligation and Necessity (can, must, should, ought to, had better)
15. Verbs of the Senses (hear, see, smell, taste and feel)
16. Impressions achieved through the senses: look, feel, sound, seem and taste
You must demonstrate in your exams, mainly in your Writing exam, that you have achieved this knowledge to pass. You need not only to make an exam without mistakes but also to make an acceptable exam for your level. 

1st Year Advance Level Grammar.

THIS IS THE GRAMMAR WE’VE SEEN ALONG THE COURSE (or we are seeing it in short)

1. Question Formation
2. Indirect Questions
3. Auxiliary Verbs
4. Present perfect Simple/continuous
5. Adjectives and Nouns, Adjectives order
6. Narrative tenses: Past tense, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous
7. The position of Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases
8. Future Perfect and Future Continuous
9. Conditionals (Zero, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Conditional)
10. Structures after “wish”
11. Gerunds and Infinitives
12. Used to, to Be Used to, to Get Used to
13. The Passive Voice
14. Reported Speech
You must demonstrate in your exams, mainly in your Writing exam, that you have achieved this knowledge to pass. You need not only to make an exam without mistakes but also to make an acceptable exam for your level. 

1st Year Intermediate Level Grammar.

THIS IS THE GRAMMAR WE’VE SEEN ALONG THE COURSE (or we are seeing it in short)

1. Word Order in questions.
2. Present Simple
3. Present continuous
4. Past Simple: Regular and Irregular Verbs
5. Past continuous
6. Time Sequencers
7. Connectors: Because, so, but, although
8. Be going to
9. Present Continuous (Future Arrangements)
10. Defining Relative Clauses with “who”, “which” and “where”
11. Present Perfect (yet, just and already)
12. Present Perfect or Past Simple
13. Something, Anything and Nothing
14. Comparatives, Superlatives (Regular and Irregular Forms)
15. Quantifiers (too much/too many, too, enough)
16. Simple Future (Predictions, Decisions, Offers and Promises)
17. Uses of the Infinitive with to
18. Uses of the Gerund (verb + ing)
19. Have to, Don’t have to, Must, Mustn’t
20. 1st Conditional (If + present, will/won’t)
21. Present Perfect + For or Since
22. Passive Voice
You must demonstrate in your exams, mainly in your Writing exam, that you have achieved this knowledge to pass. You need not only to make an exam without mistakes but also to make an acceptable exam for your level. 

1st Intermediate level TOPICS


1 Home and Family
2 Job and Studies
3 Free time
4 Travel / Holidays
5 Relationships
6 History / Stories
7 Pictures and the stories behind them
8 Airport and Transport
9 Eating abroad
10 Shopping / Fashion / Clothes
11 Plans
12 Stereotypes
13 Lifestyle
14 Attitude towards life
15 Promises
16 Dreams
17 How to behave in specific situations
18 Happiness
19 Learning language
20 Fears
21 Taking decisions
22 Describing people
23 Housework