Vroooooooom!

Totally unrelated to the exams.... but sick to the back teeth of my underpowered Orion I've splashed out on a 2.5 v6. It's in the UK so I don't get to play with the new car until then but.......vrooooooooom!

Think... and Blink

My Guys,

You've got until 20th March to sign up. I was looking at the list yesterday and many of you haven't. If you don't sign up now you'll have to wait until December. I'll warn you again in class this week.... it's your call.

On a similar subject...

I was working Saturday, invigilating the FCE exams and also being an Oral examiner. Some more points:
The Writing paper is to be written in pen. Not pencil. It says so on the front of the paper and I told the students but somehow the message did not get through. I can't see Cambridge docking marks because of this but it hardly shows you in a good light if you get simple instructions wrong. And again.... HANDWRITING! None of my guys took it yesterday. Which is good for me seeing such dreadfully formed letters dancing across the page.
The Listening Paper. You need to write your name on the question sheet as well as the answer sheet. I haven't mentioned this to you before (as I didn't know). I imagine it's so that if you appeal your mark it can be moderated.
The Use of English Paper. Some guys left this exam very early. Check, check and check again, but only change an answer if you are sure. Often your first answer is the best (read BLINK, by Malcolm Gladwell. It tells us that we know stuff when we have a hunch... we just don't know why we know stuff, and often we don't trust the stuff we know because we don't know the why... if you catch my drift).
The Reading Paper. I know the notes say 'please don't write on the exam paper'. But as there's no name on the question paper (unlike the Listening) I suggest you make notes, draw diagrams, use high-lighter pens. Anything that will help you get the answer right.
The Speaking. Fossilised errors really hurt marks. Nice vocab and good, appropriate fixed phrases saved a couple of students from lower marks. Exam technique and good preparation for the interview part of this exam will get weaker students through...
Good luck in May and June... and

DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP!

Sign Up for the Exams

Calling all my June Cambridge exam students. This is a reminder that you have until 20th March to sign up. This also includes the exams we are also holding in May because of the national Portuguese exams. Get to the school and sign up. Cambridge requires these things early, so get to it..., miss it and you will have to wait until December!

Brrrrrrrrrrr. Cold!

Winter, winter, winter. I can't wait for the sun. Still, as we can't go outside because of all the rain we can stay in and study! On a previous blog I mentioned Ken Robinson's talk about education. I've been exploring the site a little more recently and it's a fantastic resource for students and teachers alike. There are lectures on every subject, often transcripts are available and it's interesting too. The talks are between 5 and 25 mins usually, and are nearly all very good to excellent. I particularly liked Jamie Oliver's talk on the Western Diet. So, great, interesting listening practice for free, which is good when it's too cold to go outside.
ted.com


ps. they are fanatastic for IELTS too, as well as CAE and CPE
TED talks are great!

Parents' Evening

We had our parents' evening yesterday and it was nice to meet the good people who consider English valuable enough a resource so be worth paying people like me to teach it to their offspring! In general, the Portuguese are good at English (when compared to my experience in Spain, France and Italy), and are keen to learn, spurred on by the internet, Hollywood and music. There was a recurring theme however (well, two actually, but 'he/she could work harder' doesn't really count as I KNOW that's a perennial since teaching began), and that was a complaint about hand-writing. It's hard to get students to write, so I am willing to accept my written work as printouts. All well and good (so long as it's not cut and pasted from Wikipedia... and guys, I DO check), but herein lies the rub, the problem. You don't get to practice writing longhand, in pen or pencil, in English. You all write at school and university in Portuguese, but it isn't the same (especially your m and n which are particularly cursive so that the latter looks like the former and the former looks like a child's drawing of the Loch Ness monster).
Why is this important? Because writing is one fifth (that's twenty percent) of your Cambridge mark! And you'll get a lower mark if the examiner gets bored of your spider scrawl. So, spread your words out, write on every second line and take your time. Try different pens. Do something so that it's legible, otherwise you are losing marks needlessly.