Once a cheater…

/ Exam training, New to ELT

Recently, I got involved in exam invigilation at the University of Palermo. Students were sitting different types of exams in English at A2-B2 levels. They were given a tablet, signed in with their student login details and started their exam. They followed their own pace, finished within their time limit depending on their exam type, there was no introduction into how to conduct oneself under exam conditions, there was noise and there was cheating. Some students kept on their coats saying that it was cold (there were 27 degrees in the exam room), we are talking about big puffer jackets

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How To Prepare For Cambridge Movers/Flyers Exams Online – in a FUN Way?

/ A1, A2, Exam training, Pre-A1, Teachers, Young Learners

February 2021 – Teaching English to CHILDREN is fun. Teaching English to children ONLINE is a challenge. The task to prepare children for English exams online is an adventure… if you do it in a fun way. Today, I’d like to give you some quick tips how to do a great lesson with elementary school kids online using comics and preparing for Cambridge A1 Movers or A2 Flyers exams.

FREE TEST-BANK: TEST-ENGLISH

/ A1, A2, B1, B2, Exam training, Grammar training, Teachers

December 2020 – When I started teaching online I kept going back to one website to test my students’ grammar knowledge in test-teach-test approach. At the beginning, it was a simple blog, however, it has grown up to a prodigious test bank. Today, I invite you to visit the TEST-ENGLISH website.

SPELLING AT YL STARTERS, MOVERS AND FLYERS

/ Exam training, Teachers, Young Learners

December 2020 – When preparing YL for an exam with a written part, special attention must be paid to spelling. Children are usually exposed to English at a very early age and they might be familiar with a wide range of vocabulary in English. However, being able to write these words takes time, since their mother tongue needs to be prioritized.

HOW TO TACKLE IELTS BAND 7 SPEAKING

/ B2, C1, Exam training, Speaking and Conversation, Teachers

November 2020 – Before sending your student to do any speaking exam, you should show them a video of a real oral exam and also rehearse it with them. Here is one way how you could do it. The post concentrates onto IELTS Speaking Band 7, but you can adapt it to any other exam. The lesson is designed for an online individual course.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR EXAM PREPARATION

/ Exam training, Teachers

What do you usually do in an exam preparation course? How are these lessons different from a normal lesson? How do you deal with the situation that not every student in your class might be at the right level and/or ready for the exam? Or an even harder question: have you ever thought about why it is that not all excellent students can pass an exam? And why can others, whose performance has never been outstanding, do it? Passing an exam is not equal to speaking/understanding a language. It’s more about understanding what exam writers want to see and how they

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Home-made YL Listening Task – Animal Definition Game

/ A1, Exam training, Listening training, Pre-A1, Teachers, Young Learners

A quick listening activity you can prepare in 10 minutes for your YL classes to make them practise animal definition. BULLETPOINTS: Level: Pre-A1, A1 (Starters, Movers); Age: Young Learners; Group size: any; Aim: to train student’s ability to listen for keyword and identify animals or the order they are mentioned; Skill: Listening; Grammar: has got, can, to be; Vocabulary: describing animals; Length: 30 min; Preparation time: 10 min (print worksheet, think of sentences); Material: worksheet attached.