Teaching Together - Cambridge English

Help us to improve!

noreply@blogger.com (Cambridge English) — Wed, 14 May 2014 16:03:00 +0000

Cambridge English survey

Your feedback is of great interest to us! It helps us to identify your needs and improve by providing more and better teaching resources.

We would like to ask you for a few minutes of your time to answer the following survey.

Your answers will be very much appreciated.

To answer this survey, please click here

Many thanks for your help!

Appreciating teachers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 May 2014 05:56:00 +0000

In the USA, they are coming to the end of Teacher Appreciation Week. Sounds like a good thing to do - appreciate your teachers!!
There are so many of my teachers that I'd like to meet up with again and say thank you. In particular my French teachers and Mrs Martinez who started me on the road to learning Spanish! They really inspired!!

I discovered that it was Teacher Appreciation Week when I was on Facebook and saw a post on Sue Pexton's page. Sue is a great friend and is also one of the Iberian Seminar Presenters and is based in Lleida.

I clicked on the Definitions and went to the Facebook page of Weareteachers and found a video from Google.

I thought this was also worth sharing - to give myself and yourselves a pat on the back, but also because it's one of those videos that you could show in class and stop after 1 minute
and ask students what the person does for a living. It seems like it's going to be an astronaut, but we discover it's a teacher.

And I had a quick look at the Weareteachers website and am definitely going to bookmark it because there are lots of resources there.

http://brentwoodpta.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/teacher-appreciation-chair.jpg

Katie's experience in Codoba!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 12:43:00 +0000

In my previous post, I wrote about the upcoming Cordoba Cambridge Experience.

I asked Katie to share her 'experience' of the Cambridge Experiences! You can see Katie in action in the photo below:

What did the events cover?

Both Cambridge Experiences included a useful variety of ideas, both theoretical and practical, for teachers.
In Madrid there were workshops on speaking skills, reading and writing activies and pronunciation.
In Cordoba the workshops focused on vocabulary games, reading and writing activiites and general teaching skills.

What did you think of the venues where the Cambridge Experiences took place?

They both took place in ideal settings: the Hotel Silken Puerta America in Madrid with it's extraordinary architecture and interior design and the beautiful Jardin Botanico in Cordoba.
The participants enjoyed their extended coffee break to look at CUP and exam materials while enjoying the curiosities of the Silken hotel and the fresh air and sunshine in the Botanic Gardens.

What do you think people will take away with them from these Experiences?

The raffle which included kindles and trips to Spas was also a popular part of the Experience.
Audience participation was good and contacts and opinions were exchanged.

I think a productive and pleasant time was had by all!

Katie is a member of the Cambridge English Language Assessment Iberian team of seminar presenters.

Other members of the team who have also taken part in the Cambridge Experiences this year are Tom Wogan, Idália Luz and Adriana Real. Thanks to all of them for their ideas and enthusiasm!

For more impressions of this and the other 2014 Cambridge Experiences, click on the links below!

You made it special!! Cambridge Experience 2014

You made it special!! Cambridge Experience Córdoba

Experience Cambridge in Cordoba!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 07:26:00 +0000

On Saturday, Katie Curbelo, who's a Seminar Presenter for Cambridge English Language Assessment here in Spain, will be taking part in the Cambridge Experience in Cordoba. Katie's sessions are always very practical and popular and I'm sure this one will be no exception.

The other two speakers at the event are also favourites of mine. I've seen Jacquie speaking live and have watched recordings of Ceri Jones - unfortunately I haven't actually 'experienced' her live yet. She is a very active contributor to ELTpics and to takeaphotoand. I've mentioned both of these in previous posts: the burning questionnaire and A wonderful resource

So, good luck to all three speakers and I hope that those of you who get to go to the event enjoy yourselves!

Showing you're here on Earth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 09:21:00 +0000

Isn't it amazing how our lives are changing? Who would have thought that next Tuesday, thousands, or maybe millions of people could be taking a selfie and posting it online.

Will you?

NASA want to make a global selfie. They are asking people to take a photo of themself, holding a printable sign or to mark their spot with rocks, drawing on the sand, or whatever.

http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/GS_SIGN_English.jpg

Then, you upload the photo to facebook/flickr/instagram or twitter.

NASA will then create a global selfie portrait - a mosaic image and a video and share it in May.

It's a long way on from the first reported selfie:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/first-ever-selfie-amazing-pic-3218544

Selfie has only just made its way into the dictionary but, as this picture taken in 1839 shows, people have been doing them for a long time.

In fact, this has been hailed as the first ever selfie.

Amateur chemist and photography enthusiast Robert Cornelius, from Philadelphia, took the self-portrait in his family's silver-plating shop in the city.

There was no remote shutter release on the primitive camera - a Daguerreotype invented by Frenchman Louis Daguerre - so Robert had to scamper in front of the equipment after removing the cover on the lens.

He wrote on the back of the photo: "The first light picture ever taken. 1839."

Considering that he was making history, he doesn't look all that chuffed - maybe it was because he had to stand still for up to 15 minutes for the portrait. Or maybe it was because he had an inkling that some celebs would one day make the selfie such a self-indulgent yawnfest.

Robert's picture is kept in the Library of Congress in Washington DC.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/first-ever-selfie-amazing-pic-3218544#ixzz2zJuZSkSg

Free online level tests

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 06:35:00 +0000

I am amazed by the wealth of materials that Cambridge English are adding to their Youtube channel and their different websites.

Yesterday, I received an update email telling me about new resources that have been added to Youtube and the website. I immediately forwarded it to schools locally because I thought there were so many interesting bits and pieces in it.

Firstly, the online test for Young Learners.

This is a great addition to the suite of online tests that are available on the website. It means that there are now four different tests available, for different age and interest groups.

And then, the email shared a resource that I had already accessed myself last week when I was preparing for my seminar in San Sebastian:

The great thing is that not only do we have the videos, but also the Examiners' comments on the candidates' performance. This is so useful for us - it helps us get our level of assessment right and really clarifies what candidates need to do.

Many of you will be on holiday this week and/or next. It's gloriously sunny here in Santander today and I hope you're having great weather too! Enjoy!!

Write and improve

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 12:08:00 +0000

Hello again
Sorry not to have been writing much recently, but I have so much on workwise right now, that it's hard to find time to do everything I'd like to. Still, keeps me young and active as my dad would say!

Tomorrow, I'm off to San Sebastian again (I was there last Friday too). I'm giving a session on Writing and Speaking for Cambridge English: First and Cambridge English: Advanced.

I try to avoid repeating anything that I've done in San Sebastian before (quite a challenging task seeing as I'm usually there 5 times every year!), so I was checking out what new stuff there is and came across a very attractive development on the Cambridge English Youtube Channel.

Write and improve

I registered yesterday to see how it works. You register and put in very few details

The tasks are designed for levels B1 and B2. Students type in their answer to the question they choose (or they can write about any topic), save their answer and submit it and get feedback on their errors and sentences.

To find out more, there are two videos on the Cambridge English Youtube channel:

Try it out - pass on the link to your students and contribute to a research programme!

Lifelong learning of lexis

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 08:53:00 +0000

I was looking through the stories in a newsletter I receive from Designtaxi and noticed one of the headlines - not particularly because of the story, but because of one word in it:

Adult Website Crowdsources Ideas

It was the word 'crowdsource' that caught my eye. I may have seen it before, but I certainly hadn't 'noticed' it before.

tweakyourbiz.com

'Noticing words' is something that I have included in several talks that I've given. I can even remember my first 'noticing' experience. I was in the back of my parents' car. I can't remember exactly what the conversation was about, but my mum said 'He must have been...'. I recall asking myself: 'Is that 'must of' or 'must have'?' The budding linguist was alert!

Back to 'crowdsource'. I checked the exact meaning in the Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary and this is what I found:

crowdsource

verb [I or T] /ˈkraʊdˌsɔːs/ /-sɔːrs/

› to give tasks to a large group of people or to the general public, for example, by asking for help on the internet, rather than having tasks done within a company by employees:The company plans to crowdsource the translation of its new web app.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/crowdsource?q=crowdsource

http://en.paperblog.com/content-creation-how-you-crowdsource-your-efforts-751657/

Crowdsource' is apparently a very new word, and is related to another word: outsource

outsource

verb [I or T] /ˈaʊt.sɔːs/ /-sɔːrs/

› If a company outsources, it pays to have part of its work done by anothercompany:Unions are fighting a plan by universities to outsource all non-academic services.Some companies outsource to cheaper locations to cut costs.outsourcing /ˈaʊtˌsɔː.sɪŋ/ /-ˌsɑː-/ noun [U]›The management guaranteed that outsourcing wouldn't mean job losses.

http://www.mamumediallc.com/storage/bigstock-Outsourcing-Word-Cloud-Concept-29451263.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1363786585051

Outsourcing and crowdsourcing are two portmanteau words - words by joining together two words, sometimes with no letters being omitted when they're joined like these two. In other instances, some letters are omitted, like brunch, Spanglish, sitcom.

On the other blog I'm involved in, we wrote about portmanteau words in a post and created an exercise.

I've just started a board in pinterest with illustrations of portmanteau words. My aim is to add to this and my other teaching boards there. Just need to have 30 hours in a day to do all the things I'd like to!!!!

Training your listening skills

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 22:14:00 +0000

When I was working on the seminar I gave last Friday in Santander, I came across a great recording on ted.com of Julian Treasure: 5 ways to listen better.

He makes some very valid points (you can hear him make them in the talk, and also/or read them in the transcript):

We spend roughly 60 percent of our communication time listening, but we're not very good at it.

we're losing our listening. Why did I say that? Well there are a lot of reasons for this. First of all, we invented ways of recording -- first writing, then audio recording and now video recording as well. The premium on accurate and careful listening has simply disappeared.

Julian Treasure suggests 5 steps to improve our listening:

The first is to include 3 minutes of silence in our lives per day.

And I'll leave you to watch the video to find out the other four.....

Here's a wordcloud with the words Julian Treasure used in the talk.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguZDNU8AKWDBC4evhUEEj-8bkttIC85B4p4E7aHn17Twk3AVqR897KKS5pmZsYH_Q3YHIsQlfU29lKMp1POXAqtXCRJ7MuulrzcOAZeIfhShrkOrzQqDLWV8iX7h-zfU3CPcNeaUT8fjO/s640/MyCloud.jpeg

Fun songs for young learners

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 08:19:00 +0000

I was checking out some of the materials and links that I received this morning in my BusyTeacher weekly newsletter, and came across a great channel on You Tube with lots of songs to use with young learners.

I checked out some of the songs (not all, because there are 111 videos!!)

I loved the Colors song!

Other songs I liked were: This is me and My family

Can an elephant jump?

I was a bit put off by the word 'spitting' in the Fun summer song though - it's a shame, because otherwise it's very usable.

And some teachers from a school here also deserve a mention in this post - I've seen them perform this song live! Check out the Tickles and their Flip it!

I hope you find these useful!

Resources, tips, materials for the 2015 Cambridge English updates

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:21:00 +0000

Today I would like to share with you some great resources for the 2015 exam updates for the Cambridge English: First, Cambridge English First for Schools and Cambridge English: Advanced exams.

Cambridge English Language Assessment have created a microsite for the updated exams.

http://teachingsupport.cambridgeenglish.org/

On the microsite, you'll find lots of things, including details on the changes that will be incorporated to the exams, sample materials to prepare for them

and lots of resources to view and download. I've just downloaded the Teaching Tips for Cambridge English: First for Schools and they look very useful.

You can also sign up for a monthly newsletter so that you don't miss new additions and developments.

Do you use technology in learning?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 21:46:00 +0000

Today's post is to share a call for research projects. There isn't much time to apply to take part in the programme (the deadline is March 17th - only 4 days away) But it looks interesting and it might fit in well with what you're doing.

Cambridge University Press is launching a new programme to support and encourage teacher research for ELT. The theme for this year’s programme is Digital Pedagogy, using technology to help learning. We are looking for five projects to give initial support to, and one special project which will lead to a joint presentation at IATEFL International Conference (UK) in 2015. If you have an idea for a project please use the attached pdf to apply. We apologise for the short notice - the deadline is the 17th of March - but you don't need to give a lot of detail at this stage. The key points could be expressed in around 500 words. Note that if you have any problems with filling in the pdf, you can put your answers in a Word document.

Creative posters from pinterest - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 22:07:00 +0000

I've mentioned pinterest before - both for teaching and for working on language areas.

Today, I wanted to mention a few things I've saved on my pinterest board.

Forever is over!

http://www.anatol.cc/images/objekte/nothing_lasts_forever2012.JPG

So many words are inside other words.......

When there's an earthquake, the earth quakes!

Acting out of character?

char er

act

I'd like to have ......

http://pulpfreedom.tumblr.com/image/36702051634

What about you? What would you like more of?

You could use posters like these to work on language. Students can make their own.

http://wishflowers.tumblr.com/post/18929048409

For this last one, you could give students the verbs and they can choose the words to combine with them.
think daily
exercise happy
eat hard
work healthy
stay less
worry more
dance often
love positively
be strong

Another date for your calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 09:25:00 +0000

Every week now I receive invitations to webinars. Sometimes they fit in with my busy schedule and I can take part in them live. At other times, I can't connect live because I'm out or just too busy. That's not a problem because I can watch the recording afterwards. It's fantastic!

If you have an internet connection, teachers can take part in training no matter where they teach.

The latest webinar invitation I received is for:

I've signed up for the Monday session. I might meet some of you online?

Online training opportunities

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 14:14:00 +0000

A few years ago, maybe it was difficult for some teachers to receive training and to find out about news and developments.

Nowadays, this is definitely not the case. With the improvements in the availability and quality of internet connections, together with the range and variety of online materials and webinars on offer, there is no excuse for us to be underinformed or undertrained. (Well, I suppose there is one problem - the number of hours in a day!!)

http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/remade/product/it-s-time-to-personalised-blackboard-clock

I've mentioned Cambridge English TV before. Every time I look at the youtube channel, I find more stuff.
I like the English Language Learning Tips.

(A new one - Tenses Part 2 was added just 4 hours ago)

And I regularly sign up for webinars (if I'm free at the time they're taking place) or watch recordings of them if I can't take part in the live session.

There are 24 webinars right now in the Cambridge English TV youtube playlist.

There will soon be more! Next Monday and Wednesday, you can sign up to find out about the changes to the Cambridge English: First and Cambridge English: First for Schools that will be coming in from January 2015.

To register for the webinar on Monday, click on this link.

For Wednesday, click here.

Creative posters to use in creative classes! - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 07:51:00 +0000

This morning, I was checking out some recommended pins in an email I'd received from pinterest

and came across a couple of things that gave me ideas for new collections to start and also inspiration for this post!

What about putting on some stimulating music (I'll leave you to choose suitable music for yourself and your students!)

Tell students to think about things they love doing........ something they haven't done for a while - because they haven't had time, someone they haven't seen for some time and they enjoy being with and doing things with. They could share their thoughts with a partner or in a small group.

Then, show students these 'thoughts':

You could focus on the structure and how it is repeated throughout:

I still find each day too short for

all the + plural noun + I want to + infinitive

The plural noun needs to collocate with the verb - you take walks, read books, see friends.

Then, you could give them the skeleton for their thoughts and they write them down, using the same structure.

Here are my 'thoughts':

I'd better get on otherwise I won't have time to phone, chat, try out or develop!

Happy Monday!!

Working on feelings and attitudes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 21:14:00 +0000

One comment that is often expressed at Cambridge English seminars is that students find it hard to pick up on feelings and attitudes.

When I saw these pictures and the video they come from, I thought they would make great material for class and for working on feelings and attitudes.

First, show students the pictures (preferably one by one):

What's the matter with this man? How is he feeling?

Who is the man in the light blue T-shirt? What's the problem?What's the man in the jacket saying to him?

And this woman? How does she feel? What's she saying?

Why has the man's expression changed?

Why is this man looking so happy? What sign is he making? Why?

Then, show them this video:

Students could 'become' one of the people who was parked. They have just arrived home. They are telling their family/friends about what happened to them today.....

All photos and video taken from: http://designtaxi.com/news/363706/A-Parking-Ticket-Prank-That-Puts-Smiles-On-People-s-Faces/

Apostrophes' dont matter! Or do they?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 19:28:00 +0000

http://metro.co.uk/2009/01/29/birmingham-bans-apostrophes-from-road-signs-406036/

Can you see the very small difference between the two signs above?

The top sign has an apostrophe (') between Paul and s. The bottom sign doesn't have the apostrophe.

Changes like these to signs are being made in cities in the UK. "Moving with the times" defenders would say.

"Dropping standards" and "dumbing down" the English language are claims being made by critics of the scheme.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/newsgraphics/2013/0808-tests/0808-tests.png

An expert from Cambridge English Language Assessment – provider of over 4 million English language exams each year around the world – comments:

“Dumbing down the standard of English is not the road we want to go down, but you have to put this decision into context,” says Roger Johnson, Acting Chief Executive of Cambridge English Language Assessment.

“Lots of people do struggle with using apostrophes, and it’s important that learners are taught how to use them correctly but removing apostrophes from street names in Cambridge is unlikely to have an effect on English learning standards worldwide. Interestingly, we tend to find that students learning English as a foreign language master the apostrophe remarkably well. This is also true of some other complicated grammar rules, which is really encouraging. I’d be much more concerned if there was a proposal to stop teaching grammar in classrooms around the world.”

The apostrophe is a powerful punctuation mark that can have a huge impact on the meaning of a sentence. It was first introduced into English from French in the 16^th Century and is used to indicate either possession or the omission of letters.

Where do we need apostrophes in this sentence?

Charlies dogs eating its bone because its very hungry and hasnt eaten anything today.

(The spellchecker as I'm writing this only picks up on two missing apostrophes - but there are 4 needed in their sentence!)

What do you think? I wonder how many times we actually think about the fact that a person lies behind the name of the street? I mean, if we see the signs below on a door, we know that Daniel, Nicholas and Suzie sleep in the room behind this door and we would no doubt think we have an idea as to how old they are, things they (don't) like, etc.

http://www.etsy.com/market/super_hero_boys

http://decalpitstop.com/ca/daniel_room2.jpg

http://www.etsy.com/es/listing/107862295/dormitorio-puerta-signo-bebe-guarderia

But most of the time, if we see

http://vipticketsandcorporatehospitality.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Lords.jpg

we do not think about the person (Thomas Lord) (or newspaper in the first case) behind the name.

And I wonder what changes will appear if the guidelines on street signs are carried out to the end:

The naming policy also bans street names which would be "difficult to pronounce or awkward to spell"

Will this mean that Leicester Square, Marylebone Station, Greenwich Park and Tottenham Road will disappear????

Relaunch of Cambridge English Penfriends

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 13:48:00 +0000

At the end of 2012, I wrote a post about the launch of a new Penfriends scheme.

I wanted to write today about the re-launch of this programme. The website has been updated so that you can use it on an iPad or mobile phone.

There are also some new functions to make the site more effective:

Our digital and technological worlds are changing so quickly, that these kinds of developments are logical and very welcome. If your school hasn't signed up yet, I encourage you to consider it.

Which language is Arsene speaking? What's he saying?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 08:18:00 +0000

In my previous post, I sang the praises of Arsene Wenger, coach at Arsenal Football Club.

When I was searching for a photograph of Arsene Wenger, I came across lots of very expressive photos of him.

It occurred to me that they would make a fun classroom activity!

Start by asking students if they recognise the man in the photos. Tell students about this man. His achievements:

He was born in a village near Strasbourg, France.

He can speak 3 languages (English, French and German) fluently. He can also speak Spanish and Italian and a bit of Japanese.

When he was 29 years old, he did a 3-week English course in Cambridge.

He works in London.

He is the manager of an important football team there.

He has been manager at that club since 1996.

Honours: English Premier League: 2004, 2002, 1998; FA Cup: 2005, 2003, 2002, 1998; FA Community Shield: 2004, 2002, 1999, 1998; French Ligue 1: 1988; French Cup: 1991; Japanese Super Cup: 1996

The players at Arsenal now can speak 12 different languages.

Next, in pairs or small groups, students discuss what language they think Arsene Wenger is speaking or thinking in in each of the photos. They imagine that there is a speech or thought bubble coming out of Wenger's mouth. They draw a bubble for each picture and write what he is saying or thinking in each one.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQT2x6pu1PM18ifo_ZYUvRCu5cfBG5UiDs8l5AUz-VqcKz2i2xf

clipartsfree.net

2 pairs or groups join to work together. They take it in turn to show their thought or speech bubbles to the other pair/group. They try and match each bubble to the picture it was written for.

http://www.herald.co.zw/arsene-wenger-purring-2/

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00796/arsenewenger2708reu_796444c.jpg

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jan/02/arsenal-arsene-wenger-transfer-window

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02104/th_2104704b.jpg

http://www.inthestands.co.uk/news/arsenal-and-arsene-wenger-are-doomed-warns-emmanuel-petit.html/attachment/wengercry_415

Inspiring examples

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 07:47:00 +0000

Sometimes, a person can inspire for so many reasons.

Who is this person?

He was born in a village near Strasbourg, France.

He can speak 3 languages (English, French and German) fluently. He can also speak Spanish and Italian and a bit of Japanese.

When he was 29 years old, he did a 3-week English course in Cambridge.

He works in London.

He is the manager of an important football team there.

He has been manager at that club since 1996.

Honours: English Premier League: 2004, 2002, 1998; FA Cup: 2005, 2003, 2002, 1998; FA Community Shield: 2004, 2002, 1999, 1998; French Ligue 1: 1988; French Cup: 1991; Japanese Super Cup: 1996

The players there now can speak 12 different languages.

He recently won a prize for promoting multilingualism.

His name is .......

Arsene Wenger

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2009/8/2/1249206350861/Arsene-Wenger-001.jpg

There is a great video of Arsene Wenger describing how he learnt languages, why languages are important for the players who come to play at Arsenal.

The anecdote about his experience on arriving in Japan to coach a team there is very amusing and the reasons he gives for why learning the language of a country is so important.
(And what he says about why Japanese people keep listening till the end of the sentence is fascinating! Maybe we should change the word order of English sentences and communication would get better!!!!)

Arsenal, along with other Football Clubs, have been participating in a scheme called 'Double Club Languages'.

Young people come to the Double Club to learn lots of subjects, including languages.

For more information, you can check out the link to the Scheme here:

http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/documents/aug_08/gun__1218634204_AW_2355_arsenal_edu_bro.pdf

People like Arsene Wenger are perfect examples for illustrating just how important languages can be in our lives. He inspires his players not only to play football, but also to learn languages, to help young people in London to learn other languages and to see the importance of learning about other people and cultures.

Well done Arsene! Well done Arsenal and the Double Club!

Busy week - listening, listening........

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 07:44:00 +0000

This week, I've signed up for two webinars on the subject of listening.

Today, I'll be connecting my computer at 3pm to watch:

Then, on Wednesday at 4, I'll be online again to take part in another webinar on Listening:

It's a shame that they are taking place this week because last Friday, I was in San Sebastian, giving 2 seminars on ...... Listening! For Cambridge English: First and Cambridge English: Advanced in my case!

Maybe some of you will also be connecting today or Wednesday :·))

I'll be uploading some activities that I prepared for the Cambridge English: Advanced Listening session in my next post!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 17:51:00 +0000

2 weeks ago, I wrote a post about the collaboration between Nissan and Amazon and how the secret got out before it was due to.

I said I'd keep an eye out for the advert when it came out and share, so here is the link!

Even more teaching material on this story I felt when I saw it!

There is no talking, just images.
You could do an ordering activity - what are the stages of buying something online and then actually getting it and using it?

You could get students to think about what each person in the video is saying or thinking - the man taking the small box out of the mailbox, the woman and the boy watching out of the window, the buyer when he sees the lorry pull up and then when he gets into the car to drive it for the first time.

And then, at the end, there's a brilliant question for discussion:

It'll be interesting to see what suggestions people come up with!

This story and the video provide discussion material about how much our shopping habits have changed and what things you would/wouldn't buy online.

Enjoy! And enjoy the weekend too!

Anne

Speaking Test videos for Starters, Movers and Flyers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 07:39:00 +0000

Back in October, I sang the praises of Cambridge English TV.

In my previous post, a link to some new speaking test videos was mentioned in the January 'Enseñamos Juntos' newsletter.

I have just watched the Starters video on the Cambridge English TV youtube channel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHAnqjI4cU8&feature=youtu.be

It's a great way of showing students and teachers what to expect in the test and Olivier's answers and the examiner's reactions and responses really illustrate how candidates need to respond in each part of the test.

For example, if they have to put a small picture next to something in the big picture, then it should be next to that thing, not on it. In that part of the test, candidates' understanding of prepositions of place is tested and the examiner can really see if they understand them well.

We can also see how the Starters Speaking Test moves from understanding and doing (pointing to things in the picture, identifying the small picture and placing it somewhere in the big picture) to speaking more about things related and familiar to the candidates (eg What colour are the buses in Luxembourg?) to questions about the candidates themselves (eg How old are you?, Who do you play with at school?)

And seeing the new visuals for the speaking tests, I'm impressed! Very attractive and colourful!!

Newsletter for teachers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 21:46:00 +0000

Last November, a new form of keeping in touch and sharing ideas with teachers was launched. Each month, teachers who are registered with Cambridge English in Spain will receive a newsletter by email. In November, the newsletter shared information on the Spanish seminar programme and the Cambridge English Teaching Support website. There were also activities around the theme of November 5th, written by Cathy Myers and information on English Penfriends.

In January, Jane Delaney shared some ideas for kicking off the year and you could find out about the Cambridge English seminars taking place in January. (I'll be in San Sebastian on Friday 24th and Bilbao 31st)

And there's a link to new videos for the Young Learners' speaking tests! Yes!!!! Must pass that link on! It's so helpful for candidates to see what the speaking test is all about.

If you're not signed up, and you'd like to now after reading this post, the link to register is:

http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/es/cambridge-english-for/teachers/

Enjoy!!!