The popularity of IELTS

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is one of the most commonly taken exams by non native English speakers.It is a high stakes English exam which tests proficiency .Accepted by over 9,000 organisations worldwide it is sat mainly for the purposes of study,work and migration.More than four million people in 130 countries sit the exam every year and this number is increasing.
IELTS tests students in their skills in reading ,writing ,listening and speaking and is designed to reflect real life use of the language -at work,study and play.There is a choice of two exams to sit depending on your purpose-IELTS General and IELTS Academic.Naturally if a student is aiming for education in a English speaking country then they would chose Academic as opposed to someone moving for other purposes who will be more likely to sit the general exam.There is a difference in the reading and writing components of the two tests.Both versions of the exam are in four parts and results are graded on a nine band system.In my experience students usually aim for around band 7 or above.A band seven grade shows that the candidate is good user of the language with a sound operational command although at times there are some inaccuracies or misunderstandings in certain situations.A student at this level can deal with complex language....so not fully fluent but very close to it.

FCE part 4 Speaking

The fourth and final part of FCE is the speaking section.This lasts about 14 minutes and is divided into 4 parts.This part of the test is worth 20% of a students overall mark.

TIPS FOR SPEAKING EXAM!!

DO

• Make sure you are familiar with what happens, and what skills you need to show, in each part of the test.
• Practise speaking English as much as possible in groups and in pairs, both inside and outside the classroom.
• Listen carefully to the instructions and questions during the test and respond appropriately.
• Speak clearly, so that both the interlocutor and assessor can hear you.
• Use all the opportunities you're given in the test to speak, and extend your responses whenever possible.
• Ask for clarification of instructions or a question if you're not sure.
• Be prepared to initiate discussion as well as responding to what your partner says.
• Make full use of the time so that the examiner who is listening hears plenty of your English.
• Listen to your partner when it is their turn to speak. 

DON'T

• Don't prepare long answers in advance, or learn and practise speeches.
• Don't try to dominate your partner or 
• interrupt them abruptly during the Speaking test.
• Don't leave long or frequent pauses.
• Don't worry about being interrupted by the examiner. This shows you have spoken enough. The tests have to keep to the time limit for administrative reasons.
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contact me to help with speaking practice
Skype:michelesenglish
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FCE part 3 Listening

Part 3 of FCE is the listening section.It takes around 40 minutes and is divided into 4 parts.

The tasks range from multiple choice to sentence completion and the listening gets progressively harder as one would expect.The student is examined in areas from listening for detail or general meaning to picking out specific information .There are a total of 30 questions in this section of the test.This part of the exam is worth 20% of overall marks.

Many students find the listening section of any test quite difficult.As native speakers we appear to talk rapidly and students often try to listen to each word and lose the thread of what's being said.

TIPS!!

• Listen to and read the instructions throughout the test. Make sure you understand what you are listening for and what you have to do.
• Use the preparation time before each recording is played to read through the question and think about the context.
• Use the information on the page to help you follow the text.
• Look carefully at what is printed before and after the gap in Part 2 and think about the kind of information that you are listening for.
• Write only the missing information on the answer sheet (Part 2).
• Write your answers as clearly as possible.
• Check your answer the second time you hear a recording if you have an idea of the correct answer the first time round.
• Answer all the questions, even if you're not sure.
• Transfer your answers accurately to the answer sheet.




DON'T


• Don't rephrase what you hear in Part 2; write down the exact word(s) or figure(s) that you hear on the recording.
• Don't complicate your answer by writing extra, irrelevant information (Part 2).
• Don't spend too much time on a question you are having difficulty with as you may miss the next question.
• Don't rush to choose an answer just because you hear one word or phrase – concentrate on the overall meaning (Parts 1, 3 & 4).
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FCE-part 2 Writing

FCE-Paper 2 is writing and lasts 1 hour and 20 minutes.This paper is in 2 parts and requires the student to write two different pieces of writing such as a letter,a report ,a review or an essay.Part 1 of the writing paper is compulsory and has a word count of up to 190 words.Part 2 is where students can chose from four tasks.The word count is the same.The writing paper is worth 20% of overall marks.A typical part 2 question could be as follows ......

Your flatmate has left you the following message:

That company you bought the mobile phone from online has just called - apparently you phoned them about problems you've been having with it. They'd like you to put your complaint in writing. They want you to explain what's wrong with the phone and what you'd like them to do.
TASK:write your letter of complaint to the company (140-190 words)
TIPS FOR THE WRITING!!!! 
Should give details of the purchase, explain clearly what the problem is and tell the company what action you would like them to take.

Communicative achievement
Formal register. The reader would be fully informed of the problem and would consider taking the action you request.

Organisation
Should have the layout of a formal letter with an appropriate beginning and ending. Should state the reason for writing in the first paragraph ('I am writing to complain about ...'). Should be divided into paragraphs but no more than three or four, including the opening and closing sections.
N.B. In the exam you do not have to write addresses.

Language
Language of description. Vocabulary relating to online purchases (special offer, latest model, under guarantee, full refund etc)
Should not contain major errors that lead to misunderstandings or that irritate the reader.

EXAMS!!!

In order to train and qualify as a teacher I had to do a degree,a post graduate certificate in education and a work for a year as a newly qualified teacher.This was to teach in schools in England.When I decided to work as a English language teacher to non native speakers I then took the CELTA course.It was hard work ,very intense and I learned a huge amount which I then had to put into practice.Many years later I feel very experienced in the job I do.And I like it.

A lot of students study English for exam purposes.They may need a particular grade or exam to enter university abroad ,take a job at an international company or need it to meet visa requirements.Whatever the reason a student has for taking an exam it is ,without question, a time of stress.

One of the most common exams is the FCE(First Certificate in English) which is for the upper intermediate student.The exam is split into for parts and they test a students abilities in all areas of the language.

The Reading and use of English is split into 7 parts and has a total of 52 questions.It takes 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The writing part of the paper takes 1 hour and 20 minutes and is divided into 2 parts

Part 3 of the exam is listening which takes 40 minutes and is divided into 4 parts and has 30 questions.

Finally ,part 4,is the speaking.This takes app 14 minutes and is divided into 4 parts.

This is not an easy exam to take and it requires preparation for a student  to become familiar with the exam format as well as the skills required to pass.

So far this year I have received a number of requests for lessons to help students prepare for different exams so I have decided to look at the most common exams on a monthly basis.

January is FCE month ......watch this space for helpful hints,tips,links and activities.

January and new beginnings