Nearing the end

Hi everyone
Things have been quiet here and the course is fast nearing the end as exams lurk in the near future.

Good news: Eljakim and Helen both passed their exams!!
Congratulations!!
And I hope all of you will pass your exams whenever it is that you take them.

Until the end you will decide over your homework. There isn't much left in the book for you to work on, but you can do exams, work in Flo-joe, read or listen to grammargirl and explore the other links in the side bar to work on your English.

For those of you who have managed to write on this blog so far, it would be wonderful if you could leave a post for everyone in the course.

Good luck and a look into the future

I'm a bit late with this post and I realize that some of you have taken your exam already or at least part of it, and the last part is just around the corner. Good luck to those who aren't finished or who have postponed the exam for a later time!

You've all been delightful to have in the course and now I hope you will keep in contact with each other and me, and maybe even continue to use this blog.

It would be wonderful to find an occassional comment or even a post here from any of you, and I'm sure that the next group would appreciate your help or comments as well. It's a great way to keep up your English, keep in touch, and help others all at the same time!

And finally, here's wishing you a great summer!!!

More CAE practice sites

I'm adding a few more links to the link list, but just so they don't go completely lost, I'll leave them here too.
The first one is called LanguageProject and you do the Use of English exercises with a timer. This is very good practice for coping with the time restraints you have during the CAE. (Also check out the phrase of the day!) Will it help you?! I'm absolutely positive!

Then there is parapal which gives you some help with the Use of English but there is also a link to writing for CAE.

Finally, here is one more with practice for Use of English and Reading

Practice tests

For those who couldn't come to the lesson and for those who want a bit more practice, I have a site from the IETLS where you can see, hear and do the different types of listening tasks.

You can click on each individual task and then you will find the task itself and the audio to go along with it (isn't the internet great?!)

Feel free to try out the other things there as well.

You can also see other parts of the exam such as the writing tasks.

Now I don't want to be biased, so I'll include the same information about the CAE.
There are two main places where you can see CAE materials. One is on the side bar called flo-joe and is full of practice materials, for example, the word bank.
The official site for the CAE is here.
You will see that the reading exam is there for you (including the answers) as well as the listening exam you have already taken (again, including the answers), so you can go back and do it again if you want.
The writing section begins on page 8. Have a look, compare it with the IELTS, and then I think we should begin a discussion here about which test you want to prepare for.

If you want to sign up for the CAE, you will need to know fairly soon. In fact, you should inform me by the end of January, if possible. If you aren't sure, then you can always take the IELTS as it is offered twice monthly (but only in Berne).

A quiet Tuesday evening

Oh dear, whatever should I do with my time this evening? How strange to have a free Tuesday evening after so many weeks of class.

So I am writing to you all to tell you once again that you are a wondeful group. I still have my roses on the table :-) Thank you again.

I also want you all to know that you have made so much progress that those of you going for the exam will surely do a good job.

Remember on Saturday to listen to English radio, an audio book or anything else in English to get you into the language. Meet well ahead of the exam, get together and talk to each other. Have a laugh and relax.

Then enter the exam feeling confident - yes! you can do it!!!. Speak loud and clearly.
If you don't know what to say then say so, but make sure they know you've understood the task.

Good phrases are:
Oh, that's tough one. Hmm. Let me think. So I'm supposed to.. I really don't know what to say about that.

Generally, you'll think of something to say after you've said you don't know what to say :-)

and remember, I'm here for you all the way up to the exam.

Wishing you all the best!!!!!

Next class dates

Okay everyone, just to make things ABSOLUTELY clear, here are the last few dates for the course:
6th May! (changed!!!)
13th May
20th May (last course date)

And then you have the speaking exam.
If you want to get some practice in on the 27th, that can be arranged. I'll be at home and we could get together on Skype. Think about it and let me know.
It's very simple to download if you do want to practice. The more the merrier!

Wishes???

Now that we only have less than one third of the course ahead of us, it's time to dig into the exam itself.
We will begin each lesson with focus on one exam task. In order to get the most out of if, you need to tell me what you find most difficult or what in particular you want to look at. I will then plan accordingly. So leave your wishes here as a comment or write your own post (it's always nice to read what others write!)

And now...