Day 9: Tips for the big day: some final advice for a successful exam
That's it … we've come to the end of our 9-Day course. We hope you've found it useful and we've encouraged you to practise your speaking skills as often and as efficiently as possible.
To finish, here are some final tips for the exam day:
In general
1) Listen carefully to instructions and questions.
2) Don't be afraid to ask for clarification if you don't understand something.
3) Smile and make frequent eye-contact with the examiner and your partner if you have one.
4) Avoid nervous habits like playing with your hair or biting your lip.
5) Don't apologise for feeling nervous! Be positive!
Conversations, discussions and role plays
1) Give full answers to questions when appropriate and avoid unhelpful 'yes' and 'no' responses.
2) When giving an opinion back it up with an example or justification.
3) If you're working with a partner, remember to listen as well as speak and show interest in what your partner has to say.
4) Be prepared to get or keep the conversation going by asking your partner questions.
5) During role plays work cooperatively with your partner by acknowledging points they make and avoid trying to be the one who comes up with the 'best' ideas.
Long turns
1) Keep to the topic.
2) Structure your talk with a clear introduction main body and conclusion and use signposting words and expressions to guide the listener through your talk.
3) Deliver the talk with passion and conviction, using examples or a (short) personal anecdote to make a point.
4) We often speak quickly when we're feeling nervous so try to focus on speaking clearly and take time to pause for breath!
5) If you're being examined in pairs listen carefully to your partner's long turn as you may be asked to comment on what they've said.
Need to develop these skills?If you need help in developing these speaking skills, why not have a look at our Splendid Speaking Course, which will teach you the skills, language and highly-practical techniques to take your speaking skills to the next level.http://www.splendid-speaking.com/products/exams.html
martes, 28 de julio de 2009
lunes, 20 de julio de 2009
Your Roadmap to Speaking Exam Sucess-Day 8
Day 8: How to get feedback on your speaking skills
Welcome to Day 8 of 'Your Roadmap to Speaking Exam Success'. The more time you spend practising your English independently the more you'll want feedback on your progress
and today we'll look at how to go about getting this.
They may not be an expert, but your partner will still be able to tell you whether they followed your talk clearly, whether they had any problems understanding anything you said and whether they felt you took part enough during a discussion.
To help you give structured feedback to each other you could use our grading sheet on Splendid Speaking and discuss the various categories at the end of your meeting.
Agree with your partner to focus on particular functions such as agreeing and disagreeing, dealing with interruptions or asking for clarification.
You may decide to focus on one or more of the personal actions you listed in Day 4 such as practising fluency, initiating discussion or structuring a long turn.
Doing this will mean you'll have something focussed to talk about with your partner at
the end of your talk when you give feedback to each other on how well it went.
When speaking online, Skype and other online communication tools will allow you to work in groups of three and gives you the chance to use a third person in the role of assessor. This person should not take part in the speaking activity but simply listen and make notes about you and your partner's performance. Again, you can use our grading sheet for guidance or ask the 'assessor' to give you feedback on any of the personal actions you identified in Day 4.
If you're looking for expert feedback from a teacher new technology can offer opportunities for this too. One solution is to post an audio file online for others to listen to.
The simplest way to do this is to record yourself on one of the many services like Podomatic, Voicethread, Springdoo or Voki. You could even video yourself doing a long turn and upload this to Youtube. Once your audio or video file is live you can email someone a link to your recording for feedback. This could be a teacher who has agreed to listen or you could invite listeners to leave feedback in the comments area of the service.
TIP! Some services will allow you to keep your file secret from casual browsers and only allow named people to listen. Also, before posting the final audio or video file, make sure the service allows you to delete anything you create and try uploading and deleting a file first so you can learn how to do it.
Task
1) Download our grading sheet for guidelines on giving and receiving feedback:http://www.splendid-speaking.com/products/task_sheets/grade.html
2) To post your audio file as a podcast see our guide to podcasting here:http://www.splendid-speaking.com/extras/english_speaking_practice.html
3) Other sites mentioned above where you can record yourself include:
Voicethread
Voki
Youtube
Tomorrow
One lesson to go - tomorrow we'll explain how you can get the confidence you need for your exam day
Welcome to Day 8 of 'Your Roadmap to Speaking Exam Success'. The more time you spend practising your English independently the more you'll want feedback on your progress
and today we'll look at how to go about getting this.
They may not be an expert, but your partner will still be able to tell you whether they followed your talk clearly, whether they had any problems understanding anything you said and whether they felt you took part enough during a discussion.
To help you give structured feedback to each other you could use our grading sheet on Splendid Speaking and discuss the various categories at the end of your meeting.
Agree with your partner to focus on particular functions such as agreeing and disagreeing, dealing with interruptions or asking for clarification.
You may decide to focus on one or more of the personal actions you listed in Day 4 such as practising fluency, initiating discussion or structuring a long turn.
Doing this will mean you'll have something focussed to talk about with your partner at
the end of your talk when you give feedback to each other on how well it went.
When speaking online, Skype and other online communication tools will allow you to work in groups of three and gives you the chance to use a third person in the role of assessor. This person should not take part in the speaking activity but simply listen and make notes about you and your partner's performance. Again, you can use our grading sheet for guidance or ask the 'assessor' to give you feedback on any of the personal actions you identified in Day 4.
If you're looking for expert feedback from a teacher new technology can offer opportunities for this too. One solution is to post an audio file online for others to listen to.
The simplest way to do this is to record yourself on one of the many services like Podomatic, Voicethread, Springdoo or Voki. You could even video yourself doing a long turn and upload this to Youtube. Once your audio or video file is live you can email someone a link to your recording for feedback. This could be a teacher who has agreed to listen or you could invite listeners to leave feedback in the comments area of the service.
TIP! Some services will allow you to keep your file secret from casual browsers and only allow named people to listen. Also, before posting the final audio or video file, make sure the service allows you to delete anything you create and try uploading and deleting a file first so you can learn how to do it.
Task
1) Download our grading sheet for guidelines on giving and receiving feedback:http://www.splendid-speaking.com/products/task_sheets/grade.html
2) To post your audio file as a podcast see our guide to podcasting here:http://www.splendid-speaking.com/extras/english_speaking_practice.html
3) Other sites mentioned above where you can record yourself include:
Voicethread
Voki
Youtube
Tomorrow
One lesson to go - tomorrow we'll explain how you can get the confidence you need for your exam day
July 20th: Friend´s Day
Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain.
It's not something you learn in school.
But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship,
you really haven't learned anything."
-Muhammad Ali
It's not something you learn in school.
But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship,
you really haven't learned anything."
-Muhammad Ali
sábado, 18 de julio de 2009
Your Roadmap to Speaking Exam Success- Day 7
Day 7: Talk successfully online: tips for online communication
Welcome to Day 7 of 'Your Roadmap to Speaking Exam Success'.
There's never been a better time to learn a second language. New technology makes it easy to connect with others from all over the world at a time and place that suits you.
However, communicating online does come with its own problems and it pays to be aware of these to make sure your online conversations go smoothly.
One significant issue is the lack of face-to-face contact when speaking online. The lack of eye contact and of body language generally will mean many of the signs and messages inherent in face-to-face communication are missing. This can sometimes cause problems, particularly if you're working in groups of three or more.
With general chit-chat between two people, the absence of eye contact is no more a problem when communicating online than it is when talking on the telephone. One person asks a question or makes a statement and the other person responds. But it's useful to be aware of how to avoid communication breakdowns particularly when taking part in discussions or group activities.
Turn-taking can be problematic as it can sometimes be difficult to know when the other person has finished speaking. If you're speaking in groups of three or more, two people can easily start speaking at once, leading to awkward negotiations regarding who should go first.
Fortunately, there are linguistic features of spoken language that act like rules to help conversation take place successfully. For example, intonation at the end of an utterance will rise or fall to show the speaker has finished. The speaker might say something like: 'Do you know what I mean?', 'Yeah?', 'You know?' with rising intonation at the end to show they're happy to hand over to their partner. If you're working in groups of three or more, turn taking will be helped even further if you name the person you're aiming the question at rather than leaving it open to the group.
These tips are particularly useful for online communication, but they're useful communication tools in their own right and being able to use them effortlessly will be further evidence of your communication skills in the exam.
Of course, you'll need to be aware of the different time zones around the world and avoid contacting someone early in the morning or late at night. One useful websites is:http://www.worldtimezones.com/
Communication tools such as Skype will usually have a text as well as a voice feature and it's always best to make contact with someone first with a text message rather than calling their voice chat immediately. Your contact will appreciate the warning and it will give them time to get ready to talk or let you know if they're not available at that time.
TIP! It's a good idea to wear a pair or headphones when talking online. If you don't, your partner will hear both your voice and their own coming back to them. And it's worth spending time experimenting with how far away from your mouth the microphone needs to be. It it's too far away, you'll come across very faint; too close and there'll be lots of 'pops' and distortion.
Task
1) If you haven't yet spoken to someone online, arrange your first meeting and test your equipment. Ask your partner if they can hear you clearly. Before you log off from the computer make a note of how everything was set up to make sure your next conversation is successful.
2) Listen to some of our recordings on Splendid Speaking that feature 2 students and decide how well the participants dealt with turn-taking.http://www.splendid-speaking.com/products/listen.html
Tomorrow
Find out how to get expert feedback on your speaking skills in tomorrow's lesson.
Welcome to Day 7 of 'Your Roadmap to Speaking Exam Success'.
There's never been a better time to learn a second language. New technology makes it easy to connect with others from all over the world at a time and place that suits you.
However, communicating online does come with its own problems and it pays to be aware of these to make sure your online conversations go smoothly.
One significant issue is the lack of face-to-face contact when speaking online. The lack of eye contact and of body language generally will mean many of the signs and messages inherent in face-to-face communication are missing. This can sometimes cause problems, particularly if you're working in groups of three or more.
With general chit-chat between two people, the absence of eye contact is no more a problem when communicating online than it is when talking on the telephone. One person asks a question or makes a statement and the other person responds. But it's useful to be aware of how to avoid communication breakdowns particularly when taking part in discussions or group activities.
Turn-taking can be problematic as it can sometimes be difficult to know when the other person has finished speaking. If you're speaking in groups of three or more, two people can easily start speaking at once, leading to awkward negotiations regarding who should go first.
Fortunately, there are linguistic features of spoken language that act like rules to help conversation take place successfully. For example, intonation at the end of an utterance will rise or fall to show the speaker has finished. The speaker might say something like: 'Do you know what I mean?', 'Yeah?', 'You know?' with rising intonation at the end to show they're happy to hand over to their partner. If you're working in groups of three or more, turn taking will be helped even further if you name the person you're aiming the question at rather than leaving it open to the group.
These tips are particularly useful for online communication, but they're useful communication tools in their own right and being able to use them effortlessly will be further evidence of your communication skills in the exam.
Of course, you'll need to be aware of the different time zones around the world and avoid contacting someone early in the morning or late at night. One useful websites is:http://www.worldtimezones.com/
Communication tools such as Skype will usually have a text as well as a voice feature and it's always best to make contact with someone first with a text message rather than calling their voice chat immediately. Your contact will appreciate the warning and it will give them time to get ready to talk or let you know if they're not available at that time.
TIP! It's a good idea to wear a pair or headphones when talking online. If you don't, your partner will hear both your voice and their own coming back to them. And it's worth spending time experimenting with how far away from your mouth the microphone needs to be. It it's too far away, you'll come across very faint; too close and there'll be lots of 'pops' and distortion.
Task
1) If you haven't yet spoken to someone online, arrange your first meeting and test your equipment. Ask your partner if they can hear you clearly. Before you log off from the computer make a note of how everything was set up to make sure your next conversation is successful.
2) Listen to some of our recordings on Splendid Speaking that feature 2 students and decide how well the participants dealt with turn-taking.http://www.splendid-speaking.com/products/listen.html
Tomorrow
Find out how to get expert feedback on your speaking skills in tomorrow's lesson.
jueves, 16 de julio de 2009
Your Roadmap to Speaking Exam Success-Day 6
Day 6: Speaking exercises: make the most of your speaking opportunities.
Welcome to Day 6 of 'Your Roadmap to Speaking Exam Success'. What follows are some suggestions to help you use your time as profitably as possible.
What better and easier way to start than speaking to yourself? OK, not in public or you may get some strange looks, but when you find yourself alone you have the perfect opportunity to practise for the long turn in your exam.
1) Try an oral diary - at the end of each day talk about 2 things that happened that you feel good about, 2 things you wished you'd done better. This is good practice in past tenses and in speculating with the use of conditionals and modals such as: 'I wish …', 'If only …' 'I should have …'.
2) There's a popular radio show on the BBC called 'Just a minute' where guests have to speak for one minute on a given subject. Try this yourself - it's great practice in timing yourself ready for the exam and will give you lots of practice in speaking at length on a subject. Write a series of statements on different cards. For example:
Everyone should become a vegetarian.
People are too materialistic.
Describe the best place you've ever visited.
Describe someone who has made a big impression on you.
Pick a card at random and get speaking!
3) If you're studying for an exam like CAE which asks you to describe or comment on photographs, practise using graphics from magazines or newspapers.
A) Introduce the photo with a statement on the theme, for example, 'This photo shows .....' ,
B) Describe what you can see, for example, in the foreground ... in the background, on the left ....
C) Practise speculating on what might be going on or what might have led up to the scene.
4) When speaking with your new contacts an obvious activity will be some 'getting to know you' conversations. Concentrate on giving full answers to your partner's questions and remember to help the conversation along by asking your partner questions and showing interest in what they say. The examiner is likely to ask you about your family, your studies, any hobbies or interests you have and topic-specific questions if you're doing a business or professional exam. Make sure you cover similar subjects in your practice session.
5) For general conversation practice try our weekly 'Get Speaking' task sheets.
6) For exam practice you'll find sample questions in the exam handbook available from the exam board website. Then there are our own sample questions on the Splendid Speaking website.
Task
1) Download our Get Speaking Task Sheet to help you with topics to speak about.
http://www.splendid-speaking.com/products/tasksheet.html
2) Sign up for our weekly newsletter for an email with news of the latest task sheet.
http://www.splendid-speaking.com/subscribe1.html
3) Print the sample tasks from the exam handbook or from the Splendid Speaking website.
http://www.splendid-speaking.com/exams/index.html
4) Practise some of the personal actions you listed on Day 4.
Tomorrow
Find out how to get expert feedback on your speaking skills in tomorrow's lesson.
Welcome to Day 6 of 'Your Roadmap to Speaking Exam Success'. What follows are some suggestions to help you use your time as profitably as possible.
What better and easier way to start than speaking to yourself? OK, not in public or you may get some strange looks, but when you find yourself alone you have the perfect opportunity to practise for the long turn in your exam.
1) Try an oral diary - at the end of each day talk about 2 things that happened that you feel good about, 2 things you wished you'd done better. This is good practice in past tenses and in speculating with the use of conditionals and modals such as: 'I wish …', 'If only …' 'I should have …'.
2) There's a popular radio show on the BBC called 'Just a minute' where guests have to speak for one minute on a given subject. Try this yourself - it's great practice in timing yourself ready for the exam and will give you lots of practice in speaking at length on a subject. Write a series of statements on different cards. For example:
Everyone should become a vegetarian.
People are too materialistic.
Describe the best place you've ever visited.
Describe someone who has made a big impression on you.
Pick a card at random and get speaking!
3) If you're studying for an exam like CAE which asks you to describe or comment on photographs, practise using graphics from magazines or newspapers.
A) Introduce the photo with a statement on the theme, for example, 'This photo shows .....' ,
B) Describe what you can see, for example, in the foreground ... in the background, on the left ....
C) Practise speculating on what might be going on or what might have led up to the scene.
4) When speaking with your new contacts an obvious activity will be some 'getting to know you' conversations. Concentrate on giving full answers to your partner's questions and remember to help the conversation along by asking your partner questions and showing interest in what they say. The examiner is likely to ask you about your family, your studies, any hobbies or interests you have and topic-specific questions if you're doing a business or professional exam. Make sure you cover similar subjects in your practice session.
5) For general conversation practice try our weekly 'Get Speaking' task sheets.
6) For exam practice you'll find sample questions in the exam handbook available from the exam board website. Then there are our own sample questions on the Splendid Speaking website.
Task
1) Download our Get Speaking Task Sheet to help you with topics to speak about.
http://www.splendid-speaking.com/products/tasksheet.html
2) Sign up for our weekly newsletter for an email with news of the latest task sheet.
http://www.splendid-speaking.com/subscribe1.html
3) Print the sample tasks from the exam handbook or from the Splendid Speaking website.
http://www.splendid-speaking.com/exams/index.html
4) Practise some of the personal actions you listed on Day 4.
Tomorrow
Find out how to get expert feedback on your speaking skills in tomorrow's lesson.
lunes, 13 de julio de 2009
THURSDAY 23rd JULY
Hello again!!
Winter Holidays are coming at last!!! After all your work you really deserve them!!
Let´s discuss what you´ve done for today:
THE ENDGAME
• Today you are supposed to send me the answers to the questions about Part 4
• What has happened in the story so far? (make a very short summary)
• Read Part 5 and answer the “While reading” questions in your Booklet p.146. We´ll check the answers when we meet after the holidays.
Homework for next class (August 4th)
EXPERT p.100 : VOCABULARY : Clothes
Check that you know the meaning of all these words/ expressions. If there´s any you don´t know you can refer to the on- line dictionaries I´ve already recommended:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/
Keep a record of these words/expressions in your notebooks and be ready to describe the pictures on p.101. We´ll work on this in class next time we meet.
EXPERT p.106 Language development 3
Prepositional Phrases
Verbs with similar meanings
Do all these exercises and we´ll check the answers in class.
Well, this is all, people.
Enjoy your Winter Holidays!!
…And while you do so, take some minutes to read the following article:
“A Dollar and Some Ambition” by Jim Rohn
Each of us has two distinct choices to make about what we will do with
our lives.
The first choice we can make is to be less than we have the capacity
to be. To earn less. To have less. To read less and think less. To try
less and discipline ourselves less. These are the choices that lead to
an empty life. These are the choices that, once made, lead to a life of
constant apprehension instead of a life of wondrous anticipation.
And the second choice? To do it all! To become all that we can possibly
be. To read every book that we possibly can. To earn as much as we
possibly can. To give and share as much as we possibly can. To strive
and produce and accomplish as much as we possibly can.
All of us have the choice. To do or not to do. To be or not to be.
To be all or to be less or to be nothing at all.
Like the tree, it would be a worthy challenge for us all to stretch
upward and outward to the full measure of our capabilities. Why not do
all that we can, every moment that we can, the best that we can, for as
long as we can?
Our ultimate life objective should be to create as much as our talent
and ability and desire will permit. To settle for doing less than we
could do is to fail in this worthiest of undertakings.
Results are the best measurement of human progress. Not conversation.
Not explanation. Not justification. Results! And if our results are less
than our potential suggests that they should be, then we must strive to
become more today than we were the day before. The greatest rewards are
always reserved for those who bring great value to themselves and the
world around them as a result of who and what they have become.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
YOU CAN SUCCEED! GIVE YOURSELF THE OPPORTUNITY!!
See you at the institute on Tuesday 4th August.
STUDY HARD FOR YOUR MOCK!!!
Love,
Daniela
Winter Holidays are coming at last!!! After all your work you really deserve them!!
Let´s discuss what you´ve done for today:
THE ENDGAME
• Today you are supposed to send me the answers to the questions about Part 4
• What has happened in the story so far? (make a very short summary)
• Read Part 5 and answer the “While reading” questions in your Booklet p.146. We´ll check the answers when we meet after the holidays.
Homework for next class (August 4th)
EXPERT p.100 : VOCABULARY : Clothes
Check that you know the meaning of all these words/ expressions. If there´s any you don´t know you can refer to the on- line dictionaries I´ve already recommended:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/
Keep a record of these words/expressions in your notebooks and be ready to describe the pictures on p.101. We´ll work on this in class next time we meet.
EXPERT p.106 Language development 3
Prepositional Phrases
Verbs with similar meanings
Do all these exercises and we´ll check the answers in class.
Well, this is all, people.
Enjoy your Winter Holidays!!
…And while you do so, take some minutes to read the following article:
“A Dollar and Some Ambition” by Jim Rohn
Each of us has two distinct choices to make about what we will do with
our lives.
The first choice we can make is to be less than we have the capacity
to be. To earn less. To have less. To read less and think less. To try
less and discipline ourselves less. These are the choices that lead to
an empty life. These are the choices that, once made, lead to a life of
constant apprehension instead of a life of wondrous anticipation.
And the second choice? To do it all! To become all that we can possibly
be. To read every book that we possibly can. To earn as much as we
possibly can. To give and share as much as we possibly can. To strive
and produce and accomplish as much as we possibly can.
All of us have the choice. To do or not to do. To be or not to be.
To be all or to be less or to be nothing at all.
Like the tree, it would be a worthy challenge for us all to stretch
upward and outward to the full measure of our capabilities. Why not do
all that we can, every moment that we can, the best that we can, for as
long as we can?
Our ultimate life objective should be to create as much as our talent
and ability and desire will permit. To settle for doing less than we
could do is to fail in this worthiest of undertakings.
Results are the best measurement of human progress. Not conversation.
Not explanation. Not justification. Results! And if our results are less
than our potential suggests that they should be, then we must strive to
become more today than we were the day before. The greatest rewards are
always reserved for those who bring great value to themselves and the
world around them as a result of who and what they have become.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
YOU CAN SUCCEED! GIVE YOURSELF THE OPPORTUNITY!!
See you at the institute on Tuesday 4th August.
STUDY HARD FOR YOUR MOCK!!!
Love,
Daniela
TUESDAY 21st JULY
TUESDAY 21st JULY
Hi everyone!!
How are things? Are you checking our blog? Have you been doing any extra practice on the sites I recommended? Please let me know about it!!
In the last lessons we´ve been discussing THE ENDGAME.
* Today you have to send me the answers to the questions about Part 3.
* What vocabulary do you remember from the previous parts of the story? Make a list of 10 words that we´ll include in our Word Bag.
* Please read Part 4 and answer the “While reading” questions which you´ll find in your Booklet p. 146. Send them to me by e-mail for next class (23rd July)
EXPERT P.92 : Language Development 3
Today you have to send me the answers to these exercises. If you still haven´t, do it as soon as possible. This is an excellent practice for your mock!!
EXPERT p. 94 and 95: Reading “Fast Food”
* Find five new or interesting words in the text to be added to our Word Bag
* Read the article and answer the comprehension questions.
WE´LL CHECK THIS WHEN WE MEET AT THE INSTITUTE AFTER THE WINTER HOLIDAYS.
EXPERT p. 105 : Use of English 2
Do the Multiple-choice cloze.
Did you find it difficult? Make a list of prepositions + nouns combinations in the text.
Here´s the key for you to correct yourself. Don´t cheat!!
1C – 2A – 3D – 4B – 5B – 6D – 7C – 8A – 9B – 10A – 11C – 12D
How many correct answers did you get?
That´s all for now!
Let´s get in touch again next Thursday.
Warm regards,
Daniela
Hi everyone!!
How are things? Are you checking our blog? Have you been doing any extra practice on the sites I recommended? Please let me know about it!!
In the last lessons we´ve been discussing THE ENDGAME.
* Today you have to send me the answers to the questions about Part 3.
* What vocabulary do you remember from the previous parts of the story? Make a list of 10 words that we´ll include in our Word Bag.
* Please read Part 4 and answer the “While reading” questions which you´ll find in your Booklet p. 146. Send them to me by e-mail for next class (23rd July)
EXPERT P.92 : Language Development 3
Today you have to send me the answers to these exercises. If you still haven´t, do it as soon as possible. This is an excellent practice for your mock!!
EXPERT p. 94 and 95: Reading “Fast Food”
* Find five new or interesting words in the text to be added to our Word Bag
* Read the article and answer the comprehension questions.
WE´LL CHECK THIS WHEN WE MEET AT THE INSTITUTE AFTER THE WINTER HOLIDAYS.
EXPERT p. 105 : Use of English 2
Do the Multiple-choice cloze.
Did you find it difficult? Make a list of prepositions + nouns combinations in the text.
Here´s the key for you to correct yourself. Don´t cheat!!
1C – 2A – 3D – 4B – 5B – 6D – 7C – 8A – 9B – 10A – 11C – 12D
How many correct answers did you get?
That´s all for now!
Let´s get in touch again next Thursday.
Warm regards,
Daniela
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