Writing takes time
Find out when the assignment is due and devise a plan of action. This may seem obvious and irrelevant to the writing process, but it’s not. Writing is a process, not merely a product. Even the best professional writers don’t just sit down at a computer, write, and call it a day. The quality of your writing will reflect the time and...
How often have we been cornered by an irate parent wanting to know why his child failed the writing part of the exam even though they did very well during the year in the compositions they wrote? The student in question may have passed the exam overall, but the dreaded word ‘fail’ will be the focus of the parent’s concern.
So, how do the examiners...
“I don’t mind talking to you or my classmates in English; in fact, I quite enjoy it. But it’s different when I have to have a conversation with a stranger whose job is to look for mistakes in what I say and how I say it – the examiner is not there to support me, but to judge me. And they’re not interested in talking to me, they just want to do their...
I am often asked by teachers given the proximity of exam day what the right balance between exam practice and general language and skills development work should be. What I suspect lies behind this question is that teachers know that learners will keenly set about anything in this period given an exam practice label – keen as they are to see how close...
In practice, we often use the words test and assessment interchangeably. But they do have slightly different meanings.
Students need to know what is expected from them, how they can best prepare for any assessment, what counts and what does not count, and how they’re going to be assessed. And this also gives them an opportunity to learn how they are making...
It has been argued – with good reason one might add – that of all four skills involved in foreign language learning, the hardest to achieve yet the most rewarding is speaking the language in question. Being an FL student myself this year, taking my B2 exams in Spanish shortly, I’ve put my self in my students’ shoes and gained some empathy as to why the...
“Scaffolding” describes a performance enhancement procedure which can make teaching composition meaningful and support learners.
However, despite teachers’ and students’ good efforts, EFL composition writing still remains a very demanding task which more often than not surrounds a great deal of disappointment and frustration.
The crucial question “Is...
Speaking is the active use of the English language to express not only meaning but also personal ideas and feelings. There is a big discrepancy between understanding the English language and being able to constructively use it. Students of B1 level have a relatively good understanding of the English language and should be given input to practise it.
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The big day has come and your heart palpitates with stress and fear. The only thought that crosses your mind is “Will my candidates open their mouth and speak or will they just gasp without uttering a single word in front of the examiner?” Challenging by nature, the speaking test can become the nightmare of test takers and exam prep teachers. What can you...
