Advanced Use of English Part 4

Practise sentence transformation for CAE from Hibernia in Czech Republic. Still valid for 2015 exam.

Follow us on

CAE Use of English Part 5

Practise sentence transformation for CAE from Hibernia in Czech Republic. Still valid for 2015 exam.

Follow us on

Things to Remember 3: Word Order

Indirect Questions

A quick note from some recent homework. Be careful in formal writing if you are making a request:

Step 1:Some politeness

I would like to know...

I was wondering if you could tell me...

I would be grateful to know...

(or even more informally)

Please let me know...

Step 2:

A question word

...where/when/how long/if...

Step 3:

The trap!

...you will be staying.

NOT

"...will you be staying?"

Remember to "lose" the question word order and the question mark.

Advanced Use of English Part 3

Word formation practice from Hibernia here. You can also use the FCE material added on 25 November.

Follow us on

CAE Use of English Part 3

Word formation practice from Hibernia here. You can also use the FCE material added on 25 November.

Follow us on

Things to Remember 2: Space...

Presentation Matters

Remember, there is a Distance Test for writing. Can you -

1. - count the number of paragraphs in your writing from a couple of metres away?
2. - get someone to tell you what it is (letter, article) from how it looks from a distance?

Stand on the far side of your living room and look at your writing to check!

Things to Remember 2: Space...

Presentation Matters

Remember, there is a Distance Test for writing. Can you -

1. - count the number of paragraphs in your writing from a couple of metres away?
2. - get someone to tell you what it is (letter, article) from how it looks from a distance?

Stand on the far side of your living room and look at your writing to check!

First USe of English Part 4

Extra practice on word formation here.

Follow us on

FCE USe of English Part 4

Extra practice on word formation here.

Follow us on

Formal vs. Informal Language

Reports, proposals, letters and Emails - all of them need some level of formal English at times. Try the exercises in this page of the Flo Joe website for some practice of vocabulary and structures.

Come back to us with doubts and questions.

FCE and CAE Weekly Writing Task 3.1

Reviewing Formal vs. Informal Language

Reports, proposals, letters and Emails - all of them need some level of formal English at times. Try the exercises in this page of the Flo Joe website for some practice of vocabulary and structures.

Come back to us with doubts and questions.

First: Writing a Story

Story writing in 180 word is a challenge. Amongst other things, you need to think about

1. - Am I writing first or third person? (It may depend on the question).
2. - Should I use a formal or informal tone?
3. - What kind of linking words do I need?
4. - Which vocabulary is the target?
5. - Which grammar is the target?
6. - Which vocabulary will impress?

Here's one:

	"I had never felt so nervous before in my life...!" Write your story (around 120-180 words).

What do think would be the answers to 1-6 above?

Here are our answers to the points above - (roll over to see them)

1. First person
2. Probably informal - it sounds like an anecdote.
3. As a result, lots of informal linking - avoid long ones like furthermore/nevertheless
4. Past tenses (note the option to go into reported speech and third conditional or wish)
5. words connected to nervous
6. Phrasal Verbs, as always

For ideas and inspiration you could do worse than take a look at some minisagas. Visit the British Council's mini-saga website. Mini - sagas - stories - central - British Council - LearnEnglish.

FCE Weekly Writing Activity 1.6

Story writing in 180 word is a challenge. Amongst other things, you need to think about

1. - Am I writing first or third person? (It may depend on the question).
2. - Should I use a formal or informal tone?
3. - What kind of linking words do I need?
4. - Which vocabulary is the target?
5. - Which grammar is the target?
6. - Which vocabulary will impress?

Here's one:

	"I had never felt so nervous before in my life...!" Write your story (around 120-180 words).

What do think would be the answers to 1-6 above?

Here are our answers to the points above - (roll over to see them)

1. First person
2. Probably informal - it sounds like an anecdote.
3. As a result, lots of informal linking - avoid long ones like furthermore/nevertheless
4. Past tenses (note the option to go into reported speech and third conditional or wish)
5. words connected to nervous
6. Phrasal Verbs, as always

For ideas and inspiration you could do worse than take a look at some minisagas. Visit the British Council's mini-saga website. Mini - sagas - stories - central - British Council - LearnEnglish.

Advanced: Use of English Part 3

All the fun of Brian's favourite - word formation! - with a CAE Part 3 from Hibernia in Czech Republic.

Follow us on

CAE Use of English Part 3

All the fun of Brian's favourite - word formation! - with a CAE Part 3 from Hibernia in Czech Republic.

Follow us on

FCE Use of English Part 2

An example of an Open Cloze test from Hibernia in the Czech Republic.

Follow us on

CAE Weekly Activity 1.5 Feedback

Some examples

Here are some ideas about where and when to use some of the combinations

categorically deny - TOO DIRECT for most exam writing
deeply regret - bad news
enthusiastically endorse - recommending an idea formally
freely appreciate - accepting another opinion - good for essays
fully recognize - opinions in formal/neutral writing - essays, reviews
honestly believe - opinions in formal/neutral writing - essays, reviews
positively encourage - reports, proposals, suggestions
readily endorse - recommending an idea
sincerely hope - finishing letters
strongly recommend - proposals, letters, give advice
totally reject - TOO DIRECT for most exam writing
utterly refuse - TOO DIRECT for most exam writing

FCE Weekly Activity 1.5 - Feedback

Vocabulary

1. Dissatisfied, dissatisfaction

2. In view of all this

3. matter

4. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you

5. require

6. As far as experience is concerned,

7. I am sorry to tell you that I will not be able to

Formal phrases & word order includes:

we were shocked/ disappointed to find that ...............

As if that wasn't enough, we then found that ............

we feel we deserve

I hope this matter will receive your immediate attention.

You also ought to ...........

It would be an excellent idea to .............

It would be a mistake to .............

I need some further information.

I would also like to know ....................

I am 26 years old and at the moment I am studying

Having studied English for over seven years I am a fluent speaker of the language.

I feel I would be suitable for this job because ............

Formality: Giving Bad News

Some excellent work from Advanced tonight (but, confession time, some terribly untidy boardwork by the teacher) produced this superb formalised version of

"I can't..."

Unfortunately, I'm afraid I have to tell you it looks like we may not be able to...

OK, it's too much for one sentence really, but lots of useful bad news English. Good work everyone!

Follow us on

Bad News

Some excellent work from A8 tonight (but, confession time, some terribly untidy boardwork by me) produced this superb formalised version of "I can't..."

Unfortunately, I'm afraid I have to tell you it looks like we may not be able to...

OK, it's too much for one sentence really, but lots of useful bad news English. Good work everyone!

Brian

Follow us on

Things to Remember 1: Dot, dot, dot...

Something we see in homework quite a lot: lists or groups of examples finishing with three dots like this...

Be careful! Unless you actually want to give the impression

"the rest of the list is obvious"

or

"You know how this sentence will end, so I don't need to finish it for you"

always use words - and so on or amongst others are two options.

A8 Writing a Report or Proposal

Link to the completed Powerpoint presentation from Monday November 9.

Follow us on

Advanced: Collocations

Collocations and Emphasis

Some vocabulary work this week. Visit this page and take a look through the many collocations on offer. You should stop reading when you reach

"Here are example sentences"

We want you to have a a go at writing your own sentences before you look at the examples!

Think about the type of writing - Letter, Report, Email, Article, Essay, Review - and how you might fit the collocation in to your work. Examples from us next week.

CAE Weekly Writing Activity 1.5

Collocations and Emphasis

Some vocabulary work this week. Visit this page and take alook through the many collocations on offer. You should stop reading when you reach

"Here are example sentences"

We want you to have a a go at writing your own sentences before you look at the examples!

Think about the type of writing - Letter, Report, Email, Article, Essay, Review - and how you might fit the collocation in to your work. Examples from us next week.

First: Formal Letters and Emails

Go here for a good collection of language.

So, on the page above, can you find, in order:

1. As many variations as possible on the word satisfy.
2. A phrase for as a result
3. A word for topic
4. A phrase inviting someone to contact you
5. A formal verb for ask
6. An alternative to regarding
7. A very impressive substitute for I can't

And, as a more difficult challenge, can you find any word order that is formal? This is pretty tricky but there are examples there. Feedback next week.

FCE Weekly Writing Activity 1.5

Formal Letters and Emails

All Level 6 students have a formal letter homework coming soon (S6 it's due this week coming!).

Go here for a good collection of language. Use it to answer the questions below - you can post your answers here via Comment, or ask us questions if you have doubts or other suggestions.

So, on the page above, can you find, in order:

1. As many variations as possible on the word satisfy.
   
2. A phrase for as a result
3. A word for topic
4. A phrase inviting someone to contact you
5. A formal verb for ask
6. An alternative to regarding
7. A very impressive substitute for I can't

And, as a more difficult challenge, can you find any word order that is formal? This is pretty tricky but there are examples there. Feedback next week.

Question 5: Set Texts at CAE

There are two set texts for question 5 on the CAE writing paper. They are:

Lucky Jim (LJ)

by Kingsley Amis

The Pelican Brief (TPB) by John Grisham

We are going to offer some support for you if you're reading one of the texts starting in December.

If you're interested in trying this question on the exam, we recommend you to start reading the book or (for TPB) watch the film soon.

Getting the books

They're available in Spain from Casa del Libro and Fnac. You could order a copy online from www.amazon.co.uk for just under €6. (you could save some money by ordering more than one copy with another student to cut the delivery cost!).

We have a copy of TPB in the office in Las Rozas.

Getting TPB on DVD

At Fnac online it's €5.95 at the moment and in El Corte Ingles €8.95. We think you'd need to watch the film several times to get to know the story well enough for the exam.

You can also borrow the DVD from our office.

What you need to know

The exam questions are not be about the literary content or quality of the writing – you need to know about the details of the text:

• Basics: where is it set? when is it set? What kind of story is it?
  
• The characters: what are they like, their motivations, their personalities how they seem to feel about each other, and so on.
  
• the story, how and why things happen, who does what (and how the characters are affected by it, for example
• Essential for any book-related question: you must be confident in using vocabulary associated with books and writers!

One advantage of the set text option is that you can guarantee there will be some form of review in the exam. Remember though that it will generally focus on one of the areas above, and not be a general review of the whole story,

Keep an eye on the Set Texts label top right for more later this month.

First: Use of English Part 3

You are (or will soon be) working on word formation exercises around now. Here's some extra practice from Hibernia.

Follow us on

FCE Use of English Part 3

Level 6 groups are (or will soon be) working on word formation exercises around now. Here's some extra practice from Hibernia.

Follow us on

First and Advanced: Informal Letters

Feedback from recent homework

Things to take care of informal letters. Think about why.

1. First sentences should - what?
2. Three dots at the end of a sentence - good or bad?
3. What are some of the magic words for making your paragraphs flow?
4. Imperatives. "Answer me, then we can organise our trip." Informal?
5. Abbreviations "BTW" and emoticons ";-)" Appropriate?
6. Final sentences should - what?
7. What's white space for?
8. "Look(ing) forward to +?"
9. "Kisses"
10. Make a list of items to check in your final 5 or ten minutes.

Follow us on

FCE and CAE Weekly Writing Activity 1.4

Feedback from recent homework from S6 and A8

Things to take care of informal letters. Think about why. Explanations next week.

1. First sentences should - what?
2. Three dots at the end of a sentence - good or bad?
3. What are some of the magic words for making your paragraphs flow?
4. Imperatives. "Answer me, then we can organise our trip." Informal?
5. Abbreviations "BTW" and emoticons ";-)" Appropriate?
6. Final sentences should - what?
7. What's white space for?
8. "Look(ing) forward to +?"
9. "Kisses"
10. Make a list of items to check in your final 5 or ten minutes.

Follow us on

CAE Weekly Writing Activity 1.3

Formal Language Patterns

Formal English is needed for writing homework on reports, proposals and some emails or letters. To do this effectively you'll need to be able to produce formal English patterns.

Here you'll find a short interactive exercise to try out on formal grammar - see how you get on!

Come back and post examples in the comments section.

First Linking Words

Some interactive linking words practice for FCE here.

Follow us on

FCE Weekly Writing Activity 1.3

Some interactive linking words practice for FCE here.

Follow us on

Informal Emails: More Information

Here's a useful document we found on the internet with lots of information about informal letters and emails and a couple of examples that might help you.

If you're writing for Cambrtidge exams you should not include addresses in your work.

Follow us on

Informal Emails: More Information

Here's a useful document we found on the internet with lots of information about informal letters and emails and a couple of examples that might help you.

If you're writing for FCE or CAE, you should not include addresses in your work.

Follow us on

Advice for all your Planning

The photo is not very good, so here's what you need to remember

- the question is king
- obey word limits
- be the writer not "a student"
- write to the recipient, not (usually) the teacher
- make it look right from a distance
- Experiment - risk-taking is good
- use your student book and online resources intelligently

Questitions or comments welcome

Follow us on

Advice for all your writing.

Presented to A8 on Wednesday 14 October.

The photo is not very good, so here's what you need to remember

- the question is king
- obey word limits
- be the writer not "a student"
- write to the recipient, not (usually) the teacher
- make it look right from a distance
- Experiment - risk-taking is good
- use your student book and online resources intelligently

Questitions or comments welcome

Follow us on

CAE Weekly Writing Activity 1.1

For this week we’d like you to take a look at the revised writing instructions for the two exams. You need a pdf reader like adobe acrobat to open this file.

You’ll find CAE here http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/resources/teacher/cae_hb_dec08.pdf . Go to page 26 to read about task types. You need a pdf reader like adobe acrobat to open this file.

We’d like you to think about these four questions in relation to the task types.

1. Which have you never done before?
2. If you'vw done them, which seem easier or more difficult?
3. Can you think of any useful advice for other students? Post it here!

We want to hear from you, so post a reply or question by clicking on comments below. Don’t forget to include four first name and class (“Julia, A8”), for example.

Whiteboard Grab; Informal Letters

This is a whiteboard grab from last year's course.

This one was used in answer to a question in an S6 group about phrases for starting informal letter paragraphs.

You can click on it to see a bigger version. Try to borrow a few phrases to help your work.

If anything's not clear, let us know.

FCE Weekly Writing Activity 1.1

Take a look at the revised writing instructions for the two exams. You need a pdf reader like adobe acrobat to open this file.

You’ll find FCE here http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/resources/teacher/fce_hb_dec08.pdf . Go to page 21 to read about the task types. You need a pdf reader like adobe acrobat to open this file.

After reading it, can you post some ideas and tell us

What makes a good informal letter?

that can help other students.

Post your replies (and any questions) by clicking on comments below. Please include your first name and class (“Pedro, A6”), for example.

CAE Use of English Part 1

Go here for information on Part 1 (on page 9), and here for an extra practice activity.

Follow us on

CAE: Advanced Vocabulary Introduction

To get an idea of how important vocabulary is at Level 8, take a look at this video. You need Adobe flash player to watch it. Don't worry about watching all of it, scroll through for the most important information from the presenter.

What's most important do you think?

PS
And if you've ever wanted to know what English teachers do on their Saturday mornings, this is it!

Follow us on

Welcome to The Las Rozas Blog, Year 2, (continued)

The Right Column>>>>>>

What's on there then?

1. We'll update our Twitter feed when new posts appear - and when new Email Club mailouts happen too. Click on the logo to go to our page. You can then follow us from anywhere!

2. Use the Labels box to find topics directly. You can also click on the labels at the bottom of each post to get everything on the same topic.

3. Use the Archive to go back to older posts if you miss a week.

4. You can find some useful links on the right to take a look at - we'll add to these when we can.

5. You can use the dictionary if you need it - it will take you to another website.

6. You can also find a selection of current news stories at the bottom of the page if you are at a loose end.

Come back on October 13 (FCE) and Ocotober 14 (CAE) for our first activities for you to join in with.

Follow us on

Exam Comments from Miles Brickman

Miles this week had some interesting comments on the Cambridge exams.

He would like to remind everyone taking the exams (and also taking our exams) to focus on what you can do and what you know and try not to place to much attention on things you think you can't do as well as you'd like to.

During your studies you will have practised a whole range of topics and may be surprised about how much you actually know.

One way to see this. Look through the list of labels on the right of this page. Just looking at the question types - review, article, informal letter, report and so on* - you can probably visualise one and know what makes it distinctive. You can think of some of the vocab and grammar that are typical of them. (*You probably know why we prefer "and so on" to the Spanish equivalent!)

So our general comment is - look on the postives, and try not to worry about negatives too much. You have gained new skills and understand new things - here's a chance to put them to good use.

Good luck!

FCE and CAE Reviews - Extra Exercise

Find a reminder of how to enhance review writing with extra adjectives or adverbs here.

Advanced: Essay Planning Advice

Some keywords when writing essays. Can you predict the advice they come from?

Outline what at the start?

Start with an interesting what?

Main paragraphs start with topic what?

In main paragraphs, give detailed what?

After your main paragraphs, you may have a summery or a summary one?

You might finish with...what?

Go here for one method you might like to adapt to CAE length.

CAE Task 2.6 Essay Advice

Some keywords when writing essays. Can you predict the advice they come from?

Outline what at the start?

Start with an interesting what?

Main paragraphs start with topic what?

In main paragraphs, give detailed what?

After your main paragraphs, you may have a summery or a summary one?

You might finish with...what?

Go here for one method you might like to adapt to CAE length.

Are you alone?

FCE Weekly Task 2.3 Feedback

At FCE, don't

- use text language like "u"

- use short forms like "gonna" and "gimme"

- better to mostly avoid three dots...

(also avoid Email abreviations like TIA, HTH, BTW)

First: Essays

Some questions about essays for you to think about.

1. How should you start and finish your first paragraph?
2. What could you put at the start of the following paragraphs?
3. If you give examples in your paragraphs, what should they be?
4. What does the final paragraph do?
5. What could come after the final paragraph?

Go here for advice on what to put in your paragraphs. Remember that at First you have a word limit of around 150, so your number of paragraphs will be restricted to 4 or maybe 5.

FCE Weekly Task 2.1: Essays

Some questions about essays for you to think about.

1. How should you start and finish your first paragraph?
2. What could you put at the start of the following paragraphs?
3. If you give examples in your paragraphs, what should they be?
4. What does the final paragraph do?
5. What could come after the final paragraph?

Go here for advice on what to put in your paragraphs. Remember that at FCE you have a word limit of around 180, so your number of paragraphs will be restricted to 4 or maybe 5.

We need you!

Now it's your turn. What suggestions or advice can you give us about writing essays that people or teachers have told you? Email your ideas to us at bclasrozas@gmail.com