2016.01.27 Class 14

Today the first thing we did was review the results from the Reading and Use of English practice exam from last week. Most people did much better in the Use of English, but a little bit worse in the Reading paper. We reviewed the answers to parts 1 and 2 of the Use of English, and will do the rest next week.

Later we continued with the practice exam – you did the full Listening test. We also played a game related to the Speaking paper.

After the break, you did re-ordered sentences to make a book review and then we continued with The Way Way Back.

Homework:

• Do Writing part 2 – I strongly prefer you do the Review, as we looked briefly at that in class.

2016.01.20 Class 13

Today we warmed up by doing a speaking activity designed to help you prepare for Speaking part 2 and then quickly moved on to doing a mock Reading & Use of English exam.

The average results for the Use of English were 49% and for the Reading 57%. That is a good improvement over the results in November, though still a bit shy of where you ought to be before taking the exam.

After the break, you finished the exam and then recapped The Way Way Back, the film we began in class last week – we reviewed the names of the main characters, what the relationships between them are and how they seemed to be as people. We then continued with the film, watching about 20 minutes more.

By the way, I also added the words that some of you handed in from the Winter holiday reading homework to the list in Quizlet.

Homework:

• Writing part 1 (essay) of the mock exam I gave you. Please review pp.88-89 in the SB, as well as my comments on the essays you wrote in term 1, before writing your essay. But once you start writing, don't consult any other materials.

2016.01.13 Class 12

To get back into things in the new year, we did a Post-holiday activity at one point in which you had to come up with the questions to some answers.

We also discussed the mid-year Assessment, which is essentially a nearly complete FCE exam that you'll be completing in the next few classes. Your grade on this will give us a sense for how ready you are to take a real exam or not. Remember that it's essential for you to have contact with English and to study outside of class - just coming to class is no guarantee that you'll be ready for the exam by the summer.

Writing - stories
We went over some general comments on the stories that you handed in to me in Class 10:

1. The first line of the story should be integrated into the story, not separate in any way.
2. Paragraphs are essential! You will almost certainly get a mark lower than 3 for a story with inappropriate paragraphing.
3. A story that takes place over years is probably more difficult than a shorter-term one.
4. Be specific! Use examples and descriptive words. For example, instead of saying 'She was beautiful and kind', you could say 'She turned heads wherever she went, yet she treated everyone with kindness.'
5. Beware of run-on sentences and comma splices. Look under Useful links on the right side of this page for explanations and exercises.

Reading (homework over the holidays)

We talked about the story you were assigned to read for homework, as well as the vocabulary that you found when you read it. You should study the vocabulary from the reading, which we'll put into Quizlet soon.

FCE Speaking

We also talked about Speaking parts 1 and 2, practiced some questions from part 1 in class and watched a video of an exam on Youtube.

We also watched the first 12 minutes of The Way Way Back, the film which we'll be watching in short segments over the next several weeks.

Some vocabulary to note from the beginning of the film:

• on a scale of 1 to 10
• This is it!
• to fall off the wagon
• my ride
• She's a walking mood.
• a lazy eye
• Screw that!

Homework: none - enjoy! Just be ready for an exam in the first part of class in the next two weeks.