FCE Course at London School of English

At the moment I am teaching an FCE course at Westcroft Square. The First Certificate of English is one of the Cambridge exams we help students to prepare for at London School of English. It tests speakers of English at an upper intermediate level and if they pass it, they are awarded a certificate which proves their level of English. They can then add this to their CV or use it to show potential employers or universities that they have a good level of English.

The exam tests the four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. It is quite a tricky exam, so the students on our course do lots of preparation work on their vocabulary and grammar as well as important reading and listening skills. Also, we help our learners with important strategies to help them to deal with the difficult exam tasks they have to complete.

For example, last week in my class the students looked at skimming and scanning as ways of reading texts quickly for general understanding (skimming), and in order to find specific information in a reading text (scanning). We also looked more specifically at the different exam questions and how to deal with them. Multiple choice questions, for example, are often misunderstood by students. They often get distracted by the different answers they can choose from. I taught them that it was much more important to fully understand the questions first, ignore the given options, find the answer to the question in the text, and then pick the option that matches that answer.

For example, here is a typical multiple choice question which tests your understanding of the first paragraph in this blog post.

1. The Cambridge First Certificate of English is an appropriate exam for which type of person?

a. Learners of English at an advanced level

b. People who want some evidence of their English competence

c. Students who want to improve their interview skills to help them get a job

d. Students who study at the London School of English

First you should ignore the four options a-d

Then you should scan-read the first paragraph in order to find the answer to the question.

Then find the answer in the text.

Now read the four options carefully and choose the one that matches the answer you found.

Eliminate any options which are clearly not the correct answer.

Double check your answer carefully, and never leave a question unanswered!

The answer is, of course, b.

So far, I think the course is going well. I'm giving my students feedback when I can. For example, I think they have good written English, but they need to expand their vocabulary and take more initiative in the speaking part of the test. I think they are all capable of passing, and I expect them to.

Changes in GSV visa rules

Some important changes in the General Student Visa (GSV) rules will come into effect in a few weeks. At the moment we send a letter for use when someone applies for a GSV. As from 22 February, visa letters will no longer be valid, and an electronic system will be used instead. This only applies to students coming to study in the UK from outside of the EU or Switzerland. Visit our website to read more.

English for University

We have just started a new course at our Westcroft Square school, English for University. English for University is an intensive course specially designed for motivated adults who need to improve their English language skills in preparation for university study as well as general English skills. The course is fun and lively, but also serious and suitable for people with a real need for results. The emphasis is always on learning in a practical way. This course is not designed to be purely an IELTS preparation course but rather combines an element of IELTS preparation with many other topic areas necessary for students to study successfully in the UK. If you would like to read more about this course, please go to the school site. I've just interviewed Laura, one of our teachers on this course and next week I'll be interviewing one of the students who is on this course.

If you are interested in hearing more about this course, please contact the sales office on +44 20 7605 4142 and http://uk.mc245.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=sales@londonschool.com

Glossary
to cope with (phr v) - to succeed in dealing with a difficult situation
overall aim (adj, noun) - main aim
participant (n) - someone who is taking part in an activity or class
long-term (adj) - continuing for a long period of time into the future
to focus on (phr v) - to give attention to something
to pay off (phr v) - to be worth the effort

Social Programme

Conversation in The Grand Union

Last week about 30 students and three teachers from the Westcroft Square School visited some local pubs. We left school at 4.30 and walked through Ravenscourt Park to a pub called, The Grand Union. This pub has recently been refurbished and has modern decoration and some slightly crazy artwork. As we arrived quite early and most people in London hadn’t finished work we were able to take over a large section at the back of the pub. The students were able to relax after school and practise using their English in a more natural setting than the classroom.

Teachers Howard and Raphael

Howard, a teacher from the school, was in charge of the event and I attended to take photos, along with another teacher Raphael. There were students from over 11 different countries and there was a lot of discussion about culture, customs and places from various countries. Sometimes students become a bit more fluent after a couple of drinks but it can mean they lose some accuracy. The important thing is that English is being practised in a relaxed environment.

Students and the pub artwork

After about an hour and a half in this pub Howard and the students moved to another more traditional pub called The Goldhawk on Goldhawk Road. This pub is a little more old fashioned but still has a relatively modern feel. Some of the students tried some traditional English ales, while others drank wine and soft drinks. Some even had a snack or some dinner there. There was a band playing later on in this pub and a few of the students were happy to stay there for the evening although some left to do their homework. Overall it was a successful event, everybody enjoyed themselves and a lot of English was spoken and heard.

Glossary
has recently been refurbished - has been redecorated and modernised

to take over - to take control of something
a more natural setting - a a place and situation which is more normal than the classroom
customs - traditional habits in a country or culture
a relatively modern feel - having modern look compared to siome other pubs

Idiomatic illness part 2

Hello again everybody. So last week I told you all about my miserable Christmas holiday and how ill I felt. You can see the original post here. Well, you'll be pleased to hear that I'm much better now and busy teaching and IELTs course at snowy Westcroft Square. Well it's not too snowy now, but apparently there's more on the way. If you look at Ben's post from last week you'll be able to see what it was like here!

You might remember that my last post was full of idiomatic language. Congratulations to Bahar who managed to guess some of the health idioms from last week's blog. She correctly worked out what to be at death's door and to bounce back meant.

How many did you manage to get right? Have a look below for the answers:

to be/feel under the weather to feel unwell
to be at death's door to be very unwell
to bounce back to recover quickly
to be on the road to recovery to be getting better after an illness
to be chomping at the bit to be very keen to do something
to be right as rain to have recovered
to be over the worst to have overcome the hardest part
to feel full of beans to feel full of energy

That's all for now, thanks for reading.