Last message for NB2: It's Another Day of Sun

Results

Dear students

I'd like to congratulate you on your exam results.

If you've failed any part, you still have a chance in September. I'll try to post some resources in this blog for you to practice listening. In case of speaking, you know what you have to do... and please feel free to send me any compositions per email if you want to. I'd be also really glad to receive some news about you, your holidays...

If you've passed, I really wish you the best of luck next year!

Take care and have a wonderful summer!

Bunch of Flowers

Dear students

I'd just like to thank you again for your lovely bunch of flowers and the card you've given me.

I've been really moved (=emocionada) by your messages and I'd like to tell you that such feedback is really helpful for me to improve my teaching.

Thank you also for the nice time yesterday having something to drink. Perhaps you could start a Thursday evening English meeting... some beer, nice company and a little bit of English, sounds like fun!

I'll post some exercises to revise verbal tenses at the weekend ok?

Thanks again and see you in a week.
Leticia.

Last Day

Dear students

Today is our last day in class...

I've just posted this entry to tell you that I've enjoyed this year a lot and I'm very grateful because I've learned many things from you as well.

You know you can contact me per email just in case you have doubts or questions before your final test.

Here you are some exam tips.
Best of luck!

SOME ADVICE FOR EXAMS

Writing exams is sometimes a problem for students, but there are some suggestions which can help students to make better exams.

Before the exam, check the time and place of the exam to be punctual and sleep and eat well. And don’t drink too much alcohol the day before, that’s the worst thing you can do before an exam!

During the exam, read everything first, underlining important words and the instructions. Many students feel initially that they cannot answer any questions adequately, but this is a common reaction. In this point, relax is very important. Then, the order to answer the questions is: easy, favourite and, finally, difficult. Another advice is to answer all the questions because the first 50% of marks are easier to obtain than the next 50%.

A very important point is to plan the answer. Perhaps you think it is stupid, but don’t forget to read the instructions carefully! Use about 10 minutes to plan the words and sentences to answer the questions. Think: ‘is the answer logically explained?’ and ‘am I answering to all important points?’

When you write your answers, check the language you are using. Did you forget to write any subject (for example, ‘it’)? Did you forget the famous third-person ‘s’? Is the word order in your sentence good? Are you sure about the spelling of a particular word? A language exam is not a honesty exam and you will not be penalised if you tell the examiners that you are twenty-nine years old because your don’t know how to say or write thirty.

If you have to do a multiple-choice exercise (a, b, c or d) don’t forget that examiners can choose the same letter successively for the correct answer. Many students start to feel confused and worried and they choose another letter. Don’t do that! Your comprehension is more important than the order of letters. If the multiple-choice exercise is based on a text, don’t choose and option just because the same word appears in the question and in the text. This type of exercise is used to check your comprehension of ideas, not of single words.

Be relaxed in the speaking exam. The questions and topics you have to speak about are normally based on you and on the activities you have done in your course. Meet your oral exam partner to speak about the topics you've covered in class. And of course, make sure you understand your examiner’s instructions well. If not, you can always ask for clarifications!

The most important thing in the listening test is concentration. Read the options and instructions carefully. Examiners sometimes give options which match more or less the information from the recording. For example, a person says that she is going to be late for the meeting and the question is: T/F Finally, she was late for the meeting. What would you answer?