Well done everybody

It's all over, and it just remains to say:

I'm very proud of all of you!

Best of luck to you all

 Hi Everybody....it's nearly all over!

You could just go over the last few blog entries to practise each part of the exam, ...practise with your 'chuleta'...watch some telly in English...

Here's one more picture to describe. Don't forget to use prepositions...through (the window) on the right, under, on...look up any vocabulary you don't know and learn it.

Why is she looking out of the window? What is she thinking? Use could, maybe, perhaps...

Don't forget to RELAX, AND CHILL OUT BEFORE YOU GO TO BED!

So....

Ket and pet

Hi, year six.

I noticed that some of you need to brush up on (revise) your prepositions a bit, so I've found you some games.

prepositions of place games


another prepositions of place game

occupations game

another occupations game

Also, If you get a question in the present perfect in part one of your exam, you might start off speaking in the present perfect but have to change to the past simple to give more details....so here's sa game to practise with:

present perfect explanation and game

Which reminds me - revise your list of irregular verbs!!


Pet people (and ket too, feel free!) here are some more pictures to describe....use as many prepositions as possible, and don't forget to use modals...might, could, may

Was that activity fun or funny,  bored or boring ???????

Bye for now my dears.

Pet pictures. Practising conditionals, maybe, perhaps

We are not using conditionals enough in our descriptions, ans nor are we saying what we think of the pictures..(this could be a very good thing to do if you are running out of things to say! So let's practice.Here are some more pictures to describe.

1)Use all of these words when you are describing them:

could            might           may        perhaps         maybe    

The girl and the dog may be thinking about how to reach the biscuit jar.

2) When you have finished, say what your opinion is of the picture and why...

Check any vocabulary you don't know and learn it.

Pet and Ket: IMPORTANT ADVICE FOR YOUR EXAM

Hello Ket and Pet students. Here is some advice for the daty of the exam. It is very important, so please read it!!

http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/speaking_exam.html

Ket speaking exam practice

 Hello Ket students.

Here are some links to webpages that will help you practise for the exam.


http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/speaking_exam.html

http://es.slideshare.net/teresapmteacher/ket-speaking-activities


http://www.englishaula.com/en/ket-exam-speaking-cambridge-key-english-test-video-lessons-practice-tests-exercises.php


And these are some more pictures to practise with. Sorry if you've seen them before!

Pet speaking part 2

Hi year 6 students, it's me again.

Part two lasts from two to three minutes. In part two you need to discuss alternatives and come to a decision. Discuss each option together, but not for too long and come to a decision. If you have time at the end, you can go back and talk about the options in more detail. The examiner will repeat the situation to you twice before asking you to start speaking.

Use conditionals:

I think he/she/they could
In my opinion he/she /they should

other useful language:

Practice with these situations. If you haven't got anyone to practice with, imagine you are two people and have a conversation with yourself! Time yourself - you can have between two and three minutes. If you haven't come to a decision before the end of two minutes you need to start coming to one. Before you start, check you know all the vocabulary, and if you don't, look it up in a dictionary and learn it.  don't forget to use some conditionals.

Situation 1

A teacher is going to take a class of 15-year-olds on a school trip. 
Talk together about the different places the class could visit and decide which trip the class would enjoy most.

Here is a picture with ideas to help you.

Useful Language

go sailing / boats / lake  cinema / actors  horses / riding school  old castle  art gallery / paintings  I think … would be a good idea because  is (more) interesting / boring because  Most people like visiting / going to… I think that they should choose 

Situation 2

A boy is leaving his school because his parents are going to work in another country. The students in his class want to give him a present. Talk together about the different

presents they could give him and then decide which would be best.

Here is a picture with some ideas to help you.

Situation 3

You are both going on a three  day walking trip in the country-side.Talk together about the things you will need, and decide which are the most important things to take with you.

Situation 4

Your friend has moved to a new town and wants to make some new friends. Talk about different things your friend can do to meet people and say which you think is best. This photo should help you generate some ideas:

Situation 5
An older friend of yours wants to help his elderly neighbour who cannot walk very well. Talk about the different things your friend could do, and which is the best.

Click here for general advice about the exam:

Guidelines for the pet speaking exam

Pet speaking part 4

In this part, you will be asked to talk about something together. You will be expected to talk about your likes and dislikes and express your opinion. 3 minutes

You must show that you know how to listen to someone else and communicate with them.

1) Eye contact. Keep looking at each other. Speak clearly.

2) Don't hold on to the conversation for too long. Talk for a little while about your experiences and then ask your partner.

3) Listen to what your partner has said and then compare it to your experience.

For example:

Speaker one: When I am on my own at home, I often like to read a novel.

Speaker two: Really? Well sometimes I like reading, but I don't like novels, I prefer comics

OR

Yes? well, I don't usually read if I am on my own, I prefer playing on my tablet.

etc.

4) The examiner usually asks you to talk about two things...for example: 'I'd like you to talk together about when you enjoy music and say what you do when you're listening to music.'  Try to talk about both, but if you don't get time, it doesn't matter, as long as you are interacting with each other and having a fluid conversation.

5) You are expected to talk about your experiences, so use adverbs:
sometimes, often, usually, try to use some negatives too: but I hardly ever,  but I never...


6) If you are running out of things to say, ask each other more questions about the topic. Use different tenses if you can:
NEGATIVE:
What music don't you like?
PAST:
When did you last listen to music?

Do you think you are going to listen to any music later today?

Would you like to go to a concert to listen to the music you like? (the examiners love conditionals!!)

Here are some conversations to practice. If possible, do them with someone else, but if not, imagine you are two people! YOu have to speak for three minutes , so practise for three and a half to be on the safe side!

1) 'I'd like you to talk together about when you enjoy music and say what you do when you're listening to music.' 

2) I'd like you to talk together about the people you enjoy chatting with, and what you usually chat about. (chat is not chatear here, it is charlar)

3) I'd like you to talk together about what you like to eat when you have a snack and say where you like to have your snack.

4) I'd like you to talk together about where you like to study and say if you like studying with other people.

Good luck!

Pet: feedback from the oral exams. Very important!!!!

Hi year 6 pet students.

Here are some important observations from the teachers who examined you today and yesterday. Take note and try and correct these problems.

1) In general, a lot of students lacked fluency and paused a lot. This is understadable to a certain extent, because you are nervous, but you MUST practise speaking to yourself, family, friends in English to overcome this problem.

2) In part 2, (discussing an option) a lot of students spent too long discussing the different options and didn't come to a decision quickly enough. Discuss each option more briefly and then come to a decision before the end of the time. You can always continue discussing the options afterwards but you must make a decision before the end of the time limit. You must use conditionals in this part of the exam: we could.... we should...

You can also use language like this:



3) In part 3  some of you used very basic language. For example:
'I can see a brother and a sister.'
This is what you were saying in year three. Instead you could say 'I can see a brother and a sister, the brother looks older than the sister...
'The flowers are beautiful'. 'Beautiful is a bit like 'nice', it's overused. Think of a synonym: the flowers are very colourful and attractive.

Some of you used too much repetition...remember to use the different ideas that I gave you in class or in your notebook.

To  overcome these problems, revise all the vocabulary we have studied and practise with the pictures I have put on my blog or look for some more in google images. Look for typical pictures like: A family having lunch, school-friends in the park, friends at a restaurant etc. If there is any vocabulary you don't know, look it up in a dictionary and learn it.

4) A LOT of you made very basic grammar mistakes. He have, she like, ....many of you used the present to speak in the past. If you know you make these mistakes practise the correct version from now until the exam. For example, if you know you say 'he have ten years' practice saying a lot of sentences with the structure he/she is .... years old. Write a list of your common mistakes and practise correcting them this way. You can look back through your notebook to find mistakes you commonly make.

5) In part 4 a lot of you didn't interact with each other enough. You need to talk to each other more, ask each other questions more often, rather than speak for a long time on your own. If you see your partner is having difficulties saying something, you can help them by saying 'do you mean...?'

6) In part 4 you are usually asked about two things, and some of you only spoke about one. For example: 'talk together about what you do on your own at home and what you do with other people. Make sure you remember to speak about both.

7) Some of you didn't speak loud enough, or your hair was in the way of your face or annoying you, or you fidgeted too much. Make sure you speak loud and clear, that the examiner can see your face and that you sit fairly still, looking at the examiner or your partner. EYE CONTACT!!!

Here is a webpage from Jenny that you will find useful:

http://es.slideshare.net/jenniferwilson22/pet-for-shcools

And the link to Englishaula which is also good practice:

http://www.englishaula.com/en/pet-exam-speaking-cambridge-preliminary-english-test-video-lessons-practice-tests-exercises.php


Practise, practise, study, study, we are nearly there!

Pet speaking practice. Part three: describing a photograph.

Hi year 6 pet students. Today I'm going to talk about part 3, describing a photo again.

Apart from describing the pictures below to practise, revise vocabulary to do with the house and furniture, food, clothes and appearance in your notebook. Use this web-page to practice vocabulary too:

http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/preliminaryenglish/index.htm

Choose a picture from the ones below.

Look up any vocabulary you don't know in the dictionary before you start, and learn it!!

Imagine you are describing the picture to someone who can't see it. 

Start with general information: 
Who you can see, what they are doing, where they are.
The picture I'm going to describe is....
In this picture I can see....
This is a colour/black and white photo of...

Continue with more specific information, and try and show the examiner what a wide vocabulary you have. Use expressions like: 
In the background, 
in the foreground, 
on the left, 
on the right, 
next to
above
between
in the top right-hand corner,
In the bottom left-hand corner....

Say how old you think the people in the photo are: 
they are in their teens/teenagers, very young, in their twenties, thirties, quite elderly, elderly...

Say how you think the people are feeling and why:
The father seems to be happy because he is laughing.
I think the teenagers are bored because they look very serious.
They look very frightened, so I think they must be watching a horror film.


Describe how they are dressed either in general:
They are wearing sports clothes/school uniform/casual clothes. 

Say what time of year it is
I think it must be winter because they are all wearing coats and there are no leaves left on the trees.

Use LOTS of expressions of deduction (deducir) and if possible explain WHY.
It´s better to say:
´They seem to be doing their homework because there are a lot of books on the table in front of them' than 'they are doing their homework'
They are probably....because
They seem to be....
It could be, 
the woman might be,
Perhaps the younger girl is...
Maybe the boy has got...
I think they must be friends because they seem to be having fun together

Give your opinion of the picture
I quite like this picture because 
I don't like this picture at all because
This picture reminds me of when....



If you can't think of any more things to say, you could describe one person in more detail:
'I'm going to describe one person in more detail: the girl on the left has got long blonde straight hair and green eyes, she's wearing a red and white striped t-shirt and a pair of shorts.'

..if you can't remember the vocabulary, say 'I can't remember how to say it but it's something you use to'.....

Try and talk about all the pictures over the weekend.

Here is the link to the blog I mentioned in class :

http://lunamar76.blogspot.com.es/2015/02/describing-picture-pet-speaking-test.html

Have fun!

Study Tip!

An easy way to prepare for Part 3 is to talk to yourself! Whenever you are alone think of something you could talk about, for example, your plans for the weekend, what you would like to have for dinner what you did yesterday. Then try talking about this for a minute or two. Concentrate on speaking without long pauses - don't worry too much about making mistakes!

Pet speaking practice

Hi year six pet students. Well done for getting through most of the exam. Now you just need to practices for the speaking part.

General advice for practicing for the speaking part:

Keep practising the questions from the list I gave you: KET/PET QUESTIONS. Answer each question (speaking, not writing) with more than one sentence, and try to make your sentences longer using connectors like and but, because, so...

Speak as much as you can in English - to your family, your dog, your face in the mirror....

Listen to as much English as you can: on the television etc....

Today I am going to ask you to practice part two. Use the phrases at the bottom to help you; read them and learn them so you can say them without looking. Here is the task:

Next, a picture to describe....use the expressions 'in the foreground and in the background, on both sides of the picture, etc...Describe everything you can in detail. Where is the room? Who does it belong to? How did the dragon get there? What is going to happen? Use 'I think', 'maybe', 'perhaps'...

And last of all, spot the differences:

Have fun and be happy!

Ket speaking practice

Hello again year six ket students. Well done for getting through the rest of the exam. Now you only have the speaking part left.

General advice for practicing for the speaking part:

Keep practicing the questions from the list I gave you: KET/PET QUESTIONS. Answer each question (speaking, noy writing) with more than one sentence, and try to make your sentences longer using connectors like and but, because, so...

Speak as much as you can in English - to your family, your dog, your face in the mirror....

Listen to as much English as you can: on the television etc....

Here are some models to help you practise for part two of the exam.

1) Write complete questions using the short prompts for the theatre school.

E.g. a) name/ cafe

What is the theatre school's name?/what is the name of the theatre school?

2) Practise saying these questions using your notes. ( Think about whether you need to use the auxiliary verb 'do' or not.)

3) Practise saying the questions again without using the notes, only using the prompts in the model.

4) Then say the answers to your questions, as though you were the other candidate.

And now, just for fun, spot the differences:

Have fun and be happy!!

Good luck!

Hello dear year six students. Here's wishing you all the very best of luck in your exam on Wednesday. María, Silvia, Ana and I will all be thinking of you and crossing our fingers. We are sure you will all do really well.

If I were you I would just relax this evening, do something that calms you down, like reading a book, or having a shower.

Here are some more pictures to describe another day, (not today) Look at my other entries for ideas about how to describe them if you need to. Don't forget, ket students, that even if you don't have to describe a picture, it's a great exercise to do anyway, to improve your fluency and your vocabulary.

You may have to describe an exterior scene...so here's a strange one! 

On the other hand, you may have to describe a living room. What were the two children doing before they went outside? Why did they go out? Have you ever been out dancing in the rain? I went for a swim in the rain last year, it was great fun!

You also need to practice describing people, their hair, their facial expressions, their clothes. Here are a few you could try describing....pick the ones you like the most.

Last of all, here is a really messy bedroom to describe! How much can you remember after looking at it for two minutes?

Is your bedroom like this? There are some things in this pic that I can't even work out what they are! Which is your favourite picture of all the ones today? Any comments?

PPPPPets and kkkkkets .......A picture or two to describe

Hi again year 6. Time to talk to your dog or your goldfish again. In the pet oral exam you may have to describe a room. Here's one with a lot of stuff in it. Look up any vocabulary you don't know in the dictionary before you start.Try looking at the picture for one minute and then describing everything you can remember, and where it is...in the background, in the foreground, on the left, on the right, next to....above...if you can't remember the vocab, say 'I can't remember how to say it but it's something you use to'..... this is a good exercise to improve your fluency for kets, too.

Now how about this one? This one hasn't got so much stuff so just half a minute to study it before you try and remember what you saw. It's more difficult to see some of the things, so you could use sentences like 'maybe the skeletons are of dinosaurs', or 'perhaps....' or 'it looks like there is'....Then say how you think the boy and the girl got there, and what is going to happen next. Always try to use fairly long sentences with connectors,...Although, so, because, but,  first, after that, next, then, following that, finally and avoid repetition.

Do you like these pictures? Which is your favourite, and why? ( I love the second one, because I have no idea how they got there, but I like to try and imagine a story for them. I also like the beams of light coming down from the hidden windows up high.) Any comments about the pics, leave them on my blog please.

Have fun!