XXIX CTS Academic Event

Paradigms, mindsets and tools have changed now that most of us are teaching online. The "new normal" is being planned as hybrid teaching (online and in person) and that brings about its own challenges. We´ll discuss some of these and we´ll all try to work out solutions to overcome them in the two workshops of this session.

XXVIII CTS Academic Event

 This is the topic of our XXVIII CTS Academic event, a moment to enjoy and share knowledge and experience. 

I am looking forward to that. 

Happy Teacher´s Day

 

Getting REady for FCE

Cambridge has changed the name of the B2 Upper Intermediate level Certificate they issue after sitting for the exam. It used to be called FCE (First Certificate in English), Cambridge English First and now B2 First; however, it has been FCE for so long that the name stuck.

What is important is what you can do once you reach this level of proficiency in English and it is a lot, read, write, listen and understand, speak, you can go around in any English speaking environment with confidence. This is why we, in Customized Training Services, the training company I work for, were asked to design a course to help teachers prepare for this examination. 

Since due to Covid 19, there are no openings for this exam in Peru, we thought of preparing modules of the different papers while waiting for exam dates. This is the first and it is on one of the hardest papers: Use of English. But we also wanted to support our teachers who already have the Certificate or are not interested in it but do want to improve their communicative abilities and so we are covering certain aspects that not only help with this exam paper but also support their communicative skills. 

Inspiring quote

 This quote inspired me to study hard to become a true teacher and a real support for my students. 

B2 level of proficiency

 In this competitive world, we need to demonstrate qualities that make us better than other candidates whether we want to live, study or work in an English speaking environment or improve our academic skills. Knowing a foreign language, particularly English is, besides being computer literate, a very important asset.

To demonstrate the ability to understand the main ideas of complex texts, to interact fluently with native speakers and produce clear texts on a wide range of subjects we need to get at least a B2 level of proficiency.

In this chart we can see how useful it is to achieve this Independent level =Upper Intermediate (B2First) for the above reasons and also if you are interested in pursuing a good IELTS score. 

Getting a B2 level

 

Why is it important to get a B2 level and demonstrate it by obtaining the Cambridge English First Certificate?

Because achieving this level allows you to interact fluently with native speakers, explaining your point of view on topical issues,  understand the main ideas of different kinds of complex texts and produce detailed texts on a wide range of subjects. 

Besides, it is a good extra point if you are applying for a job not only in teaching but in any field of specialization. 

This course places special emphasis on issues such as Idioms and Collocations, Phrasal Verbs and Sentence Transformation.