B1 English- tips

Natalia López Zamarvide CIFE Juan de Lanuza

GETTING READY FOR B1

http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/ natalialzam@gmail.com

Natalia López Zamarvide, CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

Methodology

• Real materials (mostly) • Free resources • Writing down, recording • Making the most of time

1. What’s my level of English? 2. Structure of exams, samples 3. Reading 4. Listening 5. Writing 6. Speaking 7. Vocabulary / grammar

IMMERSION

Use English in everyday life

•Mobile phone settings/ computer… •Watch TV shows / films in English •look for recipes •Any internet search •Wikipedia •youtube tutorials / how to •follow British or American institutions, media,

celebrities…on Twitter

Natalia López Zamarvide CIFE Juan de Lanuza 9

Online courses

» https://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2015/12/23/aprendizaje-de-idiomas-online/

» https://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/examenes-nivel-b1-y-b2-ingles-validos-en-aragon-fechas-modelos-de-examen/

1. MY LEVEL OF ENGLISH

1. Level of Englishhttp://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2014/01/07/cual-es-mi-nivel-en-un-idioma/

• Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) • DIALANG / DIALANG web

• Instituto Nacional de Evaluación Educativa (INEE) -preguntas de comprensión (desde A1 a B2)

Other tests

• https://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/duolingo-test-center-cual-es-mi-nivel-de-ingles/

• http://www.britishcouncil.org/aptis/preparation-material (Aptis, British Council certificate)

2. STRUCTURE OF THE TESTS

• Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.

• Can deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling in an area where the language is spoken.

• Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.

• Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

PAPER TOTAL MARKS

PASS MARK

reading comprehension 20 10

listening comprehension 20 10

written expression / interaction (writing)

oral expression / interaction (speaking)

SPEAKING25 %

LISTENING25 %

WRITING25 %

READING25 %

RESULT

EEOOII- official documents

» information for candidates (2015)» ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

sample tests / past papers

» past papers (1)(Aragón) » past papers (2)(Aragón) » compilation of sample tests and past tests (whole of

Spain)

PET (Preliminary English Test)

further training resources for PET

»http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams/preliminary/preparation/ »http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/learning-english/

activities-for-learners/?rows=12 (actividades todas destrezas, todos niveles) »http://www.examenglish.com/PET/index.html »http://www.flo-joe.com/preliminaryenglish/index.htm

ACLES B1

» CULM Unizar, CUID UNED… » MOOC- Cómo preparar un examen B1 inglés » Descripción examen UNED » Modelo de examen inglés B1: sin soluciones; con soluciones.

ISE I (TRINITY )

3. READING COMPREHENSION

• Reading: – To understand – get information – To improve writing / speaking – For fun

• making notes, underlining, highlighting>>>> incorporating expressions into your vocabulary

• Types of texts: – news – literary – pedagogical

READING COMPREHENSION- MULTIPLE CHOICE

• Highlight/ underline / circle the fragment where the answer may be found

• Be sure you really understand • all 4 options: only one of them is the best. • the question (beware of negatives, opposites…)

• http://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html • http://www.guardian.co.uk/ • http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/

• http://www.newsenglishlessons.com/ (B1) • http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ (B1) • http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/news-report • http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/lingohack

Pedagogical texts

• http://www.gcflearnfree.org/reading/readingcomprehension • http://www.eslfast.com/ • http://www.5minuteenglish.com/reading.htm • http://www.world-english.org/english_reading.htm

Literary texts

• http://www.world-english.org/stories.htm (Classic short stories) • Roald Dahl: Lamb to the Slaughter / The Landlady

4. LISTENING COMPREHENSION

» read the questions before the first listen (you’ll be given time)

» don’t try to understand every single word- just the information you really need.

» careful with multiple choice questions (slight differences) » beware if the answer contains the exact same word you

Podcasts

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts

• http://learningenglish.voanews.com/podcast/0.html

BBC PODCASTS (A2-B1) http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/bbc-podcasts/

• The English We Speak • 6-minute English • 6-minute Grammar • 6-minute Vocabulary

BRAIN OF BRITAIN (QUIZ)

sample questions

other podcasts

» Vaughan radio

Digital radio

• Phone-ins • News bulletins

• http://www.cnn.es/studentnews/ (transcribed and subtitled)

• http://www.bbc.com/news/video_and_audio/international • http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/ (BBC news for children / teenagers- easier to

understand) • http://www.newsinlevels.com/ (Euronews,transcription) • http://www.englishblog.com/ (words that appear on the media, updated almost daily) • http://www.reuters.com/news/video/reuters-tv (transcription)

Watch TV online

• http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/ver-programas-tv-otros-paises-por-internet/

Real videos subtitled in English

• Musixmatch • http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2014/10/23/musixmatch-lyrics-player/

• http://musicenglish.co.uk/ • http://www.lyricstraining.com/ • http://www.lyricsgaps.com/ • http://www.its-teachers.com/interact/songs/default.asp

• http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/peliculas-para-aprender-ingles/

• http://www.yourlocalcinema.com/ (trailers subtitled in English for people with hearing loss)

• http://www.simpleenglishvideos.com/ • http://cinema.clubefl.gr/ • http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/eslvideo/index.html • http://www.multimedia-english.com/contenidos/listado/videos • http://dvd-subtitles.com/trailers.html

TV shows

• http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/series-para-aprender-ingles/

• Watch TV shows (online; free; English subtitles): http://ororo.tv/en

TED TALKS

» http://lingorank.com/talks/ (TED talks by level) » Must-see TED talks for kids » Talks by brilliant kids and teens

listening comprehension exercises

• http://www.listenaminute.com/ • http://www.listen-and-write.com/ • http://www.examenglish.com/index.html

5. WRITING

DOs AND DON’Ts

Don’t just answer the question show off!

Don’t think about what you want to say in Spanish (the exact sentence) and then translate

•What can I say in English? •What ideas do I want to express?

Tips for writing

• There’s no need to give your true opinion about a topic>>> show your strategies, and your level of English

• Draft- plan your writing (structure, guide your text towards where you want it to go)

Tips for writing

• Simpler sentences than in Spanish (less subordination) • Use commas, colons, stops, full stops… • Group ideas in paragraphs • Coherence inside the paragraph/between paragraphs • Use links properly • Proper use of grammar and vocabulary • Self-correction / external correction

Dictionary: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

• English-Spanish / English-English • British / American / Learner’s / Advanced… • Phonetics/ pronunciation • Take the meaning / word you need (not necessarily the first one)

LANGUAGE EXCHANGEver también: http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/para-profesores-en-apuros/

6. SPEAKING

• Record yourself speaking

• Think in English/ talk to yourself in English

• Speaking groups (people learning)

Language exchange with native speakers

• Skype, e-mails, chats…

– http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/ (voice and text Exchange) – http://www.conversationexchange.com/ (live practice,

pen-pals and voice / text chats) – http://www.sharedtalk.com/ (voice / text exchanges) –Other websites: http://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/

your-top-10-language-exchange-websites-for-speaking-english-fluently/

http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/

PRONUNCIATION

• Wrong pronunciation can hinder understanding

• http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ • http://www.forvo.com/ (native speakers have recorded themselves

pronuncing words, names, place names…)

Tips for the exam

• = writing- use expressions that will make you “look good” (show your level)

• Monologue: use of discourse markers (now then, I mean, you know…).

• Interaction: it’s not 2 monologues, one after another!

Expressions to use in an oral test

• https://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/expressions-to-use-in-a-speaking-test-monologue-interaction/

• http://mythatsenglish.blogspot.com.es/2014/11/madrid-teacher-talking-about-classifieds.html

• https://natalialzam.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/fillers-para-examenes-orales-de-ingles/

Interaction

• question tags, to engage the other speaker in the conversation / give the floor / ask opinion

• Expressions such as don’t you think? • Expresssions such as no, not really (instead of a plain “no”) • Showing agreement: definitely, absolutely… • Showing disagreement: I’m sorry to disagree but… • Show that you agree partly, but still…: I see your point,

but…

• Usual topics: http://englishinguiaintermedio.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/topics-for-the-speaking-test/

• interaction practice: http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/projects/examreform/Pages/ST_InduvidLT.html

• individual long turn practice: • http://iteslj.org/questions/ • http://www.esldiscussions.com/

7. VOCABULARY

Natalia López Zamarvide CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

• Supports production • Active & passive vocabulary • Vocabulary in context: lists without a context, not very useful • Sources: texts, articles, films, series, radio, songs …

• Writing down expressions / jotting them down (notebook, Evernote…)

• Flashcards: http://quizlet.com/ • Mind maps: – https://bubbl.us/ https:/ – /www.text2mindmap.com/ – http://popplet.com/

• Visual dictionary: http://visual.merriam-webster.com/index.php • How many words do you know?: http://testyourvocab.com/

http://visuwords.com/

Expressions in context

• http://fraze.it/: find expressions, set phrases, in real contexts

• Oxford Online Collocation Dictionary

8. GRAMMAR

Support for skills

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/6min_gram (BBC 6-minute grammar, podcast)

• http://www.agendaweb.org/ • http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/ • http://www.roadtogrammar.com/welcome/winload.swf • http://autoenglish.org/basicgrammar.htm • Use of English : http://www.flo-joe.com/preliminaryenglish/index.htm

• http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/apps/learnenglish-grammar-uk-edition

• https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/murphys-english-grammar-in/id848215354?mt=8

Resources organized by categories

• https://delicious.com/natalialzam/

9. DON’T BE A TOURIST

Natalia López Zamarvide CIFE Juan de Lanuza (Zaragoza)

• “solo se aprende el idioma yendo al país”

LISTENING & SPEAKING

• Greeters:

• http://www.globalgreeternetwork.info/ • http://www.londongreeters.org/

• Google the name of the town / city you’re going to visit + greeter, for example, “Canterbury Greeters”.

http://watchinenglish.blogspot.com.es/2013/10/the-story-of-keep-calm-and-carry-on.html

http://natalialzam.wordpress.com/ natalialzam@gmail.com

Natalia López Zamarvide Asesora C. lingüística

CIFE “Juan de Lanuza”

B1 English- tips

Education

Transcript of B1 English- tips

English intro B1 intensive Feb 2013

Cambridge English Empower B1 Unit 7

English b1+

Real English B1 Extra Material Booklet

Pharsal Verbs english B1+

English B1 - DSH

Writing tips for CALC B1

English unlimited b1

Preliminary English Examination ( CEFR B1 )

Telc English b1 Modelltest 1 01

English unlocked! • intermediate b1

Business English B1-B2 - HelionTitle Business English B1-B2 Created Date 1/3/2016 8:17:10 PM

Telc english B1

Destination B1 - Learn English

Cambridge Academic English - B1.I.S.B.a.I.S.C.f.eap

ET B1 T 2005 English

Progress test answers - English Unlimited b1

Laser B1 Laser B1 - Hueber B1 Companion English–German Laser B1 Laser B1 A modern, fun and exciting intermediate course specifically designed for teenagers. Laser B1 provides thorough

English test B1

Blog english b1+