Friday, March 28, 2014

Speaking part 2


The video below shows two candidates going through part 2 of the Speaking paper.
As you watch the video, pay attention to how the interlocutor interacts with the candidates, and how the candidates manage the task they have to perform.
Think about how you would have carried out this part.  Would you have done the same?  What other things could you have said? etc.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Reading, part 3 - Multiple choice

The first part of the CAE exam is concerned with Reading.  There are four parts in Paper 1 (the Reading paper).  Part 3 presents a text followed by some multiple choice questions. 
The activity below may give you some practice with this part.


Use of English - part 2

In Paper 3, part 2 of the CAE exam you must complete a text using only ONE word in each empty space. There aren't any given options because the missing words are function words or structural words. This means that the words you need to use are the only possibility so that the sentences are grammatically correct, or lexically correct. 
For example, in the following sentence, how many possibilities can you use to fill in the space? 

They ought ___ finish this on time. 
As you can see, the only word that fits is TO

 You can practise this part of the exam with the following activity.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Use of English - Paper 3, part 1

If you need some help with Paper 3, part 1 of the CAE exam, you can practise with the following activity:

Speaking - Part 1

In the speaking part of the CAE exam, candidates are tested in pairs or, in some cases, in groups of three.  This is to test the ability of the candidates to interact fluently in a conversation with other people.
In this post there is a sample video of part 1 of the Speaking paper of CAE.  Watch the video to get an idea of what is expected of candidates taking this exam.

Reading - missing paragraphs - The Zimmers

We are used to seeing young musicians playing in rock bands. But, do rock musicians necessarily have to be young?. Read the text below and insert the missing paragraphs back into the main text, and learn about The Zimmers.


Reading - missing paragraphs - A swimming challenge

Another text to practise this area of the exam.  If you are not planning to sit for this exam, you may also find this activity interesting to practise reading comprehension.

Reading - missing paragraphs

This is another reading passage to practise this part of the exam.
Read the whole text first to have a general idea of its content.  Then pay attention to the last sentence before a gap and to the first sentence after a gap, and try to establish a connection with the missing paragraphs at the bottom of the text.  Remember that a text is a unit and that every paragraph has a connection with both, the previous and the following one.