Category: Exam Preparation Class

Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class, Phrase of the Day, Proficiency

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #18: Come to terms with

Posted on by Tim Warre
Photo by dabatepatfotos: https://www.pexels.com/photo/empty-nest-on-tree-7581966/

Today’s phrase is…

to come to terms with

Introduce it by showing your students the photo on the left. Have them discuss the meaning in pairs. Lead them towards the idea of the empty nest as the family home once all the children have moved out. Ask them to discuss how parents tend to feel when they become “empty nesters”, then show them the sentence below:

It can be difficult for parents to come to terms with being empty nesters.

It can be difficult for parents to come to terms with the fact that their children are independent adults who can fend for themselves (mostly).

Lead them to the meaning of the expression: to accept a new and painful event or situation.

Put students in pairs and have them discuss the following questions:

How would you describe the process of accepting/adapting to the following important changes in life and how long do you think the process takes?

  1. The death of a family pet
  2. Breaking up with your childhood sweetheart
  3. A romantic partner cheating on you
  4. Your child becoming a teenager
  5. Your football team being relegated
  6. Retirement from a job you loved

What unique challenges does each situation involve?

Posted in Exam Preparation Class, Proficiency, Writing Classes

C2 Proficiency: Report on a Training Course

Posted on by Tim Warre
Photo by Katerina Holmes: https://www.pexels.com/photo/anonymous-black-female-tutor-with-books-standing-near-whiteboard-at-school-5905489/

This is a worksheet to help C2 proficiency students practise writing formal reports in preparation for part 2 of the writing paper. Students will brainstorm ideas to complete the task then complete some exercises to help them include advanced grammar and relevant vocabulary. Download the handout and key below:

C2-Report-Training-Course-1Download
C2-Report-Training-Course.docxDownload
KEY-C2-Report-Training-CourseDownload
KEY-C2-Report-Training-Course.docxDownload

Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class, Phrase of the Day, Proficiency, Vocabulary Classes

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #17: Be nothing short of

Posted on by Tim Warre
Photo by James Wheeler: https://www.pexels.com/photo/lake-and-mountain-417074/

Today’s phrase is….

Be nothing short of

Introduce it with some examples:

The view from the boat was nothing short of spectacular.

It’s nothing short of miraculous that no one was hurt in the crash.

The desserts were nothing short of fantastic.

The way he treated you was nothing short of abuse.

The dinner party was nothing short of a disaster.

Lead students to the meaning and use: it’s typically used to emphasise a situation or quality, mostly followed by extreme adjectives, however, it can also be followed by some nouns, like the final two examples above.

You can check for more examples by using Skell, the free version of Sketch Engine.

Put students in pairs or small groups and have them discuss these questions, encourage them to use the expression:

  1. What’s the most beautiful view you’ve ever seen?
  2. Describe the best meal you’ve ever eaten.
  3. Have you ever been to a particularly disastrous party or meeting?
  4. Have you ever narrowly avoided having an accident?

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.

Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class, Grammar Classes, Proficiency

C1/C2: Advanced Conditionals Revision

Posted on by Tim Warre

While correcting a mock exam with my C2 group, it came to my attention that they needed a refresher on advanced conditionals. Things like inverted conditionals and also alternatives conditional phrases such as “on condition that”, “supposing…?” and “provided that”. So I put together a little PowerPoint as a refresher. It’s not the most inspired of formats, but I dotted in a few fun speaking activities along the way. Download the PowerPoint below:

Advanced-Conditionals-RevisionDownload

You’ll need to prep by coming up with 3 sentences, one with each inverted conditional, here are my examples:

  1. Should I have time tonight, I’ll watch another episode of Ted Lasso. (inverted 1st conditional)
  2. Were I to win the lottery, I’d quit my job. (inverted 2nd conditional)
  3. Had I been born in the 1400s, I would have been an explorer. (inverted 3rd conditional)

The three sentences should be a mixture of true or false bits of information about you.

Read the sentences to your class one by one, students should take no notes, just listen. They should then debate with their partner whether or not the sentence is true. Reveal the truth, then move onto the next sentence.

Once you’ve finished, show the first slide of the PowerPoint (you’ll need to edit the first few slides so that they show your 3 sentences, or just do it on the board). Students have the basic information from the 3 sentences, but none of the grammar, they have to work together to recall what you said. Maybe they’ll remember the “basic” conditional structures (if….), or perhaps the sharper students will remember some of the inverted forms.

Once you’ve revealed and discussed the different forms, lead students through the rest of the PowerPoint, they will get more complete revision of each inverted conditional plus all the other alternative forms already mentioned.

I’m interested to see what hypothetical questions your students come up with for the “suppose”/”supposing” section, let me know in the comments!

Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class, Phrase of the Day, Proficiency, Vocabulary Classes

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #16: To keep someone waiting

Posted on by Tim Warre

Today’s phrase is…

To keep someone waiting

Introduce the expression with some examples:

The hotel staff kept us waiting for the best part of four hours before our room was ready.

Keeping your date waiting for you to arrive is not a good look.

The expression means “to make someone wait”. There’s also a bonus expression today: “for the best part of an hour/a day/etc.”, which means “almost an hour/a day/etc.

Put students in pairs or small groups and have them answer these questions:

  1. How punctual are you in general?
  2. Do you have any friends/relatives who are always late?
  3. How do you feel when you have to wait around for someone?
  4. What’s the longest you’ve had to wait for a friend/relative to arrive?
  5. What’s the longest you’ve kept someone else waiting?

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.

Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class, Phrase of the Day, Proficiency, Vocabulary Classes

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #15: Go halves on

Posted on by Tim Warre

Today’s phrase is….

to go halves on something

Introduce it with an example:

On a first date you should always go halves on the bill when it arrives. Do you agree?

The expression means to split/divide the cost of something between two people.

Put students in pairs or small groups and have them discuss these questions:

  1. What’s your opinion of dating etiquette when it comes to paying the bill in a restaurant? How has this etiquette changed over the years?
  2. If you’re sharing a house/flat with a partner, what do you think is the best way to organise the finances? Should the two people’s relative income be taken into account?
  3. When you were a child/teenager and you wanted a particularly expensive item for our birthday/Christmas/another celebration, did you ever split the cost with your parents?

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.

Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class, Phrase of the Day, Proficiency, Vocabulary Classes

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #14: To bite off more than you can chew

Posted on by Tim Warre

Today’s phrase of the day is…

To bite off more than you can chew

Introduce it with some examples:

When I took on that extra part-time job I bit off more than I could chew.

The government bit off more than they could chew when they tried to completely overhaul the tax system.

Lead students to the meaning: to accept too much responsibility and fail to complete a commitment/try to do something that is too hard for you.

Put students in pairs or small groups and have them discuss these questions:

  1. How much do you have on your plate at the moment? Can you handle it? Or have you taken on too much work?
  2. How good are you at predicting how long a piece of work will take?
  3. When it comes to taking on new responsibilities, where is the line between being ambitious and being naïve?
  4. Have you ever accepted a job/project that was too difficult for you? What happened?

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.

Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class, Phrase of the Day, Proficiency

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #13: Bury One’s Head in the Sand

Posted on by Tim Warre

Today’s phrase is…

To bury one’s head in the sand

Introduce the expression to your students with some examples.

When it comes to climate change, most governments are burying their heads in the sand and just going on as normal.

You can’t just bury your head in the sand, your symptoms are bad, you should see a doctor.

The expression means: to avoid or ignore unpleasant facts even though they might have a bad effect on you in the future.

Put students in small groups and have them ask and answer these questions. Encourage them to use the phrase of the day:

  1. Apart from climate change, are there any other major issues that you think governments are refusing to face up to?
  2. How do you normally deal with potentially scary news or information? Do you face up to it? Or try to avoid thinking about it or discussing it?
  3. How do you normally deal with strange symptoms or other health problems? Do you get them checked out? Or ignore them and hope they go away?

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.

Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class, Phrase of the Day, Proficiency, Vocabulary Classes

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #12: To prey on your mind

Posted on by Tim Warre
“Worried bride” by spaceodissey is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Today’s phrase is…

To prey on one’s mind

Introduce it with some examples:

The problem has been preying on my mind for over a week now.

You mustn’t let past failures prey on your mind when making big decisions.

The expression is often used with “let” in imperatives: Don’t let it prey on your mind.

Lead students to the meaning: if a problem is preying on your mind it is worrying you or causing you anxiety.

Have students take part in a little therapy session in pairs or small groups:

  • Is anything bothering you at the moment?
  • Do you have any big deadlines or events looming on the horizon?
  • Do you have any big decisions to make coming up?
  • Do you have any regrets about recent things that have happened that you need to open up about?

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.

Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class, Phrase of the Day, Proficiency

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #11: There’s no telling/knowing

Posted on by Tim Warre

Today’s phrase is….

There’s no telling/knowing….

Introduce it with a few examples:

There’s no telling who’s going to win the next elections.

There’s no knowing how the situation in Ukraine is going to develop.

Lead students to the meaning: “nobody knows/it’s impossible to know”, point out that the expression is typically followed by a question word. Challenge them to work in pairs to complete the sentences below while covering a range of topics:

  • There’s no knowing/telling who…
  • There’s no knowing/telling what…
  • There’s no knowing/telling where…
  • There’s no knowing/telling how long….
  • There’s no knowing/telling how much….
  • There’s no knowing/telling which…
  • There’s no knowing/telling when…

Topics: politics, pop culture (music, films, video games, etc.), school/class/exams, class gossip, celebrity gossip, science and technology, finance and business, etc.

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.