A few ideas for during the break

12 Dec 2013

During the break between classes

There is a break between the last class which ended on 28 November and the next scheduled course starting on 13 February 2014 and so I thought I would blog ideas and things to get you up to speed for the course.

  1. Get the course book and download the CPE Handbook for Teachers and *read them so you are familiar with the language of Cambridge English exams.
  2. If you enjoy reading there is the superb Howards End by E. M. Forster and Nick Hornby’s An Education – both have excellent films so you can watch the films and also read the book or the screenplay.
  3. Visit some useful websites like flo-joe.co.uk which has free daily questions at which you can try your hand. I have never paid them money so have never visited further than the free material which seems helpful. Some students have said it was excellent for a bite-size approach to revision.
  4. Listen to English language radio and podcasts for example:
    • BFBS is the radio service for the British Forces and is currently going through a reorganisation of its website but in Bielefeld, I believe, they are broadcasting two channels. BFBS 2 which broadcasts the Today programme from 07:00 to 10:00 every weekday. This is the premiere news programme listened by politicians and others. This is broadcast in the Bielefeld area.
    • BBC Radio is free to listen on the Internet and especially BBC Radio 4 is the flagship speech channel with a diverse range of programmes some of which are available as podcasts.
    • NPR is regularly threatened by the US Congress with having its funding cut but it continues and provides a great range of programmes in a different style from the BBC. They also provide interesting snippets with a transcript of the conversation.

If you are regularly doing this then it will be an excellent start to your CPE studying.