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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.