FCE practice - reposted

Hey everyone!

Thought I'd repost some of the FCE practice tests. Here are a few for now, the first 3 are good for practice listening tests. The rest are a mix of listening, reading and use of English. I'll do some research later to see if I can find any more good sites. Good luck studying!

• http://dictionaries.sourceforge.net/index.php/fce (listening, reading, use of english)

• http://englishtests.ucoz.com/index/0-21

                -  Scroll down to "Practice Listening 1" or "Practice Listening 2"
                -  Click whichever part you want to practice.

                -  At the top of the page, there is a small player,  press play and the questions are below
                - You can also access Use of English and Reading sections of the test at the right hand      of the screen.

• http://www.britishcouncil.org/professionals-exams-fce-listening-1.htm   click on the listening section you want to practice - a new browser window will open 

• http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/index.php - look at the LEFT SIDE - select a section you want to practice

• http://www.tinyteflteacher.co.uk/learning-english/FCE/practice-make-do.html 

• http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/tests/index.htm - lots of Use of English / Reading practice

• http://www.oxfordenglishtesting.com/browse_tests.aspx?userType=1&menuId=2   (try the samples on the right hand side)

•  http://exams.richmondelt.com/index.php?practice_tests_fce_en (slow to load but gives you two FCE practice test choices)
• http://quizlet.com/9512077/fce-adjectives-flash-cards/ (practice adjectives)

Dec. 19

Remember today's homework. Think of a place in your city and 3 reasons why it is memorable. Think of using this template:

_______________ is memorable for me beacuse:
 place
                    1)
                    2)
                    3)

Also remember to complete page 130 exercise 6 in the articles booklet.

December 17

Hey everyone!

Just a reminder of tonight's homework.

Page 116 / 117 - B and C - read through the short paragraphs then complete C by choosing the synonyms for the new vocabulary words.

Make sure the article you choose has an opinion and you must respond to that opinion. Do you agree or disagree? Do you partially agree or disagree?

Try to complete two opinion paragraphs for your letter to the editor for tomorrow morning. You had some time to work on it today so if you finished your letter in class - don't worry about it, just edit what you have and bring your letter to class tomorrow!

Thanks for your hard work :)

Website List

Here's a list of websites that you might find helpful when you're studying. Let me know if there are any other websites that you use and I will add them to the list! Every website has its strengths and weaknesses, so find one that suits you. Just check out one or two at a time - don't try to look at all of them at once!


Listening Focus
http://www.eslvideo.com/index.php
http://esl-lab.com/
http://www.englishcentral.com/videos#!/index?act=browse
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/
http://a4esl.org/podcasts/
www.listen-and-write.com (More Intermediate)
http://www.history.com/speeches
http://www.elllo.org/


Grammar Focus
http://www.englishgrammar.org/
http://www.nonstopenglish.com/
http://www.tinyteflteacher.co.uk/learning-english/fce.html
http://funeasyenglish.com/ ( Speaking / Listening)

Reading / Vocabulary Focus
http://www.vocabsushi.com/
http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/menu.htm (Intermediate)
http://www.script-o-rama.com/trans.shtml
http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/archives.html (You can also download files to listen)


General
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/ar/
http://www.learnenglish.de/
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/ (listening / reading)
http://www.npr.org/ (listening / reading)

Test Practice - FCE

Hey everyone!

Here are some practice websites for the FCE test.

For those of you interested mostly in practice listening, this website is fairly easy to use.

http://englishtests.ucoz.com/index/0-21

    -  Scroll down to "Practice Listening 1" or "Practice Listening 2"

    -  Click whichever part you want to practice.

    -  At the top of the page, there is a small player,  press play and the questions are below
    - You can also access Use of English and Reading sections of the test at the right hand of the     screen.


http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/tests/index.htm - lots of Use of English / Reading practice

http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/index.php - look at the LEFT SIDE - select a section you want to practice

http://www.oxfordenglishtesting.com/browse_tests.aspx?userType=1&menuId=2   (try the samples on the right hand side)

 http://exams.richmondelt.com/index.php?practice_tests_fce_en (slow to load but gives you two FCE practice test choices)

http://www.britishcouncil.org/professionals-exams-fce-listening-1.htm   click on the listening section you want to practice - a new browser window will open

Weekend Homework

Hey everyone,

Just a reminder that the weekend's homework is Unit 8 Grammar - read the rules for transitive / intransitive phrasal verbs in your student book page 93 - C, D, E. Also, complete Unit 8 Grammar (Phrasal Verbs) in your workbook. I believe it's page 45 but I don't have it with  me to be sure.

If you're interested in doing some extra studying have a look at ESLVideo.com


Have a great weekend!

Compare / Contrast and Cause / Effect Essay

Hi everyone!

Here is the essay we worked on in class today.

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Intro: 2- 4 sentences

-Broad Explanations

-Thesis Statement

Body Paragraphs

- Topic Sentence

- Cause (What are the personality traits of you and your partner? Are they similar or are they different?)

- Effect (How do the personality traits affect your partner’s relationships with others? How do your personality traits affect your relationships with others?)

- Concluding sentence

Conclusion: 3-5 sentences

-Thesis statement

-Summary of personality traits

-Summary of affect on relationships

           

          Rachel and I are sisters who have lived together for the majority of our lives. As a result, we have many similarities. However, our personalities can also be quite different. These personality traits have influenced our relationships with other people in different ways.

            First of all, Rachel has a very outgoing and spontaneous personality, whereas I am mostly timid and conscientious. Rachel’s adventurous and tries new things, she does things without thinking and nothing seems to get in her way. I am always nervous about trying new things and I don’t like change, in fact, meeting new people gives me anxiety; I dislike interacting with people in unfamiliar situations. These traits have led Rachel and I to have very different relationships with people. Rachel has a huge group of friends that is continuously expanding and I have a smaller more intimate group of friends.

            Second, Rachel is very witty and garrulous, I, on the other hand, am very reserved; a much better listener than speaker! I spending time with friends and I often listen to their stories and give advice. I rarely attend big parties, whereas, Rachel is the life of the party; she is always the center of attention. Rachel's personality traits have molded her into a very optimistic person and as a result, she has a very positive influence on other people, she makes people laugh and have a great time so people love to be around her. Being reserved and a great listener have a completely different affect on my relationships.  I am much more comfortable in one - on - one situations; it is hard for me to get a word in when I am with groups of people because people see me as more of a listener. One downside of being a good listener is that people love complaining to me about their problems. Consequently, many come to talk to me only to complain, so it’s not always a great experience for me. I sometimes envy Rachel's spontaneous and care-free personality because she makes so many positive connections with people.

            Rachel and I have many similarities and differences, which influence our relationships. Rachel is outgoing, spontaneous, witty and garrulous, and in contrast, I am timid, conscientious, reserved and a great listener. As a result of these characteristics, Rachel has many positive relationships. Nothing fazes her because she’s always laughing and having a good time with her friends. I have very intimate relationships with friends which are very important to me but sometimes these relationships become difficult because people sometimes only talk to me about their problems and I never get the opportunity to speak, which can make our relationships one-sided.

Hi everyone,

Today's homework is page 39 in your workbook, exercises A, B and C (page 39 should be Unit 7 Grammar: passive voice, so make sure this is what you're doing!).

Just a reminder that because of the holidays:

Test 1:  December 12 from 9am to 2pm
Test 2: December 20th from 12:30-2 and December 21 from 9-12


You still have class on December 20 before the test (9am-12pm) and December 21 after the test (12:30-2).

You also have class December 26, 27 and December 28 is final Friday.

See you tomorrow!

Welcome!

Hello everyone, welcome to our blog!


Here are the notes from today's class about the piano man. We will continue working on this tomorrow during class. It is not homework. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you think happened to the piano man? What caused his lapse in memory? Write 5-7 sentences answering the question using at least 3 passive sentences.

Passive voice

When something happens to the subject

Form of passive voice

Subject + to be + past participle

Examples

He was brought into the hospital.

He was brought in by police.

He was found wandering the beach.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't forget to pick up your textbook today so that you can do your homework. The homework is page 38 (unit 7) exercises A and B.

See you tomorrow!

Hi everyone,

Here is the link to the video we watched in class:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmmZR6erBFY

Enjoy your afternoon!

Want to improve your vocabulary?

Like "Vocabulary.com" on Facebook to receive their word of the day. Also,  check out their website and try their vocabulary quizzes.

http://www.vocabulary.com/

FCE Online Practice Tests

Want to do some FCE practice online?

Check out these websites

1) http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/tests/index.htm

2) http://www.examenglish.com/

3) http://www.oxfordenglishtesting.com/browse_tests.aspx?userType=1&menuId=2   (try the samples on the right hand side)

4) http://exams.richmondelt.com/index.php?practice_tests_fce_en (slow to load but gives you two FCE practice test choices)

Hello everyone,

I hope your evening is going well.  Just a reminder if you want answers to the homework tonight so that you can rest easy and dilly dally into school tomorrow, you can e-mail me and I will respond later this evening. Just indicate which practise test you have by the unit number at the top of the page.


Here is another article by Grammar Girl. I appreciate her humour in the first paragraph!
Do you know any words that can be two words or one? Here are some examples. Do you know the difference?

a while   awhile
a lot       allot
a hold    ahold
a part     apart

Check out the explanations on the website below:

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/one-word-or-two.aspx

November 24

On Friday you received two FCE practice tests for homework. If you were absent, you can come a few minutes early to collect the homework and start it if you'd like.

On Monday, we will continue presentations so please come prepared.

Check out Grammar Girl's blog. There are a lot of great tips that cover several confusing grammatical topics, such as beginning sentences with "there is".

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/starting-a-sentence-with-there-is.aspx


Have a wonderful weekend!

Contemporary Issues Assignment

Below is the contemporary issues assignment (Please note that in the copying / pasting process, the format was changed). Tonight your homework is to complete the rough drafts for questions 1-3. You will have some time in class on Wednesday and Thursday to work on this assignment.

Contemporary Issues

Presentation

Work individually or with a partner. Choose an issue that interests you and complete research on the issue to present to your class in a five-minute presentation.

You may choose any issue that is approved by your teacher, to help you brainstorm issues, here are some examples: poverty, obesity, environment, global warming, pollution, water shortages, water pollution, education, bullying, healthcare, food shortages, globalization, etc..

Consider the following questions to help you organize and develop a thorough presentation:

·      What is the issue?

·      Is it a prominent issue in a specific country or a global issue?

·      What is the history of this issue? Has it been an issue in the past or is it relatively new?

·      What’s currently happening with this issue right now?

·      Does this issue have a lot of support from the public? What kinds of people support this issue?

·      Why is it an important issue?

·      Why is it a problem?

·      What can people do to help prevent this from becoming a larger issue?

·      What will happen if people don’t do anything about this issue?

·      What are your predictions regarding this issue for the future?

Checklist

I…

·      Chose an issue that interests me                                                       ____

·      Explain the issue                                                                                  ____

·      Determine its prominence in the world                                             ____

·      Explain the history of the issue                                                               ____

·      Explain recent events with this issue                                                      ____

·      Explain the issue’s support                                                               ____

·      Explain its importance                                                                        ____

·      Explain why it’s a problem                                                               ____

·      Preventative measures (what can people do to prevent the issue from becoming worse?)                                                                                 ____

·      Explain the consequences of this issue                                             ____

·      Voice predictions about this issue                                                      ____

Research Notes	Resource (book, website, magazine,)

1.    What is the issue? Explain the issue. Why did you choose it?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

2.    Is it a prominent issue in a specific country or a global issue? List the countries this issue is most common in.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

3.    What is the history of this issue? Has it been an issue in the past or is it relatively new?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.    What’s currently happening with this issue right now?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.    Does this issue have a lot of support from the public? What kinds of people support this issue?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6.    Why is it an important issue?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7.    Why is it a problem?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8.    What can people do to help prevent this from becoming a larger issue?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9.    What will happen if people don’t do anything about this issue?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10.What are your predictions regarding this issue for the future?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Welcome!

Welcome to our class' new blog! Here you will find information about classwork and homework. You will also find tips and websites that will help you improve your English. If you have a G-mail account you can add comments to any of the posts and provide your classmates with your own tips and websites as well.