FCE part 3: some expressions

good luck !!

Time Fillers

some techniques to deal with speaking tests

	Technique	Explanation and examples
	Repeat the question	You can buy yourself time to think by repeating the examiner's question. Examiner: What different types of food do people eat in your country? Candidate: Okay, so you would like to know what kinds of food people eat in my country. Examiner: How does television influence children? Candidate: Hmm...how does television influence children? Well....
	Express a lack ol opinion	If you are asked for your opinion on something, you can begin your answer by expressing a lack of opinion. Examiner: What does success mean to you? Candidate: Hmm. I haven't really thought about that...
	Use conversation fillers	Conversation fillers are simple words and phrases like hmm: umm. well, let's see. difficult question, interesting question, basically rlmm...difficult question. Well, basically 1 think that sport can help us to live a much healthier lifestyle.
	Combine techniques	If you need a lot of time, consider combining several approaches. Examiner: What different types of food do people eat in your country? Candidate: Hmm...so you would like to know what kinds of food people eat in my country. Hmm...interesting question. Can I think about it for a moment? Well, I guess our traditional cuisine is still popular.

Kirsten Dunst Selfie Short Film Called Aspirational

what happens if you meet a celebrity and there is no photographic evidence?

what's more important, to enjoy the experience or to share it with your followers?

A video about the absurdity of selfies

How to accept or refuse an offer

A classic

Discussion   Topics                 

        This is not new, I know; but I simply love this type of activities. They are very enjoyable and allow students to assume a position and defend it till the end, even if they don't agree with it! You can adapt them to suit different needs. I usually use these type of activities with a group of FCE students. 

Choose somo interesting topics and decide on the time you'll set for the discussion. Sometimes I choose less topics and I tell my students that they belong to different political parties and that they have to defend their arguments on a tv show. I give them some minutes to think of ideas and we start.

we set the scene,  I have them speaking, motivated and thinking of logical arguments; and they enjoy a lot !

here are some discussion topics but if you google them, you´ll find longer lists !

• Women are less intelligent than men.   vs   Men are less intelligent than women.

• Men gossip more than women.     vs         Women gossip more than men.

• Friendship is the most important relationship in life.     vs       Family is the most important relationship in life.

•  Doing a job that you like is more important than earning more money.       vs     Earning money is more important than doing a job that you like.

•  Team work is more useful and works well.       vs     Individual work is more useful and works well.
• Camping holiday is more exciting.            vs         Staying at a hotel is more exciting.  

• Oral examination      vs     Written examination

• Living in a large city    vs     living in a small town

• Giving money to beggars is stupid.      vs    Giving money to beggars is a good way to help them.

• You cannot have a happy family life and a successful career at the same time.          vs Having a happy family and a successful career at the same time are possible.

•  Being a student in Single-sex school          vs    Being a student in Mixed-sex schools

• Arranged marriage      vs      Love marriage

• A woman’s place is her home.      vs      A woman should both work and take care of her home at the same time.

• Video games make kids violent.      vs    Kids can learn a lot from video games.

• First impression of a person is quite important.    vs  We should not judge a person with his/her first impression.

 

Some ideas to generate interest when teaching English

 

1. Base a lesson on a topic that is very relevant. To do this, you need to know your students' interests and preferences; of course, this is easier in small groups but not impossible in large classes.   

2. Try to choose a topic which the students are likely to have strong opinions. Controversial topics are great to trigger conversation ( just careful when choosing one, students' ages are very important !!)

 3. If we show interest in what our students say, their opinions and ideas, they will be more likely to be interested in the lesson. 

4. Try to choose topics of which the students already have some knowledge. Letting them explain things to us (be the teacher for a while) is profitable for both parts ! 

5. sometimes, letting  them know in advance what the topic will be raises expectations and helps us motivate them for future classes. furthermore, they may have interesting items of their own to bring to class

6. Bring something into the classroom to create interest. This could be a picture, a musical instrument, a movie, a collection of things, or even an interesting person. 

.

How to approach part 2 of FCE

For my FCE students, the presentation we discussed in class

here it goes

Fce speaking 2 from Ceci Sosa