Cambridge Assessment: Resources for teachers
Area
Second language learning
Duration
20min
Dimension of the advised group of students
Please indicate the number of people with which the activity should be carried out
Specific objectives
-enhance students’ motivation to study
-practice understanding implied meaning
- understand the general idea
-enhance listening skills
Needed Materials
Computer &internet connection
Software
To interact online with students use:
-online communication platform, such us: zoom, google meets, etc
-tools to deliver the training and working in groups: mentimenter, jamboard, slido, kahoot, etc.
Description
Cambridge Assessment: Resources for teachers are designed to help teachers of English develop their students’ language skills and to make learning enjoyable and motivating for students. There is a wide range of downloadable resources and videoclips (free lesson plans, handbooks, vocabulary lists and sample papers for all Cambridge exams) meant to help teachers prepare students for Cambridge English Qualifications and general English. There are also speaking test example videos that teachers can show students to familiarise them with the tests. The English learning can help teachers teach online by offering free digital resources. The activities are organized according to the skill they focus on, levels (basic, independent & proficient) and time.
The site could be used with students at risk of demotivation because the online interactive activities can be chosen according to students’ language level and their topics and formats are attractive and interesting to students. The tool can be used and applied in both a fully virtual/at distance teaching context and a blended learning one.
Procedure on how to put in practice
Duration: 20 min
No of Participants: 10-50
Methods used: discussion, listening
Step-by-step description:
1. The teacher tells students they’ll hear a series of voicemail messages and get the main topic of each message. The teacher elicits from students how they do the task to make sure students understand what they have to do in the exam task (the first time & the second time they listen) and how to avoid silly mistakes.
2. The teacher goes through the stages of the listening task & the strategies: students read the the instructions with the requirements of the task and concentrate on the key words. Then the teacher teaches them how to prepare for a specific question, to underline or highlight key words, to read multiple-choice options carefully and to be aware of distractors designed to make them really listen and think.
3. Students listen and have to do a task (true/false; completion): get
the general idea in the voicemail messages.
4. Students listen the second time (they listen, read and check their answers).
5. Class discussion on the way they did they task with a focus on distractors.
Debriefing question: What is the advice you would give teenagers to improve their English skills?
