#I have to do the proficiency c2 exam this year to take

[mike-wheeler-ik-what-you-are]

forget hot girl summer imma bout to have busy girl autumn and stressed girl winter

[thistransient]

Obligatory retrospection 2024

I was going to title it "belated" but I didn't get around to last year's til the latter half of January either, so I suppose it's just tradition now.

Last year my main goal was to finish reading the Chinese translation of 黃金神威 / Golden Kamuy, which I did not do only because I was determined to read the hard copy version and the library wait queue is insane (a check-out period is a full calendar month and man do people really keep their books as long as possible). I did however read all 23 volumes of Dorohedoro in Chinese while waiting, and got up to vol 27 on GK, so I'm okay with it. Other goals listed: consume more protein, have a look for B vitamins the surgeon’s office recommended, learn how to do multi-colour lino printing, and "fingers crossed for minimal missile warnings and no more 曖昧的關係s". I have in fact been very diligent at trying to consume an appropriate amount and distribution of nutrients at regular intervals (while unlearning certain unfortunate food misbeliefs instilled in childhood). I did buy those damned B vitamins, which largely served to turn my pee bright yellow and make me wonder if I'm sensitive to choline cause I would get mysteriously anxious and depressed whenever I took them (eventually I gave up on it). I figure my regular diet probably covers things anyways. I also finally did the lino colour printing (and more printmaking in general). There were no more mistaken missile warnings, and as for the 曖昧的關係 …well, no unreciprocated pining at least.

I got really into making my own pickled daikon (minus the yellow colouring) when, appalled by the grocery store prices, I discovered they only require 5 ingredients and you just keep 'em in the fridge (I don't have a kitchen in my 套房).

At the time of last retrospection writing I was waiting to see if I got into a grad school program, and whether I'd have to take the Mandarin proficiency exam to broaden my opportunities. I did not get into the program! I took the TOCFL and got a 5 out of 6! (6 being C2 level, TOCFL levels are not equivalent to HSK.) I was still a bit too chicken to apply for grad school taught in Chinese, and decided to take some community college art classes instead, which I understand 98% of the time until the teacher asks me a question directly and then my mind goes blank, of course. The more I look into the heinous bureaucratic requirements for foreigners applying directly for any kind of non-English university degree program in Taiwan, the more I consider going elsewhere. But the idea of doing a degree program was in part so I could get student residency in Taiwan… ah, internal strife.

I had a big sort of personal paradigm shift this year, after my now former bff made (I have to generously assume) an offhand drunken comment on my birthday (of all times, wow), which (amongst some other things) slowly but inevitably led to the end of our friendship (or at least we seem to have mutually ghosted each other as of October- unfortunately he still has my spare key which I need to retrieve). In a strange way it was a positive thing in the end, in that it pushed me to the conclusion that I actually like who I am, including my values + perspective on the world. I realised our friendship was based largely on the shared experience of being "Mandarin-learning foreigners in Taiwan", and it feels strange that my circumstance evolving into "foreigner using Mandarin to learn other things in Taiwan" would be a game-changer, but I guess it is (well, there are of course more factors at play, but I feel that was the big one which had always smoothed over the otherwise substantial divide between us). I feel a bit guilty cause he's helped me with a lot over the years, but I'm working on accepting that one doesn't stay indebted to freely given kindness forever, and people (including myself) change and that's okay.

I went to Ladakh this summer, which was my first trip to a totally unfamiliar place post-transition and post-lifting of international covid restrictions. It's different to travel now with a home base I actually want to go back to, and a mindset which is more "curiosity and exploration" than "need to run away to the ends of the earth". For example, now I care significantly more about coming back in one piece. It's nice to be less bothered about being alive in general, re: transition, but the trade-off is being more stressed about gendered bathrooms and airport security. At least one thing never changes: fear of death by feral dog pack consumption.

I didn't do as much text posting this year, for a few reasons- one being that I stopped going to the kink bar when my fave shibari salon started having more events. A lot of good stories came out of that bar, but I also hated the crowd, noise, and had too many unpleasant sub drop experiences in said environment. Second, with more time to consistently take and post photos, more people started following, I was regularly getting more than 0-3 notes per post and suddenly felt increasingly reluctant to write in great detail about my personal life in a city which is smaller than it seems. Not to mention the amount of terfs in the notes on innocent beach photos... The further along I get in transitioning, the more it becomes relevant to my anecdotes, and I never really intended that to be the focus of my writing (not having to worry about how people perceive my physical appearance is/was a main bonus of anonymous internet blogging). And yet I still want to write about stuff! Maybe it's time for a side blog.

I need to come up with some reasonable goals this year (besides the big stuff I scheme about in counselling sessions). Let's say…get more massages. Finally do that bike ride from Fulong 福隆 to the lighthouse (the problem is getting up early enough to go to 福隆). Oh, I really want to get one of those lil ceramic tea pots and learn how to brew the loose leaf tea that was pawned off on me by a friend only to sit in my closet for a year. I'd also like to finish a novel in Chinese I bought two years ago on my ex tutor's recommendation- it was still too difficult to enjoy then and has been lurking ominously in the Unread Book Pile ever since. Last but not least, hang out more with @carrotblr, the tropical maladies can't keep us apart forever...

[ivi-prism]

Wait I wanna know about the duo test thing

Oh hey Harley, sure thing let me yap about this lol. Context. International students looking to study abroad in a country that has English as it's oficial language or at least the dominant language, we have to prove English proficiency. To prove we have English proficiency (meaning we have enough mastery of English to live our day to day live and be able to conduct academic activities in english) different organizations recognized by goverments and other higher education institutions have stablished tests and certificate that if approve certified the student is indeed bilingual and should be allowed to study abroad. Some of such institutions are: TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) a test designed in the United State and for which students have to take courses to prepare for such exam (and pay I assume) IELTS (International English Language Testing System) a test designed by the British Council (UK's cultural and political organization that promotes the english language and culture around the world) for which students also have to take courses and pay a lot to apply to the exam

Both those are the biggest most well regarded exams you can take to certify proficency in English, to the point some high schools and universities will prepare you to take it to measure your english level (yapping continues bellow the read more)

But there are more like the hell that is the International Baccalaureate which is a program that basically lets you see college level classes during high school, that are designed to follow an international and global curriculum that will leave you in equal standing to other students in the global level and if you do well in English class (English class as foreign language) some institutions will accept your diploma and high grades as certification you are indeed bilingual. This context lays out how this testing methods are inaccesible, expensive, take time and are rigoruous and highly prestigious and enforce the ghost of colonialism and the cultural hegemony of the global north over the global south guarding the access to resources and education behind oppresive and expensive systems

So it might come as a surprise that alongside this exams and certificates that hold all that prestige, recognition and years of precedent, Duolingo said "hey we are a good enough resource to teach people English to make a test that will hold as much credibility as those titans!" Enter Duolingo English Test. A Test you can take online just like that if you'd like without having to go through bureocratic bs and for a muuuuuuch more affordable price. An exam that many higher education institutions are accepting as prove of English proficiency just as they would a TOEFL or IELTS. So that is great no? Duolingo English Test has come to democratize the certification of english profecency for international students! It only takes a couple of hours, you will get results in a short notice and you didn't have to spend 1-2 years preparing yourself for it. Right? Well... It is great for people that are alredy proficient in English. Anyone that alredy has a C1, C2 (the two highest levels of mastery of a language) level in English can pay for a Duolingo English Test, present it in an afternoon from their house and get certified in less than a week. Very convenient. But I'd say if you put it in context, if you take not just the Duolingo English test into account but also the institution behind it (Duolingo itself). We have a problem. Duolingo claims it's services are enough to get enough mastery of English to reach a C1/C2 level which you would need to perform and excell in a higher education setting that is conducted solely in your second (or third, fourth,etc) language. And that is simply NOT the case. It is kind of a scam in that regard. Sure you can present the test and get certified, but you most likely would have had to learn English by other methods because Duolingo on itself won't get you there. And I find it so disengenious and annoying that Duolingo got to this stage because of the hype behind their app when its services has been declining for so long. But then well... the entire English profency certification process... is a scam... There are people that have the mastery neccesary to have a sucessful academic career abroad. And they will never be able to access those opportunities because they don't have the money and time to invest into this time consuming, elitist, discriminatory systems.

[ink-fireplace-coffee]

Hi my lovely! I am back again but this time to ramble out my research project that I’m doing for my masters!

The title of my project is investigating immune synapse formation in cytotoxic T cells

Cytotoxic T cells are a type of white blood cell that are involved in killing cells that are infected by viruses or show signs of cancers. They form something called an immune synapse when they find the infected cells - the immune synapse is like a little pocket made between the T cell and the infected cell. The T cell then releases the chemicals it uses for killing into this pocket so it can bind to the infected cell and kill it.

It’s a really cool process and we are looking at a protein on the surface of T cells (called WNK1) and how it helps the T cell stick to other cells because not much is known about WNK1 but some early studies have shown that without it, the T cells are not that good at their job!!

It’s very exciting to be looking at a new and undiscovered part of science and be the first to know what’s going on and I can’t wait to get into the lab and start looking!!!

First I have to write a research proposal and do a presentation of it and I hate presentations 😭😭 but it’s a small price to pay for some lab time I guess. I hope this all made sense 😅

Also you mentioned doing a C1 degree this summer, what does that mean??

Love you ❤️❤️

okay but this sounds so interesting???? and it's so cool that is an undiscovered part of science!!

I read the WNK1 protein as "wink" the first time and it was so funny for no reason

It makes sense that T cells are not as good in their job without the WNK1 cause then they wouldn't be able to stick as good i suppose and it would make it all more complex I guess

Love your explanation of the immune synpase as a little pocket. Sounds really cute ngl😂

And yes! I guess that since you are in an English speaking country it's not as known, but here in Spain it's really important. The C1 or Advanced is a Cambridge level exam made for people who's mother tongue is not english and it grants you a title (in this case ... C1, heh). There are levels from A1 to C2 (C2 being a native title, called proficiency, and from what I've heard it's really difficult to pass that exam)

I got my B2 a few years ago, and I think taking the C1 test will look good in CVs (but also i want to just.... have the title, you know?)

These exams are divided into a writing part (reading comprehension and a part called "use of English" (grammar and vocab use) plus a short writing essay that can be different topics), a listening part (in C1 level you should be able to understand a conversation with noise interference), and a speaking part (usually with other student or the examiner)

It takes almost all day to finish one exam and I used to take them at school, Cambridge examiners came on a Saturday and we spent the whole day waiting for our turn or taking the different tests with short breaks in between.

according to the Cambridge web and British Council these are the skills of people at a C1 level (just so you know the difficult level)

I don't think it's hard but of course I'm always worried of my speaking. My Spanish accent shows and while I don't want exactly to sound as a native English person, I wish I had a cleaner pronunciation

PLEASE DO COME RANT ABOUT YOUR PRESENTATION AND YOUR RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND YOUR INVESTIGATIONS IM REALLY REALLY INTERESTED!!!!

[spanishskulduggery]

Do you have a post on the Spanish proficiency exam by any chance? Or any guidance or resources?

So I don’t know exactly which proficiency exam you mean, but I would assume what you’re looking for is the DELE exam.

I don’t have much experience with it [I was planning on maybe taking it this year but then *gestures vaguely to everything* that all happened], but I believe the DELE exam is probably the most well-known and respected for people who are trying to take it for Spanish as a foreign language

https://albuquerque.cervantes.es/en/diplomas_spanish/model_exam.htm is something I look at very frequently since it goes by the different proficiency levels

The only thing to keep in mind is that it’s the European standard so it goes from A1 to C2, with A1 being the most beginner level and C2 as the most advanced

I wouldn’t really know what guidance to give since I don’t know what level you’d be trying to go for, or if it’s not DELE what kind of proficiency is being measured.

I will say that most exams try to test you on the most irregular things that Spanish has, which includes irregular verb forms, subjunctive mood, things requiring accent marks and esdrújula like compound commands [dímelo and things like that], making sure you know the y and o rules, and preterite vs imperfect

Let me know if there’s something specific you’re looking for and I can point you in the right direction

[selfidiomas]

Buscando uma Certificação CPE?

An overview of the Cambridge Proficiency Exam Ian Boyd.

In my previous post, I reported on the importance of doing Cambridge exams and I specifically mentioned the proficiency exam, this exam is the most advanced level in Cambridge’s repertoire of tests, so in this post, I am going to give an overview of what is contained in the Proficiency test.

The first CPE (Cambridge Proficiency exam) was offered to students in 1913. It lasted 12 hours and only 3 candidates did the test, all of them failed. The qualification was originally for foreign teachers who wished to show satisfactory proof of their knowledge of English with a view to teaching in schools Furthermore, candidates had to be over 20 years to take the test.

Back in 1913, you could only do the test in Cambridge or London. The test included:

1. Translation from English into French or German: 2 hours

2. Translation from French or German into English, and English

Grammar: 2.5 hours

3. English Essay: 2 hours

4. English Literature: 3 hours

5. English Phonetics: 1.5 hours

6. Oral test: dictation (30 minutes); reading aloud and conversation

(30 minutes)

The main influence for the design of the exam was the grammar-

translation teaching approach, which aimed to establish reading

knowledge (rather than the ability to communicate in the language). In

1913, the first requirement for the CPE candidates were to translate

texts. Translation remained prominent in foreign language teaching up

until the 1960s. It was the body of CPE until 1975, and an optional part

until 1989.

Fast forward to-today. Firstly, the exam has a new name, it is no longer

called the CPE. It is now called the C2 Proficiency and is aimed at

learners who have accomplished a high level of skill in the English-

language and who want to show this.

The test is rigours and thorough and tests 4 language skills -reading-

writing-listening-speaking and includes a fifth element focusing on the

candidate’s knowledge of the structure of the language.

Reading and use of English has 7 parts and lasts for 1 hour and 30

minutes during this time candidates must answer 53 questions. You

need to be able to understand a variety of texts and, you are also tested

by tasks that show how well your understanding of grammar and

vocabulary is. The listening part also lasts for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

You have to answer 2 questions. The first question is an essay and you

must write between 240-280 words. In the second part of the writing,

you can choose from a choice of 5 options, however, for this task you

need, to write between 280-320 words. The listening lasts for

approximately 40 minutes and there are 4 parts that require you to

answer 30 questions. Finally, the speaking lasts for 16 minutes. The

speaking is done in pairs but sometimes it can be done in a trio.

The modern version of the test has come along way. Cambridge English

Qualifications are in-depth exams that make learning English enjoyable,

effective and rewarding.

[buylanguagecertificates]

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[depthnessingsweet]

hhey, i was looking for resources/help for the cae exam (i should take mine in september) and i've seen you blogging about it. i was wondering how did it go in the end? do you have some advice for a desperate student who doesn't want to waste their money? :'')

Heeeyyy, first of all, I want to reassure you that it will be alright in the end!!! All of your patience and hard work will pay off!

I mostly owe my success to my tutor who devoted her whole time to every single student in our group. She catered to every single one of us through constantly evaluating our weaknesses and following our progress and achievements.

It's kind of late to recommend this but you should constantly be doing mock up exams!!! There are some great examples on the cae site and a few cae recommend booklets that are sold there as well. You don't need to spend a single coin if you know how to look online, though... there are also sites with a plethora of free mock up, some of them even have a feature to time yourself which you can totally do yourself but it's quite handy sometimes.

If you know where your weak spot is, you should concentrate there. For example, your listening is poor, so dedicate those 40 minutes of your day to do a listening practice! There's a YouTube channel by the name of FCE practice, I think, where they have full mockups with answers in the end.

If you are not preparing with a group, try and find friends who are either good at english or are also preparing for the cae and practice speaking! To me listening to other people speaking was crucial for my development because it enabled me to kind of steal their "advanced" phrases or notice their mistakes and avoid them while speaking.

My experience was quite good, I'd say. The only part i flunked was my writing. I'd always sucked at it but had a significant improvement while I was intensely preparing for the exam the last 2 weeks, but totally lost every ounce of my practice while writing... It's past me now tho. I owe it to the fact that i never did any personal practice through the year, so hopefully you've practiced there. Also, have people review them for you bc otherwise without feedback it's kind of pointless..

If you have any specific questions, you can ask me but as a whole my success was a fruit of a great tutor, friendly and helpful environment as well as constant (and not so constant) practice. I used the national geographic textbooks as well as the express publishing c2 proficiency grammar book, if that helps you somehow. Good luck!!!!! :)

[imlanguages-hk]

All about DALF Exam: Planning, Scheduling and Preparing

Plan and register in advance

  Because the DELF can only be taken four times a year, preparation is essential (unless you want to travel to another country and take it there, of course). So please do your homework and find the test dates beforehand. 

After registering, create a study schedule for DALF TESTS online. Your everyday activities must center on the exam starting this day. Give yourself at least one and a half hours per day to prepare, but bear in mind that this is the absolute minimum. I spent two to three hours a day studying. You have to study a lot because there isn't much connectivity between what is examined in French language exams and what you can actually use French for in daily life. Even if you speak French well, you would still need to study for the DELF B2 exam. Otherwise, you run the danger of failing it, believe it or not. (However, passing the test does not guarantee fluency, "working competency," or whatever you choose to call it. Even if your DELF is perfect, you could find it difficult to order a cup of coffee at Charles de Gaulle Airport.)

  Understand the format of the DELF B2 exam

  Making every effort to comprehend the test itself is the first step in preparing for the DELF B2 exam.

(Different test formats are available for various proficiency levels. The CIEP website can be used to familiarise yourself with the format of the A2, B1, C1, or C2 tests.)

Examining for the B2 lasts up to 3,5 hours. This span of time consists of a 2.5-hour written portion and an hour-long speaking portion. 

The order of the sections on the DELF B2 exam is exact, but you still have considerable discretion over the reading and writing portions. You might decide to do your essay first, followed by all of the readings, for instance. Finally, you have access to the answer sheet for the entire test.

   Understand the grading-passing scheme

  DELF has several unusual standards for evaluation (at least when compared to other language tests, like IELTS).

The entire exam has a total score out of 100. The exam's components are each worth 25 points. You must fulfill two requirements in order to pass DELF B2 and receive your diploma:

receive at least 5 points for each exam section; 

receive at least 50 out of a possible 100 points.

It is, therefore, not a good idea to focus on your best component and use the score to make up for your weaknesses.

Unless it's not.

  Know your weakest point

  Let's revisit my illustration. Any language test's speaking portion is my main source of anxiety, headaches, and general unease. I'll put it this way: I know I'm going to struggle with this section. However, since reading and writing are often my greatest subjects, I don't have any concerns in this area. So you must know about your weak areas. If you don't know, examine and work on them.

What is the most effective preparation method for DELF B2 given these limitations? My strategy looked like this:

Ensure that You receive at least 5 points for speaking (so that I don't entirely flunk the test).

Be sure to achieve the highest reading and writing scores possible (to compensate for the points lost in speaking).

To improve your listening skills, practice.

The DALF French Exam Preparation course is a comprehensive program that covers all four language skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Imlanguages.com provides a complete DALF diploma by French Ministry Course currently accessible.

[shinylitwick94]

The Great Language Status Update

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, hasn’t it? 

I’m very concerned with certificates at the moment. I know they don’t really mean much to us personally and that they don’t say much about our actual language skills, but I do think that having them is better than not having them and it’s very useful for my career to have some proof of my language skills. especially if I eventually choose to leave my country.

Portuguese

Level: Native language. 

I regret ever saying I needed to write more. Now all I do is write all day, every day. I’ve also been reading more in my language, and that’s definitely a good thing.

Goals: Just writing better and speaking with a slightly more polished vocabulary, since the job demands it.

English

Level:C1-C2

I’m actively working towards getting a C2 certificate now. I need to work on my test-taking and some specific grammar issues. I think I can do it. I don’t think I’ll be able to do it perfectly, but I’m pretty confident I can pass. I’m taking the exam in May and if I pass that’s pretty much the end of my english studies. I’ll keep using the language obviously, but I just won’t be making an effort to study it, as it were. I’m not sure I’ve improved at all over the past year tbh, I’m pretty sure I’m at exactly the same level I was before. I do want to work on my legal english, though, especially since it’s going start playing a bigger role in my life and I just don’t know any legal terminology in english.

Goals:Passing the Cambrige English Proficiency Exam; Legal english

German

Level: C1

I’m a little disappointed in my german right now. I know I improved quite a bit last year - actually being in Germany obviously made a huge difference. However, I still haven’t been able to fix my chronic grammar issues and my vocabulary is much weaker than I hoped it would be by this point. My own laziness is largely to blame for this. That and the fact that I just have a really hard time studying german. It’s hard to find materials  that get me to do the grammar practice I need without boring me, because the grammar problems come from so far back that I’d probably need to do a lot of B1 exercises to fix them. And I just can’t find the motivation to do it. I’m trying to read more, and more regularly in German too. I think that’ll probably help me more than anything else at this point. As with English, I’m also working on the legal aspects of the language, since it can be very useful at work.

Goals: Goethe Zertifikat C1; Legal German

French

Levl: B2(!!!)

I took a level test yesterday and they placed me at B2! They actually said I’d be ready to start preparing for the DELF B2 exam, which really surprised me. I knew the speaking part was ok, but I expected the wrtten part to be much, much worse, and as it turns out it actually wasn’t. I started worrying about French only recently, also for work-related reasons, and I really expected the results to be much worse than this. I have to work on pretty much everything here, but again, mostly grammar and writing, and legal terms. If there’s one common thread to the way I learn languages, it’s that I’m always much, much better at speaking than writing, and french is no exception to that rule. 

Goals: DELF B2, I suppose! And legal french

Russian

Level: B1

I actually regressed a lot in Russian last year. I knew it was going to happen. A year without contact with the language at this stage pretty much always has negative consequences. It’s not as solid a B1 as it could be and I think I’m still at a stage where I might forget the language if I stop engaging with it for a while, which is not the case with English, German or French. I need to work a lot here, to make up for last year and also, again, to consolidate my grammar. I need to keep going to class no matter how tired I am, because if I leave it to myself ’m going to end up doing nothing at all. I know this is going to take a very long time to improve and I need to work on my vocabulary a lot too, so I’m stuck here for a while.

Goals: Consolidate, consolidate, consolidate, improve vocabulary

Castillian (Spanish)

Level:????

Castillian/Spanish is always the odd one out. It’s also the only one that only shows up in the english version of my CV, because I wouldn’t dare put it in the portuguese version. The only portuguese people who put Spanish in their CVs are people who either a) have formally studied Spanish or b) people who don’t know any other languages. It just looks a little...lazy to me, no offence to those who do it, but I don’t feel comfortable putting it next to all the toher languages I’ve seriously worked on. And to me, knowing as I do that I don’t actually know proper Spanish, just portuñol, it wouldn’t feel right to have it there. I can understand most of spoken Spanish, I can speak it the way a particularly illiterate spaniard might, and I can read most things. I can’t write a word. So of course I can’t say I know Castillian/Spanish. Would I like to work on it? Sure, but it’s low on my priority list. And to be completely honest, what spanish I do know is more than enough for another country (like, say, Germany), but nowhere near enough for either my own country or a Spanish speaking country. Which means I’d have to put a lot more effort into Spanish if I wanted to do something with it here, and right now I’d prefer to focus on the other languages.

Goals: None, really. Getting better eventually.

Mandarin

Level: None

Mandarin is the language I’m currently using to test duolingo and other language learning apps. Basically I want to do all of the stuff on those apps and find out if it helped at all once I start taking classes a few years from now. I can’t pretend I wouldn’t like to take Mandarin classes now, but at the moment it’s just not feasible. I have to start “finishing” the other languages before I can even consider seriously studying Mandarin. I’ll need a clearer mind and I won’t have that until I stop worrying about studing 3-4 other languages too.

Goals: Just have fun; try to understand to which extent language learning apps actually work

[imacoolbookworm]

13.06.2019 - 8/100 days of self-discipline

[x] morning routine

[] night routine

[] study english

[x] driver’s license

·· today, I had an encephalogram made first thing in the morning. it was kind of cool to learn about brainwaves and then have that done. now I just have to wait to get the results back and see if everything’s alright (I've been getting really nasty headaches lately - as in for a year...😅)

·· tbh I’m kind of dreading tomorrow’s english class as i had some homework set, and I didn’t do it 😬. but I’ll go anyways because let’s be real, I’m paying a good fortune for those classes. and I can’t afford any more slacking this week (in case you were wondering I'm preparing to take Cambridge’s Proficiency Exam (C2) - and although I love english and I’ve always dreamt of getting this qualification, this exam is a great pain in the ass 🙄 )

[itsyokythings-blog]

Being able to communicate in another language while travelling is one of the best feelings and always makes me feel extra accomplished. For those looking to learn Spanish in Singapore, here’s a review of my experience taking Spanish lessons with Spanish World Group. I have a 5% discount code for new students – scroll down for more!

Sounds familiar?

Spanish World Group is the new name of Las Lilas Spanish School, a dedicated Spanish school in Singapore that has been around since 2005. When I asked my friends for recommendations on good Spanish schools in Singapore to continue my lessons, Las Lilas was the overwhelming choice from my friends.

Spanish World Group started out in Singapore but has since expanded to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Hong Kong as well.

A disclaimer here that while my Spanish lessons are sponsored by the school, this review gives my honest feedback that I have also shared with the school separately. There wasn’t much info online about what classes were like, which is why I wanted to write about it. 

My experience with Spanish World Group

Spanish World Group is the only accredited Cervantes Institute in Singapore, which means it has the official blessing from the Spanish Government in promoting and teaching Spanish in foreign countries. For more serious students, that means that Spanish World Group is qualified to offer exam-level and DELE (Diploma of Spanish as a Foreign Language).

I am interested in learning Spanish on a casual level, mainly for communication on my travels in Latin America and other Spanish speaking countries, and most of the classes offered at Spanish World Group are small group classes targeted at casual adult learners like myself. There are classes for kids and students as well as private lessons.

Location

Spanish World Group is located on Level 8 of The Bencoolen, which is between Bugis+ and Sim Lim Square. See location on Google Maps.

Levels offered

For the casual learner, there are 6 levels of proficiency, which are further broken up into courses that you progress through to get to the next level.

You take a placement test to determine which level you start at. Absolute beginners start from A1.1.

A1 (A1.1-1.4) is the starter level absolute beginners start out from. With 3 weeks of Spanish classes in Panama, I started out at A1.3.

A2 (A2.1-2.6) is the level I’m at in 2019. As of April 2019, I’m at A2.4

B1 (B1.1-1.6) intermediate level

B2 (B2.1-2.7)

C1 (1.1-1.7) advanced level

C2

Each course for adult group classes runs for 10 lessons, each lesson is 2 hours long. Lessons usually happen once a week, but sometimes they run intensive courses that take place every day for two weeks instead.

Classes range from 4-12 pax, but tend to get smaller as the levels get higher, but the people who do continue lessons also tend to be more interested, so there’s a good likelihood that you might stay classmates with the same people for a long time. You do need a minimum of 4pax to form a class, but there is some flexibility with timings and days depending on the overall schedule.

Textbook used: AULA

Textbook and supplementary worksheets

Most of the lessons follow the AULA textbook syllabus – I’ve used the AULA 1 for the A1 level and AULA 2 for the A2 level so far. They are also supplemented by additional material produced by the school and sometimes individual teachers give extra notes on top of all this.

You can get your AULA Spanish textbook from the school, but if you want to save money, head online to get it – it’s cheaper but it does take more time to arrive. Some links for you:

For beginners: AULA Internacional 1 (Spanish – this is the one we use in class) but there is also one with some English. [Amazon affiliate links]

You can also buy directly from the publisher’s website Difusion, or from Books Depository.

Spanish World Group also has its own Virtual Campus, which you can access online to do additional practice which is a pretty unique offering. They are working on an app version so you can use it on the go as well.

What lessons are like

Lessons are a combination of reading, comprehension, conversation and listening. We’ve even done roleplaying and games so you do get to practice Spanish in fun ways as well. I’ve had lessons with several different teachers and they each have their own style. If you find a teacher’s style that you like, you should try and stick with that teacher as far as you can.

The teachers are employed from Spanish speaking countries – I’ve had teachers from various parts of Spain and Chile, and while the official Spanish taught is Spain-Spanish, the teachers often share stories about their local slang and habits from their home countries as well. So far my classes have been conducted in a mix of Spanish and English, though the English proficiency of your teacher really depends on the individual.

They do have some additional activities outside of classes, like a Spanish Karaoke session and some Spanish culture days when there major Spanish celebrations. They showed and demonstrated the traditional way of counting down to the New Year where you have to eat 12 grapes as the bell tolls at midnight, and we sand Spanish Christmas carols one time as well.

5% Spanish World Group Discount Code

If you are contemplating studying Spanish in Singapore, quote my blog “The Occasional Traveller” in the comments when enrolling online to enjoy 5% off your course fee (new students only, not applicable if you are using Skillsfuture credits).

My Spanish lessons are sponsored by Spanish World Group.

The post Learn Spanish in Singapore: Spanish World Group review appeared first on The Occasional Traveller.

[artlang-gr]

Η Ελληνική “Proficiency Mania”

The Greek Proficiency Mania

When people come to Fullspate and confess that they are thinking of doing a proficiency exam in English we often tell them to sit down, take a deep breath and think again. In Greece, where we are based, hundreds of thousands of families are absolutely sure that their kids MUST get the proficiency. Little Nick and Maria down the road got the proficiency, so it becomes a matter of family pride to prove that their kids are just as good. Unfortunately, the chances are that these parents know almost nothing about either the content or the aims of the proficiency exam. Perhaps if they understood a bit more about the proficiency exam, and a bit more about how kids can improve their English, there wouldn't be this nationwide panic. (Hey! Shouldn't schools be doing more to inform parents?)

Let's not forget the aims of the proficiency exams. The new European framework for these exams states that language learners at this level (the top level - level 5) should be "approaching the linguistic competence of an educated native speaker." Let's put that in block capitals: APPROACHING THE LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE OF AN EDUCATED NATIVE SPEAKER. And by the way, we're not talking here about hip-hop, break dance, emo, iPod English. We're talking about the sophisticated English used in seminars and tutorials at university.

Similarly, the handbook for the Cambridge proficiency tells us that candidates should be able to handle abstract ideas and concepts in a mature way, and they should be able to "advise and talk about complex, sensitive or contentious issues, understanding colloquial references." Does that sound like you, or do you think you need to carry on with your general education a bit more before you attain that level of intellectual maturity?

In a nutshell:

1. If you want to teach English, your priority should be to do a degree in English at university. One of the proficiency-level (C2) certificates would be a useful addition to your portfolio, but still there is no need to rush things.

2. The certificate might be an essential qualification for a job, but if it is really necessary, you don't want to take the exam more than one or two years before you apply for the job. An employer that really wants you to be a fluent English speaker will not be satisfied with a ten-year-old certificate.

3. Should you try to run before you can walk? What's the big rush? Enjoy walking first, and when you feel confident you can start a gentle jog.

4. Use it or lose it. Unless you are going to do a degree in English or get a humble job in the office of an English firm at the age of 18 you are probably not going to use the language much until you finish university in your early 20's and then get your military service out of the way. By that time you will have forgotten so many of those lovely proficiency words and phrases that you spent so many long hours back in your teens trying to remember (words like "exacerbate", "ameliorate", "procrastinate", and "obfuscate"). Isn't it a shame to sacrifice so much of your youth learning stuff that you are going to forget before you really need it?

5. High school students in Greece are unbelievably overburdened with extra lessons in the evenings at what we call cramming schools (where they try to quickly cram as much information as possible into the very limited space between your ears). University students have much more free time, and because they should have a clearer idea of what they are actually going to do with their English they should be more motivated to sit down and learn the 50 or 60,000 words and phrases which top-notch proficiency candidates ought to know.

6. Where are the poets and the painters of modern Greece? If teenagers had more free time, it might be possible for a few more of them to discover that they have a talent for things like poetry and painting.

Does that mean I should just drop out of the cramming school and play more footy in the street with those guys my mum calls 'losers'? Definitely not. The point is not to turn your back on your education, but to find enjoyable things to do to maintain and improve your English language skills without worrying (before there is any real need) about exams that almost half the candidates will fail.

Fun stuff to do out of school

Instead of panicking to get the proficiency when you don't need it, our advice is: chill out. The overwhelming majority of kids in their mid-teens don't need anything more than the FCE with an A or a B or a clear pass in some other B2 exam like the ECCE. If you have a good B2 certificate in English at that age, you have all you need to start to understand and appreciate movies, lyrics, websites and books in English ON YOUR OWN. Find a subject you are interested in, like wargames, lovemetal, body art, bikes, web design or whatever, and start reading lots of stuff in English and finding places on the internet where people chat about that kind of stuff in English. Without doing a single multiple choice question your English will improve, and if you really do have to do another exam in the future it will be a piece of cake.

IELTS: the way forward

If you are really stubborn and insist on doing another exam now, we advise you to do the IELTS. This is the grooviest exam on the market at the moment. And what's one of the best things about it? Check this out: EVERYBODY GETS A CERTIFICATE. Each section begins with slightly easier questions and they become progressively harder. When you get your certificate it will give you a mark from 1 to 9. If you get a 7.5 or 8 you are on the same level as someone with the ECPE (or Cambridge CPE). And guess what: no grammar or vocabulary questions!!! They just check how good you are at doing the things you will actually have to do in real-life English-speaking situations: reading, writing, listening and speaking - which is exactly what you ought to have to do in a good test of English.

It is also worth noting that if you want to go to a British university they would prefer you to do the IELTS exam. Different departments will demand different scores depending on how good they think your English needs to be to do those particular courses. To do an engineering course you might only need a score of 6.5. To do psychology or philosophy, where you need to be more articulate, they would demand at least 7.5.

Bad proficiency results in Greece

Given its glorious past, the education results in Greece ought to be among the best in the world. However, in the EFL business at C2/proficiency level they definitely aren't. In 2009 while countries like Holland, South Africa, Italy, Poland, Ukrane, Sri Lanka and Latvia had 75% or more of their candidates pass the ECPE exam, in Greece only 56% passed (although Greeks can console themselves that they are better than the Vietnamese, of which only 53% passed, and the Turks, who got only 43% of their candidates through the ECPE). The results for the Cambridge CPE are slightly worse. In 2010 one in two candidates came away from that exam empty-handed.

Why the system in Greece has been failing

Costas Gabrielatos has written some very insightful articles about the poor performance of EFL candidates in Greece. Here we pick out a number of points he makes which we think are absolutely spot on.

Although it might be tempting to blame the results on the age of the candidates - saying they are too young - Costas reminds us that the fault lies elsewhere. The surprising fact is that 14- to 15-year-olds have a better success rate than older candidates. If age is not a factor, what is responsible for the failure rate?

A lack of preparation

One problem is that students simply haven't done enough preparatory work to bring them up to the required level. "In other words, most Greek learners sit for the CPE when they should be sitting for the CAE" (the advanced exam).

The exam-obsession syndrome

However, Costas gives less emphasis to the quantity of preparation than to its quality. There are some approaches to English language teaching in Greece which are misguided and which directly contribute to the failure of students. A major problem is the obsession with exam practice. Instead of concentrating first and foremost on improving the students' level of English, too many teachers waste far too much classroom time ploughing through countless practice tests. These teachers seem to believe that the more practice tests a student does, the more likely she is to succeed.

Costas advocates an alternative approach: a student's command of the language should be brought up to the required level before she begins intensive preparation for the exam. If a student is already a proficient user of the language, exam preparation will simply be a matter of becoming familiar with the tasks required, practising different approaches to tackling the exercises, identifying pitfalls and managing their time effectively.

The vocabulary list syndrome

Another dubious practice is the fixation with vocabulary lists. Words are readily taken out of context, put in lists with the translations to the right and set for homework. Insufficient attention is paid to collocations, fixed phrases and the kinds of examples of good usage that are the benchmark for more successful language-learners. We would add that the craze for companions in Greece is another symptom of this malaise - they divert the student's attention away from the way new items of vocabulary were used in the texts and dialogues that they have studied, and they discourage students from developing useful note taking skills.

The coursebook-as-Bible syndrome

The way coursebooks are used is another problem. Students are taken through books from cover to cover without much thought being given to the limitations of the books, their omissions or relevance to the students. As Costas points out, as a consequence "learners don't usually deal with topics or do tasks that are within their interests and needs; instead they are taken through a series of loosely related or even unrelated exercises."

The compartmentalisation syndrome

Costas also highlights what he calls the "compartmentalisation syndrome." "Learners do 'vocabulary' or 'listening' or 'speaking' as if those areas of language were unrelated. There seems to be little integration of the different aspects of the understanding and use of language."

Costas' conclusion is sobering. Assuming that the fault does not lie with an innate inability of Greek students to learn foreign languages well, there must be something wrong with what teachers and schools are doing. "Perhaps we would be wise to reassess our perception of exam preparation and language teaching/learning."

Πηγή: fullspate

[karenkb27mendoza]

DIEGO, Belgium – Cambridge Proficiency Exam (CPE)

Diego is a brilliant and funny 18-year-old. After studying for 5 months at ILAC Vancouver, he successfully passed the Cambridge Proficiency Exam (CPE). His achievement has opened the door to a bright and exciting future.

What does this success mean to you?

I did it! I got a C2 Level Certificate, with a ”grade B” mention. It is a marvelous reward for all the work I put into this exam.

As a matter of fact, in my country, in Belgium, employers always prefer to offer a job to someone who has an excellent level of English, and who can prove it with a recognized certificate*. Moreover, the CPE is a key to enter a lot of universities around the globe.

*CPE is recognized by over 20,000 universities, employers and governments around the world.

How did ILAC help you to prepare for the CPE?

Even though this exam is known to be one of the most difficult exams in the world, ILAC successfully helped me to prepare myself in a very effective way. Not only was my main class (General English) very helpful, but my elective course (Cambridge Preparation) was a complementary help I’m glad to have had!

Teachers are very familiar with the Cambridge exams and know exactly how to prepare students. They vary the exercises – listening, speaking, writing, and reading – in a very fun, interactive and interesting way, so that you don’t get bored.

What advice from your teachers was the most useful for the official test?

One piece of advice that helped me the most is: “Read as much as you can, check the definition of the words you don’t know, and try to learn and remember those new words every day. The most effective way to avoid forgetting words is to use them in your writing exercises as well as in your daily conversations.”

What tips would you give to other students who might want to take the Cambridge Exams?

I would recommend documenting all the words you learn (there will be many of those) into a mobile app, so that you can categorize them and study them at all time. My favorite app for this purpose is Quizlet.

Try as well to speak English as much as you can with your teachers, but also with local people, your family, and especially with your friends, even if they speak the same language as you. The more you speak English, the more comfortable and fluent you will be.

I’m deeply convinced that everyone can pass this exam, although it requires motivation, participation in class, and a lot of work.

Do not give up at the first difficulty. Your efforts will be rewarded, and that’s the voice of experience.

Written by Marine Gas

The post DIEGO, Belgium – Cambridge Proficiency Exam (CPE) appeared first on ILAC.

from Blog – ILAC http://www.ilac.com/cpe-success-story-diego-houtart/

[aira26soonas]

DIEGO, Belgium – Cambridge Proficiency Exam (CPE)

Diego is a brilliant and funny 18-year-old. After studying for 5 months at ILAC Vancouver, he successfully passed the Cambridge Proficiency Exam (CPE). His achievement has opened the door to a bright and exciting future.

What does this success mean to you?

I did it! I got a C2 Level Certificate, with a ”grade B” mention. It is a marvelous reward for all the work I put into this exam.

As a matter of fact, in my country, in Belgium, employers always prefer to offer a job to someone who has an excellent level of English, and who can prove it with a recognized certificate*. Moreover, the CPE is a key to enter a lot of universities around the globe.

*CPE is recognized by over 20,000 universities, employers and governments around the world.

How did ILAC help you to prepare for the CPE?

Even though this exam is known to be one of the most difficult exams in the world, ILAC successfully helped me to prepare myself in a very effective way. Not only was my main class (General English) very helpful, but my elective course (Cambridge Preparation) was a complementary help I’m glad to have had!

Teachers are very familiar with the Cambridge exams and know exactly how to prepare students. They vary the exercises – listening, speaking, writing, and reading – in a very fun, interactive and interesting way, so that you don’t get bored.

What advice from your teachers was the most useful for the official test?

One piece of advice that helped me the most is: “Read as much as you can, check the definition of the words you don’t know, and try to learn and remember those new words every day. The most effective way to avoid forgetting words is to use them in your writing exercises as well as in your daily conversations.”

What tips would you give to other students who might want to take the Cambridge Exams?

I would recommend documenting all the words you learn (there will be many of those) into a mobile app, so that you can categorize them and study them at all time. My favorite app for this purpose is Quizlet.

Try as well to speak English as much as you can with your teachers, but also with local people, your family, and especially with your friends, even if they speak the same language as you. The more you speak English, the more comfortable and fluent you will be.

I’m deeply convinced that everyone can pass this exam, although it requires motivation, participation in class, and a lot of work.

Do not give up at the first difficulty. Your efforts will be rewarded, and that’s the voice of experience.

Written by Marine Gas

The post DIEGO, Belgium – Cambridge Proficiency Exam (CPE) appeared first on ILAC.

from Blog – ILAC http://www.ilac.com/cpe-success-story-diego-houtart/

[nicol29ad]

DIEGO, Belgium – Cambridge Proficiency Exam (CPE)

Diego is a brilliant and funny 18-year-old. After studying for 5 months at ILAC Vancouver, he successfully passed the Cambridge Proficiency Exam (CPE). His achievement has opened the door to a bright and exciting future.

What does this success mean to you?

I did it! I got a C2 Level Certificate, with a ”grade B” mention. It is a marvelous reward for all the work I put into this exam.

As a matter of fact, in my country, in Belgium, employers always prefer to offer a job to someone who has an excellent level of English, and who can prove it with a recognized certificate*. Moreover, the CPE is a key to enter a lot of universities around the globe.

*CPE is recognized by over 20,000 universities, employers and governments around the world.

How did ILAC help you to prepare for the CPE?

Even though this exam is known to be one of the most difficult exams in the world, ILAC successfully helped me to prepare myself in a very effective way. Not only was my main class (General English) very helpful, but my elective course (Cambridge Preparation) was a complementary help I’m glad to have had!

Teachers are very familiar with the Cambridge exams and know exactly how to prepare students. They vary the exercises – listening, speaking, writing, and reading – in a very fun, interactive and interesting way, so that you don’t get bored.

What advice from your teachers was the most useful for the official test?

One piece of advice that helped me the most is: “Read as much as you can, check the definition of the words you don’t know, and try to learn and remember those new words every day. The most effective way to avoid forgetting words is to use them in your writing exercises as well as in your daily conversations.”

What tips would you give to other students who might want to take the Cambridge Exams?

I would recommend documenting all the words you learn (there will be many of those) into a mobile app, so that you can categorize them and study them at all time. My favorite app for this purpose is Quizlet.

Try as well to speak English as much as you can with your teachers, but also with local people, your family, and especially with your friends, even if they speak the same language as you. The more you speak English, the more comfortable and fluent you will be.

I’m deeply convinced that everyone can pass this exam, although it requires motivation, participation in class, and a lot of work.

Do not give up at the first difficulty. Your efforts will be rewarded, and that’s the voice of experience.

Written by Marine Gas

The post DIEGO, Belgium – Cambridge Proficiency Exam (CPE) appeared first on ILAC.

from Blog – ILAC http://www.ilac.com/cpe-success-story-diego-houtart/