While I may not be the biggest fan of Use of English (and I know many of my students feel the same), I firmly believe that mastering it is key to success. CAE Use of English Part 4 involves sentence transformations, which challenge students on their understanding of grammar, collocations, and fixed expressions. A well-designed CAE paraphrasing practice activity can help students grasp what’s required in this section, making a real difference in their exam performance and potentially boosting their scores significantly.
Use of English Part 4 is a real challenge for me when I teach my CAE candidates. They need to have a solid grasp of phrasal verbs, collocations, grammar, and fixed expressions…to name a few. Honestly, it seems almost impossible for them to learn and remember all of them. However, I think it’s important to show them how to handle it and focus on the key question: What do they want me to do here?
Keep scrolling to the end of the post to grab the presentation, worksheet, and teacher’s notes that’ll help you share this information with your students. The main activity is based on a free Cambridge English resource, Advanced Sample Papers 1.
Warmer: The Importance of Paraphrasing
Start the class with a warmer activity. Show two quick dialogues of someone trying to reword what they just said. Have the students analyse the sentences and discuss whether they mean the same thing. It’s a great way to highlight why paraphrasing is important, not just for tests but in real life too. For example, it’s a big part of writing academic papers! A lot of the time, students don’t even realize how much they paraphrase on a daily basis.
Task 1: Choosing the Best Reworded Sentence
In the next part of the class, students check out two more sentences and three options for how to rephrase them. They need to pick the best option and explain why they think it’s the best choice and why the other two are wrong. The goal of this task is to show the students that their answers should be concise while maintaining the original meaning. Let’s take a look at the following sentence and see how the paraphrasing differs.
I regret not going to the concert with you.
- I wish I would have gone to the concert with you, as I regret missing out on it. – Too long. This option expresses regret, but includes additional phrases like ‘missing out on it,’ which add unnecessary length without adding to the meaning.
- I wish I had gone to the concert with you.
- It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t have gone to the concert with you. – Different meaning. This option implies that attending the concert was not possible, rather than expressing true regret. It changes the original meaning slightly by focusing on inability instead of regret.
Task 2: Sentence Transformation Practice
To check if students are picking up the new phrases, give them three they’ve just seen. Ask them to fill in the blanks, similar to a CAE Use of English Part 4 task. Complete the phrases and figure out what strategy might work best for this part of the test. I suggest they underline the parts of the sentences that are the same in both examples. Then, pinpoint which part needs to be reworded and identify the key word that has to stay the same. After they fill in the missing words, count how many they wrote down. Remind them that in the exam, they should write between three to six words. This makes it pretty easy to catch any mistakes in their thinking during the test.
Understanding CAE: What This Part of the Exam Tests
Remind your students that this part of the exam focuses on checking what they know about phrasal verbs, common collocations, fixed phrases, and different grammar structures like the passive voice and reported speech. A focused CAE paraphrasing practice activity helps them see how these elements are tested. Look at some phrases and the way they’re reworded. Figure out the paraphrased parts of the sentence and what they’re testing. For example, take They are currently renovating the hotel. When it changes to The hotel is currently being renovated, it tests the knowledge of the passive form in the continuous tense.
Main Task: Real Exam Practice with Support
It’s time to put students’ skills to the test with the Use of English Part 4. To make things easier, they’ve been introduced to all the transformations they are about to encounter in this part of the exam, which can be found and downloaded in Advanced Sample Papers 1. They should approach this like it’s the actual exam – underlining the parts of the phrases that need rewording and thinking about how to use the given words in a sentence. For example, the sentence below focuses on testing their understanding of phrasal verbs with insist.
Extension: Writing and Paraphrasing Practice
If you’ve got bigger groups, you can wrap things up by having the students write a sentence using the structures you went over in class. Once they’re done, they can swap their sentences with each other and paraphrase them. Make sure to check for any spelling and grammar mistakes, then finish up with a general chat and reflections about this part of the CAE exam.
If you think your students would thrive with this CAE paraphrasing practice activity, don’t hesitate to click the links below and integrate them into your lessons. It could make a significant difference in their learning experience!
How do you make the Use of English sections of the exam come alive in your classes?
