The beauty of being an ESL teacher is that you have an endless list of topics you can have a lesson on, no matter how niche or unusual they may seem. The other day, one of my B2-level students mentioned that his dream is to go to Iceland to see puffins, and wouldn't you like… Continue reading B2 – Listening Part 2 – Puffins
Tag: FCE
B2 Listening Part 3 – The meaning of happiness
Happiness is one of the feelings that we all understand a bit differently. Listen to five speakers talking about happiness, and discuss what it means to you. Is it being with your family, making everyone else around you happy, or being by yourself? Occasionally, I like to look at Cambridge sample papers and oftentimes find… Continue reading B2 Listening Part 3 – The meaning of happiness
Christmas-themed B2 speaking
It has become somewhat of a tradition on this blog that for every bigger holiday you can count on a Cambridge-style themed speaking. Last year I prepared a speaking class for the B1 level. This time it's time to focus on FCE students and let them enjoy Christmas while practising English. If you have used… Continue reading Christmas-themed B2 speaking
Heatwave-themed – B2 Speaking
Summer classes and intensive courses can be improved by switching up the coursebook content and presenting students with some themed speaking tasks. As we are pushing through another week of unbearably high temperatures, I can't think of anything more topical than the heatwave and climate change. Intensive courses and exam preparation classes tend to be… Continue reading Heatwave-themed – B2 Speaking
What makes you nostalgic? – B2 Listening Part 3
The other day, I posted a lesson plan based on a short scientific podcast The Healing Power of Nostalgia. I felt immediate motivation when I saw short extracts of speakers talking about what makes them nostalgic. It made me think of a typical FCE Listening Part 3 exam task, in which students listen to five… Continue reading What makes you nostalgic? – B2 Listening Part 3
B2 Use of English Part 3 – Incredible vegetables
I guess spring is in the air, and it makes me more inclined towards healthy food and keeping fit topics. This time we'll look into different vegetables and their health benefits. This will lead towards the lesson focus and the nemesis of Cambridge exam candidates - Use of English and word formation. This post and… Continue reading B2 Use of English Part 3 – Incredible vegetables
Halloween-themed B2 speaking
Happy October! As an ESL teacher, you know what that means - themed lesson plans! I'm not a fan of conducting the standard History of Halloween lessons. Instead, I like to have the best of two worlds: exam preparation and Halloween. Last year I was working with the second year of the B2 Cambridge exam preparation group.… Continue reading Halloween-themed B2 speaking
First lesson for B2 Cambridge exam preparation
I was always looking for the perfect first class for exam preparation. Right after I finished CELTA, I had the pleasure of teaching B1 and B2 Cambridge intensive summer courses. As I was still on the high from passing CELTA, I analysed and prepared two full Compact books, including language analysis, possible problems (with solutions)… Continue reading First lesson for B2 Cambridge exam preparation
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