B2 MENTORING SESSION.

USEFUL TIPS

WHAT SORT OF STUDENT ARE YOU?

Here are two types of student. Which one are you?

Student A Student B
 You prefer grammar to role plays and  You prefer games and activities to
games grammar
 You don’t like making mistakes  You don’t mind making mistakes
 You prefer working alone  You enjoy being in a group
 You often look words up in your dictionary  You often don’t find time to do homework
or learn vocabulary

If you are more like Student A:

1. Speak as much as possible in class.
2. Don't worry too much about making mistakes.
3. Help others in your class - that way you help yourself to leam.
4. Believe in yourself! You won't always have a dictionary or grammar when you need to speak English.

If you are more like Student B:

1. Try to give more time to learning.
2. Think about what you want to say before you say it.
3. Make sure you understand your mistakes.
4. Try to be more accurate - it's easier for others to understand you!

IMPROVING YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

General tips
Many students feel nervous when they are asked to listen to real English. They worry that they are not going
to understand everything, or that the people are going to speak too fast or with strange accents. Here are
some useful tips to help you to listen:
1. Relax and don't panic!
2. Use questions in the Students' Book or from your teacher’s listening comprehension exercises to
help you listen for the important information. They’ll give you a clue as to the kind of information
you are going to hear.
3. Don't worry if you don't understand every word. Many English speakers don't hear or understand
every word.
4. Listen in particular for the stressed words. These often contain more information.
5. Learn to ignore words or phrases which are not relevant, for example fillers or false starts such as
you know, sort of, so, you see, well, like, mm, etc.
6. Remember that listening to real people face-to-face is much easier than watching a video, a film or
listening to a CD.
.
Other tips
 Watch videos and listen to audios on topics you are interested in or you are curious about. The more
motivated you are, the more likely you are to understand and learn.
 Students who listen a lot seem to acquire English better than those who do not. Watch or listen to as
many things as possible. In order to make progress, the input should be ideally neither too easy nor
too difficult. When the input is too challenging, remember that you can often use subtitles or the
transcription to help you (read section Some techniques to help you with listening below).
o Watch the videos and listen to the audios on the CD-ROM that goes with your textbook.
o Listen to audiobooks (see websites below)
o Watch the videos on your moodle course (most of them are videos you have already
watched in class. Pay attention to the words or expressions you didn’t understand when you
watched them in class.

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 o Visit the websites that we recommend below and identify the ones that best suit your
interests.
o Listen to English speaking radio stations: http://www.mikesradioworld.com/.
o Listen to BBC radio podcasts: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts
o Watch films, series, or documentaries in the original language on TV or on your computer
o Sign up for a Netflix or HBO account and watch films, series or documentaries in English.
o Borrow videos from our school library. Apart from films, we also have TV series and
documentaries.
o Listen to songs. Don’t get demotivated if you can’t understand them: very often they are
hard to understand for native English speakers too. Use https://lyricstraining.com/: it’s a fun
way to learn and improve your foreign languages skills through the music videos and the
lyrics of your favourite songs.
o Go to the cinema and see a film in the original language at least once a month. The main
cinemas showing films in the original language are Renoir Floridablanca, Verdi, Verdi Park,
Ikaria, Balmes Multicines and Splau.

Some techniques to help you with listening

Use different listening techniques when listening to a textbook audio or an audiobook. These are some of
them:

1. Read the text and then listen to it without reading; or

2. listen to the text without reading, and then read it and check how much you understood; or
3. listen and read simultaneously.

Techniques 1 and 2 are better than technique 3 because whereas in techniques 1 and 2 you are genuinely
listening, in technique 1 you are probably hearing rather than listening, and you are less likely to develop
your listening skills.

If you are watching a movie or a Ted Talk:

1. Watch a fragment in English with English subtitles and then watch it again without subtitles. When
you do that, try to identify the words you hear in the text.
2. Watch a fragment without subtitles, and then the same fragment with subtitles. How much did you
understand?

Watch a short video (from Ted Talks, Big Think, etc.) and take notes. Choose a topic you are familiar with or
you are particularly interested in. Your prior knowledge on the topic will also help you understand better.

 Nivell Avançat listening exam preparation

We have several exam samples in our school library (including the DVD’s for the listening comprehension
parts). Do as many of these exams as you can to familiarise yourself with the EOI listening exam format
(the type of task, the language of the questions, the time allowed to complete the task, etc.).

Useful links
You can watch United Kingdom TV online (BBC1; BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, ITV, etc) here:
http://www.filmon.com/group/uk-live-tv. No need of satellite dishes!

Nowadays you can watch videos in English on virtually anything you like, for example by going to
http://youtube.com and typing in the topic you are interested in.
You can also find a huge number of videos by visiting the following sites:

http://www.ted.com (extremely interesting talks by renowned people on different topics; subtitles in

English and Spanish are available)
http://bigthink.com/videos (5-minute long videos on science, psychology, linguistics, etc.)
https://www.youtube.com/user/Kurzgesagt/featured (short animated videos on science)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts (Find a podcast by radio station or genre)

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 http://www.bbc.co.uk/videonation/archive (videos on over 40 different topics)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02pc9zn/episodes/downloads (a three-minute radio programme
focusing on a particular English expression)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish (videos and audios about different aspects
related to language learning)
http://news.sky.com (news)
https://ororo.tv/en  TV shows and movies with subtitles and even a wider choice if you log in.
http://www.waywordradio.org/ A way with words. An American public radio programme about
language examined through history, culture, and family.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat
http:// www.academicearth.org (lectures delivered by lecturers from Harvard, Yale or Standford)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/081222_download.shtml (audio, transcripts and
exercises related to current news)
http://fora.tv/ (conferences on culture, science, technology, business, environment and politics)
http://www.mikesradioworld.com/ (English speaking radio stations)
https://www.khanacademy.org/ (lectures on virtually any topic in the form of YouTube videos)
https://bookriot.com/2016/09/15/11-websites-find-free-audiobooks-online/ and
https://www.lifewire.com/free-audio-books-3481748 websites with free audiobooks

Graded videos/audios/podcasts
http://www.englishcentral.com/videos (videos with listening exercises)
https://lyricstraining.com/ (It’s a fun method to improve English by listening to a song and typing in
the lyrics. There are different levels)
http://www.mansioningles.com/listening00.htm
http://www.elllo.org
http://www.dictationsonline.com/ (English dictations)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/0/
http://www.esolcourses.com/
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
http://www.scoop.it/t/useful-websites-for-learning-english
http://www.englishlistening.com
http://esl.about.com/od/englishlistening/English_Listening_Skills_and_ActivitiesEffective_Listening_P
ractice.htm
http://esl.about.com/od/englishlistening/
http://elttraining.mdl2.com/
http://www.esl-lab.com
http://www.saberingles.com.ar/listening/index.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/multimedia/archive_ent.shtml
http://www.agendaweb.org/listening-exercises
http://www.englishstudydirect.com/OSAC/langacls.htm
http://www.parapal-online.co.uk/listening.html
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/english_lessons.htm
http://www.eslprintables.com/forum/topic.asp?id=25149
https://www.anglo-link.com/index.php?/home
https://www.duolingo.com/
http://www.eslvideo.com/index.php
http://es.talkenglish.com/listening/listenintermediate.aspx
In addition, most online English newspapers contain videos that you can watch. These are the links to
some English newspapers:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.independent.co.uk/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
http://www.express.co.uk/home
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/

IMPROVING YOUR GRAMMAR

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General tips
Teachers do not always have time in class to check everything you say and write, so it is a good idea to
learn to check yourself. Here are some ways to help you:
1. Think before you speak or write. A second of ‘thinking time' can help you choose the correct tense or
word.
2. Record yourself when you speak and listen to yourself later. Did you notice any mistakes?
3. When you are doing a speaking activity, make a note of anything you say which you think is wrong.
Ask your teacher afterwards.
4. Check your written work for mistakes which you know you often make, e.g. the use of the past
tenses, prepositions, articles, etc. Before you hand in a new composition, look at your previous ones
with your teacher’s corrections and try not to make the same mistakes.
5. Your teacher might have given you a self-correction grid for you to use when you are given your
composition back. Correct the mistakes he/she has indicated on your composition (by means of
numbers or symbols) and note if there is a recurrent type of mistake. If there is, that will mean that
you may have to practice that aspect of grammar.

6. When you make a mistake ask yourself the following questions:

 Is it a silly mistake which I could have avoided if you had paid more attention?
 Did I make this mistake because I don’t know the rule? If so, identify the grammatical point you
have problems with and do some exercises from a grammar book (your teacher will have
recommended you some at the beginning of the course).) or the websites suggested below to
help you with this problem.

Other tips
 Grammatical errors can obscure meaning and cause misunderstandings. This is particularly the case
when writing, as your reader can rarely ask you a question if there is something that he/she
doesn’t understand. Try to use structures which are not too complicated and avoid literal
translations.
 When we are engaged in a speaking communicative activity we logically tend to focus on
meaning (the message) more than on form (grammar). This means that we are likely to make
grammatical mistakes when using structures, verb forms, etc. that we are not sure of. So, try to
identify the areas you are weakest at (prepositions, past tenses, etc.) and do as many exercises
related to these areas as possible in order to internalise the rules and automatize the structures.
 Listen to your partner carefully and learn from their mistakes as well as from their strengths.
 If you are not sure about a grammatical rule, try to work out what the rule might be by analysing
correct sentences, before reading the rule from a grammar book.
 If you are doing a speaking activity and your teacher corrects you, repeat the correction or write it
down when the speaking activity is over.
 Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher.
 Ask your teacher for extra exercises on those areas you still feel insecure about.
 After looking at a particular structure or grammar point in class, do the corresponding exercise from
a grammar book.
 After learning a new structure or rule, try to use it in a communicative way in class or in a sentence
which is relevant or meaningful to you.
 Good monolingual dictionaries provide not only definitions but also information as to how a particular
word is used. For example, if you look up a verb, the dictionary might tell you which preposition is
used with this verb, whether the verb is transitive or intransitive, whether it is followed by an –ing
form or an infinitive, etc. This information is almost as important as the definition itself.
 Learning grammatical rules helps many students build their confidence. However, we should try to
see learning grammar only as a means to achieve our main purpose, which is to communicate.

 Nivell Avançat Use of English exam preparation

 You will find several exam samples in our school library and on your moodle course. Do as many of
these exams as you can to familiarise yourself with the EOI Use of English exam format: the type of
task, the most common grammatical and vocabulary contents, the common distractors (the multiple
choice response options that are not the correct answer), the time allowed to complete the task, etc.).

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 Make a note of all the mistakes you have made when doing a multiple choice exercise from the Use of
English exam samples from the school library or your moodle course. Then, identify what kind of
mistake it is (verb patterns, conditionals, etc.) and do the corresponding exercises from a good grammar
book.

Useful links
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/
http://www.esolcourses.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/0/
http://www.mansioningles.com/index.htm
http://www.scoop.it/t/useful-websites-for-learning-english
http://elttraining.mdl2.com/
http://www.agendaweb.org/
http://www.elllo.org
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
http://www.englishcentral.com/videos
http://www.saberingles.com/
http://www.englishstudydirect.com/OSAC/langacls.htm
http://www.parapal-online.co.uk/
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/english_lessons.htm
http://www.eslprintables.com/forum/topic.asp?id=25149
https://www.anglo-link.com/index.php?/home
http://www.fluentu.com/english/
https://www.busuu.com/enc/

EXPANDING YOUR VOCABULARY

If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is vocabulary that provides the vital organs
and the flesh. It is often said that while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary
nothing can be conveyed.

There are many reasons why vocabulary is central to language learning. These are some of them:
 Without sufficient vocabulary you cannot understand others or express your own ideas.
 The wide your vocabulary is, the more precise you will be when describing, narrating or expressing
your opinion.
 Having a rich vocabulary will help you communicate in a more engaging and persuasive way.
 Vocabulary is the foundation for comprehension. Unfamiliar words become holes in the text,
preventing you from completely understanding what you have just read or heard.
 How articulate you are constitutes a big part of the impression you make on others.

General tips to learn new vocabulary

 Read as much as you can. The more words you are exposed to, the richer your vocabulary will be.
Read about topics you are interested in or curious about. A high motivation contributes to language
acquisition.
 Remember that you don’t need to be familiar with all the words in a text to understand a text.
Sometimes the new word is not important and you can simply ignore it. However, either if you feel
the word is important or not, the context will help you figure out what it means. Considering what
grammatical category the word belongs to can also help you: Is it a verb? A noun? An adjective?
Look at the surrounding words for clues.
 Try out different techniques to help you memorise new vocabulary. We suggest some useful
techniques below. Research shows that the more you manipulate the new word (e.g. by using it
when speaking or writing, or by analysing the different forms it may take) the more likely you are to
remember it.
 Look new words up in a dictionary, especially when the word you don’t know is crucial to
understand what you are reading, or when it is a word you have come across many times and you
are genuinely curious about its meaning (the word may not be very important, but you are likely to
remember its meaning because your motivation is high).

5
  Use both monolingual and bilingual dictionaries. Whenever you write down a new word in your
notebook, also write an example, how it is pronounced and what words it collocates with (most
good monolingual dictionaries contain this information).
 Use a collocations dictionary (e.g. Oxford Collocations Dictionary, Macmillan Collocations
Dictionary, Combinatory Dictionary of English) when writing a composition. The following are online
collocation dictionaries: http://www.ozdic.com/collocation-dictionary ,
http://sentence.yourdictionary.com, http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/.
 Recycle the vocabulary seen in class.
 Listen to songs, audiobooks, textbook CDs; watch videos and films and write down the new
vocabulary (and try to use them afterwards!).

Techniques to help you remember new words

Try out as many of the techniques below as possible and find the ones that are the most effective for you:

1. Write the translation of the word into your language.

2. Write an example which shows how this word is used. You can find an example from a dictionary or
from the Internet. However, research shows that creating your own example is even more effective.
3. Write down the phonemic transcription of this word.
4. Use online dictionaries and listen to how the word is pronounced. Knowing a word is of little use
when speaking if you don’t know how it is pronounced.
5. Write next to the new word other words which derive from the same root. e.g. busy: business,
busily
6. Be aware of word formation rules. What suffixes do we use, for example, to turn an adjective into
an adverb or a noun?
happy  happily (adv.) happy  happiness (noun)
7. Write a synonym or an antonym next to the word.
e.g. New word: huge Synonym: enormous Antonym: tiny
8. Do vocabulary exercises and tests, for example from the English Vocabulary in Use series
(Cambridge), the Test Your Vocabulary series (by Peter Watcyn-Jones). We have them all in our
school library. Do also vocabulary exercises from the websites below.
9. Use the new words when speaking and when writing.
10. Decide which new words you want to memorise and write a simple short story which includes
them all.
11. Keep a diary in English and try to use all the new vocabulary.
12. Write words in groups under different headings:
e.g.
Food Relatives
pear aunt
orange nephew
apple niece
etc. etc.
13. Say the word aloud several times. This will activate your auditory memory. Make sure you
pronounce the word correctly. Look the word up in a dictionary and write down the phonemic
transcription.
14. Draw a picture which illustrates the meaning of the word. You can also do Google image searches
for the words you want to learn and then copy and paste the pictures you find most relevant to you.
15. Make visual associations with the word. e.g.: If the new word is thin, imagine the word spelt with
tall thin letters.
16. Make auditory associations with the word. e.g.: If the new word is snake, think about the initial
sibilant sound /s/ often associated with the sound snakes make. Repeat the word emphasizing the s:
/ssssssneɪk/.
17. Associate the new word with a particular gesture or facial expression. Make that gesture when
saying the word.
18. Establish or invent connections between the new word and a word you already know.
e.g. New word: earnest (=showing sincere and intense conviction).

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 You could imagine someone who earns a lot of money because he is earnest and his boss admires
this quality in him.
19. Think of a word in Spanish/Catalan which sounds or looks like the new foreign word, even
though the meaning is completely different.
e.g. granddaughter sounds like grandota in Spanish. Retention can be reinforced by associating the
English word with the image of a girl who is slightly fat.
20. Insert the foreign word into a sentence in Spanish/Catalan.
e.g.: If the word you want to learn is reliable (fiable), you can repeat the following sentence to
yourself: El meu cotxe és totalment reliable.
21. Write the words you want to learn on separate cards (one card per word). Write the word on one
side and write its meaning on the other (together with its pronunciation and an example sentence, if
possible). Put all the cards into your right pocket and then take one card out at a time. Read the
word. If you remember its meaning the card goes into your left pocket. If you don’t, the card goes
back into your right pocket.
22. Record the words you want to learn on a cassette/CD/mp3, etc. Then listen to them while you are
driving, walking, etc. If you decide to record your voice, make sure you pronounce the words
correctly.

Useful links
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/
http://www.esolcourses.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02pc9zn/episodes/downloads (a three-minute programme
focusing on a particular current English expression)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/0/
http://www.mansioningles.com/index.htm
http://www.scoop.it/t/useful-websites-for-learning-english
http://elttraining.mdl2.com/
http://www.agendaweb.org/
http://www.elllo.org
http://www.dictationsonline.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
http://www.englishcentral.com/videos
http://www.saberingles.com/
http://www.englishstudydirect.com/OSAC/langacls.htm
http://www.parapal-online.co.uk/
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/english_lessons.htm
http://www.eslprintables.com/forum/topic.asp?id=25149
https://www.anglo-link.com/index.php?/home
https://www.duolingo.com/
http://www.fluentu.com/english/
https://www.busuu.com/enc/

IMPROVING YOU READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS

General tips
Reading in a foreign language is one of the best ways to improve your language ability. Here are some tips
to help you read more easily and effectively:
1. Think before you start reading. Does the title tell you what the text is going to be about?
2. When you see a new word, don't look it up in a dictionary immediately. First try to guess its meaning
from the context.
3. Try to see and read whole phrases or sentences rather than individual words. This will help you to
understand the text better.
4. Write down in your notebook any words which you think are useful or interesting to learn.

What can I read?

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 1. Try to read as much as possible in your free time: books, magazines, newspapers, song lyrics, user
manuals, the text on your shampoo bottle, anything.
2. We have a relatively wide variety of books in our library. How about borrowing one every once in a
while?
3. Some online Spanish newspapers can be read in English. How about reading EL País or La
Vanguardia in English?
4. What are you interested in? Google the topic on the Internet and read about it for free!

Why is reading important?

There are many reasons why reading in a foreign language can be important. These are only some of them:
 It can be entertaining and educational; it can open up new worlds and enrich your life.

 It can help you learn the language faster and more completely.

 When reading, your listening, speaking and writing skills improve too.

 The constant repetition of words and patterns in reading helps you learn and remember vocabulary
and grammar structures.
 Reading helps you familiarize with the rhythm of English. Over time it will start to feel natural and
you will notice when a sentence or phrase doesn't seem right.
 Unlike conversation, reading is something you can do on your own and at your own pace.
 It develops your mind.
 You discover new things.
 It develops your imagination.
 It is the best way to learn and remember the proper spelling of words.
 Listening as you read aloud can help you improve your pronunciation skills.

 Nivell Avançat Reading exam preparation

 We have several exam samples in our school library. Do as many of these exams as you can to
familiarise yourself with the EOI reading exam format: the type of task, the common distractors (i.e. the
multiple choice response options that are not the correct answer), the time allowed to complete the
task, etc.).
 Read the handout Nivell Avançat reading comprehension exam. Useful information and tips (see
Moodle, under Exam preparation). You will find some ideas as to how to approach this type ox exam.

 Most texts in the Nivell Avançat exam are taken from English newspapers and magazines. Nowadays
you can read English newspapers for free. These are the links to some of them:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.independent.co.uk/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
http://www.express.co.uk/home
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/

IMPROVING YOUR WRITING SKILLS

General tips
Many people get a headache as soon as they think about writing, even in their own language! But writing is
much easier if you plan what you are going to write. Here are some useful tips:
1. Think about what you want to say.
2. Note down everything to do with the topic. Then cross out what is not relevant.
3. Make a list of words or expressions you would like to include, e.g. in fact, on the whole.

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 4. Make a plan. Decide what you want to say in each paragraph.
5. Write your first draft and check it for grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes.
6. Read it aloud. Does it sound English? Can you join some of the sentences by means of connectors?
7. Write a second draft and note any questions to your teacher in the margin, e.g. Is this the right
word? Should I use the past continuous instead here?

Other tips
 Read the handout How to write a composition. General tips to help you in the writing
process. You will find it on your moodle course.
 Write as much as possible:
o Keep a diary and write an entry every day.
o Write what you dreamt.
o Write your thoughts.
o Write quotations from other people (writers, philosophers, etc.).
o Try free writing: It’s a technique in which a person writes continuously for a set period of
time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw, often unusable material,
but helps you overcome blocks of apathy and self-criticism
o Write to your classmates in English when sending them emails, whatsapps or sms messages
o Write all the compositions your teacher asks you to write.
o Go to http://www.dictationsonline.com/ and do as many dictations as possible
 Before you hand in your next composition, have a look at your previous ones. Notice your teacher’s
observations and corrections. Try to incorporate some of your teacher’s advice and to avoid the
same mistakes.
 Don’t use structures which are clearly above your competence level.
 Try to use simple structures and avoid literal translations (we’re not aware of the complexity of the
sentences we use in Spanish or Catalan because it is our mother tongue).
 Avoid very long sentences.
 Use language which is as clear as possible.
 Use paragraphs.
 Use discourse markers to structure your text.
 Try to use language which is as varied as possible.

 Nivell Avançat Writing exam preparation

 You know that the day of the exam you are going to write two texts: 1) a narrative and 2) a
formal letter or an argumentative text. Make the most of this “privileged” information. Work on
these two kinds of texts as hard as possible. The more familiar you are with the language typically
used in this kind of texts, the easier it will be for you to write these compositions and the more likely
you are to do a good job in the exam.
 Look at the models provided by you teacher and try to imitate the techniques, type of language
(vocabulary, connectors, register…) used in them.

IMPROVING YOUR SPEAKING SKILLS

General tips
Most people learn a language because they want to be able to speak it as fluently as possible. The most
successful students are usually those who try to speak as often as possible in class. Here are some ways of
improving your fluency:
1. When you hear a new word or structure, say it a few times to yourself before writing it down.
2. Listen to dialogues, text passages, etc., and repeat them. First repeat the sentences slowly and
paying special attention to pronunciation. Then say the sentences more quickly and trying to sound
as natural as possible. Try to imitate not only the pronunciation but also the intonation. There are
some English learning websites which are specialised in this "listen and repeat" method, for example
http://es.talkenglish.com/ (focused mainly on conversational English)

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 3. Practise reading dialogues or text passages aloud, even if you don’t have the chance to listen to
the text first. Try shouting or whispering the lines for a change.
4. Always swap parts after doing a pair-work exercise. This gives both of you a chance to ask and
answer the questions.
5. Don't worry too much about grammar mistakes during discussion or conversation. People are more
interested in what you say not how you say it.

Other practical tips

 Try not to use sentences which are too complex, and try not to translate from your mother
tongue (think of what you want to say and say it using your own resources).
 Don’t shy away from speaking English during your trips.
 Don’t worry too much about accuracy, but don’t ignore it completely either.
 Listen to chunks of language and repeat them several times trying to sound as natural as possible
 Speak in English to yourself: describe the things you can see or that are happening (in the street,
on TV, etc.); remind yourself of the things you have to do that day (things you have to buy, etc.);
replay real English conversations you have previously had. Some people like to do this in front of a
mirror or picture of someone to add a feeling of a conversation to this. Some other people, however,
find having to look at their own reflection distracting! It really is best to do this out loud, but if that
would disturb people or make them feel that you are crazy, then you can also rehearse in the same
way in your head.
 Memorise expressions which you can easily use in conversations: in my view…, if you ask me..., I
agree with you up to a point...
 Choose two or three expressions from your notebook, textbook, etc., every day which you would like
to use in class, and force yourself to use them.
 In order to give yourself time to think, you can:
o Use fillers to give yourself time to think: you know, you see, I mean, sort of, kind of, like
(e.g. I was like walking down the street when…).
o Repeat the other person’s question: so you want to know why I made this decision?
 Use expressions showing interest or that you are listening:
o I see…; right…
o Really?; That’s terrible!; That’s amazing!; How awful!...
o Reply questions: A: It was horrible! - B: Was it?
o Showing that you agree or can understand: I know…, I bet…, you can say that again
 Use false starts and rephrasing: It’s a point of view, a way of seeing things that …
 Give examples to make your point clearer.
 Use contractions. Using “I’m” instead of “I am”, and “you’ll” instead of “you will” sounds more
natural and helps you with fluency; see contractions as fixed expressions rather than two words that
you put together
 Feel free to go off track. Use “by the way” to go off topic and “anyway” to get back on topic. “That
reminds me…” and “Where was I? / Where were we? / What was I saying?” plus “Oh, yes” are also
useful.
 Answer the easiest bit first. This is another way of responding to difficult questions such as
“When and where did you meet your wife/ husband?” There is no need to answer in that order, so
just talk about whichever part seems easiest to answer. You can also do something similar with
single questions. For example, if they ask you “How did you get here today?” you can first of all give
a basic summary like “I came by bicycle, train and bus” and then you can give more details about
where you swapped between them etc.
 Although it is good to push yourself, you also have to be realistic about how fluent you can be.
Don’t try to speak more quickly than necessary. Putting too much pressure on yourself can have the
opposite effect, distracting you from thinking of what you are going to say, making you stressed
and/ or taking away your confidence.

 Accept that if you want to try to speak more fluently than usual, this will inevitably lead to
grammar mistakes, more interference of your mother tongue in your pronunciation and structures,
less complex vocabulary, etc. So just accept that and work on those aspects another time when
they become your priorities.

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  Use confident body language. Even if you are on the phone, sitting up straight and smiling can
really help with your confidence as well as your fluency. If you are speaking to someone face to face,
make sure you also keep eye contact. This will also probably get the same positive body language
from the person you are speaking to, making you feel more confident and so setting off a positive
feedback loop.
 Read quickly. Reading as quickly as possible can be a good way of increasing your fluency and
speeding up your thinking in another language.

Who can I speak to?

 Speak to your classmates in English.
 Find someone to have a conversation exchange with: EOI Drassanes and Vall d’Hebron teach
Spanish for foreign students. These students are often interested in conversation exchanges. Get in
touch with these EOIs and ask them about them.
 Take conversation classes. Our school offers conversation classes every year. Other EOIs also
offer conversation classes.
 Be a workawayer’s host. Your school might have one (https://www.workaway.info)
 Travel to an English-speaking country whenever you can.
 Never miss an opportunity to talk to foreigners. Offer your help to tourists in the street, train
stations, museums…
 Join guided tours in museums, etc. and pretend not to be Spanish. Then, interact with tourists.
 Use language exchange websites to speak English. These are some of them:

https://www.conversationexchange.com/index.php?lg=en
Busuu.com
https://www.speaky.com/
https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/
https://howdoyou.do/
https://coeffee.com/login
http://www.easylanguageexchange.com/
http://www.lingoglobe.com/
http://www.coffeestrap.com/
http://babelvillage.com/
https://es.verbling.com/
https://www.hellolingo.com/
https://www.meetup.com/
http://www.english-corner-online.com/site/index.php
 You can also speak in English on your own. You can:

 speak to yourself (see “other practical tips” section)

 listen and repeat (see “general tips” section)

 read aloud (see “general tips” section)

 Nivell Avançat Oral exam preparation

 There are a number of recurrent topics in the oral exam every year. Be ready to talk about them.
These are some of the most common ones:

o Food and health o Environmental issues/recycling

o New technologies/ social networking o Emigrating
o Age (youth and old people's issues) o Celebrities
o Children o Hobbies, free time activities
o Literature and arts o Friends and relationships
o Work o Family issues
o Tourism, travelling and holidays o Work
o Transport o Education
o Law and order o Volunteering, social work

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 o Education o Crowd-funding
o Parenting o Happiness

 Familiarize yourself with the oral exam format.

 Try to memorize and automatize as many expressions, structures and vocabulary from the different
parts of the exam as you can. By doing this you will reduce the potential number of mistakes,
increase fluency, and you will also be able to focus more on what you want to say rather than on
how you can say it.
 On your moodle course you will find real exam samples. Use them all to practise. They are under the
Exam preparation and samples section. In the same section you will find useful language and tips to
do the different parts of the exam (e.g. Tips for the Nivell Avançat speaking exam: Part 1, or
Giving your opinion. Conversational strategies).
 Look for further texts on the topics referred to above or on any topic you may be interested in, and
practise doing the same tasks as in the exam with your classmates outside the class.
 You can also practise part 1 on your own. Choose a short text and record yourself summarizing its
content and talking about an anecdote which you can relate to it.
 The day of the exam:
 Try to relax. Stress doesn’t usually help.
 It is also well worth spending some time earlier speaking in English in order to “switch your
English brain on”.

IMPROVING YOUR PRONUNCIATION

Perfect grammar and great vocabulary and fluency and are of no use when speaking if the sounds we
produce are unintelligible and our intonation, rhythm and stress are wrong.

Tips
Here are some tips to help you with pronunciation:
 Familiarize yourself with the English phonemic symbols. You can usually find a phonemic chart at
the back of your textbook. You can also find a phonemic chart on your moodle course (under
Pronunciation). Whenever you learn a new word, learn how it is pronounced. Look it up in a
dictionary and read its phonemic transcription. You can also listen to the word in online dictionaries
such as the Macmillan English Dictionary (http://www.macmillandictionary.com). The sooner you
start pronouncing the new word correctly, the better. It is often difficult to get rid of bad habits.

 Listen and repeat (use videos, audiobooks, audios, podcasts, your textbook CD-ROM, etc.). You
will probably find this link very useful in order to get the English sounds right:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation. When you imitate what you
hear, pay attention to all these things:

o Pronunciation
o Intonation
o Stress
o Movement of lips
o Position of tongue

 Try listening and reading simultaneously. This will allow you to instantly pronounce exactly the
way you hear the other person speak.
 Read out loud.
 Record yourself. You can record yourself on your mobile phone or using a web-based audio
recorder such as these:
Audioboo
Vocaroo
SoundCloud

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 Alternatively, you may want to buy a cheap digital voice recorder at your local electronics store.
 Pay special attention to the sounds which you don’t have in your mother tongue. Note that in
Spanish we only have 5 vowel sounds, whereas in Standard British English there are 12!
 Don’t underestimate the importance of the schwa sound (/ə/). Remember it is the most frequent
sound in English, and it is very important to get the stress and the rhythm of English right. It always
occurs in unstressed syllables (e.g. literature /ˈlɪtrətʃə/).

 Pay attention not only to the pronunciation of individual words but also to how these words are
pronounced in connected speech. When we speak naturally we do not pronounce a word, stop,
then say the next word in the sentence. Fluent speech flows with a rhythm and the words bump into
each other. To make speech flow smoothly the way we pronounce the end and beginning of some
words can change depending on the sounds at the beginning and end of those words. For example,
when most English speakers say a piece of cake, they actually say /ə 'pi:sə keɪk/. Check out the
following links for details on connected speech:

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/connected-speech
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/connected-speech-2
http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/Connected-Speech.htm

 Nivell Avançat oral exam preparation

 Make sure you know how to pronounce all the language from the handouts Tips for the Nivell
Avançat speaking exam: Part 1, and Giving your opinion. Conversational strategies. Read
the handout Pronunciation. Practical information. Typically mispronounced words very
carefully. You will find all this handout on your moodle course, under the Pronunciation category.

Useful links
https://www.englishcentral.com/videos#/browse-app?browseType=video&goal=8
http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/
http://www.dictationsonline.com/
http://www.englishstudydirect.com/OSAC/mediatv.htm
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/aussprache.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation
http://www.fonetiks.org/spokenenglish/
http://www.shiporsheep.com
http://www.agendaweb.org/phonetic.html
http://es.talkenglish.com
Some YouTube pronunciation videos:
 The Phone Voice
 VirtuAule
 Teacher Melanie (me!)
 JenniferESL
 Lisa Mojsin @ Accurage English
 Rachel’s English
 Pronuncian/Seattle Learning Academy
 Eva Easton
 RealLife TV
 Dave Sconda (English Meeting)
 English with Jennifer
 Amy Walker

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