Thursday, April 21, 2016

Speaking Test Tips


RULE ONE: BE POLITE

“Good afternoon, my name is Fabio BL…. (entire name) and I am very happy to have this opportunity to share my thoughts today. “

THEN enter into your topic:

“In this photo, we can see ….” or “I can see “ or “There are many people dancing ...”

RULE TWO: LOOK BEYOND THE IMAGE

“I also notice that many of the people in the picture are in a hurry, they are walking along the road toward the port, perhaps they are going to take a boat to another island or maybe they will meet someone who is arriving at the port of Las Palmas.”

RULE THREE (IMPORTANT): Finish off with a flourish!

Examiner: “Okay, excuse me, your time is up, the exam is finished.”

You: “Well, that's all I would like to say, thank you for listening to me and have a great afternoon.”





Friday, April 15, 2016

Another Interesting Link

To my EOI Students of English at any level, 

Here is another  link 

which you may find of interest.

Best wishes!

Thursday, April 14, 2016

NI1 Speaking titles for May 2016

Speaking Titles for the May Exams


Monologue (2 minutes)

1 Talk about what you consider to be a balanced diet.

2 Describe an old post card of Gran Canaria, photos taken in the early 20th  

century. Use extensive vocabulary and interesting expressions.

3 Why are stereotypes so common in our society?

4 Talk about how you manage your income.

5 Talk about how you spend your free time.


Dialogues (4-5 minutes)

1 Interview with a difficult public figure (politician, pop star, actor and so on). One journalist 

and one person being interviewed.

2 Give advice to a person who is looking for work. Candidate A is the unemployed person, 

candidate B is the career counselor.

3 Greeting the good news. Candidate A has just had a baby and candidate B must give the 

congratulations and get all the details of the birth (what name they are going to give the 

baby, size, weight and hair color).

4 Giving advice to a friend with a problem. Candidate A has a son/daughter who is 

addicted   to the WWW, surfing all day and all night long. Candidate B has to give A some 

advice on how to deal with this unpleasant situation.

5 Managing our money. Candidate A always spends money on shopping, gambling, music 

and so forth. Candidate B is more thrifty and advises A to be careful with his/her funds.


Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Improve your listening skills in English

Here is a terrific resource for all my students, intermediate and advanced, to improve your listening skills.

Just click on the link and do as many listening tests as you can. They are well-ordered and graded.

Randall's Listening Page


Good luck! 

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Writing paper for final exams NI1 level

Writing Paper for NI1

1. Describe a sport or hobby that you enjoy.
       How long have you done this activity? (Present perfect)
 Why did you take up this activity? ( simple past)
 Have you made friends through it?

2. Imagine you have won a contest with a travel company.
They have awarded (given) you a trip around the world.
You have one year to travel and can visit 6 countries.
What countries are you going to include and why?

Both essays should be 130 – 150 words.
You will be graded on
  • Expression
  • Grammar
  • Spelling
  • Vocabulary (adjectives)
  • Register
  • Content

Email me with your essay if you
would like to practice: davidsshea@gmail.com


Wednesday, April 6, 2016

NI 1 CD 3 Track answers

NI1
CD3

1.
1. A long dress with short sleeves
2. At the coffee house
3. 21st March
4. One video and a couple of novels
5. On the radio
6. Channel 4 news
7. Horse riding

2.
1B
2C
3A
4C
5B
6C

3.
1. gym
2. Saturday
3. 215
4. lessons
5. age
6. Reysall

4.
1F
2T
3F
4T
5T
6F

5.
1. 11:15
2. A salad, a bowl of soup and a roll
3. Under her chair
4. By bus
5. A sofa
6. Going to the cinema
7. Cloudy


6.
1B
2A
3B
4C
5A
6C

7.
1. The dining room
2. 9:15
3. forest
4. village
5. boat
6. (sun) hat

8.
1F
2F
3T
4T
5F
6T

9.
1. A lamp for his desk
2. No glasses and blond hair
3. In a house
4. Computer World
5. An opera evening
6. 8:15
7. Making himself some supper

10.
1C
2A
3B
4A
5C
6B

11.
1. Monday(s)
2. post office
3. 18 February
4. violin
5. photograph
6. (course) books

12.
1F
2T
3F
4T
5F
6F

13.
1. The music
2. A piano concert
3. A beach bag
4. Cloudy
5. On the dining room table
6. At the bookshop
7. 3:15

14.
1B
2B
3C
4A
5A
6C

15.
1. (sandy) beaches
2. 70
3. fan
4. teabags
5. owner
6. flight(s)

16.
1T
2F
3F
4F
5T
6T