CPE looming ahead

I've started to revise for CPE.

What is interesting is that I don't have any other Oxford certificates. Some people say I'd better start with CAE.

What do you think of it?

Well, let's see how I'm doing. The current challenges for me are:

1. Narrative tenses. Let's call it this way. The thing is that sometimes when trying to express my ideas, to write or to tell a story, I have difficulty in choosing the right tense to use. By the way, the choice of tenses is never a problem for me, if I write a kind of very common opinion essay or narration; the challenge comes when I want to say something I feel strongly about, or write a blog entry))

2. Punctuation. Sometimes it is.

3. Spelling. Sometimes.

4. Collocations. Or something like this. By way of example, in English you can say "to spark conversation". In Russian we can only "start or initiate conversations". If you translate literary "to spark conversation" into Russian, it will sound odd.

I am starting blogging about my CPE progress with this entry. You are most welcome to follow and share your ideas about it.

All my best,

Svetlana Putilova.

How to learn English (any language)

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Personal views and thoughts of Irenetrix.

How to learn English (any language)

(User manual)

You will need:

1) Time

If you do not have time, you will not learn English. Such ads like: ”You will learn English, spending only 30 min per day” are a lie. That is not enough.

2) Effort

It is you, who needs knowledge; no one will learn anything instead of you. You have to put efforts into your study. You may have the best teacher in the world, but without your efforts the learning process is a waste of time. There are a lot of methodics, but if you are passive, no one will work.

3) Plan

Believe me as an ex-school teacher, there are TONS of literature written about methodics of foreign language learning. The gallons of ink were spilt on all-enduring paper, describing this subject. One should find one’s own way through the thick forest of language. It greatly depends on your temper and the way your brain works. Find your teacher; try different tasks and practice those, which work for you.

4) Practice

… makes perfect.

You have to speak, write, read, and listen as much as possible. If you are not a genius, you will make mistakes and experience difficulties. Practice. You will realize/correct your mistakes and overcome difficulties. Eventually, you will break so called “language barrier” When could one say so? You will bellyfeel it. Shortly speaking, you will be able to express your thoughts more or less fluently.

5) Information

Find interesting information and make it the basis of your study, i.e. you are fond of cars, kites, bowling or Yuriy Gagarin. Find an article about it in English. It can be a good motivation for you to explore the language and to learn new words.

6) Teacher

Thou shalt always obey your teacher.

Listen up!

I've found a nice site, where people all over the world can record pronunciation of the words from their native languages. So you can hear how different languages and dialects sound! Very exciting!

Here's the link! http://ru.forvo.com