Exam preparation tips

Welcome to this week’s edition of English learning tips.

My name is Mei Ling Delmonte and I have been teaching English to speakers of
other languages for more than ten years. I have helped a huge number through
their English exams be it Cambridge First, Advanced, Proficiency, IELTS, TOIEC, or
TOEFL to name a few.

To every single one of the students I have helped, I have given them the same
basic advice.

Know what the exam consists of

Know what you need to do in order to achieve your score/mark

Practice, practice, practice

So how can you find out what your exam consists of? With the exams I have
mentioned earlier, it is usually the website where you register to take the exam
which will give you the information you need. In some of them you even get
sample papers from past exams you can download and prepare from.

Know what you need

The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) for languages is the

standard by which many of the English exams base their marking schemes. So it
very much depends on what you can demonstrate in your exam that will inform
the examiner as to your level of English.

In the exam you want to demonstrate your ability to understand and use English
so finally, but most importantly, it’s down to you - to practice and familiarize
yourself with the structure of the exam. You have a certain amount of time to
complete each part of the exam, so make sure that you train yourself to answer
all the questions within the allotted time.

Find a study buddy if you can, challenge each other, encourage each other and
work together.