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To all returning users to our Saba webinar platform
Our online presentations platform, Saba, has been upgraded to include more interactive features. You will need to do a simple update to access Saba if you are a returning user. This will usually take 30-45 minutes to install.
Just follow your usual registration link at least an hour before the session, and follow the onscreen instructions to install the upgrade.
You can find out more about the new features here.
Choose the webinar from the list below that you want to watch. Please note it can take a short while for the webinar to load before it starts.
| Prepare for the Revised Proficiency exam the expert way Part 2 - Skills for the Integrated Reading Paper | Carol Nuttall | Watch recording |
| Prepare for the Revised Proficiency exam the expert way Part 1 - Skills for the Writing part | Carol Nuttall | Watch recording |
| The Write Approach | Jan Bell, Amanda Thomas | Watch recording |
| The Mystery of Idiomaticity in English as Lingua Franca | Luke Prodromou | Watch recording |
| Focus on IELTS: Writing skills | Sue O'Connell | Watch recording |
| Does preparing for the FCE Use of English paper have to be boring? | Jan Bell, Amanda Thomas | Watch recording |
About the speakers
Carol Nuttall is an EFL teacher with over 20 years experience, teaching mainly in Greece, where she has made her home. She has specialised for a number of years in ESOL examinations, and is also an oral examiner for Cambridge. For the last ten years, she has been writing EFL materials, with a strong focus on preparation for ESOL exams. She is one of the authors of Expert Proficiency, a brand new course designed to prepare students for the revised Proficiency exam (CPE).
Sue O`Connell has worked as a teacher and teacher trainer in Greece, Portugal, Hong Kong and the UK. She has a long-standing interest in testing and was a Cambridge examiner for many years. Sue is the author of the Focus series for Pearson, which includes the best-selling Focus on IELTS.
Target English have been preparing and supporting university students in the UK since 2009. Specialists in language tests and academic preparation, Target English provide consultancy services, proofreading services and modular training courses. Target English is run and owned by Fiona Aish and Jo Tomlinson. Both Fiona and Jo have worked in EFL and EAP for many years. Universities that Fiona and Jo have worked within include: University of the Arts London, University of Bedfordshire, University of Greenwich and Kingston University. In addition to running Target English, Fiona and Jo are both examiners for Trinity College London, item writers for the Password suite of tests and co-authors of "Listening for IELTS".
After obtaining her MA in Applied Linguistics, Jan worked as a teacher and teacher trainer with the British Council in Italy and the Bell Schools in the UK for nearly twenty years before becoming a full-time writer. She has written or co-authored a number of titles and book series for Pearson since then, including the Matters and Expert series with Roger Gower and a number of skills books focusing on listening, reading and integrated skills. Jan Bell also works as an item writer with Cambridge ESOL. She lives in Saffron Walden, a market town near Cambridge, with her partner, teenage son and daughter and an assortment of pets.
Amanda taught in Italy, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and the UK for 15 years. During this time she was also an examiner and examiner trainer. For the last ten years she has been writing full-time both as an item writer for Cambridge ESOL and as a co-author on several examination preparation coursebooks and workbooks.
Dr. Luke Prodromou is a teacher, teacher-trainer and materials writer. He has been a plenary speaker at many international conferences. Luke graduated from Bristol University in English with Greek and has an MA in Shakespeare Studies (Birmingham University) a Diploma in TEFL (Leeds University, with distinction) and a Ph.D (Nottingham University) in idiomaticity in English as a Lingua Franca. He has conducted teacher training courses for Pilgrims (Canterbury), NILE (Norwich), the University of Edinburgh and ESADE (Barcelona) and many other institutions.
Luke has written over 20 textbooks for various international publishers, including Grammar & Vocabulary for Cambridge First for Pearson. Luke is the co-author of Dealing with Difficulties (Winner of the Ben Warren Prize and an English Speaking Union Award). He is also a member of two theatre groups and a founder-member of the Disabled Access-Friendly campaign.
About the sessions
Prepare for the Revised Proficiency Exam the Expert way!The revised CPE contains a number of tasks, which represent a departure from previous exam formats. One of these is the part one task in the Writing paper. This presents teachers with a new challenge in the preparation of students for the exam. This online presentation by Proficiency Expert author Caroll Nuttall looks at the changes in the revised exam, with a special focus on ways of providing students with the necessary skills to tackle the new part one writing task.
This presentation focuses on the new PTE Academic. We touch upon the background and development of the test before giving an overview of the online test experience; looking at item types, skills tested and showing examples of test feedback, which can be used to identify students' strengths and weaknesses.
For some students, IELTS is simply a hurdle to be crossed in the least possible time. This is a pity because IELTS training offers a valuable opportunity to begin to think and study in a whole new way. In this webinar we will look at ways of helping students develop the necessary skills not only for IELTS but also for a successful transition to academic study. Given the increasing numbers of international students going to English-speaking countries for HE, it is important that they have the best possible chance to succeed. Language skills alone are not enough. Unless students develop the necessary academic skills, including critical thinking and reflective learning, they will be at a serious disadvantage. This talk looks at the results of research into the needs of international students embarking on academic studies and also demonstrates some practical classroom activities to help them develop the relevant skills.
This workshop shows how teachers can help students succeed at CAE, by identifying the focus of the exam tasks and language skills required to complete them. There are suggestions for motivating classroom activities which develop the required language skills for the exam tasks, and tips for exam strategies to use on the day.
Many students fail to do themselves justice in the IELTS Writing paper, particularly in Task 2. Typical problems include a lack of ideas, poor organization and an inappropriate style. This webinar will look at ways of tackling these issues and helping students perform better.
This webinar led by Jan Bell and Amanda Thomas, focuses on effective and motivating approaches to preparing students taking the Cambridge English: First examination. Amanda and Jan focus on Parts 1 and 2 of the Use of English paper and ways in which the language and skills required can be taught (rather than merely tested) in a way which is enjoyable.
What is required to be a good writer?
How can we help learners to develop the skills required to do well in FCE? What criteria do examiners use to decide what is an effective piece of writing and how is it assessed? This talk will show how teachers can help learners to prepare for the different tasks in the Writing paper.
Learners of English can reach very high levels of competence in grammar and vocabulary, and often surpass their `native` counterparts. Paradoxically, to the `non-native` speaker, English idioms of all kinds tend to come with great difficulty and rather than make for fluency they slow the speaker down. In this session Luke Prodromou will look at the importance of idiomaticity in fluency and in international exams.
