Paraphrasing, saying the same thing in a different way is an important skill for checking understanding.
You can learn some phrases for verifying on BBC Six minute English
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2014/01/140116_6min_business_misunderstandings.shtml
There are examples on Page 38 of Insight into PET , exercises 1 + 2.
This skill is also tested in Part 2 of the Reading test where you should underline key words in the question and find equivalent phrases in the text.( Pages 16 and 17 of Insight into PET.)
APRIL 6
Don't forget
to regularly check out the articles on Breaking News English.
This article
is about Mcdonalds
In the
article there are many examples of words that we usually put together - in addition to, make profit.
These are
known as collocations and identifying and using them can help you to sound more
natural in English.
You can read
about them here
There is
also information about collocation on the Flo Joe website, which is very useful
for exam practice, so explore!
As it says
collocations are very common in PET Reading Part 5 and FCE Reading and
Use of English Parts 1 + 2.
You can also
read about collocations on englishclub.
APRIL 30
In the speaking test, you have to discuss a problem with the other candidate, and try to find a solution. There is an example on Page 81 of Insight into PET , exercise 5.
This tests your ability to interact with another person, showing interest, agreement and disagreement and asking questions.
Before an
important meeting or conversation, we can imagine what type of words or phrases
we will hear, for example if you have an interview you can think about the
questions the interviewer can ask you and you can prepare some answers. You can
use the same skill for English.
Here you can
read some information about how PREDICTION can help you to understand better.
You can try
out this skill on listenaminue.com.
Before
trying the listening gap fill exercise you can guess which words may be missing
from the text based on your knowledge of the situation or of grammar and
vocabulary.
Then compare
your answers with the tape script. You will understand that it is not always
neccesary to understand all the words to understand the general sense.
There are
some interesting elements in the text including the use of 'such' and the
expression 'one of the + superlative adjective + plural noun.
You can
practise these structures here.
The weather
and the seasons is a common conversation subject in Cambridge exams.
You can also
learn more words related to weather.
And consider
the questions here
APRIL 29
Thinking of synomyms for words that we commonly use is
a great way to build your vocabulary.
When you learn a new word, think of words that are in
the same family. Are there any related verbs, nouns, adverbs, adjectives,
synonyms and antonyms?
Look at this example with the verb employ.
and try to do the same with the word friend.
Doing this can help you to identify some common prefixes and suffixes.
Understanding these can help you work out the meaning of new words.
Look here for some word formation exercises:
