Course Basics & Materials!

C1 Course Description, by MF (draft – July 2016)

1. First Post on this course (July 2016, updated on Sept 2)
2. BegCourseC12016 (Sept 2, Word doc 1 page) – overview for Sept & October 2016
3. Read the course syllabus – Read it all first and then we’ll hold a session in class for questions.

This course is about using English with original materials, for true communicative purposes, as we develop projects and workshops. You’ll keep learning logs, lists of useful language and mistakes, all based on our everyday work, in class and outside the classroom.

This course is interactive, which means you need to do your bit so the course will develop its full potential, which is amazing. Interactivity is of paramount importance and it includes following the methodology, learning from it. (To help with this, you will keep some learning logs.)

You need to register on this blog as Contributors or Authors, so you can post and dig the posts and all! This means I need you to send me your email address. Subject line: on blog! When I copy your email address inside here (!) you’ll get an invitation to join the blog as contributor. More info.

This course will also help you develop your creativity, train in teamwork, learn about the human mind and social achievements since the 20th century, and most importantly, it will help you become a lifelong learner of English.

As a logical consequence, you will probably pass your certificate tests at the end of the year. Because following this course means developing a lot of complex quality learning.

You will have to work in specific ways, which will later be useful also for the Exam Format workshop in March (this is, so you can pass your certificate level test in June).

The first two weeks together will be very important to learn about how to work during the course.

Ways of Learning

You will need to work with a listening/reading/speaking/writing log, weekly lesson plans, a writing file, a speaking file, lists of useful language, lists of mistakes, oral drilling, your audio recordings, original materials (books and audiovisuals), which I recommend you buy for a mediateque of your own!

As online support, this course has

• the Talking People C1 page. Follow this path: talkingpeople.net – Enter – In Class – C1 Course
• as well as this blog at https://c1coursebymf2016.wordpress.com
• and C1 Materials

You will be using two video channels:

• EFL Learners Speaking English (EOI Fuengirola) on YouTube
• EOI Teacher Sharing C1 Work on Vimeo

Recommended podcasts are the Talking People Podcast and podcasts recommended on talkingpeople.net – Podcasts

Our course will help you in two ways:

• To develop an advanced level (start developing or consolidate it and expand it)
• To learn to learn on your own, as an advanced learner

In other words, this course will help you to become independent and resourceful lifelong learners

Reflect on this phrase as we move along, please.

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An advanced level is generally reached after two years of using the language at the advanced level or in two courses: C1.1 and C1.2. In terms of General English, the C1 is the highest level students can achieve. The key grammar contents have already been dealt with at the intermediate levels (pre-intermediate or A2, intermediate or B1, and upper-intermediate or B2) and the focus is in mastering harder language items but above all, achieving the kind of fluency and accuracy an advanced speaker has, which implies certain mistakes are rarely made. Signs of people having the advanced level necessarily include a good use of the verbal system, meaning the learner has no particular difficulties in using subjects and verbs correctly. Mistakes are uncommon.

If you want to pass your PUC test, because we just have this year to succeed in the aim of developing an advanced level (even if that does not mean consolidate it), you need to understand that this cannot be done without good work outside the classroom (2/3 of this 1/3 which is the course), which you can share later on in class and on the internet, for feedback and to help others learn.