Acing the ÃÛÌÒapp English International Certificate: 10 essential revision strategies

Amy Malloy
Amy Malloy
Three young people sat outside holding binders with notes and examining them

Every student and teacher knows how important revision is ahead of exams. It¡¯s not only about how much students revise and practice ¨C it¡¯s also about how they do it.

So, if you or your students are preparing for the ÃÛÌÒapp English International Certificate (PEIC), here are ten top revision strategies to help. All of the advice below can be applied to all six levels from A1 to Level 5.

Know what to expect

You can download detailed 'Functions and Notions' guides for all levels. These will give you a very clear idea of the language we expect students to produce at each level. You can download the test guides for each level as well as practice tests and other important documents.

Work on synonyms and paraphrasing

Often in the reading and listening tasks, the answers will be synonyms or paraphrased versions of the question. Working with synonyms and paraphrasing in class or at home is a great way to expand vocabulary and help be better prepared for the test. In the A1 test students are expected to show only ¡°a very basic repertoire of words and simple phrases¡±, but as they progress through the levels, more range is expected in vocabulary and grammar.

Focus on sentence structure

As well as helping to improve grammatical control, taking a close look at sentence structure will really benefit you or your learners, especially in the dictation task (section 2). Identifying the tense of a verb or whether they need to use this or these, for example, will help you avoid losing points unnecessarily. It¡¯s also important that they check sentences are complete and correct in the gap-fill tasks at higher levels (Sections 3 and 7), so always tell them/make sure to re-read the whole sentence for every question.

Create a list of errors

We all know that learners often make the same mistakes, so a good idea is for them to create a personalized errors list.

Teacher: Each time you do a writing task, dictation, or gap fill, have them write down the typical mistakes they make. Then, next time, tell them to check their work with their list before you correct it.

Self-learner: Make sure to take note of the mistakes you make and put them into a list, taking care to avoid them in the future.?

Use a highlighter

Get yourself or your students into the habit of highlighting or underlining keywords in questions every time you do a task. This helps learners focus on the information they need to listen or look for and also encourages them to subconsciously start thinking about vocabulary related to the topic. This could be practiced by downloading a sample exam and practicing underlining the keywords.

Say more

For the spoken test, train your students to expand their answers and make sure they feel comfortable talking about themselves. At higher levels, give your learners language so they can support their point of view. Remind them that the topics may be more complex, but they still need to be able to give an opinion about them.

Listen to as much as possible

In the listening sections, learners will hear a variety of different accents from people of different ages, so it¡¯s important to expose them/yourself to lots of different voices in preparation for the test. That might be a parent talking to a child or an elderly person in a shop, so the more experience someone has listening to different dialogues, the better. As well as the listening activities in coursebooks, encourage students to listen to podcasts or watch videos on YouTube in their free time.

Be (in)formal

In the writing and role play, it¡¯s important for learners to know what level of formality is required for each task. They should have lots of practice in written and spoken structures to deal with different types of people, such as a friend, a shop assistant or a bank manager. Also remind them to make the most of the 15 seconds they have to prepare the role play in the spoken test and think about the type of structures and vocabulary they¡¯ll need.

Keep to the word limit

For each of the writing tasks, there is a ¡®tolerated word limit¡¯ which allows students to be a few words over or under. However, you should train learners to keep an eye on how much they are writing so they become familiar with the required task length. Students can save time calculating exactly how many words they¡¯ve written by choosing an average line from their writing, counting the number of words on that line and then multiplying it by the total number of full lines.

It¡¯s also essential students practice writing under exam conditions so they get used to completing the tasks quickly. Be sure to include some exam practice in class or as a self-learner, try to practice with a past exam paper in a quiet place, replicating exam conditions as closely as you can.

Check the answers again

While our final tip isn¡¯t really a revision strategy, it¡¯s certainly very helpful for students to bear in mind when applying all of the other revision strategies. It is essential that students leave themselves time at the end of the test to check through their paper: Have they filled in every question? Are the sentences complete in the gap fill tasks? Have they checked their writing and remembered their frequent mistakes? Are all the answers clear and easy to read? One final check-through could make all the difference!

With these top tips, you or your students will be more than ready for the test. Good luck!

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    Teaching our?children core?values is so important in helping them to become?happy,?well-balanced?citizens who will make a positive contribution?to?our future society.?

    Values are present and visible everywhere and they are?the?foundation or starting point from where we make our decisions, which ultimately determine our futures. It is,?therefore,?important that our children learn a strong, moral set of values that will help guide them as they grow older,?inform their decisions,?help them to?know right from wrong, solve problems, assert themselves and build self-esteem and confidence.

    Values can be?built?on a?personal level or even?shared at?a group level such as a family and friendship group.?However, we often see them on a larger scale within communities, countries or even the whole world.?

    Having a shared set of values connects people?on a deeper level?and helps us to all work towards the same goals and standards ¨C they can?even encourage people to see the similarities between each other, rather than the?differences.?

    Learning values through reading

    Children learn about values through their families, friends, and teachers, through what they watch or listen to and through their life experiences. They also learn about values?through the books they read.?These lessons?can be subtle but are often?extremely powerful and?can?have a significant impact and influence.

    As an example, let¡¯s have a look at how shared values?are?explored in the?new graded readers series for young learners,?Disney Kids Readers, where special emphasis has been put on exploring values within a story.?At the end, you will find several?value-based activities?that you can download for use in the classroom or?as?an activity at home.?

    How?do Disney Kids Readers teach core values?

    1. Learning through stories that are already familiar can help children to trust in and take on board the key messages much more easily. Familiarity can break down many barriers to communication and help us understand that values are often universal.?
    2. Many children are also familiar with the Disney characters and can find inspiration from reading how they react to situations in life, make decisions and behave. Children often look up to characters and can see them as role models within their own lives. As a result, the readers can be a reference point on how to respond to key life moments and how to incorporate values into real life.
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    Each Disney Kids Reader is linked to a key value?and contains a ¡®Values¡¯ page with a?short?comic?strip?that brings to life a specific value.?

    The list below details?a selection of?key values taught across the readers.?You could ask?the children?in your class?to talk about which values are most important to them and why. Ask them to give an example?of?a time when they have demonstrated this value in their own lives.?

    Friendship, positivity, curiosity, confidence, open-mindedness, courage, determination, self-belief, responsibility, resilience, respect, honesty.

    Examples of key values in?Disney stories

    In?The Jungle Book,?friendship?is a key?value,?and we learn that it is important to help our friends. Baloo helps Mowgli when he is alone in the jungle and scared. An angry tiger wants Mowgli to leave the jungle, but when Mowgli meets Baloo, he finds a friend in him. Baloo sees that Mowgli is scared and looks after him.?We learn that it is important to help our friends when they are in need.?

    Do:?Ask the children when they have helped their friends.

    In?Inside Out, we learn about?sincerity?and?how?important?it is to talk about how we are feeling. Riley is a teenager struggling with a whole range of emotions and we learn that life isn¡¯t about being happy all the time and that it is okay to be sad sometimes. The children learn that this is a normal part of life and that talking it through with a friend, a parent or a teacher can help.

    Do:?Ask the children if they share their feelings with others.

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    1. My Values Road Sign (L3-4)

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    ?2. Kindness Calendar (L4-6)

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    3. Core Values Quiz (L5-6)

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    Download the worksheet

    4. My future self (L1-2)

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    Download the worksheet

    Read our blog posts 'Fostering self-care and wellbeing through the world of reading'?and 'The importance of teaching values to young learners'.

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    Fostering self-care and wellbeing through the world of reading

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    Motivating children to read English books with fun activities

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    Improves?language skills?

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    Improves memory?

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    Cultivates curiosity?

    Books help kids¡¯ imaginations to grow?and?encourage them to be?more open-minded. They?help us to learn about other cultures and encourage us to think more creatively. Through subtle messages,?reading?builds?an?awareness of the world in which we live and?enables?children to form?their own?opinions?and ask questions.?

    Creates empathy?

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    Reduces stress?

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    Develops key life skills?

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    It?must?be fun,?purposeful and relevant?

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