Teaching English

The COVID pandemic was definitely one of, if not, the most impactful event in our society in a  global scale, bringing upon us significant losses in large numbers. But, as the saying goes, “Every dark cloud has a silver lining”. For years before it, we had already made use of online learning or distance learning, although there was no spread or liking for such manner of education. This was also valid for the working scenario. But the Pandemic, with its rules of social distancing, lockdowns and even shutdowns of entire communities and cities, has made it not only necessary, but the only means for most businesses and educational institutions to continue their activities. Remote work or homeworking have become the norm, which at the same time, put different people from different countries in contact more than ever, and thus, the knowledge and use of English have become an essential skill, not a plus, anymore.

But, in many countries, for various reasons, there was no need for validation of the quality or grading of this English knowledge once employees were restricted to their own countries and languages. But now, things are different, and companies have begun to require such validation and mostly, by means of International Certification.

So what does it take for the regular GE (General English) teacher to become an exams preparatory one?

We all know that the English language taught will be the same, so are there differences? Or implications? YES. And they are very incisive. For starters, we test people by level (most International Exams), not by the curriculum offered by the school, so teachers will have to teach beyond their coursebooks. For this reason, teachers will have to acquire a bigger knowledge of what ‘levels’ are according to the CEFR (once most exams follow it), and most importantly, the type of test they are preparing candidates for. For example, we know that a TOEFL test is completely different from a Cambridge Main Suite exams.

What to do, then? Should we take all the exams so that we know what they are all about? No, not necessarily, but being acquainted with their formats, and requirements is always the best way to start. Understanding WHAT each exam focusses on, and HOW they do so, is of utmost importance. Following this, choosing the right preparatory material, so that your learners become aware of what they’ll face, and learn techniques to approach each task, and most importantly, become aware of time constraints and other technicalities (like answer-sheets/ listening rounds and the like) and how to tackle them. Next, I’d suggest that this training, for it is training, be as accurate as possible, but never forgetting that the ultimate goal is to speak the language, therefore, the communicative aspect cannot be left aside, but instead, it has to be highlighted. To that end, making leaners use what they are learning in real-life contexts will also be helpful in the acquisition of such language.

Last, but not least, teachers need to be very knowledgeable of how to mark the tests, so that they can have nearly precise results to their students’ production activities (orally) and papers (in writing). Fortunately enough, nowadays, we can find all of this information on websites and materials provided by the institutions themselves, so there is no room for doubt or mismarking.

In conclusion, it is different from GE, yet at the same time it is the same English language. And does this make a difference? YES. Studies have shown that candidates within a certain level 'can and will' fail exams because they lack the knowledge of format or time or focus. They might not be aware of ‘word formation or transformation’ for example. They know how to employ a word, because they know it, but they might not know how to construct it because they lack the ability to do so , and place it in a different context where another part of speech is required. Also, some exams focus on very specific constructions and templates, like how to ‘take the minutes of a meeting’ and candidates may know about it, but not know the language or register or format to do so.

I do expect this article will be instrumental to you all, and most importantly, a warning for the teachers who believe that only the English language knowledge will suffice. If you have ideas to share, please use the comments area below for that. And if you wish to discuss this in more detail, IM me and we’ll make time for this exchange of ideas.

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