ENGLISH LANGUAGE QUALIFYING EXAM B1
Learning outcomes of the course unit
This course aims to bring students to B1 level (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages of the Council of Europe) in the skills of reading and listening, and in Use of English.
Prerequisites
This course is aimed at students who already have an elementary knowledge of English and who understand simple communication.
Course contents summary
The course is structured in interactive lessons focusing on the following topics:
Grammar
• articles
• demonstratives
• possessives and possessive ‘s
• personal pronouns
• some and any
• countable and uncountable nouns
• quantifiers
• comparatives and superlatives
• relative pronouns
• main prepositions of place and time
• indirect questions
• main conjunctions
• main phrasal/prepositional verbs
• Present Simple and Present Continuous
• Past Simple
• Past Continuous
• Present Perfect Simple
• The future (going to, will, Present Simple, Present Continuous)
• First conditional
• Time clauses and the Present Simple)
• The Passive voice (Present Simple, Past Simple, Present Perfect)
• Modal verbs (can, could, must, will, would, should)
Vocabulary
* spelling
• numbers (prices, quantities, dates, etc.)
• family
• free time activities
• house and furniture
• public places and shops
• jobs
• food and drinks
• animals
• weather
• clothes
• parts of the body and health problems
• means of transport
• everyday objects
Functions
• describing people (character and appearance)
• telling the time and dates
• describing everyday habits and routines
• ordering in a restaurant or in a hotel
• understanding notices, labels, adverts
• road directions
• describing holidays, trips, etc.
• describing objects (size, colour, shape, etc.)
• warnings and prohibitions
• obligation and absence of obligations
• agreement/disagreement
• criticisms and complaints
• talking about preferences
• describing feelings and emotions
Recommended readings
For grammar, functions and vocabulary:
M. Foley, D. Hall, My GrammarLab, Pearson
Textbook
C. Latham-Koenig, C. Oxenden, P. Seligson, English File Digital Pre-Intermediate (3rd edition),
OUP
Further practice:
S. Burgess, J.Newbrook, PET Gold Preliminary Exam Maximer with key, Pearson
Teaching methods
Methodology: presentation of structures, deduction of rule, contrastive use of the language, use of different teaching aids (slides, audioCDs, textbook, etc.).
Assessment methods and criteria
final test with multiple choice questions on grammar, lexis, functions, reading and listening comprehension.
