Mastering productive skills in a foreign language is a complex process with very specific demands. As all language teachers know, it goes far beyond a good command of grammar: students need to learn how to develop, organize and structure ideas, choose correct words, and distribute the information coherently. To help learners in this process, scaffolding techniques provide them with the transitional support and foundation to the independent work required in the exams. In this workshop, we will learn about the potential of scaffolding, and create frameworks to be used as temporary supports to facilitate the mastery of speaking and writing. We will focus on the specific tasks required for exam purposes (giving factual information, providing spontaneous spoken language or producing formal pieces of writing, among others). Come and take away techniques accommodated to different levels and ready to use in your classrooms!

Beatriz López-Medina holds degrees in English Philology and in German Philology and a Ph.D. in English Linguistics. She has extensive experience as a teacher trainer both at University and for different official and private institutions. Currently works at the Faculty of Education (UCM) in the area of ELT. Simultaneously, she participates in projects related to the area of Quality Assurance in Higher Education. She has previously worked as a Director of the Master in Bilingual Education at Nebrija University and as a teacher at the Official School of Languages -currently on leave-She obtained the Second National Award of Spanish Educational Research with a project on gifted children. Her research interests include CLIL approach, bilingual education and foreign language teaching and learning.

Our students’ performance in speaking and writing often belies a much broader range of vocabulary and a much better understanding of grammar than they actually demonstrate. Put simply, they often know more than they show. At intermediate levels in particular, when the tendency of many learners is to rely on more familiar language, one of the challenges for any teacher is to help students say better what they can already say more basically. How, then, do we encourage students at B1 and B2 levels to express themselves as fully as possible? How do we get them to speak and write with more variety, more nuance, more cohesion and, importantly, less grammatical and lexical repetition? This seminar will look at activities that can help students hone their productive skills, with a focus on paraphrasing, organising stretches of speech and text, varying usage of grammar and vocabulary, and distinguishing and employing different registers.

Daniel has taught English for over 20 years in the UK, Japan and Spain, and has recently finished co-authoring a new ELT coursebook for teens. He has a wide-ranging interest in language pedagogy, with an MA in Endangered Language Revitalisation. He currently works as a teacher and materials writer for the British Council in Madrid.

Assessing and evaluating oral skills is a challenging process since it involves transferring a variety of subskills into a single mark. For the students, the difficulty lies in the ability to use specific strategies required to succeed in the different tasks. In this seminar we will break down the purposes behind the oral tasks: what exactly is meant by “follow and understand” a wide range of spoken materials? What lies behind “communicate effectively”? Through a range of practical activities designed to break down the core assessment criteria, attendees will take away a set of techniques to improve their students’ awareness of what is being assessed and to develop their strategic competence in oral exams. ability to use specific strategies required to succeed in the different tasks. In this seminar we will break down the purposes behind the oral tasks: what involves “follow and understand” a wide range of spoken materials? What lies behind “communicate effectively”? Through a range of practical activities designed to break down the core criteria of assessing, attendants will take away a set of techniques to improve their students’ awareness of what is being assessed and to develop their strategic competence in oral exams.

Beatriz López-Medina holds degrees in English Philology and in German Philology and a Ph.D. in English Linguistics. She has extensive experience as a teacher trainer both at University and for different official and private institutions. Currently works at the Faculty of Education (UCM) in the area of ELT. Simultaneously, she participates in projects related to the area of Quality Assurance in Higher Education. She has previously worked as a Director of the Master in Bilingual Education at Nebrija University and as a teacher at the Official School of Languages -currently on leave-She obtained the Second National Award of Spanish Educational Research with a project on gifted children. Her research interests include CLIL approach, bilingual education and foreign language teaching and learning.

"C1 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is described as ‘effective operational proficiency’ and represents the second highest level of language proficiency as measured on the CEFR. Writing skills at this level require learners to show sophistication and the ability to manipulate the language effectively to achieve their desired outcome. In this seminar, we will explore in greater detail what is meant by C1-level writing skills through examining the assessment criteria and developing teachers’ understanding of the ways in which different types of classroom assessment can be used to help develop learners’ writing skills at C1. We will also look at ways of dealing with issues surrounding motivation to write in the 21st century and provide a set of teaching ideas activities which teachers can take away to use with their learners."

"Lucy has been working in ELT since 2010, where she has taught in a range of contexts around Spain, including preparing young learners and adults for the Cambridge Exams. In addition to being a Cambridge seminar presenter, she has also been a Cambridge speaking examiner and is an arts workshop leader. Lucy completed the DELTA in 2015 and her ELT interests include the use of technology in the classroom, CLIL and phonology.".