We have just over 1 week until our BROWNS Cambridge Exam Preparation program begins at our Brisbane and Gold Coast Campuses.

This week we bring to you our Top Tip #7 and #8.

Tip #7: Learn to study independently outside the class.

Unlike most English language courses you’ve taken in the past, the teacher in a Cambridge course is NOT a “language god” who should be treated as the sole source of all information. As a student, you will be expected to study independently outside of class. Don’t get me wrong, you will certainly learn a lot in class for 4 hours a day. However, it is your responsibility to revise the grammar points you’ve learnt, especially basic ones such as past participle forms of verbs or subject-verb agreement. As a student of a Cambridge course, you are expected to have a certain language proficiency level prior to starting the course. It is virtually impossible for the teacher to go through every single grammar point in a matter of weeks. Basically, if there is a simple grammar point that you still find confusing, it’s up to you to revise and catch up. The course will not slow down solely for your benefit. The teacher will not hold your hand and spoon-feed the lessons just to accommodate your lack of understanding. You are the one who is expected to adapt and keep your head above water. This can only be accomplished by putting in a lot of extra study hours outside of class time.

Tip #8: Be responsible and organised.

During the Cambridge course, you will receive a lot of paperwork on a daily basis. Grammar worksheets, speaking mark sheets, feedback sheets, and sample tests, are just a few examples of what you will receive in the first week alone. Unlike most English courses, each day in a Cambridge course targets a different theme, a different set of vocabulary and collocations, a different grammar point, and a lot of tests. You need to be highly organised, so that when you have to refer back to a specific topic or lesson, you know when and where to find the information you need. You are responsible for keeping track of your progress and making sure that you are on top of everything. This might sound daunting, but simply having an organised folder, perhaps separated into weeks, can help you manage all the paperwork you get. That way, you know exactly where everything is and you won’t waste the precious little time you have looking for something you’ve carelessly misplaced. Otherwise, you might find yourself in week 8 of the course trying to find that particular handout that was given to you a few weeks ago from a pile of disorganised ‘swamp rubbish’ that you call a “bag”.

Written by Victor Corpuz

(BROWNS FCE teacher)

 

 

In case you missed it, you can find our previous Top Tips here:

Tip #1: Don’t be nervous + Tip #2: Don’t be shy

Tip #3: Answer the question + Tip #4: Difficult is good. Easy is boring 

Tip #5: Be prepared to feel frustrated + Tip #6: Be prepared to sacrifice several weekends

See you again next Monday for our final Top Tip #9 and #10.