For exam sessions from January 2018, there will be some changes to the Cambridge Starters, Movers and Flyers exams. In this informative and practical session, Jane will explain the changes to the Speaking component of the exams and suggest dynamic ideas for preparing your young learners in the classroom.

Jane Delaney works as a primary school teacher in Tarragona and has also worked in secondary education. She is an ex Director of Studies and language school Director. She also works as a teacher trainer, Local Organiser, Team Leader and presenter for Cambridge Assessment English. She is very interested in getting teenagers to talk and write!

The aim of this session is to increase teachers' repertoire of interesting warmers to pique students' interest, and fun games to recycle language and boost acquisition. The workshop will cover activities that require little to no technology and are suitable for a range of ages and levels.

Tim Warre  has been working and teaching in Barcelona for over 7 years. He has experience teaching all ages and levels but his main focus nowadays is the higher level Cambridge exams (CAE + CPE). In 2013 he started Tim’s Free English Lesson Plans (freeenglishlessonplans.com) where he posts lesson plans and activities for a wide range of ages and levels. The site has grown in popularity to the point where it now averages around 20,000 hits per week. Tim has recently completed the Cambridge DELTA, and is currently working in the world of teacher training.

This session will look at practical and fun ways of making reading more interesting for B1 students. This added enjoyment and confidence will make it easier for them to comprehend texts and improve their performance on reading exercises. Sarah will share techniques and activities that teachers can use in their classrooms right away.

Sarah Johnston  started her teaching career in Barcelona in 1985. She completed her CAP (Certificat d’Aptitud Pedagògica) and then went on to do her RSA (now DELTA). She is the DOS at Big Ben Idiomes Barcelona where she has been working since 1987.

Sarah is a Speaking Examiner Team Leader for CPE, CAE, FCE, BEC, PET, KET and YLE and has worked with Cambridge Exams for almost 25 years. She has also recently become a WE (writing examiner). She has been teaching exam classes for many, many years to students of all ages and has prepared students for all the Cambridge Exams.

Have your young teens taken over your classroom? Whether you're new to teaching teenagers or have some experience, all teachers find they come across students who, despite their best efforts, turn the class upside down. 
This seminar will look at how young teens learn and give you tried and tested ideas on how to keep classes under control right from the beginning of the school year. 

In the second part of the morning time will be set aside to discuss challenging situations you've faced, and we'll all get our thinking caps, so come ready with strategies that have worked for you. At the end of the session we'll take a look at how to use classroom management techniques in exam preparation classes.

Laura began her TEFL career in 2003 when she moved to Barcelona. Since then in addition to her teaching activities she has completed a MA in Translation Studies. Laura has experience teaching all ages and has been preparing students for a range of Cambridge English exams for over ten years. Currently, as well as presenting teacher training workshops, she coordinates extra school English classes at a local Cambridge school and she is also a Cambridge English Speaking Examiner.

Homework – everybody hates it! Students complain they don’t have time to do it and teachers can’t face spending their weekends marking it, but we all know it’s extremely important. In this highly practical workshop we’ll talk about why students should do homework and look at some strategies to get them doing more.

After the break it’s over to you and in groups you’ll have the chance to create your own activities using some of the tools and ideas which we’ve talked about during the session.

Dan Shepherd is a teacher, teacher trainer and academic manager based in Barcelona. He has taught a huge variety of ages and levels but he most enjoys inspiring young people and getting them interested in learning English. Before going autónomo he was the director of studies at a large Barcelona language school and is also a Cambridge English Speaking Examiner, Team Leader and conference presenter at Exams Catalunya.

The aim of this session is to provide teachers with techniques and activities designed to make preparation classes for the most popular Cambridge English exams (FCE, CAE, CPE) more communicative and engaging. These activities will focus on the following areas:

• Recycling new language to aid retention and acquisition.
  
• Different ways of presenting new language.
  
• Developing the specific sub-skills necessary to not only tackle the exam
  but also increase overall communicative competence.

Tim Warre  has been working and teaching in Barcelona for over 7 years. He has experience teaching all ages and levels but his main focus nowadays is the higher level Cambridge exams (CAE + CPE). In 2013 he started Tim’s Free English Lesson Plans (freeenglishlessonplans.com) where he posts lesson plans and activities for a wide range of ages and levels. The site has grown in popularity to the point where it now averages around 20,000 hits per week. Tim has recently completed the Cambridge DELTA, and is currently working in the world of teacher training.

For all learners, motivation is a key element which can contribute to success in language learning.  Teachers often find motivating teenage groups can be particularly challenging and in this seminar we will look at effective ways to engage teenagers and motivate them to take responsibility for their own learning both during class and at home.    There will be lots of helpful tips for classroom activities and techniques as well as ideas for varied and interesting homework assignments.

Dan Shepherd is a teacher, teacher trainer and academic manager based in Barcelona. He has taught a huge variety of ages and levels but he most enjoys inspiring young people and getting them interested in learning English. Before going autónomo he was the director of studies at a large Barcelona language school and is also a Cambridge English Speaking Examiner, Team Leader and conference presenter at Exams Catalunya.

Learners at B1 level often need encouragement to extend spoken utterances and written texts beyond short phrases and simple constructions.  In this workshop we will look at practical and participative ways to provide the scaffolding students at this level need to improve fluency, coherence and cohesion when speaking and writing.  Producing extended texts will both motivate them and prepare them to confidently use English in a variety of authentic contexts as well as improve their chances of passing higher level exams.

Sarah Johnston  started her teaching career in Barcelona in 1985. She completed her CAP (Certificat d’Aptitud Pedagògica) and then went on to do her RSA (now DELTA). She is the DOS at Big Ben Idiomes Barcelona where she has been working since 1987.

Sarah is a Speaking Examiner Team Leader for CPE, CAE, FCE, BEC, PET, KET and YLE and has worked with Cambridge Exams for almost 25 years. She has also recently become a WE (writing examiner). She has been teaching exam classes for many, many years to students of all ages and has prepared students for all the Cambridge Exams.

Most teachers would argue that homework is a necessary part of taking a language learning course.  Often though, it is hard to implement effectively.  How can we convince our learners of the benefits of homework and set tasks that are achievable and motivating?  In this seminar, Kat will discuss the benefits and challenges of homework and introduce the idea of the ‘connected’ classroom, making effective use of technology to link homework to class activities and encourage learner autonomy.

Kat is a teacher trainer living in Barcelona, where she also teaches Business English and Cambridge exam preparation courses. Her main field of interest is educational technology, so she teaches and trains on line, as well as face-to-face. She is also an IELTS and EAP teacher trainer, and during the summer she works at The University of Manchester teaching EAP. She is constantly exploring new ways to incorporate technology into her teaching practice and shares her ideas at conferences and on her blog.

Intensive and short summer courses leading towards Cambridge exam sessions are becoming more and more popular.  What are the specific characteristics of such courses and how can teachers ensure that they cover all that is necessary to prepare their students to take the exam at the end of the course?  Tom will focus on the B2 First and C1 Advanced exams in this timely seminar.

Tom Wogan moved to Spain in 1993 and has remained here since. He currently works as both a Cambridge English consultant for Catalonia and as a teacher for the EIM (Escola d'Idiomes Moderns) at the UB, specialising in exam preparation courses. Before working for Cambridge Tom worked for a major publisher as a commercial representative and as a teacher trainer.
His expertise and knowledge of both teaching and of the Cambridge English system is invaluable and he will be sharing his insight with us at this session.