Articles
Practical thinking on advanced English, exam preparation and teaching, written for learners and teachers interested in language, learning and effective practice.
IELTS or Cambridge: Which Certificate Lasts Longer?
Whenever students ask me whether they should take IELTS or a Cambridge exam, sooner or later we arrive at the question of validity. “How long does the certificate last?” The answer most people know is simple: IELTS – two years; Cambridge – forever. Technically, this is true. It is also somewhat misleading. Cambridge English certificates do not expire. If you passed C2 Proficiency in 2016, you are still perfectly entitled to say that you passed it in 2016. The certificate remains valid as a qualification and records the level you demonstrated when you took the exam.
Read articleMaking Vocabulary Stick: From Input to Active Use
In this article, we answer questions all too familiar to any language learner trying to boost their vocabulary: I have a vocabulary book full of useful expressions, a carefully curated Quizlet set, a folder of screenshots, and a growing collection of words you've encountered in articles and podcasts. But what do I actually do with all of this language?
Read articleBeyond the Dictionary: Investigating New Vocabulary (To Help It Stick)
In this article, we discuss the first step to making new vocabulary stick: getting to know how it works in real English. You will find a number of tools that will facilitate the process of investigating new vocabulary.
Read articleDramione Through the Lens of Archetypes
What’s your favourite literary rabbit hole? You know, something you do not just read but devour in a matter of hours? One of mine is terribly unoriginal but dearly loved nonetheless: Dramione.
Read articleAEE Adaptive Placement Test
Most students dread tests: by their very nature, they are often depressing and artificial, leaning towards a black-and-white approach. Even worse, the vast majority of standardised examinations do not aim to reward what a candidate can do, but penalise each and every mistake. The Russian community knows this very well; the notorious Unified State Exam is a case in point.
Read articleHow Cambridge Kills Flexibility
For years, Cambridge exams have been regarded as the gold standard of language assessment. They were believed to foster creativity, encourage the natural use of English, and promote genuine language development. Compared with other CEFR-based examinations, such as IELTS or TOEFL, Cambridge stood apart by avoiding overly straightforward tasks in favour of more demanding ones that scrutinised learners' communicative competence through the lens of the CEFR can-do statements. This philosophy gave rise to tasks such as Key Word Transformations, Gapped Texts, Cross-text Matching, and many others that have since become synonymous with Cambridge examinations.
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