james egerton

Examining obsessions:

Exam preparation classes,

their effects on the individual and society,

and what we can do to reduce the negatives

James Egerton

Albacete, Spain.

What are we going to talk about? Positives of exams

Negatives of exams

How can we avoid or transform the negatives?

- General courses

- Exam classes

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(Cambridge FCE writing marking criteria)

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- General courses

- Exam classes

General courses

Objectives

Real-world

Academic

- Survive a weekend trip to London

- Watch an English-language film in

original voice and understand the

plot

- Read a novel in English

- Hold a conversation with an English-

speaking friend

- Pass an official B2 exam by the end

of 2016

- Pass English-language modules of my

university degree

General courses

General courses

TBL

Exam classes

´The biggest problem is the potentially negative

effect that the exam can have on the exam

class…A course consisting far more of testing than

teaching´.

May, P., 1996. Exam Classes, Oxford: Oxford

University Press (page 4)

Exam classes

Encourage growth mindsets!

Mindset theory (Professor Carol Dwerk):

ENGLISH TEACHER

OR

EXAM COACH?

Thanks for attending!

Any questions or comments?

Get in touch:

james@nessie.es

I also blog on more TEFL topics at:

www.nessie.es/author/jamesegerton