Teacher tips on using practice tests in class

Sarah Laughran
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Exam Preparation  Testing, Evaluation and Assessment 

Are you looking for ideas for using practice tests with exam students? As the official publishers for Cambridge English Qualifications, and the writers of the IELTS test, we’ve got plenty up our sleeves…

By teachers, for teachers

But last year we asked you, our teachers, for your top tips on using practice tests in class when preparing for exams and there was a great response. There’s nothing as good as a tip from another teaching professional on what really works with their students.

Here’s our favourite entry (and last year’s competition winner), for B1 Preliminary Reading, recommended by Manuela Mena, The Language House, Spain.

Try it out with your students and let us know how you get on:

Learning objective:
Show the difference between reading for gist and reading for detail.
Reduce stress by showing students can get the general idea without understanding everything.

Tip:

  • Make copies of any Part 3 Reading from B1 Preliminary and crumple them up to make paper balls.
  • Ask students to pick a paper ball, write down key words they see and compare their answers with a partner.
  • Ask them to guess what the text could be about.

And here’s another for B2 First & First for Schools Reading and Use of English, this one recommended by Ruth Abell, Virginia Lyons English School, Spain:

Learning objective:
Practise the Use of English paper, especially key word transformation and word formation questions.

Tip:

  • Show any of the Use of English exercises on the whiteboard and give your students a mini-whiteboard.
  • The students then write what they think is the answer to the question on the mini-whiteboard and all show their answers at the same time.
  • Check the answer and proceed to the next.
  • This can also be done in pairs or groups and turned into a competition.

Download free lesson plans and resources to help you get the most of practice test material. Each one provides enough material for a 45-minute lesson with extension activities. There are lesson plans for each paper of Cambridge English Qualifications from A2 Key for Schools to C1 Advanced, as well as IELTS Academic.

Watch all of our top tips videos in our YouTube playlist.