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English teachers and people who are proficient in English often face the question, “How do I learn a language?”.
Until recently, I always had a ready answer. The standard pattern:
learn words, watch movies in the original, practice more.
But recently, in September this year, I have once again reassessed the learning process itself and all its pitfalls. I faced resistance and sabotaged myself at times when things didn’t work or seemed difficult, I lost and regained motivation, I chose English over time with friends and family, and I applied all possible self-discipline techniques to pass CAE.
«CAE is an international exam that certifies proficiency in English at the Advanced level. The exam tests all 4 skills – Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing – and certifies that you have a level of English sufficient for living, studying and working in an English-speaking country.»
Below is my story and insights
I’ve spent my entire adult life 
learning English (even now that I have been teaching it for several years). My first memory of the language is of kindergarten and the cards with the names of colors that my teacher brought me. Then school and individual lessons – they gave me the basic knowledge.
I have to admit, I was far from a perfect student
: I would start learning words half an hour before the teacher arrived or even ask my mother to cancel the lesson. Now I explain this attitude to the language for myself by the fact that in my head there was no connection between what I was learning and real life. That is, I knew the grammatical rules, but since there was no speaking practice, they helped me at the Olympiads, but were not applicable in everyday life.
A year in the U.S. and its results
In 2013, everything changed – I took part in the FLEX program, became a finalist and went to school in the USA for a year. By that time, I thought I had 
excellent English (school Olympiads and communication with foreigners I knew convinced me of this), but in reality it was one of the biggest 
of fatalities in my life.
For the first two months I didn’t understand what was going on at all. I mean, people seemed to use words that I knew, but it didn’t help at all. I still couldn’t understand what they wanted me to do – all the words and grammar didn’t add up to a coherent picture.
Over time, of course, it became easier and I got used to the language – it was much easier to communicate. Toward the end of my stay in the States, I decided to take the TOEFL to assess my level. I got an Upper-Intermediate level (B2), which cheered me up. Now I realize that that trip was a kind of catalyst – after it I realized how cool it is to learn a language through speaking practice and that it doesn’t end with textbook texts and grammar exercises.
Cambridge exam VS university exam VS university exam
After school, I went to study political science and international studies and translation. And it was not uncommon for me to get a C in English. It had nothing to do with the language: it was all down to the subjective attitude of the teachers. In the first year, to be honest, I didn’t care much about it: I judiciously assessed my knowledge and realized that they, to put it mildly, did not coincide with the university grades. Nevertheless, by the 4th year I started to have doubts: what if I was really bad? So I decided to take an international language exam in parallel with the state exam in order to understand the real picture. I chose between IELTS, TOEFL or CAE and decided on the last one, at the end of the article I will write what is the undoubted advantage of this particular exam.
Summary:
a minimum of a B (76 out of 100 points) at the university
The value of these assessments is incomparable and needs no comment.
Read more about the preparation and the SAE exam itself
It should be noted that the SAE surrender process is quite grueling and lasts 4 hours.
The exam itself is divided into four parts that test four language skills:
Listening
Speaking
Use of English/Reading
Writing
There is a short break of 10-15 minutes between parts.
Listening
There’s a 40-minute allotment. During this time candidates work through 4 parts and 30 questions. The audio itself lasts 30 minutes, with the remainder of the time expected to be used for transferring answers onto the form.
Be prepared to hear different accents (including non-carriers) and divergent pace, so when preparing it is important not to concentrate only on British or American speech, but also to take time to get used to other accents. For example, I don’t often encounter Scottish accent, So when I heard it on the test, I had to spend a little more effort to figure it out.
Expected score by feeling after the exam – 200
Actual score – 210
Speaking
You have up to 15 minutes to speak. logically divided into four parts:
short questions
monologue
2 parts where candidates work together: discussing the topic and giving their opinions
That part, as far as I’m concerned, is the most unpredictable, as it’s not all up to you.
In this part there is interaction between several people: the examiner and 2 (maximum 3) candidates. In addition, there is another person in the room who evaluates your speaking and gives you a score. So, even if you think you are 100% ready, the other person may not even know the structure of this part of the exam (one of my colleagues encountered this situation), and as a result it will be very difficult to work with them, which may negatively affect your score.
To be honest, while I “felt” the interlocutor and fully tuned in, half of the tasks were behind me. Don’t be like me.
I didn’t do it (I thought of it very late) and as a result I got the lowest score for this part.
Expected feeling score – 200.
Actual score – 190
Use of English/Reading
There are 8 parts to this section and a total of 90 minutes of time. You can earn 40% of the total points for this part, so it is very important. Essentially, you are taking two parts at the same time – Use of English and Reading – and there will be two separate marks for each part in the Statement of results.
I found this section to be the most difficult and ambiguous. I put a few answers at random, because I did not find any common sense in them. The difficulty is added by the fact that there is a possibility of not understanding the text at all in terms of vocabulary – then you will have to rely only on grammar, which does not give you confidence. For example, during my preparation I came across a text about the internal structure of different types of engines. Since I am very far from this field, it was difficult for me to understand most of the words. I was very worried that such a situation would not happen on the test.
Expected feeling scores – 180 for each one
Actual scores – 210 for each
Writing
There’s 90 minutes of time and 2 assignments:
less formal: essay
formal: letter/email/report, etc.
This is where my contacts from my studies in the USA came in handy. I used to send assignments to my English teacher, who made comments and edited my essays. So if you know a native speaker, don’t be afraid to exploit him or her!
Write as much as you can and as often as you can. Before you start, learn the basic requirements for a certain type of writing assignment. SAEs have certain criteria that it is better to know about in advance.
I used only two books for preparation:
Advanced Expert CAE, Pearson Education Limited
Advanced Trainer, Cambridge University Press
Both have sample assignments and supplemental materials that provide even more opportunities to practice. But it is important to realize that they focus on the exam rather than the language – they are very useful for understanding strategies.
Expected feeling score – 200
Actual score – 200
General Preparation Tips
1. Assess your motivation
Assess your motivationWhen preparing, motivation is important: why do you want to take the exam? My reason was trivial: it was a mandatory clause in my contract, and the minimum acceptable result was a Pass B. Many of my students, especially at higher levels, take the CAE or CPE as proof of progress – it helps them to stay interested in learning the language.
2. Write a practice test at the very beginning of your preparation
This will give you the opportunity to really assess your level and understand where you need to focus more.
3. Learn the structure of the exam
In terms of preparation, I believe that here, as with the rest of the exams, it’s not so much your language skills that make all the difference, but understanding the exam structure and knowing where the pitfalls might be.
Obviously, with A2 level, no strategy will yield positive results in this exam, but between two people with C1 level, the more informed one will definitely have an advantage. After all, the better we understand the structure of the exam, the less we concentrate on the technical issues directly during the exam. This allows us to focus on the questions themselves rather than where to sign the answer sheet.
4. Do a lot of practice tests
The best way to prepare, in my opinion, is to do practice tests. Working with them does not end with checking answers and calculating scores. It is important to understand your mistakes, to see the logic of the exam.
5. Get some rest before the day of the handover
By the last part you feel very tired – extreme concentration for quite a long time and nervous tension have made themselves felt. So …
A nice bonus of the CAE exam
The biggest plus of this exam, in my opinion, is no need to retake and confirm the level after a certain period of time (unlike IELTS or TOEFL).
Wishing you good luck in your preparation. You will definitely get the result, and I hope this article will help you to get there faster.
I will be happy to help you pass the exam, you can sign up with me for counseling and lessons by calling the phone numbers listed in the footer of the site or through our instagram.
