We understand the needs of teachers and learners of English and the challenges they face, and recognise that qualifications may not be all that is needed in today’s competitive job market.
To help both teachers and learners further develop their skills, we offer a wide variety of free seminars and other training opportunities, all designed and delivered by highly qualified and experienced British Council presenters.
The seminars are free but you should contact us in advance in order to reserve a place.
Seminar times may differ slightly from venue to venue. Please refer to your invitation for the exact schedule.
Seminars for teachers of English
The aim of our seminars for teachers of English is to share our considerable knowledge, skills and expertise in teaching, provide information, clarify grey areas, introduce new approaches to the teaching of English and give teachers the opportunity to come together to discuss issues around preparing students for exams. Both new and experienced teachers are welcome to take part in our seminars.
Given the level and speed of changes taking place in exams, these seminars will be even more important in future and will enable teachers to plan and prepare students for very different qualifications.
Pedagogical seminars
Programme
Writing assessment at C1 and C2 levels – 40 minutes
An overview of the assessment criteria for Cambridge English: C1 Advanced (CAE) and C2 Proficiency (CPE), together with an analysis of sample writings and assessment tips.
Teaching life skills – 40 minutes
Find out all about what life skills are, why they're important and how we can teach them as part of English language education
Improving speaking skills (IELTS and Cambridge English exams) – 40 minutes
Practical steps and activities to help your exam class students improve their speaking skills.
Presenter: Cliff Parry, British Council Academic Manager
| When | Where |
| 10 February 2018, 10.00–12.00 | Trikala |
| 11 February 2018, 10.00–12.00 | Karditsa |
| 23 February 2018, 10.00–12.00 | Athens |
| 16 March 2018, 10.00–12.00 | Athens |
We also offer more targeted seminars with exam-related content:
IELTS seminars
Every year we organise seminars to support IELTS teachers. Our topics vary and may cover any of the four test components – Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. They provide teachers with:
- key strategies for success in IELTS
- practical ideas for classroom teaching
- guidelines on marking and assessing candidate performance
- information on the content of the IELTS exam.
Programme
Improving speaking skills (IELTS and Cambridge English exams) – 45 minutes
Practical steps and activities to help your exam class students improve their speaking skills.
Presenter: Cliff Parry, British Council Academic Manager
| When | Where |
| 10 February 2018, 12.00–13.00 | Trikala |
| 11 February 2018, 12.00–13.00 | Karditsa |
| 23 February 2018, 12.00–13.00 | Athens |
| 16 March 2018, 12.00–13.00 | Athens |
Cambridge English Seminars
We have scheduled a series of Cambridge English seminars in order to support both teachers who have experience of teaching towards these exams as well as those who wish to start preparing students for these exams in the future. The seminars’ content is focused on B2 and C2 levels and relevant to those who teach towards Cambridge English: B2 First (FCE) for Schools and C2 Proficiency (CPE).
The seminars are organised in partnership with Cambridge English and the materials are designed by Cambridge English exams experts. Their aim is to:
- familiarise teachers with the content of the particular papers in these exams
- increase teachers’ awareness of the skills required by candidates taking these exams
- help teachers improve candidate performance.
Programme
Updates to the Young Learners exams – 60 minutes
This seminar will outline the changes to the Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers tests, providing teachers with information about new test demands and assessment, and tips for teaching to the changes.
How to develop key reading and language skills to help candidates achieve higher scores in Paper 1 Reading of the B2 First For Schools exam – 60 minutes
This workshop aims to provide teachers with an overview of the language and reading skills tested at this level, and suggest a range of practice tasks and strategies that should empower candidates to improve their performance.
Presenter: Olga Leontaris, Cambridge English
| When | Where |
| 9 February 2018, 10.30–12.45 | Titania Hotel 52 El. Venizelou Street 106 78 Athens |
For detailed information about the full Cambridge English seminar programme in Greece, visit www.cambridgeenglish.org/gr/events.
Seminars for learners of English
In an effort to broaden the scope of our seminar programme, we offer student seminars to candidates who register for the Cambridge English exams through the British Council.
Candidates receive their invitations about two weeks before their written exams and the seminars are conducted in Athens, Thessaloniki and other major towns/exam venues.
The seminars provide candidates with practical advice to help boost their confidence on the day of the exam and tips on how to tackle a variety of tasks in the Reading, Writing, Listening, Use of English and Speaking papers. They will be invited to take part in activities designed to demonstrate how they can improve their test performance by utilising effective strategies such as skimming and scanning texts, recognising paraphrase (Reading), identifying and addressing key content points appropriately (Writing), and responding with extended and relevant contributions (Speaking).
We can also provide tailor-made student seminars based on the needs of our Addvantage partner schools on request.
Programme
| When | Where | Title & Presenter |
| 5 May 2018 | Golden Age Hotel 57 Michalakopoulou St. 115 28 Athens |
Tips for Cambridge English: B2 First (FCE) for Schools Stephen Taylor, Cambridge English |
| 5 May 2018 | Golden Age Hotel 57 Michalakopoulou St. 115 28 Athens |
Tips for Cambridge English: C2 Proficiency (CPE) Stephen Taylor, Cambridge English |
| 6 May 2018 | Holiday Inn 8 Monastiriou St. 546 29 Thessaloniki |
Tips for Cambridge English: B2 First (FCE) for Schools Olga Leondaris, Cambridge English |
| 6 May 2018 | Holiday Inn 8 Monastiriou St. 546 29 Thessaloniki |
Tips for Cambridge English: C2 Proficiency (CPE) Olga Leondaris, Cambridge English |
Further information
- Each seminar is designed to last around one to two hours.
- As the seminars are popular, it is recommended that requests are made as soon as possible as places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.
- All seminars are free of charge.
- Seminar times may differ slightly from venue to venue. Please refer to your invitation for the exact schedule.
For additional information about our seminars, please contact us.
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