After a couple of sleepless nights and a few hours of pep talks – “You can do it, mate, you can do it!” –, I made a rather bold decision: I’ll go for the CPE. Well, don’t worry if your jaw has just dropped, you’re not alone. I just hope you’re not quite at Meldrew-level outrage yet – for instance that Garden Center manager confrontation scene. If you are also thinking of the yucca, carefully planted in the toilet, we’re on the same page. Anyway, I wrote about this plan in my previous post without any specifics, but today it stopped being an idea and became a plan, although without a deadline, yet.
I’m pretty sure that having a plan per se is not the golden ticket to success. It also needs a schedule, a list of tasks, and a framework that helps me keep my focus on my goal without letting anything distract me – no more cute kitty videos on YouTube. Anyway, I prepared a list that helps me start this fascinating journey and stay concentrated:
- Scoping out the exam structure and available online resources.
- Hammering out the idea with Joanna to see if she can guide me through the prep.
- Wrapping up my ongoing Power Apps development.
- Overhauling my schedule to carve out time for learning.
- Dusting off my language books (not a quick task, I fear).
- Reviewing and refreshing old lessons.
- Expanding my vocabulary—those elusive idioms and collocations are truly vexing me.
- Writing as often as I can squeeze it in.
- And, most importantly, continuously reminding myself not to shout “Burma!”
To complete task numero uno, I skimmed the Cambridge English website to get the necessary info about the exam. Fortunately, the format and the expectations haven’t changed since I last plucked up the courage to toy with the idea three years ago. Why, you may ask, didn’t I pursue my dream back then? Well, to put it bluntly, the impostor syndrome got the better of me, and led me to believe my English wasn’t good enough to teach. I’m not saying it vanished into thin air since, but I definitely see myself, more precisely my English, a wee bit more realistically.
Yet, even with this updated self-confidence, the sheer scale of the exam reminds me how big a task I’m going to take on. It has four pillars: Reading and Use of English (90 mins), Writing (90 mins), Listening (40 mins), and finally—if you aren't already knackered—Speaking (another 40 mins). All in one day I reckon. It’s a lot, innit? And, the expectations are sky-high, too. Mind you, C2 isn't just about a casual chinwag about the weather with Trigger while waiting for Del Boy at the Nag’s Head. Nah. It’s about expressing yourself with enough sophistication to "study or work in a senior professional or academic environment.”.
Yet, even with this updated self-confidence, the sheer scale of the exam reminds me how big a task I’m going to take on. It has four pillars: Reading and Use of English (90 mins), Writing (90 mins), Listening (40 mins), and finally—if you aren't already knackered—Speaking (another 40 mins). All in one day I reckon. It’s a lot, innit? And, the expectations are sky-high, too. Mind you, C2 isn't just about a casual chinwag about the weather with Trigger while waiting for Del Boy at the Nag’s Head. Nah. It’s about expressing yourself with enough sophistication to "study or work in a senior professional or academic environment.”.
Right, so, the good news is, I’ve got oodles of books that come in handy during the preparation, and the website offers free and paid resources and services. Now, the next step is clear: downloading the free stuff, setting up my learning materials, and getting my act together to thrash out my ideas with Joanna.
This time next year I’ll either be able to keep my sanity halfway through my preparation, or, probably, make a humongous bonfire out of my books.
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