THE FCE BLOG by Claudia Ceraso

Thursday, March 08, 2007

My FCE Class 2007

Dear Students,

Today is my first class with you. I am writing and posting this before I actually meet you. It is always a bit of an adventure to start a new course. So much to share and learn! I have been discovering new things every day since I started blogging. I am sure this year’s course will be an inspiring experience for you and me.

Next 18 March I will have been blogging for a year. I know most of you know what a blog is, but perhaps I am the first teacher who invites you to share a blog as part of a course. My 2006 FCE class had a chance to see it grow post by post, now I guess it might seem a bit overwhelming to the newcomer.

The Internet has too much information. Probably so does this weblog. I started writing this with some objectives in mind, which you may read on our very first post. As much as they still apply to my intentions today, I must confess I also keep writing posts because I learn so much in the process.

What is this blog? Well, I like to think that this blog is a window to the world. An extension of our classroom walls –should I say there are no more walls? Perhaps. We are regularly visited from the entire globe by teachers and students who also want a Cambridge certificate. That's our common objective. The English language is our common passion. Objectives mixed with passion underpin this blog all over.

When I find great teachers sharing their work online, I link to them. So you do not learn just from me. Then we also publish and share part of our class production so we can contribute to the community of students elsewhere looking for guidance. Another teacher or student drops by the fceblog, leaves us a comment or they start talking in their blogs about us. That’s when all of this gets really exciting!

This blog is not homework, but an invitation. There is no proper way of reading this. See the menu or help yourselves. Read it all or just a bit every other day. Either way is equally perfect. You decide. This blog is all about learning, developing autonomy to study and reflecting all along.

Exams and certificates are papers. Communication with the world is magic. Indeed to be writing here today and know all of you are out there reading... It’s magic!

Looking forward to meeting you on and offline,

Claudia

Buenos Aires, Argentina

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10 Comments:

  • hey.. I'm very glad to find such a web. I'm taking my FCE exam in 3 months, and I find very useful your blog. Thank you for writting.
    Best wishes from Warsaw/Poland

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At 10:43 pm  

  • Thank you Ola for joining us!

    Best,

    Claudia

    By Blogger Claudia Ceraso, At 12:16 am  

  • Hi!I am yanina, and as you can see I am new in this blog. on june y will be givin my FCE exam. of corse i am not sure to know all the thing that i must know. i was looking for samples of letters when i saw this site. i don t know what exactly you try to show here, but i wonder if you cold help me in some points of the exam because i hacve difficulties to understand some texts or to write some letters as i 've already mentioned.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At 11:26 am  

  • Yanina,

    Welcome to the FCE blog. My own students will be flattered with the people joining us. I have already told them their best productions can go online here for the world to learn from them!

    This blog grows slowly but steadily. I am sure you'll find useful sites and advice here.

    More to be announced here soon. In the meantime, go to the FCE Guide. You'll find a few sample answers there.

    Best,

    Claudia
    PS/No email addresses on comments, please. See our Privacy Policy. Thanks.

    By Blogger Claudia Ceraso, At 11:37 am  

  • Hello, Claudia--and students.

    I wish all of you great success in using this blog.

    I particularly like two things that Claudia said about this blog: "This blog is all about learning, developing autonomy to study and reflecting all along" and "Exams and certificates are papers. Communication with the world is magic. Indeed to be writing here today and know all of you are out there reading... It’s magic!"

    How very, very true Claudia's comments are! I hope all of you will use this magic to make your learning a positive, growing experience!

    Dennis
    (a colleague of Claudia's and an English teacher in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.)

    By Blogger Dennis, At 11:08 am  

  • Dear Dennis,

    What a pleasure to find a comment from you in my blog. As I said to my students, this blogs is a unique possibility to open up and learn from other great ESL teachers who are far more experienced than I am.

    Thank you and do stay in touch!

    All best,

    Claudia

    By Blogger Claudia Ceraso, At 11:17 am  

  • Dear Claudia,

    You are very enthusiastic indeed. I love your work and I think it is wonderful to be aware of the possibilities technology has opened up for all of us.

    Love,

    Ana María

    By Blogger Martina Risso, At 6:58 pm  

  • Today in class I heard one of my new FCE students say that no teacher had ever written a letter to her before and that she was quite surprised with this one.

    I came back home thinking about it.

    Next, I find that Ana María -my tutor at University - has left the previous comment at the same time my student was talking to me! Synchronicity.

    Could all of this have happened without technology playing a role?

    Yes, Ana María. These tools only make me more aware each day.

    Look forward to being a student in your new wikified class!

    By Blogger Claudia Ceraso, At 9:57 pm  

  • Hello Claudia!! your blog is quite good!!!, really true, Well once, I few months ago, I posted a comment in a General Counsel Blog...normally once you posted the commets you do not waite for any specific answer, or that is what normally happen to me...but for me surprising a few weeks later, this General Counsel send me an e-mail, saying in the introduction something like this -it is not exactly, but is the main idea "...After many years working in the IT Business I Already enjoying the manner that internet connect people..." And from my view that´s the point, because after many years we can share a lot of thing thanks to internet. And we have the tremendus posibility to share, to learn a little bit more every day. I really appreciate the effort -I really Know that made a blog is a passion, but anyway is a prety effort, also a responsability -from my view- that you in this case have done, and you still doing, because all of us can enjoy and share!!. Really, thanks!! My best wishes for this excelent Blog.

    Gustavo G. Mármol. Buenos Aires.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At 10:05 pm  

  • Gustavo,
    My pleasure to have you as a student this year.
    This is the first time I teach adolescents in my FCE adult class. That's certainly one challenge. The other is to discover that one of the adult students (as this is you) is an accomplished blogger and contributor to the Wikipedia on copyright issues!
    You'll certainly teach me more than I can possibly teach you.

    Look forward to our conversations.

    By Blogger Claudia Ceraso, At 1:14 pm  

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