Lockdwon - Day 65

What's up, everyone? As promised, I am going to inform you about the practical side of the imminent end of our course, which is not going to be nothing like the educational apocalypse that some of you may have envisaged. So let's jump right into it!

CERTIFICATION EXAM

You can all still register to take the exam in September (should you feel like doing so). The deadline for registration for the official exam was March 22. The state of alarm came into force on March 16. So, of course, it became impossible for many of you to register, but as far as office formalities go everything was put on hold, as though Dr. Strange himself had frozen time. In short, every student who wishes to take the certification exam will be able to register. The dates cannot be published yet on account of the lack of official legislation regarding this specific procedure. I've been told that the lawmakers at the Board of Education are putting the finishing touches on the regulations, which should be published pretty soon. So stay alert.

PROMOTION

Over the next few days you will receive an email in which I will let you know whether you pass to the next course or you get held back. As simple as that. The actual grades will be published on our website on June 5 at 14:00.

If you should not get promoted you can always cancel registration. No strings attached. The present school year 2020-2021 will not count in terms of the number of school years  ("convocatorias") you are allowed to be an official student before you access the next level. Remember that one level consists of two courses. The C1 level, for instance, consists of courses C1.1 and C1.2. If you take three years to pass the C1.1 exam you'll only have one to clear the C1.2. So, even if you fail to get promoted this time around, you will have not "used up" one of the four "convocatorias". As this has been such an exceptionally weird year, it's only fair that these last eight months should not be considered as one of those four chances everyone gets.

PROMOTION EXAM

Those of you who do get promoted to the next course won't have to sit the promotion exam. The promotion exam is actually for the students that have not canceled their registration at the school and still want to take a shot at getting into the next course, be it C1.2 or C2.

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO IN JUNE?

Since no official exams are going to be held during the month of June, we teachers won't be giving tests, proctoring students or grading exams, which does not mean that we plan to slob around the house. I'm afraid we are going to be quite busy. Apart from getting the promotion exams ready for September and attending several on-line courses on both remote learning and exam standardization, we have been required to be available to our students. So I will devote a number of hours to assisting you in several ways. I will clarify doubts, offer advice, etc.

Our calendar will be duly published on the school's website so that you know when I will be available for questions, emails, etc. Personal circumstances still make it quite difficult for me to host videoconferences, but I might and take a stab at it. The most interesting I'm going to be doing has to do with the reports I'm compiling for all of you. In the classroom it is impossible for any teacher to cater to every single learning style. I am aware that every student had their own needs. I sometimes talk to some of you individually about your specific strengths and weaknesses, but I don't believe I have gone into detail about the state of your English and the way you can go about improving your command of the language. So be ready to get some tailored reports and comments, which will include specific advice. That is a time-consuming activity. So be patient.

Rest assured that I will keep posting on this blog. Maybe not every day, but frequently. Anyway, remember that, as far as grades go, as of today... the die is cast, which leads us to my next two paragraphs.

TODAY'S MESSAGE

Even though the course finishes on May 28, today is for me the last "class day". I want to thank you all for keeping in touch and showing interest and determination in the face of adversity. On May 15, I uploaded a video, which was a summary of the C1.1 course. Unfortunately, I accidentally listed it as "private", which made it impossible for you to view from this blog. One of you was kind enough to tip me off about the glitch. I just wanted to tell you that the problem was fixed so you can watch it (just click on the blue phrase). I think it may also be interesting to some students in the C1.2 courses.

And for those of you who, at some point during this crisis, have asked yourselves "What's going on?", I have decided to share with you this inspired rendition of the Marvin Gaye classic. Strictly speaking it's not educational and it has little to do with our syllabus... but, boy is it uplifting! I believe we can use a bit of feel-good music. Enjoy.

N.B. The "Boy, is it uplifting!" is C2 material. I just realized...