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ESL forum > Message board > Jumping levels in English    

Jumping levels in English



vincenza
Italy

Jumping levels in English
 
HELP...
Has anyone ever had a  student who, having been coaxed through the Trinity Level 6 exam and spent 2 weeks at a summer college in the UK, then wanted to try and jump up to Trinity Level 10 or 11 ...in 7 months!
My student is a very intelligent teenage young lady who has serious gaps in her grammatical and general knowledge of English due to particularly bad instruction at her high school. We managed to patch over these gaps in order to pass the Trinity exam but I have serious doubts about improving to such a level that she will be able to face an exam equivalent to the C1 CEFR. For those who don �t know Trinity, it would be like jumping from Cambridge PET to Cambridge CAE... 
I would appreciate any feedback or experiences you may have (had)..
Regards from Italy

30 Sep 2013      





s.lefevre
Brazil

In my opinion students don �t jump levels because they want, but only if they have the level they want to be in. It has always been the teacher �s decisicion. If you think that your student is able to follow a much higher level, don �t hold her back. But if you think it �s to much, don �t let her jump.

30 Sep 2013     



Zora
Canada

I had a student who did the same thing. She jumped up a level, despite my explaining to her that she should be doing level 7 (at the most) and not level 8. My colleagues encouraged her �idea �, despite my gentle protests and in the end, she passed but with a very low mark - a C. She was so angry, she went around telling everybody Trinity was a sh!tty exam, etc.

If she had done 7, she would have gotten a much higher mark and she would have been so much happier

I �d explain to your student the realities, be honest with her.... those levels are for students who are almost bilingual. Show her this video, it �s level 9! Ask her if she can express herself like this and if she can �t, ask her to be honest with herself and reassess her abilities. Explain that it �s better to get an A in something, than a C or a D! It �s always better to ace an exam, than to barely pass and get discouraged later on.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PafqDx8lQAs

30 Sep 2013     



vincenza
Italy

Thanks so much for your comments. I agree fully with you both, and have had the same experience as Zora with regard the angriness about not doing very well. I will definitely show her the Trinity video as I believe it is not wise to try to jump so far ahead - not with final High school exams to study for as well. Thanks again, regards from Italy.

30 Sep 2013