Live CEFR Speaking Practice with Claude: From B2 to C1/C2 (Interactive Lesson)

My model answer

• Alex: <mark>First off</mark>, I’d been meaning to visit the UK for nearly ten years. So, as soon as I <mark>set foot</mark> in the country, I tried to <mark>make the most of</mark> my time.
• Alex: For example, I <mark>struck up conversations</mark> with the locals whenever I could, and because of that, I ended up making good friends.
• Alex: <mark>All in all</mark>, it was such an unforgettable experience that by the end of it, I was <mark>dragging my feet</mark> about going home.
• Alex: I’m practising for the CEFR speaking section, and I’m trying to get a <mark>C1 or C2</mark> score.

How the speaking section works

• Alex: In the speaking section you’ve got <mark>three prompts</mark>, like <i>Describe a memorable trip you’ve made. What made it so special?</i>
• Alex: You’ve got <mark>15 seconds</mark> to get ready and <mark>45 seconds</mark> to answer.

Sentential relative clauses

• Alex: <i>Back in 2022, I travelled to Cambridge, England, <mark>which was unforgettable</mark>.</i> A typical structure in English.
• Alex: You introduce <mark>your opinion</mark> using the relative pronoun <mark>which</mark>: <i>The weather is great today, which is quite convenient.</i>
• Alex: It’s called a <mark>sentential relative clause</mark>, and it’s very common in spoken English.
• Alex: Another person can even add it: <i>…which is something I didn’t expect.</i>

Past perfect for background

• Alex: Tip: <i>for over ten years</i> or <i>for around ten years</i> means approximately, so you don’t have to be too specific.
• Alex: You don’t have much time, so give around <mark>two or three reasons</mark>.
• Alex: <mark>I had been meaning to</mark>: that’s the past perfect, used to give <mark>background</mark> details about something in the past.
• Alex: <i>He had been waiting for this day for a very long time.</i> It gives you the background information.
• Alex: Of course, in the speaking section we <mark>can’t make grammar mistakes</mark>. Bear that in mind.

What is the CEFR?

• Alex: CEFR stands for the <mark>Common European Framework of Reference</mark> for Languages.
• Alex: It <mark>unifies assessments</mark> around the world: you can say I’ve got a B1 level, a C1 level.
• Alex: <mark>Prepping</mark> for a test means preparing, getting ready for a test.

The model answer again

• Alex: First off, I’d been meaning to travel to the UK for <mark>over ten years</mark>. So, as soon as I set foot in England, I tried to make the most of my time…
• Alex: …<mark>which ended up in me becoming friends</mark> with some locals, with some Brits.
• Alex: You can take it as a kind of <mark>model answer</mark> and change it: talk about a trip you’ve made.

Collocations

• Alex: A viewer says: <i>The only problem I have is using weird words <mark>under pressure</mark>.</i>
• Alex: That’s known as <mark>collocation</mark>: certain words are used with others.
• Alex: You say <mark>play tennis</mark>, not do tennis. <mark>Speak English</mark>, not talk English.
• Alex: Dictionaries have a section on collocations near the end of an entry. There are whole <mark>collocation dictionaries</mark> too.

Idioms: in over your head

• Alex: If you’re <mark>in over your head</mark>, you’re in a situation you’re not prepared to deal with.
• Alex: In 007 First Light, which I play on PS5, James Bond is said to be in over his head.
• Alex: It means to be <mark>overwhelmed</mark>: you can’t cope with a new situation.
• Alex: Common idioms in English are like <mark>to kill two birds with one stone</mark>, which means to do two things at once.

Claude tests me

• Alex: Claude, would you like to help me <mark>recap</mark> a bit? Maybe test my knowledge?
• Claude: What’s the phrase for taking on more responsibility than you can actually manage? A very close cousin to <i>in over your head</i>.
• Claude: <mark>Bite off more than you can chew.</mark> Want to try it in your own sentence?

Idioms about memory

• Alex: <mark>To ring a bell</mark>: if something rings a bell, it sounds familiar, but you don’t really remember it.
• Alex: A great idea: <mark>group idioms</mark> around a particular concept, like memory or lack of memory.
• Alex: It’s like building a <mark>lexical chain</mark>.
• Alex: Or something is <mark>on the tip of your tongue</mark>.

On the tip of my tongue

• Claude: What’s the phrase for when you almost remember a word or someone’s name? It feels really close, but you just can’t quite grab it.
• Claude: The most common collocation is simply <mark>have something on the tip of your tongue</mark>, with words like name, word or answer.
• Claude: <i>…but I can’t quite remember it</i> or <i>…but it won’t come to me</i> are both really natural ways to finish that thought.

Block out

• Claude: What’s the phrase for when you deliberately try to forget something?
• Claude: Close. The idea is right, but the exact phrasing is <mark>block out</mark>: she tried to block out the whole experience.
• Claude: <mark>Block out</mark> is a phrasal verb: verb plus particle.
• Claude: You’ll also see it used literally: <i>heavy curtains block out the light</i>.

Come flooding back

• Alex: <mark>It all came flooding back.</mark> All right, that makes sense.
• Claude: From Cambridge: <i>Memories came flooding back and I found myself feeling terribly anxious.</i>
• Alex: So <mark>flooding back</mark> is more related to being overwhelmed, and <mark>rushing back</mark> feels a bit quicker. Natives use them almost interchangeably.
• Claude: <i>As soon as she entered the school, childhood memories came rushing back.</i>

Spring to mind

• Claude: What’s the phrase for a thought that suddenly pops into your head, out of nowhere?
• Alex: A Brit might say <mark>that popped into my mind</mark>. Or <mark>came to mind</mark>.
• Alex: And you can also say <mark>spring to mind</mark>.
• Claude: <mark>Spring to mind</mark> means something comes to your thoughts easily or quickly. British comedy? Mr Bean springs to mind.
• Claude: <mark>Cross my mind</mark> suggests a passing thought, one you briefly consider and then maybe dismiss.
• Claude: When someone says beach holiday, Spain always springs to mind.