What can I do to improve my English? well, I'd like to try one of those ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) tests. So, I tried to get some information on them, and here's what I found out:
These certificates are divided into 5 major gropus:
GENERAL ENGLISH
BUSINESS ENGLISH
ACADEMIC ENGLISH
LEGAL ENGLISH
YOUNG LEANERS ENGLISH.
Of course I'm not interested in Business, Leagal or Young Learners English...I wish I was younger, but the harsh reality shows me I'm not a teen any more...=/
So, we still have 2 groups left: General English and Academic English.
In the first we have a lot of exams:
1. KET (Key English Test), a very basic exam. I hope my English is not so poor.
2. PET (Preliminary English Test), an intermediate level exam. Well, I'd like to tink I'm more than just an intermediate student...
3. FCE (First Certificate of English), an upper-intermediate exam. At Cambridge they say it is "ideal if you can deal confidently with a range of written and spoken communications". I'm thinking in trying to take this one...it shouldn't be that difficult...at least, I hope so...^.^
4. CAE (Certificate in Advanced English), an advanced exam. You have to be pretty confident in order to take it...I'm afraid it's a bit too much for me to start with...
5. CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English). On the Cambridge page, they describe this one as a Very advanced level exam, which means: Oh My God!! Ok, at this point I ask myself: will I ever get there? Hope so... pray 4 me ^.^ (just kidding).
These were all the general exams. We still the other group: the Academic English exams. Here we go:
1. IELTS (International English Language Testing System). This is an exam tha should prove your ability to study and work in England, US, or wherever they speak English. This is a broadly accepted and recongnized exam, so, I think, a kind of passpartout! I believe, then, that it shouldn't be as hard the CAE and CPE.
Actually, we only have this exam for academic English...