Sample Character Reference Letter for Advanced Students Preparing for CAE

Character references for Advanced students preparing for CAE

1. Lead-in: Adjecves rock mp3. Students listen and try to write down all the adjecves

that they hear. There are 16 in total (stubborn, generous, paent, polite, honest,

talkave, grumpy, upght, moody, phony, clumsy, glum, stylish, sensive, eccentric,

dumb). In pairs, students check that they have all of them and try to decide if they are

posive or negave characteriscs. Teacher tries to elicit meaning of potenally new

vocab – ‘glum’, ‘grumpy’ and ‘upght’ or pre-teaches these.

2. Brainstorming – students add other personality adjecves to the whiteboard under

 her hobbies

 we get along really well

 she speaks English well

 children like her

 what kind of food she likes

 honest and hardworking

Students jusfy the reasons for their choices.

4. Ask students what they think are good qualies for a language teacher to have.

Introduce the authenc text which I wrote for a former teacher here. Task: Read

through and see if there are any of the qualies they thought were important. Then

 How does it end?

 What kind of linking words are used?

 9nd examples of a parciple clause and the passive

 underline any new vocabulary

 highlight any phrases or expressions that you might like to use in your own wring

6. Students read the exam task (from New Advanced Expert, Pearson, p20) which

follows, underlining the key points:

A family in Britain is looking for someone to take care of two young children and to do some

light domesc work during the summer. A friend of yours has applied, and the family has

Write your reference in 220 – 260 words.