About this blog and explanation of terms

This blog aims to help candidates for the English Language Proficiency Examination (LPE) at the United Nations.


You must work in the United Nations system to qualify to take this exam or have come through our classes.

It is held annually in September

12 June 2012

Increasing your listening and reading scores

If you are weak in listening and reading

The best idea is to work intensively on increasing your ability by regularly having input on a wide range of material.  I am attaching a file I gave in class to my students who had the same problems.
Remember that you need to listen widely and perhaps the best solution is to regularly go to the cinema to watch English films.  It makes you concentrate for an extended time.  The listening part includes dialogues and more casual language as well as more serious topics.  On the list I attached you can watch TED with English transcripts.  

The Guardian Weekly is good - read it regularly.  Try also to read literature if possible - modern day literature is good - perhaps life stories of famous people or things you enjoy but not always work related. 

If you want to focus on multiple choice skills with listening and reading you could buy this kit and do the listening and reading tasks, which are very similar to the LPE.
It is good to get ones with audio CDs, as this is most similar to what you experience in the exam.