FCE - done & dusted (again)

A certain case of deja-vu today. Second session of First Certificate; today it is Tokyo.

We'd barely started when I could vaguely hear the nutters (left-wing or right-wing?) with their loudspeakers berating the Prime Minister's residence (is Mr. Kan "in" today?) as is their wont. They didn't come too much closer to disturb the candidates, but annoyed me because, if I drove around in a van doing that I am sure I'd be arrested & deported pdq, don't you? I do think it is odd that they are not prevented from such an enormous disturbance of the peace when local laws are utterly anal about when & where to put your rubbish, have your bike registered etc. Don't get it.

Anyway, the deja-vu because of the noise threat, but also that I recognised some of the candidates.  This also means they've heard all my (old) jokes ;-(  Invigilating is very boring, because you cannot do anything else except feel guilty for watching innocent candidates like a hawk. Awfully hard as a teacher to try to not pay any attention to their work or the questions!

Hope all our candidates do well today. Now the nervous wait for results.

FCE in Tokyo

Today sees the second leg of Cambridge ESOL's FCE exam, which we are running in Tokyo for the first time. We are delighted to be able to do so, with the help of Luke & Kuniko at I.L.C. in Akasaka.

I.L.C. asked us earlier this year where their students could take FCE/CAE/CPE, because the British Council would no longer accept candidates. At the same time, Cambridge ESOL were asking Luna to become a Centre for those exams (also called Upper Main Suite or UMS) on top of what we are already certified for (YLE,KET, PET, FCE, TKT).

So we did the logical thing & combined forces. Wednesday we will run C.A.E. & Thursday C.P.E.
There are 33 candidates taking FCE today, and even in the large room available to us it was a tight squeeze to accommodate everyone. In the past, candidates had to take the speaking part on a different day. This is OK if you live locally, but impossible if you are coming a long way (Nagano? Nagoya? Hokkaido?)...so we are trying this way. Unfortunately, it is impossible to please everyone all the time.

Candidates took four papers - Reading, Writing, Use of English & Listening before the speaking tests to finish. It's a very long day - exhausting. At first candidates looked very nervous, later hot & tired. Our four Oral Examiners (thank you Jennifer, Mark, Phil & Martin) were busy and we justabout managed to finish on schedule.

For me this was a stressful day - preparing for it has taken a lot of my time over the last 3 or 4 months - and to finish it with everyone satisfied and no major problems was a relief. As well as running the exams, I needed to make sure the staff at ILC knew what they were supposed to do & when, what to say in the exam room & how to manage a lot of confidential material. So I was very relieved when we'd finished & the last candidates had left - only two more days of the same again!

(Thank you & sorry to my students whose classes I had to cancel today; I hope you can see the bigger picture - I want you to take the exams in Matsumoto!)