What to do after CPE

[salvador.dal1950]

Hi folks, I would like to know your opinion regarding what to do now that I've passed the CPE. I don't want to pursue a teaching career by any means, and I'm not particularly interested in deepening my knowledge in any specific type of English, e.g. Legal English, Bussiness English and so on. Of course I have weak areas in my knowledge which I'm constantly trying to improve but apart from that, I'm kind of lost.

People, at least where I'm from, tend to consider the CPE as the ultimate goal in English and they attribute to it characteristics that it just doesn't have, namely the assumption that if you pass the CPE you can pretty much talk and write like a native. That is far from being true. Regardless of what people say, to me it is just an exam and it doesn't mean much.

Above all, I would like to develop my writing skills, which I consider to be mediocre. It's a tough area to improve on your own, since you cannot evaluate your own writing, at least I can't. Also my speaking skills leave much to be desired and to complicate things I'm not in an English speaking country so having access to native people is not an option. Does anybody have any idea of how I can do this?

Thank you :up:

 

[emsr2d2]

Well done on passing the CPE. The standard of your post is indicative of just how good your English is. I'm sure many people would be surprised to learn that you're not a native speaker based on that post.

Is there a specific reason you want to develop your writing skills? You are free, of course, to continue to utilise this forum, posting pieces in the Editing and Writing Topics section and we can comment on them.

 

[salvador.dal1950]

Well done on passing the CPE. The standard of your post is indicative of just how good your English is. I'm sure many people would be surprised to learn that you're not a native speaker based on that post.

Is there a specific reason you want to develop your writing skills? You are free, of course, to continue to utilise this forum, posting pieces in the Editing and Writing Topics section and we can comment on them.

For no particular reason other than it's my weakest skill and I like English. Although there is a little more to that, some day in the near future I'd like to emigrate to an English speaking country, UK, US, Canada, or Australia, so having complete command of the language is a must. Things are hard in the Southern Cone and I don't see a future here.

I will try your suggestion of writing in the Writing Topics section and see what happens.

Thanks

 

[Tdol]

You have pretty much reached the end of the available exams, short of doing a degree in it. There used to be an exam after Proficiency, which had a heavy literary element, but virtually no one ever took it. I did have one student for it about twenty years ago. You could get some advanced writing books, like the ones designed for university students, that might help you, but they often veer into specialisation.

PS Southern Cone?

 

[salvador.dal1950]

You have pretty much reached the end of the available exams, short of doing a degree in it. There used to be an exam after Proficiency, which had a heavy literary element, but virtually no one ever took it. I did have one student for it about twenty years ago. You could get some advanced writing books, like the ones designed for university students, that might help you, but they often veer into specialisation.

PS Southern Cone?

It's a term for the southern parts of South America because it looks like an inverted cone.

I'm a bit sceptical about improving my writing through books, but I'll give it a try. Tdol, could you recommend a few?

 

[Tdol]

OK- I hadn't heard the term before, though I got the idea.

Have you seen http://www.amazon.com/A-Book-Writing-Sam-McCarter/dp/0951958216. It's a challenging and interesting book that does some good work on texts at advanced level.

 

[Esredux]

I just thought I could relate in a way. Yes, life after CPE could be tough. ;-) Most people I met confessed they were feeling empty and a bit disorientated after receiving the certificate because they could see how incomplete their language skills still were but they didn't know what could be done about it. Ironically, of the four skills it was writing that worked miracles and helped them reach new heights of English.

You might find some of these very simple tips quite inspiring, if so, it would be awesome to read about your experience. :-D

 

[Mr_Ben]

For no particular reason other than it's my weakest skill and I like English. Although there is a little more to that, some day in the near future I'd like to emigrate to an English speaking country, UK, US, Canada, or Australia, so having complete command of the language is a must. Things are hard in the Southern Cone and I don't see a future here.

I will try your suggestion of writing in the Writing Topics section and see what happens.

Thanks

Depending on the type of writing that you're interested in, you could write letters to the editors of periodicals, join an online writers' group for feedback and criticism (these are typically for poetry or fiction), or find a forum with native English speakers and start posting there (not that I'm suggesting you should leave this one!). The key to improving your writing is practice, so as long as you're producing text and reflecting on them every so often, you'll make progress.

 

[probus]

Given that your goal is emigration your English skills are already far more than adequate. As ems said, you could easily fool us into thinking you are a native speaker. Therefore you should now focus not on further improving your English, but on the technical details about immigration to your target countries.

May I add, from personal experience, that it's a hard thing to emigrate. Not everyone has what it takes. Your successful advanced English studies have done a lot to minimize the culture shock you will experience if you do migrate.

 

[anoth3rworld]

"the assumption that if you pass the CPE you can pretty much talk and write like a native."

Same here in Brazil

Actually, i'm going to take the CPE this year.. not sure if I will achieve GRADE B!

 

[salvador.dal1950]

"the assumption that if you pass the CPE you can pretty much talk and write like a native."

Same here in Brazil

Actually, i'm going to take the CPE this year.. not sure if I will achieve GRADE B!

Good luck, I really mean it!!!