Zum letzten Mal (zumindest für mich) konnte ich die Schüler im neunten Schuljahr der Sekundarschule Niederweningen im Freifach English+ unterrichten und zur Cambridge Prüfung begleiten.
Nach einem tollen Anfang und arbeitsreichen Schuljahr, inklusive Fernunterricht, haben die Schüler nun im Mai und Juni 2020 ihre Prüfung erfolgreich absolviert. 

Hier sind die hervorragenden Resultate: 

FCE for schools (B2) Candidates

Grade A = 180-190 Punkte von maximal 190 Punkten auf der ‚Cambridge English Scale’ (C1)
Grade B = 173-179 Punkte von maximal 190 Punkten auf der ‚Cambridge English Scale’ (B2)
Grade C = 160-172 Punkte von maximal 190 Punkten auf der ‚Cambridge English Scale’ (B2)

PET (Preliminary) (B1) Candidates

Grade A = 160-170 Punkte von maximal 170 Punkten auf der ‚Cambridge English Scale’ (B2)
Grade B = 153-159 Punkte von maximal 170 Punkten auf der ‚Cambridge English Scale’ (B1)    
Grade C = 140-152 Punkte von maximal 170 Punkten auf der ‚Cambridge English Scale’ (B1)
                        

KET (Key English Test) (A2) Kandidaten

A = 140-150 Punkte von maximal 150 Punkten auf der ‚Cambridge English Scale’ (B1)    
B = 133-139 Punkte von maximal 150 Punkten auf der ‚Cambridge English Scale’ (A2)
C = 120-132 Punkte von maximal 150 Punkten auf der ‚Cambridge English Scale’ (A2)

An dieser Stelle möchte ich allen Kandidatinnen und Kandidaten für das spannende Schuljahr danken, trotz Corona und Fernunterricht! Ich GRATULIERE euch herzlich. Was für herausragende Resultate! Ich möchte euch für euren weiteren Bildungsweg genauso viel Erfolg wünschen!
Die Schule Wehntal hat dieses Freifach vollumfänglich finanziell unterstützt und hat sich auch an den Prüfungskosten beteiligt.
Meiner Nachfolgerin Frau Mirjam Gadient wünsche ich ebenfalls so viel Freude und tolle Erlebnisse wie ich es erleben durfte und natürlich auch so viel Erfolg.

Gleichzeitig möchte mich für die tolle Zusammenarbeit bedanken, sowohl bei den Schülern wie auch bei meinen Arbeitskollegen aus dem Schmittenwis Team und der Schule Wehntal in den letzten 20 Jahren! 
Herzlichen Dank
Thanks for the memories
Susan Hirt 

Eindrücke aus Schülersicht über English+

English FCE

Reading & Use of English
This part of the exam was easier than expected, but some of us were tired because at the time only some of us had school in the afternoon because of the Coronavirus and now they had to wake up early.
The exams were at the KV-Zürich near Hardbrücke. Before you could enter they checked your ID and then you had to search the big room for your seat. The seats had about 2m of distance between each other as a safety measure. The supervisors of the test told us many instructions like that we had to put our bags in the front. We also had to put our switched off phone in a little pouch and the put it on the floor. Snacks had to be put out of the bag if you wanted to eat something in the break afterwards. They collected a form that we had to sign that we didn’t have any coronavirus symptoms.
Me and many other people were finished early with the Reading and & Use of English part, but had to sit there because the time was not up. After the exam time was finally over we had a 20 min break.  We were only allowed to sit on our seat or stand right beside of the seat. They only allowed 2 boys and 2 girls to go to the bathroom at the same time.
Everybody was relieved when we were finished with the test.

Timur

A report about the FCE preparation and the exam
I had chosen the subject English + for the 3rd class and I’m really glad I did so. We started to practice straight away after the summer holidays. First, we got a lot of information about the exam and about the pre-testing, which took place twice before the exam. We then practiced with books and worksheets and got very useful tips from Mrs. Hirt on how to work and practice the best.
In Autumn 2019, the first pre-testing took place. We did the pre-testing in the Aula under exam conditions. This definitely helped to get a feeling for the real exam and also to practice the situation. The pre-testing papers were then sent back to Cambridge for correction. A few weeks later they were given back to us. We then got feedback from Mrs. Hirt on how the results were and where we still should improve. Until March 2020, we practiced further and then had another pre-testing session.
Adrian and I were aloud to do a pre-testing exam for Advanced too. As the pandemic around Covid-19 came, the tests weren’t sent back, which is why we didn’t know if we would have been good enough to pass the Advanced or not. Mrs. Hirt then recommended us to take the FCE for schools, with which we were absolutely fine. 
Towards the end of March we did a presentation about our apprenticeship, on which Mrs. Hirt also gave us feedback. There were still about two months left until the exam would take place. Due to the restrictions, the exam needed to take place under special conditions. Despite that, the exam went pretty well and I’m looking forward to getting my results.  
I’d like to thank Mrs. Hirt for her effort on preparing us for the exam. We could have never been so well prepared without her help. Thank you!

Ryan                                                    

Speaking exam
We had already finished our Reading, Writing and Listening exams when we arrived at the Speaking exam. It took place next to the Bahnhofstrasse. Timur and I had the exam at the same time, we also did it together. We went inside the building. It took place on the second floor. 
When we got inside, we had to show our ID’s and put our phones in a blue bag. Then we sat in the waiting room for about ten minutes. We were later moved to another room, in which we waited for about fifteen minutes.
Then we were taken to the exam room by a woman and the test started. 
I wasn’t too nervous, because me and Timur had actually practiced it together in class before. 
First, we had to talk about ourselves, where we were from and what it is like there. Then we each had to describe a picture and later we had to compare two pictures together. In the end we were given a mind-map. There was a question on top of the paper which we had to discuss. For example: What could be the most important thing to check on? And on the mind-map there were five lines and at the end of these lines were different options.
After this, the test was finished and we were allowed to go.
At the exit we had to take our phones out of the blue bag again and had to hand it over.
Then we left.

Carmen

E + PET 

English Plus lesson
For the third year of school I chose the subject English Plus. For all those who don't know what we are learning in the subject: We get ideally prepared for the Cambridge examinations, which take place almost a whole year later. 
When we started with this course at the beginning of the school year we received three small books and a red folder. Mrs Hirt told us that we should work with these in the future. She also informed us that we will be writing tests until the autumn holidays so that she can determine our level. Also, she talked about the rules we had to follow while being in this course. And if we did not follow the rules, we would no longer be allowed to attend the course. But we all got along with the rules and the tests until the autumn holidays.
After the holidays I think the course became much more relaxed. Everyone worked on their weaknesses and prepared themselves ideally for the tests.
Thanks to Mrs. Hirt we had the opportunity to practice the different exams several times and got several tips for improvement.
After several lessons where we had practiced for the exams, we started to read a book together. I liked this very much.
When we had read this to the end it didn't take long until the exams. Here too, everyone learned by themselves again, including many weeks of E-learning.
Because of the Corona situation English Plus stopped after the Exam and in the last few weeks we had time off.
I enjoyed the time there very much because I was able to prepare myself well for the exam and had a great time.

Chiara 

Preliminary (PET)

In the English+ lessons we prepared for the Cambridge Exam. We did a lot of tasks and some Pretestings. Every week we had to do one task in each of the three books Mrs Hirt gave us.
On 4th June we had our Cambridge Exam. We travelled to Zürich by train, then walked to the Spirgarten Hotel. In there we had the Reading, Writing and Listening test. 
Because of Corona we had to have at least 2 metres distance to the others. That also meant that during the breaks we weren’t allowed to go outside or move around. 
In the afternoon we had the Speaking test at another location. The Speaking test was with a random person. Either you knew the person, or not. 
Finally, the exam was done. I was obviously a little nervous, but I got over it.
I hope that the test turned out well and I’ll pass it. :)

Gianni

Speaking test
On Thursday, June 4, we went to Zurich to take part in the PET speaking test. Most of us did the PET test, only two from our group did the KET test. The speaking test was in the afternoon, so we had the other half of the test in the morning in Altstetten. The Cambridge Institute was located near the Bahnhofstrasse, on the other side of Jelmoli. After lunch some of us had to go to the Institute. I was one of the first to start, but I was not alone, Gianni was there with me. There were two older women in the room. One of them talked to us, the other listened to us and wrote down everything we said. The speaking test lasted almost 10 minutes.

Ramon

English plus course 
The first semester of the course was normal. We did some exams at the beginning of the year, did Worksheets to refresh our grammar skills and worked with our three little books. Just before Christmas we also started to read a book: „Great Expectations“. After the Christmas holidays and at the beginning of our second semester we did some more exams, so Mrs. Hirt could help decide our final classification. However, we could never discuss this classification together because we had been sent to the homeschooling because of the situation with the Corona virus. From then on we had to study on our own at home. There were some exercises on Seafile, but there was no way Mrs. Hirt could check if we really did our work, so it was our own decision if we wanted to prepare ourselves for the exam or not. All these exercises on Seafile were just writing tasks so we couldn’t improve our speaking skills. After a few weeks of just doing writing tasks we had a Zoom-meeting, one per week and from then on we were able to do some speaking tasks. We also had our last instructions before the exam per Zoom-meeting.

Moritz 

Speaking test
In the English+ class we prepared for more than half a year and the most difficult task was to learn for the Speaking test, because you should have a good vocabulary and a complex set construction.
Then in June it was time for the tests. After the lunch break, we had the speaking test. After the check-in, a friend and I came into a room, with two other people. An examiner and an assessor. First, I had to tell them about myself and about my hobbies. In part 2 we had to speak about two photographs, one was about a railway station and the other about a family party. Then in the next part we had to discuss about different presents, which would be the best and why it is the best. This part was very good, but in the middle, I had a short blackout, but later the talk went on further. At the end of the test the examiner asked us questions about presents. The most difficult question for me was: “What is a bad gift”. This was the only question, which I couldn’t answer. After the test we talked with the others and then we took the train home. And now we are waiting excitedly for the results.

Loris
                                        
The English+ lessons
The year English Plus has helped me a lot personally. I was able to further improve my English and prepare myself perfectly for the Cambridge examination. I was very lucky with the teacher because she is a native English speaker and can teach you the language better than anyone else. Sometimes the lessons were a bit boring. But this could also be due to the fact that I was often tired on Monday morning. The tasks in the three different booklets helped me very well. Also reading the book helped me a lot. Now I hope that I will pass the PET exam!

Tim

KET E+

Report English Plus 
The English lessons were very useful for general English learning.
At the beginning we did Pretesting. They were very useful to see where we stood. I decided to move down a level after these tests and was then able to work very well at my level. I could work with the worksheets, could practice grammar and learn new things. Each week, we had to do 1 unit in 3 books. With these little books I learnt grammar, vocabulary and how to avoid typical mistakes. We read a book together in class. It was Sherlock Homes. This was a very good exercise for me to practice reading, to understand what I read and to understand the sentence structure. I learned a lot despite Corona and with the exercises we had, it was great.
With the help of Mrs. Hirt, I achieved a good result. Thank you!                  

Sara