Introduction
Upper Intermediate Power is an online course, consisting of 100 units of English, and providing approximately 120 hours of study for students.
Course aims
To take students from Intermediate, CEFR B2 up to C1. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, spelling, reading, listening, writing, and speaking.
Grammar
- Talk and write confidently about the past, present, and future, using a variety of verb forms. They will use the continuous and perfect aspects when necessary, and also be able to talk about present and past habits.
- Form sentences using the present perfect to talk about past experiences, news headlines, and unfinished past, distinguishing between the present perfect simple and continuous forms.
- Use more complex passive forms and alternate correctly between active and passive voice.
- Use relative clauses to provide essential and non-essential information.
- Use conditional forms to discuss possible future events, hypothetical situations, and their results.
- Connect sentences using a range of conjunctions and other connecting words.
- Identify transitive and intransitive verbs and follow verbs accurately with gerund or infinitive forms.
- Report statements and questions.
- Use past modal verbs to express possibility, regret, certainty, and negative certainty.
- Create questions using tag questions.
- Use articles correctly.
- Position adverbs and adverbials correctly within sentences.
Vocabulary
By the end of the course, students will have learned approximately 800 lexical items, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, phrasal verbs, idiomatic language, and lexical sets.
Skills
By the end of the course, students will have practiced reading and hearing formal and informal English from various registers and contexts, descriptions, stories, and opinions.
Unit Summary
Module 1
- Vocabulary: Adjectives of character and mood
- Grammar: Articles
- Reading: A tale of two cities
- Listening: A traffic report
- Vocabulary: Animals
- Grammar: Conjunctions and connectors
- Phrasal verbs: Practice in idiomatic verb + preposition combinations.
- Wordbuilding: Practice in building vocabulary through related word groups
- Writing: Writing stories 1
Module 2
- Vocabulary: Parts of the body
- Grammar: Ed and Ing adjectives
- Reading: Charities
- Listening: Ally McBeal
- Vocabulary: Feeling ill
- Grammar: Few and a few
- Phrasal verbs: Practice in idiomatic verb + preposition combinations.
- Spelling: Practice in spelling more difficult words
- Speaking: Conversations 1 – Two friends meet again after a long time
Module 3
- Vocabulary: Clothes
- Grammar: Future Continuous
- Reading: Culture shock
- Listening: Film charts
- Vocabulary: Shops
- Grammar: Gerunds and infinitives
- Phrasal verbs: Practice in idiomatic verb + preposition combinations.
- Wordbuilding: Practice in building vocabulary through related word groups
- Writing: The perfect essay: 1 Introduction
Module 4
- Vocabulary: Jobs and professions
- Grammar: Passive
- Reading: Great inventions: the Sony Walkman
- Listening: My strange day
- Vocabulary: Household chores
- Grammar: Past modals – Must and Should
- Phrasal verbs: Practice in idiomatic verb + preposition combinations.
- Spelling: Practice in spelling more difficult words
- Speaking: Conversations 2 – Seeing a famous person on the street
Module 5
- Vocabulary: Things in the kitchen
- Grammar: Present Perfect
- Reading: Heroes
- Listening: Novelist Alistair Maclean
- Vocabulary: Verbs connected with cooking
- Grammar: Present Perfect Continuous
- Phrasal verbs: Practice in idiomatic verb + preposition combinations.
- Wordbuilding: Practice in building vocabulary through related word groups
- Writing: The perfect essay: 2 Main body
Module 6
- Vocabulary: Things in the bedroom
- Grammar: Past Perfect
- Reading: Mud, glorious mud!
- Listening: Royal Intruder
- Vocabulary: Things in the living room
- Grammar: Question tags
- Phrasal verbs: Practice in idiomatic verb + preposition combinations.
- Spelling: Practice in spelling more difficult words
- Speaking: Describing someone’s character
Module 7
- Vocabulary: Gradable and non-gradable adjectives
- Grammar: Relative Clauses
- Reading: Murder mystery evening
- Listening: The origin of crosswords
- Vocabulary: Sports
- Grammar: Reported Speech
- Phrasal verbs: Practice in idiomatic verb + preposition combinations.
- Wordbuilding: Practice in building vocabulary through related word groups
- Writing: The perfect essay: 3 Conclusion
Module 8
- Vocabulary: Transport
- Grammar: So and Such
- Reading: Slumdog millionaire
- Listening: The Party
- Vocabulary: Confusing Words 1
- Grammar: Third Conditional
- Phrasal verbs: Practice in idiomatic verb + preposition combinations.
- Spelling: Practice in spelling more difficult words
- Speaking: Describing someone’s features
Module 9
- Vocabulary: Computer vocabulary
- Grammar: Too and Enough
- Reading: Culture shock
- Listening: The Tin Drum
- Vocabulary: Electronic items
- Grammar: Verb Patterns
- Phrasal verbs: Practice in idiomatic verb + preposition combinations.
- Wordbuilding: Practice in building vocabulary through related word groups
- Writing: Formal letters: Applying for a job 1
Module 10
- Vocabulary: Make and do
- Grammar: Was going to
- Reading: Foreign attitudes to Britain
- Listening: Zimbabwe
- Vocabulary: Confusing words 2
- Grammar: Word Order
- Phrasal verbs: Practice in idiomatic verb + preposition combinations.
- Spelling: Practice in spelling more difficult words
- Speaking: Conversations 3 – A holiday in Switzerland
Follow-up
Students completing the Upper Intermediate Power course should feel confident in tackling any advanced course, including our Advanced Power course. Students achieving a grade of 80% in the exit test should feel confident in their ability to take the Cambridge First Certificate in English exam.