My name is Eleonora. I am 14 years old. I live in Thessaloniki. I have been studying English at my school for six years and I took the Cambridge English: B2 First (FCE) for Schools exam with the British Council in May 2012. Now I’m studying for my C1 Advanced (CAE) exam, which I expect to take in two years’ time.
Why I took the Cambridge English: B2 First (FCE) for Schools
My dream is to become a doctor. I want to be a surgeon and to help children. From a very young age I dreamed of this. I want to help people cure diseases and to protect them from dying.
English is the main language for communication and I believe it opens my opportunities for work for the future. It’s interesting to study and it’s not a difficult language. It has a lot of words that are similar to the Greek ones. It’s my opinion that it’s really fun to experience a new language. It gives me a better education.
The things I do to help me to study
In the school I go to I do six hours of lessons every week and I study for another four hours at home.
I like to talk to people in English to practise. I talk to my teacher. And I talk to my mother – but the school teachers know more things and correct me better! I read English books, I watch films. My favourite film is Titanic. I also like to watch action films and horror films in English.
My experience of taking the exam with the British Council
The exam was not too hard and not too easy. I’m not a person who gets anxious. I was really calm, but there was a bit of nerves – I wanted to do well. But generally I felt very familiar with all the things going on there.
The conditions at the place where we took the exam were very pleasant and the examiners from the British Council were friendly. I took the exam in a hotel in Thessaloniki. There were plenty of desks. The facilities were good for us. And this was organised through the British Council. The people were really friendly. They asked us if there were any problems with our papers. They checked the spelling of our names. Everything was really comfortable for us.
The exam was in May and the results came out in July. It was about two and a half months. The school informed us about the results. I was really glad to see my results.
What the future holds for me
I would like to study in England, but unless I take a scholarship it will be difficult. But I will try to do everything I can. Otherwise, the Greek colleges are good too, so it wouldn’t be a problem to study in Greece.