Skip to main content
Cambridge
  • Products and Services

    Products and Services

    • Products and Services

      Our innovative products and services for learners, authors and customers are based on world-class research and are relevant, exciting and inspiring.

    • Academic Research
    • English Language Learning
    • English Language Assessment
    • Educational resources for schools
    • Bibles
    • Educational Research & Network
    • Assessment Research
    • Cambridge Assessment International Education
    • OCR
    • Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing
    • Cambridge Assessment Network
    • Cambridge CEM
    • Cambridge Partnership for Education
    • Cambridge Dictionary
    • The Cambridge Mathematics Project
    • CogBooks
    • Bookshop
  • About Us

    About Us

    • About Us

      We unlock the potential of millions of people worldwide. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world.

    • What we do
    • Our story
    • People and planet
    • Governance
    • News and insights
    • Legal
    • Accessibility
    • Rights and permissions
    • Annual Report
    • Contact us
  • Careers

    Careers

    • Careers

      No matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, you’ll feel proud to work here.

    • Careers
    • Jobs
    • Benefits
Change Language

Cambridge English Language Assessment

Main navigation

  • Products and Services

    Products and Services

    • Products and Services

      Our innovative products and services for learners, authors and customers are based on world-class research and are relevant, exciting and inspiring.

    • Academic Research
    • English Language Learning
    • English Language Assessment
    • Educational resources for schools
    • Bibles
    • Educational Research & Network
    • Assessment Research
    • Cambridge Assessment International Education
    • OCR
    • Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing
    • Cambridge Assessment Network
    • Cambridge CEM
    • Cambridge Partnership for Education
    • Cambridge Dictionary
    • The Cambridge Mathematics Project
    • CogBooks
    • Bookshop
  • About Us

    About Us

    • About Us

      We unlock the potential of millions of people worldwide. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world.

    • What we do
    • Our story
    • People and planet
    • Governance
    • News and insights
    • Legal
    • Accessibility
    • Rights and permissions
    • Annual Report
    • Contact us
  • Careers

    Careers

    • Careers

      No matter who you are, what you do, or where you come from, you’ll feel proud to work here.

    • Careers
    • Jobs
    • Benefits
Change Language
English Language Assessment
  • Home
  • Why choose us?

    Why choose us?

    • Learners

    • Who accepts our exams?
    • Visas and immigration
    • Study abroad
    • Cambridge English journeys
    • Organisations

    • English for higher education institutions
    • Our exams and tests
    • Verify results online
    • Setting your requirements
    • Exam security and quality
    • Employers
    • Research and Consultancy

    • English Research Group
    • English language consultancy
    • Impact monitoring and evaluation
  • Exams and tests

    Exams and tests

    • Cambridge English Qualifications Cambridge English Qualifications
    • Schools
    • General and higher education
    • Business
    • Pre A1 Starters (YLE Starters)
    • A1 Movers (YLE Movers)
    • A2 Flyers (YLE Flyers)
    • A2 Key for Schools (KET)
    • B1 Preliminary for Schools (PET)
    • B2 First for Schools (FCE)
    • A2 Key (KET)
    • B1 Preliminary (PET)
    • B2 First (FCE)
    • C1 Advanced (CAE)
    • C2 Proficiency (CPE)
    • B1 Business Preliminary (BEC Preliminary)
    • B2 Business Vantage (BEC Vantage)
    • C1 Business Higher (BEC Higher)
    • Linguaskill Linguaskill
    • IELTS IELTS
    • OET OET
    • Useful links

    • Test your English
    • Cambridge English Placement Test
    • How to register
    • Find an exam centre
    • What to expect on exam day
    • Study English in the UK
    • See exam results online
    • Cambridge English Scale
    • International language standards explained
    • Information for preparation centres
  • Learning English

    Learning English

    • Free activities
    • Exam preparation
    • Test your English
    • Parents and children
    • Games and social media
    • More resources
  • Teaching English

    Teaching English

    • Teaching qualifications
    • CELTA
    • DELTA
    • TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test)
    • Professional development
    • Cambridge English Teaching Framework
    • Cambridge English Trainer Framework
    • Become a Cambridge English Assessment Specialist
    • Resources for teachers
    • Webinars for teachers
    • Information for preparation centres
  • Blog
  • News
  • Events
  • Help

    Help

    • Lost certificates
    • Enquiries and appeals
    • Special requirements
    • Special considerations
    • Malpractice
    • Complaints
    • Corporate social responsibility
  • Test your English
  • Find an exam centre
  • Who accepts our exams?
English Language Assessment
Back to Blog page

You are here:

  1. Cambridge English
  2. Blog
  3. The seven Cs of effective communication

The seven Cs of effective communication

Share

Categories

  • Assessment
  • Cambridge English Qualifications
  • Teaching
  • Technology
  • Young learners

View all categories

The seven Cs of effective communication

by Cambridge English, 18/03/2021
Schools , Teaching
teacher with student

Helping teachers talk to parents about A2 Key for Schools, B1 Preliminary for Schools and B2 First for Schools

When we think of the people involved in teaching and learning, we tend to think of the teachers and the learners. Yet, in the context of young learner and teenage education this leaves out a very important stakeholder – the parents or carers!

Parents have a very keen interest in what happens with the learning of the children in their care. As a teacher, having open and constructive channels of communication with parents is essential. Having an effective strategy to bring them into the classroom and the learning process is very often the key to success.

Follow our seven-point checklist when you plan, write and revise your communications. It will help you explain to parents exactly what you need them to know so they become your partners in their child’s learning journey.

1. Clear

It is important to be clear about our aim and message when we are communicating with someone. Clear communication explains complicated ideas in ways that you can understand using simple and familiar language. It leaves no doubts or ambiguity about the purpose of the communication.

Tip: Start with a list of the things that you need parents to know, agree to or understand. Then eliminate anything on the list that you think they will not be familiar with. Do they know what ‘communicative competence’ or ‘B1 on the CEFR’ mean? Probably not … so don’t include it!

2. Concrete

Once you have removed jargon, how do you fill in the gaps? Good communication is essential: your challenge is to find a new way to say these things that gives a clear and specific picture. An explanation can help, but an image or a comparison is even better!

Tip: Imagine that learners are football players – we want them to know the rules of the game, but we are not interested in how well they can recite them. Instead, we want to see how they use them in a real match, and how they can use them to solve the problems they face on the pitch. That is what we call competence.

3. Concise

Stick to the point. Be brief. This shows respect for our audience (you appreciate that their time is valuable), but it also helps to keep us clear and precise.

A good example of concise information is the Can Do statements that we use to describe learner competence. When we say that a B1 Preliminary candidate ‘CAN understand routine information and articles’ and ‘CAN understand straightforward instructions or public announcements’ we create a simple image.

Tip: The descriptors in our handbooks for teachers will give you plenty of examples ready for when you talk to parents about what their child CAN do at each level. Search to find all our resources for teachers.

4. Considerate

Tone and register are important. Too formal and you will come across as distant and unapproachable; too casual and you will not sound professional. Consider the age, style and expectations of the parents – look at yourself through their eyes and meet their expectations.

Tip: Imagine what the parents will ask you about their child’s progress and prepare what you are going to say. You could use the results of homework or practice tests to show parents how their child is progressing and that they are ready to take an exam.

5. Coherent

Coherent communication is about being logical and effective. A good argument must feel like the shortest, easiest line from idea A to idea B – no detours and no gaps. If you are talking about why taking an exam at the end of a course is important, be sure that all your points are connected and relevant to your main argument.

Tip: For example, you could structure your points as follows: ‘The national curriculum says that by the end of secondary school learners should reach a B2 level of English. It is very important for the school and the families to feel confident that our students are on track to meet that very important goal. Taking a Cambridge English Qualification is an excellent way to increase their confidence. We recommend that your child takes A2 Key for Schools and B1 Preliminary for Schools at the end of years 2 and 4.’

6. Correct

Correct communication is appropriate and error free – especially in writing. This includes proofreading, but also making sure that any details (such as names of exams, dates and addresses) are correct and consistent throughout your message.

Tip: It helps to have a second, fresh pair of eyes. Ask a colleague who does not know what you are trying to communicate to read the message, highlight any issues and then explain it back to you. If they can do it, then the parents can too!

7. Complete

Good communication will tell parents everything that they need to know, and also what they are expected to do next. Have you ticked all the items on the list in the tip in the first point? If you need parents to do something, did you mention exactly what it is?

Tip: Remember the Rule of Three. No message is complete unless you have mentioned the main ideas three times: once at the introduction (‘I am going to tell you about B1 Preliminary’), then in the development (‘This is what you need to know about B1 Preliminary’) and once more at the end (‘Now that you know this about B1 Preliminary, remember to …’).

Learn more about how you can talk to parents about their child’s progress in our recent webinar for teachers by Pablo Toledo.

Watch our webinar

Find lots more support and resources about talking to parents about Cambridge English Qualifications.

Related Articles

Linguaskill: the flexible option for language testing

by Cambridge English, 30/03/2023
Three

Linguaskill’s modular testing offers a flexible option to test takers. If they need to improve their score in a particular skill, then they can take that part of the test again. Their other scores are unaffected and they won’t have to retake the other three sections. Linguaskill’s flexibility benefits institutions and employers, too. Let’s take a look.

Admissions , Assessment , Higher education , Technology

Read more

Mediation skills in the English language classroom

by Cambridge English, 29/09/2022
Students

Taking information, summarising it, and passing it on is an example of what linguists call mediation, and it is a key skill for language learners at all levels. It’s the subject of the latest Cambridge Paper in ELT which looks at some of the best strategies teachers can use to teach and assess mediation skills.

Classroom , Teaching , Research

Read more

Discover our improved Results Service

by Cambridge English, 13/06/2022
Laptop

Millions of learners and global Recognising Organisations are using our online Results Services.

Cambridge English Qualifications , Technology

Read more

What’s next for admissions in the North America higher education sector?

by Cambridge English, 30/03/2022
Student

Cambridge English has set up a new expert Admissions Council with the higher education sector in the US and Canada. Our aim is simple: to listen, learn, and develop our support for institutions in the sector.

Research , Admissions , Higher education

Read more

On this site

  • Home
  • Why Cambridge English?
  • Exams and tests
  • Learning English
  • Teaching English
  • News
  • Events
  • Help
  • About us
  • Who accepts our exams?
  • Agents
  • Consultancy
  • Research
  • Contact us
  • ALTE logo
  • English Profile logo
  • Cambridge University Press & Assessment
  • BSI Logo

View Related Sites

  • Cambridge English main site
  • Cambridge English helpdesk
  • Cambridge English Schools
  • Cambridge English Online
  • Cambridge English for Centres
  • Preparation Centres Online
  • Results Verification Service
  • Occupational English Test
  • ALTE
  • English Profile
  • Cambridge University Press & Assessment
  • Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing
  • Michigan Language Assessment
  • Cambridge Assessment Japan Foundation


© Cambridge University Press & Assessment

  • Terms & conditions
  • Data protection
  • Accessibility statement
  • Statement on modern slavery
  • Safeguarding policy
  • Sitemap
Back to top
We use cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving your consent for us to set cookies Dismiss