How Happy Potter helped to ace Basic State Examination in English (OGE)

How can just there letters sound so taunting? Easy, when these letters are OGE. But what if there was a way to get ready for it that's not just effective but also enjoyable? I'm Elena Kosova, an English teacher and child psychologist with lots of experience and a few tricks up my sleeve. In this article, I want to share a fascinating story about how one of my young students prepared for the English OGE exam.

A case study of OGE

Name: Antonina
Grade: 9
Language Level: Pre-Intermediate
Interests: Harry Potter movies

Stages of OGE Prep:

1. Starting with a practice test, discussing the results, and creating a study plan.
2. The main work happens throughout the school year, tailored by the teacher based on the student's level, age, unique traits, and interests.
3. More practice tests and  correcting mistakes.

The secret to mastering a foreign language is to use it in real-life situations, and that's precisely what we did with Antonina.

What was our main work

During the primary phase, we improved speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills by using:

- Practice tests
- The Solutions textbook
- Extra materials from Macmillan Exam Skills for Russia Grammar and Vocabulary A2
- The Harry Potter movie series

How can we fit it all in a  60-Minute Lesson? That’s my plan:

1. We start with greetings, a warm-up, and a quick review of what we've learned so far.
2. Then, we dive into a new topic.
3. Next, we break down new words and grammar rules.
4. We read a text or article related to the lesson.
5. After that, it's time to watch a video or listen to audio that connects to our lesson.
6. We wrap up the last 10-15 minutes by watching and talking about a scene from a Harry Potter movie.


The final point is crucial in preparing for the OGE . It often happens that in the pursuit of a high grade, the workload on the student becomes too heavy, and the opportunity to enjoy the language is lost. Yet, learning a language is a lengthy process. Actually, maintaining the desire to do complex and boring tasks for a long time is utopian. As a result, students may lose motivation for learning the language.

How to maintain interest in learning English

By incorporating materials based on the student's interests, we have managed to maintain interest in learning and a love for English while simultaneously preparing for the exam with a score of 5 (the highest grade in the Russian grading system, equal to A).

Watching a movie excerpt is not just leisure; it's one of the exercises. The process can be structured as follows:

1, Watch a 3-5-minute clip.
2. Identify and highlight new words and phrases.
3. Examine the sentences spoken by the main characters from a grammar perspective.
4. Discuss the clip and answer questions.

Working on a 5-minute video clip takes about 10-15 minutes of lesson time.

Here's an interesting exercise that can be done while watching a movie: training your listening comprehension in English. Watch a clip from the movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone from 00:06:00 to 00:07:02 in English without subtitles (available for free on the website by link.

Then, replay it, focusing only on the exercise text on the picture, and try to fill in the missing words by listening (answers are given at the end of the article):





If you couldn't fill in the words the first time, listen to it again two or three times. Try to catch at least one missing word. The goal is not to complete the exercise perfectly but to practice listening to native speakers.

This way, exam preparation doesn't become a never-ending series of tests in class but an engaging journey of language discovery. Each lesson is a new episode with new words and phrases and discussions about beloved characters.

And of course, don't forget about the importance of regular lessons. When preparing for exams, 2-3 lessons per week, each lasting 60 minutes, plus completing homework, lead to success!

How to achieve an excellent result

It's worth noting that the student genuinely put in a lot of effort to achieve an excellent result:

- She attended lessons regularly, without missing a single one, twice a week for 60 minutes each.
- She completed all homework assignments related to the OGE materials.
- She did additional tasks, such as watching educational videos on YouTube from TedEd and jotting down new words.
- She wrote 9 perfect letters to a friend following the OGE exam format.
- She watched the Harry Potter series in English. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - 2001, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - 2002, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - 2004.

An interesting and effective OGE preporation

As you can see, there is such a method of exam preparation that can be both interesting and effective, but it requires the student's efforts.

Once again, I want to congratulate my student Antonina on her excellent grade on the OGE in English!


I'm sure you can achieve the same success too! If you need help preparing for the OGE or USE (Unified State Exam), leave a request on our website, and our managers will help you find an experienced and dedicated teacher for a successful exam performance!

Answers: move/boring/understand/hear/people/family.