FCE Exam Cambridge

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BENJAMÍN

WHAT DO THE ACRONYMS STAND FOR?

The First Certificate in English (FCE) is a general proficiency examination at level B2 in the Council of Europe's common European Framework of Reference .

WHEN CAN I TAKE THE CERTIFICATION?

Cambridge English paper-based exams:• Sat 13 October • Sat 10 November • Tue 4 December • Sat 8 December • Sat 9 March 2013• Fri 15 March 2013

First Certification in EnglishFirst Certificate in English

WHEN CAN I TAKE THE CERTIFICATION?

Cambridge English computer-based exams:• Fri 28 September • Sat 20 October • Fri 30 November • Tue 11 December • Sat 19 January • Sat 23 February

First Certificate in English

WHERE CAN I TAKE THE CERTIFICATION?

• There are 19 centres in Mexico which offer the FCE exam.• There are two kinds of authorized Cambridge ESOL centres:

Open CentresOpen centres are authorized to run examinations for all candidates, including those who are not taking a preparation course at the institution that runs the centre. Many open centres also run preparation courses for the Cambridge ESOL exams.

Internal Centres Internal Centres are authorized to run examinations only for students who are enrolled as students at the institution that runs the centre.

First Certification in EnglisFirst Certificate in English

WHERE CAN I TAKE THE CERTIFICATION?

There are three open centres in Mexico City:


HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

$ 2, 620.00$ 2, 520.00 $ 2, 610.00


WHAT IS THE HIGHEST SCORE?

Results Score

Pass at Grade A 80 to 100 Level C1

Pass at Grade B 75 to 79

Pass at Grade C 60 to 74

Level B1 45 to 59

Fail 0 to 44


First Certification in English

Grade A

Grade BGrade C

Level B1

Level of English needed for most academic purposes

WHAT IS THE SCORE NEEDED TO GET AN ACADEMIC EXCHANGE PROGRAM?


TYPES OF EXERCISES

The exam is divided into 5 sections:

First Certification in EnglishFirst Certificate in English

HOW LONG DOES THE EXAM LAST?

APPROXIMATELY FIVE HOURS

The exam may be taken on paper or an computer, just consult the relevant dates.


READING

• Time allowed: 1 hour 15 minutes • Number of parts: 3 • Number of questions: 30 • This section is worth 20% of the total score• Lengths of texts: 550–700 words per text: about

2,000 words to read in total

• Texts may be from: newspaper and magazine articles, reports, fiction, advertisements, letters, messages, informational material (e.g. brochures, guides, manuals,

etc.)


PART 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE

- It’s a text with some multiple-choice questions. Each question has four options (A, B, C or D) and you have to decide which is the correct answer.

- What do I have to practice?How to understand the

details of a text, including

opinions and attitudes.

- How many questions are there? 8

READING


READING:

PART 2: GAPPED TEXT

- It’s a text with some empty spaces (gaps). After the text there are some sentences taken from the text. You have to choose the correct sentence for each gap.

- What do I have to practice? How to understand the

structure and follow the development of a text.

- How many questions are there? 7

First ertification in EnglishFirst Certificate in English

READINGPART 3: READING FOR

SPECIFIC INFORMATION

It’s a series of questions and a long text or several short texts to read. For each question, you have to decide which text or part of the text mentions some specific information.

- What do I have to practice? How to find specific

information in a text or texts.

-How many questions are there? 15


WRITING

• Time allowed: 1 hour 20 minutes

• Number of parts: 2• Number of questions:

Part 1: one compulsory question

Part 2: one question from a choice of five

• This section is worth 20% of the total score

• Types of task: article, email, essay, letter, report, review, story


WRITING

PART 1: LETTER / E-MAIL- You have to write a letter or email using this information.

You may have to

apologize, compare, describe, explain, express opinions, justify, persuade, recommend, and/or suggest something.

- How many questions are there?One compulsory question.

- How much do I have to write?120–150 words


WRITING

PART 2: ARTICLE, ESSAY, LETTER, REPORT, REVIEW OR STORY- You have to write will be one of the

following: an article, essay, letter, report, review or story.

-What do I have to practice?

Writing different types of text: articles, essays, letters, reports, reviews

-How many questions are there? One task to be selected from a choice of five.

How much do I have to write?

120– 180 words


USE OF ENGLISH

• Time allowed: 45 minutes• Number of parts: 4• Number of questions: 42



USE OF ENGLISH

PART 1: GAP FILLING. MULTIPLE CHOICE CLOZE

- It’s a text in which there are some missing words or phrases (gaps). After the text there are four possible answers for each gap and you have to choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

- What do I have to practice? Vocabulary.- How many questions are there? 12


USE OF ENGLISH

PART 2: GAP FILLING: WORD PRODUCTION

- It’s a text in which there are some missing words (gaps). You have to find the correct word for each gap.- What do I have to practice?

Grammar and vocabulary.

- How many questions are there?12


USE OF ENGLISH

PART 3: GAP FILLING:

WORD FAMILIES/ WORD FORMATIONIt´s a text containing ten gaps. Each gap represents a word. At the end of the line is a ‘prompt’ word which you have to change in some way to make the correct missing word and complete the sentence correctly.

What do I have to practice?Vocabulary, word building.

How many questions are there?

10


USE OF ENGLISHPART 4: KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS

- We have a sentence followed by a key word and a second sentence which has a gap in it. You have to use the key word to complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first sentence.- What do I have to practice?

Grammar and vocabulary.

How many questions are there?8


LISTENING

• Time allowed: about 40 minutes

• Number of parts: 4• Number of questions: 30



LISTENING

PART 1: LISTENING. MULTIPLE CHOICE FOR DIFFERENT SITUATIONS

Eight questions to test candidates’ ability to listen for gist in a series of unrelated texts. The testing focuses spelled out in each question.


LISTENINGPART 2: LISTENING. SENTENCE COMPLETION

This part tests candidates’ ability to listen for specific words or phrases focusing on detail and specific information. The test is presented in the form of 10 questions. Candidates need to listen and complete the questions.


LISTENING

PART 3: LISTENING. MULTIPLE MATCHING

This part focuses on the skill of listening for general gist, detail, purpose, attitude, opinion, etc. Candidates listen to five short texts with different speakers, which are related in some way.


LISTENING

PART 4: LISTENING. MULTIPLE CHOICE

In this part, the predominant focus is on testing the candidates’ ability to listen for opinion, main idea, gist and specific info, and based on one long test.


SPEAKING

• Time allowed: 14 minutes

per pair of candidates• Number of parts: 4• This section is worth 20% of the

total score • You have to talk:

- with the examiner- with the other candidate- on your own


SPEAKING

Part 1: Interview (3 minutes)

You usually take the speaking exam together with one other student.Each of you will be asked basic questions about your home town, family, work or study, leisure and future plans.


SPEAKING

Part 2: Individual tasks (4 minutes):Each of you will be asked to compare two colour photographs and explain your personal feelings about them (you will be asked to speak for 1 minute, without any interruption).

You will also be asked to give your opinion about the other student's photographs (you will be expected to speak for about 20 seconds).


SPEAKING

Part 3: Joint task (3 minutes)You will be shown some pictures. You will be asked to discuss these with the other student and to make a decision. Sometimes you will be asked to agree on the conclusion, and sometimes you will be told that you may make different decisions.


SPEAKING

Part 4: Three-way discussion (4 minutes):You will be asked to discuss (together with the other student and the examiner) some ideas that are connected with the joint task.


CERTIFICATION


IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION:University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations offers the world’s most valuable range of English qualifications. Cambridge ESOL is part of Cambridge Assessment, a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge and Europe’s largest educational assessment organization.

http://www.cambridgeesol.org


http://www.cambridgeesol.org/

SOCIAL NETWORKShttps://www.facebook.com/CambridgeESOL

There are links to videos, podcasts and games.This is fun.


https://www.facebook.com/CambridgeESOL

SOCIAL NETWORKS

http://www.youtube.com/CambridgeEnglishTV

https://twitter.com/cambridgeesol

In the social networks we can find useful tips and information about teaching, learning and researching the English language.


http://www.youtube.com/CambridgeEnglishTV

https://twitter.com/cambridgeesol

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION


FCE Exam Cambridge

Education

key word

run examinations

correct answer

missing words

based exams

specific information

multiple choice

joint task