Summary FCE exam

FCEFCEFirst Certificate in EnglishFirst Certificate in English

WHAT DO THE ACRONYMS STAND FOR?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 .

WHAT IS THE HIGHEST SCORE?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 Certificate in English

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


TYPES OF EXERCISESTYPES OF EXERCISES

The exam is divided into 5 sections:

First Certification in EnglishFirst Certificate in English

HOW LONG DOES THE EXAM LAST?HOW LONG DOES THE EXAM LAST?

APPROXIMATELY FIVE HOURS

The exam may be taken on paper or by computer.


READINGREADING

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

READINGREADING


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.



READINGREADING

PART 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


WRITINGWRITING

Time allowed: 1 hour 20 minutes Number of parts: 2 Number of questions:

Part 1: one compulsory questionPart 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


WRITINGWRITING

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


WRITINGWRITING

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 ENGLISHUSE OF ENGLISH

Time allowed: 45 minutes

Number of parts: 4 Number of questions: 42

This section is worth 20% of the total score



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




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



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



PART 4: KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS

- You will 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


LISTENINGLISTENING

Time allowed: about 40 minutes

Number of parts: 4 Number of questions: 30 This section is worth 20% of the

total score


LISTENINGLISTENING

PART 1: LISTENING. MULTIPLE CHOICE FOR DIFFERENT SITUATIONSEight questions to test candidates’ ability to listen for gist in a series of unrelated texts. The testing focuses spelled out in each question.


LISTENINGLISTENING

PART 2: LISTENING. SENTENCE COMPLETIONThis 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.


LISTENINGLISTENING

PART 3: LISTENING. MULTIPLE MATCHINGThis 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.


LISTENINGLISTENING

PART 4: LISTENING. MULTIPLE CHOICEIn 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.


SPEAKINGSPEAKING

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


SPEAKINGSPEAKING

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.


SPEAKINGSPEAKING

Part 2: Individual tasks (4 minutes):Each of you will be asked to compare two colour photographs and compare and contrast 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).


SPEAKINGSPEAKING

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 argue your own point of view. Sometimes you will be asked to agree on a conclusion, and sometimes you will be told that you may make different decisions.


SPEAKINGSPEAKING

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.


CERTIFICATIONCERTIFICATION


SOCIAL NETWORKSSOCIAL NETWORKS https://www.facebook.com/CambridgeESOL


IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION:IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.cambridgeesol.org


Summary FCE exam

Education

number of questions

storyfirst certificate

gapped text

series of questions

questions arethere

different types of text

gap filling

correct word