First Certificate in English

FCE

First Certificate in English

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?
Results

Score

Pass at Grade A
C1

80 to 100

Pass at Grade B

75 to 79

Pass at Grade C

60 to 74

Level B1

45 to 59

Fail

0 to 44

Level

First Certification in English

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

Grade A
Grade B
Grade C
Level B1

Level
of
English
needed
for
most
academic purposes

First Certification in English

TYPES OF EXERCISES

The exam is divided into 5 sections:


HOW LONG DOES THE EXAM LAST?

APPROXIMATELY
FIVE HOURS

The exam may be taken on paper or by computer.


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.)


READING

PART 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE
- It’s a text with some multiplechoice 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:

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


READING

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


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.
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
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
 This section is worth 20% of
the total score


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

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.
12


USE OF ENGLISH
PART 3: GAP FILLING:
WORD FAMILIES/ WORD
FORMATION
It´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 ENGLISH

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


LISTENING

 Time

allowed: about 40 minutes
 Number of parts: 4
 Number of questions: 30
 This section is worth 20% of the
total score


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.


LISTENING

PART 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
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).


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 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.


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


SOCIAL NETWORKS

https://www.facebook.com/CambridgeESOL


IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.cambridgeesol.org

First Certificate in English

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