FCE

What is FCE?
The Cambridge First Certificate in English is the third level of Cambridge ESOL exams. It is upper intermediate level exam, set at level B2 of the Council of Europe's Common Framework for modern languages, and recognises the ability to deal confidently with a range written and spoken communications.

Who is FCE for?
FCE is designed for learners, whose command of English is adequate for many practical everyday purposes, including business and study. Successful candidates will have a wide grasp of vocabulary, and should be able to construct an argument and use appropriate communication styles for a variety of situations. They also need to show awareness of register and of the conventions of politeness and degrees of formality as they are expressed through language.

Why choose FCE?
FCE recognised by many universities and other educational institutions as proof of intermediate level English skills, and these institutions accept it as meeting part of their entrance requirements.

Because the examinations are based on realistic tasks, an FCE certificate is an important asset anyone who wants to work and study, or in international business.

What does the exam involve?
Five papers: Reading, Writing, Use of English, Listening, Speaking

Reading (1hour)
The Reading paper assesses candidates' ability to read and understand texts taken from fiction and non-fiction books, journals, newspapers and magazines. Candidates are expected to be able to show understanding of gist, detail and text structure, and deduce meaning.

Writing (1 hour 20 min.)
The Writing paper assess candidates´ ability to write non-specialised text types such as letters, articles, reports, compositions and reviews of 120-180 words covering a range of topics and target readers and also set texts.

Use of English (45 min.)
In the Use of English paper, candidates are expected to demonstrate their knowledge and control of the language system by completing various tasks at text and sentence level. These include filling gaps, transforming words and phrases, and identifying errors in texts.

Listening (40 min. aprox.)
The listening paper assesses candidates´ ability to understand the meaning of spoken English, and to extract gist and meaning from spoken text. The texts are taken from a variety of text types including interviews, discussions, lectures and conversations.

Speaking (15 min.)
The Speaking Test assesses candidate's ability to interact in conversational English in a range of contexts. It contains four parts, including an interview section, individual long turns of about one minute, a collaborative task and a discussion. Candidates are provided with a stimulus material such as photographs and drawings.

FCE Speaking test

You usually take the speaking exam together with one other student.
The exam lasts about 14 minutes and has four parts:

1. Interview (3 minutes)
You will be asked questions about your home town, family, work or study, free time and future plans.

2. Individual tasks (4 minutes)
You will be asked to compare two photographs and explain your personal feelings/thought/opinions about them (you will need to speak for 1 minute, without any interruption).

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

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.

You might get asked to agree on a conclusion/decision or you might be told to make different decisions.

4. Three-way discussion (4 minutes)
You will be asked to discuss, with the student and the examiner, various ideas that are connected with a joint task.

21 Reasons Why The English Language Is Hard To Learn:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was
time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

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How To Retell A Story

HOW TO GIVE A SUMMARY/ RETELL A STORY

DATE : ______________________________________________________

NAME OF STORY:_____________________________________________

Before you retell a story you should consider these simple questions:

1.Who was the story about?

2.What happened?

3.When?

4.Where?

5.Why?

6.Other details…..

Using Time to Tell your story in the correct order :

when retelling a story it's important to use time words, such words as:

First / Then / Next / Later / Before / After / Finally

Now your ready to retell the story in your own words!

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IELTS speaking exam... what to know before you go on the exam

Who is the Examiner?

Any native English speaker that is a professional teacher

He/She have received specific IELTS training to make sure they judge you fairly and honestly.

What the examiner listens for?

Pronunciation - Speak clearly and you will be all right.

Vocabulary - using words incorrectly will LOWER your score! Avoid using difficult words or expressions unless you are sure of how to use them.

Sentence Structure - Using better sentences is the best way to improve your speaking score in a short time.

Fluency and Coherence - Of course fluency is very important but it is useless if you are not understood (if you are not "coherent"). You do NOT have to speak quickly, but too many hesitations are bad.

Your Score

If you cannot make good sentences, if you hesitate too much, if your speaking is not clear or if you use words incorrectly, you will be Band 4 or below.

To be Band 5, you can make mistakes and have hesitations, but you must make simple sentences easily and without mistakes.

To be Band 6, you must be able to use longer sentences with fewer hesitations. You need to use a variety of language. You can make some small mistakes if your meaning is still clear. Also, you should be able paraphrase. To be Band 7, you should be able to do Part 2 with no problem. You must use a variety of sentences and connect the sentences well. You must correctly use difficult vocabulary. You can make very small mistakes if your meaning is clear. You should be able to paraphrase very well.

To be Band 8, you need a very wide vocabulary and the ability to speak fluently on any topic. You may make a few tiny errors, if those errors do not get in the way of communication.