Welcome to Cambridge FCE

Your teacher’s name is Anne

aschofield@howcollege.ac.uk You can contact me with any questions or comments and send me homework if you miss a class!

http://annesclass.weebly.com

What are we doing today? Getting to know each other Health and Safety Filling in paperwork Introduction to the course

Things we need to know Fire exits Toilets First Aid

Information Folders What is an Information Folder? What are targets? Folder completed?

Make the question 1. Norwegian 2. 6, 3 and 2 3. Madagascar and Hong Kong 4. prawns 5. skiing 6. 34 7. London 8. chocolate

Please bring... a pen a notebook a folder to keep handouts in

Cambridge English: First (FCE) Difficulty level: B2 /Upper Intermediate The First Certificate in English is the most important of the Cambridge exams.

http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams/first

Cambridge ESOL is famous worldwide and attaining one of its certificates is an achievement in itself, however there are more benefits to taking the FCE: Once awarded the FCE certificate is valid for life. FCE is an international certificate, recognized all over the world for business and study purposes. Thousands of employers, universities and government departments recognize FCE as a qualification at upper-intermediate level English. FCE gives you the pathway to higher qualifications such as the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) and Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). FCE gives you the confidence to use English in real life situations.

FCE is at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and is an internationally recognized benchmark of language ability. This frame uses six levels to describe language ability from A1 TO C2.

If you are at B2 level you are expected to: Understand the main ideas of complex pieces of writing Keep up a conversation on a fairly wide range of topics, express opinions and present arguments Produce clear, detailed writing, expressing opinions and explaining the advantage and disadvantage of different points of view So if you can understand texts from a wide variety of sources and are able to use English to make notes while someone is speaking in English and can converse with people on a wide range of topics, then FCE is the right exam for you.

What is the FCE Test like? The test has four sections: Reading /Use of English - 75 minutes Writing - 2 essays, 80 minutes Listening - 40 minutes Speaking - interview, normally with another candidate, 14 minutes

Reading/Use of English: 75 minutes In the Reading section of the FCE test you will be expected to understand fiction and non-fiction books, journals, newspapers and magazine and answer a set of questions which include multiple choice, multiple matching or gap filling questions.. In Use of English section your command of English grammar and vocabulary is tested, by multiple-choice filling, open gap filling, word formation and key word transformation.

Writing: 1hour 20 minutes The writing section of the test involves two parts, one that is mandatory and the other is chosen from a set of three optional tasks. The first section is usually an essay. The other part can be an article, a report, an email, a review or an essay.

Listening: 40 minutes This section includes four spoken texts Listening: 40 minutes This section includes four spoken texts. You will need to demonstrate that you understand a range of spoken material. These include news programmes, speeches, stories and anecdotes, conversations and public announcements.

Speaking: 14 minutes In the speaking section of the test two candidates are interviewed by two examiners on their ability to take part in different types of interactions. The test has four parts. In the first part you are asked personal questions and in part two you are given photographs to compare and contrast. In the third part, the candidates engage in a discussion and in part four, the candidates and the examiner will discuss a certain topic.

Marking Each exam is sent to Cambridge ESOL for marking and grading and the results are sent back to the test centres. Each paper is weighted and the candidates combined score for all papers is used in awarding a grade. The weighted marks for each paper are then added together to give a combined score, which the grade will be based on.

Results The Reading/Use of English section carries 40% of the total exam mark and the other sections 20%. A good score in one paper can compensate for a poor performance in another paper. The pass grades for the tests are A , B and C . Candidates with these grades are awarded a certificate whereas candidates reaching grades D or E do not receive a certificate. Candidates can also access their results through the Cambridge ESOL Results Online website.

Paper-based or computer exams You can do the FCE exam on a computer or on paper. Score A, B, C (pass), D, E or U (fail) FCE A grade pass is accepted for entry to some universities