FCE Exam Cambridge

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 .

First Certification in English
Certificate in English

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 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 Certification in Englis

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 Centres
Open 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.


WHERE CAN I TAKE THE CERTIFICATION?
There are three open centres in Mexico
City:


HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

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


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


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

Level of English
Grade A needed for most
academic purposes

Grade B
Grade C

Level B1


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 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.)


READING
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

First ertification in English
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.
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.
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 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
-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

• 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).

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.
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
- 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.
Grammar and vocabulary.
How many questions are there?
8


LISTENING
• Time allowed: about 40
minutes
• 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
• 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:
http://www.cambridgeesol.org 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.


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

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


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.


THANKS FOR YOUR
ATTENTION

FCE Exam Cambridge

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